Easy golden brown air fryer sausage. This healthier take on pan-fried Italian sausage is perfect for breakfast or a quick midweek meal. Get our delectable recipe here.

A substantial meal would not be complete without fried Italian sausage. But what if we could eliminate the harmful layers of oil and fat while maintaining that delectable crisp and succulent center? This air fryer sausage recipe will suffice.

Air fryers have grown in popularity due to their capacity to produce healthier versions of traditional fried foods, and sausages are no exception. You can cook your sausages golden brown and juicy without the additional fat that usually comes with them if you have a nice kitchen air fryer.

Learn how to prepare one of our favorite air fryer dishes from scratch with our simple step-by-step instructions for this morning staple. Let’s get started!

Benefits of Air Frying Sausage

Air frying isn’t only about minimizing fat. There are many advantages to switching to the popular kitchen equipment. Here are a few of our personal favorites.

Even Cooking

Most air fryers employ air circulation, which is a cooking process that involves circulating hot air within the fryer around your food. This method of cooking eliminates hot spots on your meal and instead provides uniform covering. Not only that, but it also guarantees that cooking temperatures are uniform from all directions. So, instead of the brown scorch lines that come with skillet or oven cooking, you get a well-cooked sausage with an even golden brown coating.

Set & Forget

When pan-frying sausages, you no longer have to continually check on them and turn them over. All you have to do with an air fryer is place the sausages in the frying basket, adjust the temperature, and let the hot air within cook them evenly.

Clean Cooking

When you make them in an air fryer, you don’t have to worry about oil splattering all over the place as you do when pan-frying. This makes the cooking procedure less messy and safer since it lowers the chance of burning yourself with hot oil.

Why Use Italian Sausage?

While practically any style of sausage, including bratwurst and Cumberland, would work, our personal favorite is Italian.

Italian sausage is often well-seasoned and has an identifiable flavor that combines sweet and mild spice. This mix of tastes then matches well with the crisp that forms on the skin once it has been fried.

Quick Tips

Are you new to air frying? These easy recipe guidelines will help you make the greatest Italian sausage possible.

1. Before cooking, pierce each sausage link with a fork. This keeps them from bursting and allows extra fat to flow. But be cautious not to overdo it, since too much fluid might leave the sausage bland and tasteless. Pierce each side 1-2 times.
2. Use a high-smoke-point cooking spray. Low smoke point oils or sprays will not sustain high heats and may alter the flavor of your food. Spray with canola oil. It has a smoke point of 375-450 degrees Fahrenheit (190-230 degrees Celsius) and is ideal for all sorts of frying, including air frying.
3. Before cooking, fill the drawer of your air fryer with water. This is especially useful with fatty foods (such as sausage) since it collects greasy run-off and prevents it from flaring up and smoking. If your appliance lacks a water drawer, pad the basket’s bottom with parchment paper.
4. Eight sausage links may be too numerous to put in the air fryer basket at once while still allowing hot air to flow. Cook the sausages in batches of four at a time if this is the case.
5. Use a meat thermometer to determine when your sausages are done. Cooking durations might vary based on the size and thickness of the meal, therefore use a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature of the pork. When it reaches 160F (71C), it is safe to consume.
6. If you prepare these ahead of time or have leftovers, put them in the refrigerator for up to three days in an airtight container or Ziploc bag. You may eat them cold or reheat them in the air fryer for 5 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius).

Side Dish Ideas

You may serve your air fryer sausages with a variety of delicious side dishes. Here are a few of our personal favorites.

• Sweet Potato Hash: This traditional breakfast side dish just takes 20 minutes to prepare in a pan. It complements the hog meat well since it is made with sweet potatoes, onions, and bell peppers.
• Cauliflower Cheese: This side dish is both healthful and tasty, in addition to being simple to make.
• Roast Potatoes: Why would you order fast food French fries when you can prepare these crispy air fryer baby potatoes? To make it more nutritious, add some creamed spinach.
• Garlic Mushrooms: Another really wonderful side dish that goes great with your sausages. And the best part is that you can make them in the air fryer.

How to Make Air Fryer Sausage

As previously said, creating air fryer sausages is simple and requires few materials. Here’s a step-by-step tutorial for making fantastic air fryer sausages.

Step One: Preheat the Air Fryer

Preheat the oven to 400°F for around 5 minutes. Although the temperature varies depending on numerous parameters, such as the thickness of the sausages, it is not recommended that you set your air fryer to a very high temperature. Putting your sausages in a really hot air fryer may cause them to burn on the surface while still being properly cooked on the inside. 204CS and 365FPreheat your air fryer to 185 degrees Celsius.

Step Two: Pierce or Prick the Sausages

Pierce or puncture the sausages many times with a sharp knife. This will keep their skin from separating as they cook. It also assists the sausages in draining some of the fat that would otherwise cause them to explode. However, if you poke your sausages too frequently, they will lose all of the juicy characteristics that make them so tasty.

Step Three: Grease the Air Fryer Basket

Spray the air fryer basket with a couple squirts of your chosen oil before adding the sausages. This will keep them from sticking to the pan while cooking.

Step Four: Place the Sausages in the Air Fryer Basket

Insert the sausages into the air fryer basket using tongs. Make sure they don’t contact in order for them to cook evenly. Set the timer on the air fryer to 10 to 12 minutes. This is determined by the thickness of the sausages and whether or not they are frozen.

Check on the sausages halfway through cooking time and turn them over if required to allow them to cook more evenly. When the timer goes off, check to see whether the sausages are fully cooked. If not, continue to cook them until they are completely done.