This air fryer chicken sausage is our go to on busy weeknights when we need a quick meal. It's so easy I can't even call this a recipe—it's just instructions on how we like to cook our chicken sausage in the air fryer as well as some helpful tips and tricks.
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Why We Love Cooking Chicken Sausages in the Air Fryer
- It's fast: Chicken sausages cook in the air fryer in less than 10 minutes (around 6 minutes, to be exact!), and they require no prep work.
- It's a foolproof cooking method: These chicken sausages come out perfectly crisp on the outside and juicy on the inside every time. The air fryer cooks them similarly to a grill.
- It's easy: Did I say no prep work?
Looking for other easy air fryer recipes? Try our air fryer frozen shrimp, air fryer salmon bites, or air fryer blackened chicken.
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
Chicken Sausages: Any fully cooked chicken sausages will do. We especially love apple, Italian, and andouille flavors. This recipe also works with pork or beef sausages or hot dogs. Here are a few of our favorite brands and varieties for this recipe:
- Trader Joe's Sweet Apple or Spicy Jalapeño Chicken Sausages
- Aidells Chicken & Apple Smoked Chicken Sausage (they sell these at Costco and Target, among other places)
- Gilbert's Bourbon Apple and Caprese Chicken Sausages
- Applegate Organic Chicken & Apple Sausage and Sweet Italian
Oil: Any neutral cooking oil works. We use olive oil. You can either spray it on or just coat it on with a brush or your hands. Oil helps the sausages get super crispy.
See recipe card for full ingredient list and amounts.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Score your sausages in a diagonal pattern one way, then turn your knife and score them in a diagonal pattern the opposite way (creating diamonds all the way down the sausages). This will make them extra crispy on the outside.
Step 2: Spray or coat your sausages with olive oil (or any other neutral cooking oil).
Step 3: Place the sausages in the air fryer basket, scored side up. Cook at 400°F for 6-7 minutes, or until crispy on the outside and warm on the inside.
Step 4: Serve on buns or on their own! Check out our side pairing ideas below.
Side Pairings
These air fryer chicken sausages make the perfect easy dinner. Here are some of the sides we love to pair them with:
- Boxed mac and cheese (or make your own)
- Salad: I cut my chicken sausages up and serve them in a salad. I'll often buy a salad mix from the grocery store to make things quick. I love mine over caesar salad.
- Veggies: I love this meal with sweet potatoes, broccoli, asparagus, or green beans.
- French fries or sweet potato fries: I buy these frozen and throw them in the air fryer before or after the chicken sausages (if you cook them before the sausages, you can munch on them while you're cooking).
Frequently asked questions
We cook ours for about 6 minutes at 400°F.
Store leftover chicken sausages in a baggie or air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. Reheat in the air fryer until warm.
Any chicken sausages will do. We especially love apple, Italian, and andouille flavors. This recipe also works with pork or beef sausages or hot dogs.
📖 Recipe
Air Fryer Chicken Sausage
- Total Time: 11 minutes
- Yield: 4 sausages 1x
Description
This air fryer chicken sausage is our go to on busy weeknights when we need a quick meal. It's so easy I can't even call this a recipe—it's just instructions on how we like to cook our chicken sausage in the air fryer as well as some helpful tips and tricks.
Ingredients
4 fully cooked chicken sausages (see note 1)
Olive oil or other neutral cooking oil
Instructions
- Score your sausages in a diagonal pattern one way, then turn your knife and score them in a diagonal pattern the opposite way (creating diamonds all the way down the sausages).
- Spray or coat your sausages with olive oil (or any other neutral cooking oil).
- Place the sausages in the air fryer basket, scored side up. Cook at 400°F for 6-7 minutes, or until crispy on the outside and warm on the inside.
- Serve on buns or on their own! Check out our side pairing ideas below.
Notes
- Any chicken sausages will do. We especially love apple, Italian, and andouille flavors. This recipe also works with pork or beef sausages or hot dogs. Please note that this recipe is for fully cooked chicken sausages. If your sausages are raw, you may need to increase the cook time to fully cook them.
- Scoring the sausages makes them extra crispy on the outside.
- Nutritional information is only an estimate.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 6 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Air Fryer
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 sausage
- Calories: 211
- Sugar: 1.6 g
- Sodium: 868.6 mg
- Fat: 15.5 g
- Trans Fat:
- Carbohydrates: 6.8 g
- Protein: 11.4 g
- Cholesterol: 100.8 mg
Michael says
The sausage was cooked perfection!
Rochelle says
Love cooking my chicken sausages like this! So easy and fast, and the sausages are always perfect.