Ready for the easiest, crispiest sausage links ever? This air fryer sausage links brings you juicy, perfectly browned sausages in minutes—no splatter, no smoky kitchen, just pure breakfast bliss. Perfect for busy mornings or a lazy weekend brunch!
This air fryer sausage recipe has saved my sanity (and probably my fire alarm batteries). Mornings were a juggling act: tossing sausages around in a frying pan while juggling school lunches, the dog’s morning zoomies, and maybe—just maybe—a cup of coffee and almost always it involved setting off the fire alarms. But the air fryer? It’s like having a personal breakfast chef on standby!
No greasy mess, no waking up my family with the fire alarm blaring, and absolutely no oil splatters to scrub off the stove. Just set it and go. These air-fried sausage links have become a morning staple in our house. Use pork, chicken, or turkey sausages, the air fryer locks in the juiciness and yet is perfectly crispy on the outside. WIN-WIN!
Success Tips:
- Give Them Space – Place your sausage links in a single layer. They need a bit of breathing room to crisp up nicely.
- Shake It Up – Halfway through, give the basket a little shake or turn the links over. This keeps them evenly browned and beautifully crispy on all sides.
- Check Doneness – If you’re concerned about doneness, use a meat thermometer to confirm they’re cooked to perfection: 160°F for pork and beef, 165°F for chicken or turkey.
- Quick Cleanup Hack – Line your basket with parchment paper or foil for the easiest cleanup—just make sure to leave room around the edges for air circulation.
- Frozen or Fresh – Whether you forgot to thaw or planned ahead, the air fryer handles both with ease—just a few extra minutes for frozen links, and you’re golden!
Why you will love these Air Fryer Sausage Links
- Quick and Easy- Breakfast is ready in just 8-10 minutes and made almost entirely hands-free!
- Family Friendly- Who doesn’t like juicy sausages? Treat your loved ones to a savory and delicious breakfast, including sausage links and another favorite, like eggs over easy, cinnamon toast, or sweet oatmeal!
- Cooks Evenly- The Air Fryer Method uses hot airflow to cook foods from all angles, producing perfectly browned sausages with a juicy meaty inside.
You’ll love the ease and convenience of this simple recipe. Serve them with an omelet, grits, scrambled eggs, buttered toast, and a refreshing glass of orange juice.
Air Fryer Breakfast Sausage Ingredients
- Sausage | Use your favorite brand of original or maple raw sausage links. I love Jones Dairy Farm Sausage and all natural Jimmy Dean sausage. Fresh or Frozen – see notes!
- But you may also choose another popular pick, like Smithfield’s and Johnsonville’s. See the FAQ section for the instructions to make frozen sausage patties or links in the air fryer.
Recommended Equipment
*Remember like ovens, all air fryers heat a little differently. Make notes for your air fryer and how long it takes. If concerned, use a meat thermometer for best results.
- Turn your Instant Pot into an air fryer with this air fryer lid — one less appliance!
- Cosori Air Fryer is the next up, a dedicated air fryer with a larger square basket.
- Ninja Foodi Air Fryer & Indoor Grill — a nice wide and easy to operate air fryer. It’s also a smokeless grill!
- My favorite Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro (it does it all!), love, love this air fryer, countertop oven.
How to make Sausage Links in Air Fryer
- Begin this easy air fryer recipe by removing the sausage links from their packaging.
- Next, place the breakfast sausage in the air fryer basket. Be sure the links are not touching and are in a single layer. This will help the air fryer properly flow the hot air around each piece, cooking them evenly and thoroughly. Depending on the size of your air fryer basket, you may need to fry the sausage links in batches.
- Set the air fryer temperature to 375 degrees F and cook the sausage for about 10 minutes. Halfway through the cooking time, shake the basket to roll the links or flip them with tongs or another utensil. Remove from air fryer and on a paper towel lined plate, ta-da – homemade breakfast sausage!
Air Fryer Sausage Links Tips
- For best results; remove your sausages from the fridge about 20-30 minutes before cooking. Cold meat will not sear or crisp as well as room temperature meat. This is a good practice for all of your meats.
- For the best results, flip the sausage links halfway through the cooking process.
- Thicker sausages and types of sausage (e.g. pork vs. chicken sausage) may take longer to cook in the air fryer.
- If you like your breakfast sausage a little crisper, add just a 2-3 minutes to the cook time.
- If your sausage is really lean you may want to add a little spray oil or rub a little butter on the cooking surface.
Tips for Two
Make all the sausages in the package and store some for later. Or air fry only what you’ll eat. Then, properly store the remaining raw sausages in a sealed container or plastic zip-top bag.
How to keep sausages warm without drying them out
If you are making large quantities of sausage for a crowd, preheat your oven to 200 degrees, line a baking sheet with aluminum foil (this makes clean up a breeze) and layer the cooked sausages, placing in the oven. The temperature is low enough to keep warm, but not continue cooking, which is what will dry the sausages out.
What to serve with Air Fry Breakfast Sausage
- Breakfast Sausage Omelet – Add bell peppers, onions, and freshly air fried breakfast sausage to a flavorful omelet.
- The Classic Breakfast Meal – Scramble eggs, enjoy with sausage or crispy bacon, and a side of buttered toast or hash browns —YUM!
- Biscuits and Gravy – Make an easy breakfast of a classic combination – crumble your delicious air fryer sausage and sprinkle it into some sausage gravy. Make flaky biscuits from canned dough, and enjoy!
