Air Fryer Breakfast Sausage [+VIDEO]

If I’m cooking breakfast for a crowd, juggling scrambled eggs while toasting the bagels and frying the bacon or breakfast sausages can be a challenge. Which is why I love recipes like air fryer bacon and these air fryer breakfast sausages. These breakfast sausages only need to be turned once in the air fryer. All I do is arrange the sausages in an even layer and cook! No oils or seasoning necessary. It leaves my hands free, and breakfast is ready in no time.

In this post, I’ll show you how to cook breakfast sausage in the air fryer that’s perfectly seared outside and juicy inside. You can make this air fryer recipe with fresh or frozen store-bought sausages, or try it with my homemade chicken breakfast sausage. I also have recipes for sausage patties and Italian sausage in the air fryer that you can try next.

What You’ll Need

You really only need one ingredient here: Your favorite breakfast sausages! The number of sausages you can cook at once depends on the size of your air fryer model. For the printable recipe with ingredients and instructions, scroll to the recipe card below.

• Breakfast Sausage Links – I used a 12-ounce package of sausage links that included about 14 links. These were uncooked and thawed.
• Avocado Oil Spray – As with my air fryer brats, oil spray is optional. Oil helps the sausages brown just a tad quicker. However, they’ll still brown enough without it. Make sure to use olive oil spray or similar, and not aerosol non-stick sprays, when cooking in the air fryer. Aerosol sprays can damage the coating on the air fryer basket.

How to Make Air Fryer Breakfast Sausages

Cooking breakfast sausages in the air fryer couldn’t be easier. The key is to leave space in between the sausages in the basket, so the heat can circulate and sear the edges.

1. Fill the basket. Arrange the sausages in an even layer in the cooking basket of your air fryer.
2. Air fry. Cook until they reach 160ºF (use an instant-read thermometer) and are browned to your liking.

How Long to Cook Breakfast Sausages in the Air Fryer

The exact cooking time will vary a little depending on the air fryer and how brown you like your sausages. Most breakfast sausages are cooked once they reach an internal temperature of 160ºF. This takes about 10 minutes total, or 5 minutes per side.

While they’ll be cooked at this point, the sausages won’t be browned yet. Since we eat with our eyes first, I tend to cook mine longer. They’ll still be juicy inside.

I tested these air fryer breakfast sausages in my Ninja Foodi. The benefit is that you don’t need to preheat it, and you can always pop open the lid to check if the sausages are cooked and browned enough.

Raw Breakfast Sausage vs. Pre-Cooked

I’m using raw, fresh breakfast sausage links. If you purchase pre-cooked sausage links, the air-frying time will be shorter. I recommend setting the air fryer temperature to 390ºF and cooking the sausages at 2-3 minutes per side. Afterward, you can choose if you’d like to cook them a little longer to brown.

Can You Cook Breakfast Sausages from Frozen?

No. I don’t recommend cooking frozen breakfast sausages in the air fryer. Firstly, most food packages recommend thawing the meat before cooking it. Secondly, when you cook frozen meat, it tends to cook unevenly. For food safety reasons, you should not cook ground meat (sausages are a ground meat mixture) from frozen, as the meat needs to cook evenly to the recommended internal temperature.

Serving Suggestions

• Brunch dishes: I love pairing juicy breakfast sausages with stuffed French toast or almond flour waffles drizzled with blueberry sauce for a sweet-savory contrast.
• Eggs: Make a side of air fryer hard-boiled eggs, scrambled eggs, or an omelet.
• Breakfast sandwiches: Slice the sausages in half lengthwise and layer them onto an English muffin with eggs and cheese.

More Breakfast Recipes You’ll Love

• Breakfast Taco Bowl
• Air Fryer Turkey Bacon
• Keto Chicken and Waffles
• Chia Seed Pudding
• Cauliflower Grits