- These Harvest Grain Pancakes are perfect!
- Pancake Breakfast Charcuterie Board – Check out this darling charcuterie breakfast board, a great way to use these sausages!
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Air Fryer Sausage Links Variations
- Handmade Pork Sausage – Using ground pork, shape into fresh sausages (patties or link shapes) about ¼ inch thick and air fry away!
- Italian Sausage – Pop over to my air fryer Italian sausage and peppers to see how to cook sausage bites!. Adding a little extra time if needed, internal temperature should be 160 degrees when done.
- Maple Syrup – My favorite way to enjoy these fresh patties is with a little real maple syrup, the sweet, savory combo is dreamy! Or try blueberry syrup, takes me back to my childhood.
- Dip into your favorite sauce, try ketchup, sriracha or hot honey.
- Turkey Sausage vs Pork Sausages – Turkey or chicken sausage tends to cook up a little quicker than pork, when using with turkey sausages, start with the lower time.
Storage Tips
Freezer: Once cooked, the cooled sausages can be stored in a freezer baggie or airtight container in the freezer for about two months. Storing the cooked sausages in the freezer is a great idea for meal prep on busy mornings.
Refrigerator: In the fridge, leftover links will keep well for about five days in an airtight container. Microwave them or place them back in the air fryer to heat them up for a quick and easy breakfast.
Reheating PreCooked Sausage Links
To reheat precooked link sausage in air fryer, either store bought or homemade, preheat air fryer to 375 degrees and place pre-cooked air fryer sausages links in air fryer basket without crowding. Air fry 3-5 minutes until sizzling and heated through.
Frequently Asked Questions
You sure can! Place frozen, uncooked breakfast sausage patties or links in the air fryer basket without thawing. Then, set the temperature to 400 degrees F and cook for 10-12 minutes, flipping halfway through. If you like them a little crisper, cook the breakfast patties or links for a few extra minutes. When testing, mine needed about 12 minutes total, start out with less time the first time, as every air fryer cooks a little differently.
Yes, similar to sausage patties, you can cook frozen, raw link sausages in the air fryer as well, similar to frozen sausage patties. Preheat air fryer to 400 degrees and cook for 8-12 minutes, shaking to roll sausages half-way between.
Parchment paper for the air fryer has precut sections to fit the basket and small holes for airflow. While you can technically use regular parchment paper in the air fryer, it may change how it cooks the food inside because the airflow is obstructed.
I recommend poking some holes if using regular parchment paper or using silicone air fryer liners, which are washable.
In my experience, when I want to sear in the juices and flavor into sausage, it’s the same principal used when cooking in a pan. You want the pan hot when the meat hits the pan, so it creates a crust, thereby sealing (searing) in the juices. So for me, I prefer to preheat my air fryer. However; preheating is not required, but you may need to cook a few minutes longer.
The answer to this common question greatly depends on your preference. However, if you’re looking for the easiest and most consistent method for cooking breakfast sausage links or patties, I must say it’s the air fryer.
Cooking sausage on the stovetop in a pan produces crisp outsides with tender meaty inside, no doubt. With the downside of babysitting the pan, turning the sausages as they cook and running that risk of setting off your smoke alarm, like I frequently do!
Breakfast sausage may also be prepared in the oven, but the texture isn’t as satisfying as when fried in the air fryer or stovetop.
Therefore, the air fryer proves to be the easiest way to cook breakfast sausage, using little to no grease, and produces crisp outsides with a tender bite.
More great breakfast recipes
- Easy Breakfast Egg Sandwich Recipe | Breakfast Sliders
- Instant Pot Egg Bites Recipe with Sausage and Cheese
- Overnight Cinnamon Crunch French Toast
- Mock Eggs Benedict
- Healthy Gluten-Free Breakfast Cookies
- Crockpot Cracker Barrel Hashbrown Casserole Recipe
- Easy Pigs in a Blanket Recipe (Air Fryer or Oven)
Every air fryer heats a little differently, so start out with the lower cooking time and add more time as needed.
More from The Fresh Cooky
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Ingredients
- 12 ounces sausage links raw, unfrozen sausage links or patties *see notes for how to make from frozen.
Instructions
Air Fry Sausage Links
- Remove the sausage links from the packaging, preheat air fryer to 375 degrees F. (190 C).
- Transfer the sausage links to the air fryer basket. Make sure that they are not touching, depending on your air fryer you may need to do this in batches.
- Cook at 375 degrees F for 10 minutes. Shaking the basket or flipping them halfway through. Remove to paper towel lined plate and serve. See notes for keeping warm.
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Notes
Nutrition
Tina
My sausage links came perfectly; I found another reason to love my air fryer. Thanks!
Thanks so much Tina, so glad you loved them!
Jessi
Yes! Love using the air fryer for sausage. Thanks for all the great bonus tips too!
You bet!!
Sonal
Air fryer is such a life saver. I tried these sausages in air fryer and it was a game changer.
Yay!
Ned
Breakfast is a tough one to navigate to keep everything warm and on the table at the same time. This helped me so much getting the sausage on with everything else. It was also super delicious! Thank you so much for the great idea.
Thanks so much Ned!!
rebecca
yes! this is so quick, easy, and easy to clean up. love cooking breakfast sausage in the air fryer
Glad you liked it!
Liza
Brilliant recipe! I love being able to make delicious, golden browned link sausage in the air fryer, whenever we want it for breakfast!
Thanks so much Eliza!!