Smoked sausage is one of those foods that doesn’t need much work to turn into a quick meal. Put it in the air fryer, give it a few minutes, and you can get a nicely browned outside without standing over a frying pan.
For fully cooked smoked sausage, start with 400°F (204°C) for 8–10 minutes. Turn the sausages about halfway through and check them toward the end. Thin links may be ready sooner, while thicker ones can need another minute or two.
One thing is worth checking before you start: Is your smoked sausage already cooked? Many are, but not all of them. Look at the package first. If it’s uncooked, you’ll need to check the internal temperature rather than simply warming it until the outside looks good.
What You’ll Need
There’s very little prep involved:
- Smoked sausage
- Air fryer
- Tongs
- Food thermometer if the sausage is uncooked
- Knife and cutting board if you want to slice it
You usually won’t need oil. Smoked sausage already contains fat, and some of it will render as the sausage heats.
How to Air Fry Smoked Sausage
Start by Checking the Package
This takes a few seconds and can save you from making an important mistake.
Look for words such as fully cooked, ready-to-eat, uncooked, or cook before eating.
If it’s fully cooked, you’re mainly warming the sausage and getting some color on the outside.
If it’s uncooked, treat it like raw sausage and cook it to the proper internal temperature. According to the USDA sausage safety guidelines, uncooked sausage made from beef, pork, lamb, or veal should reach 160°F (71°C). Chicken and turkey sausage should reach 165°F (74°C).
Preheat to 400°F
If your air fryer benefits from preheating, set it to 400°F (204°C) and give it about 3 minutes.
Don’t worry if your particular model doesn’t require preheating. Air fryers vary, and the manufacturer’s instructions are the better guide for your machine.
Whole or Sliced? Both Work
You don’t have to cut smoked sausage before air frying it.
I prefer leaving the links whole when they’re going into buns or being served as the main part of the meal. Slicing makes more sense when the sausage is going into pasta, rice, eggs, or vegetables.
If you do slice it, keep the pieces roughly the same thickness. Smaller pieces have more exposed surface, so they’ll brown faster than a whole link.
There’s also no need to poke holes all over the sausage. Leaving the casing intact helps keep the juices where you want them—inside the sausage.
Give the Sausages Some Room
Lay the sausages in the basket in one layer.
They don’t need huge gaps between them, and it’s fine if they’re touching a little. Just don’t pile them on top of each other.
That space gives the hot air a chance to move around the food and brown more than just the top.
Cook for 8–10 Minutes
Air fry the sausage at 400°F for 8–10 minutes, turning it around the halfway point.
Take a look at it after about 8 minutes. If the outside is nicely browned and a fully cooked sausage is hot through the center, you’re done.
If it needs more color or heat, give it another minute and check again.
That’s more reliable than automatically cooking every sausage for exactly 10 minutes. A skinny chicken sausage and a thick pork link simply won’t behave exactly the same way.
If you’re cooking uncooked sausage, don’t use browning as your doneness test. Check the center with a thermometer.
How Long Does Smoked Sausage Take in the Air Fryer?
Eight to ten minutes at 400°F works as a starting point for many refrigerated, fully cooked smoked sausages.
But there are a few reasons yours might finish earlier or later.
A thick link takes longer to heat through than a thin one. Sliced sausage tends to brown quickly. Putting a lot of food in a small basket can also change how it cooks.
Your air fryer matters too. Anyone who has used two different models knows that the same temperature and time don’t always produce identical results.
So use the timer as a reminder to check the sausage, not as proof that it’s done.
Want More Browned Edges? Slice It
If crispy, browned edges are your favorite part, cut the sausage into thick slices before putting it in the basket.
Spread the pieces out rather than stacking them. Turn or shake them partway through cooking.
Keep an eye on them toward the end because sliced sausage can go from nicely browned to dry faster than a whole link.
You don’t need to pour oil over the pieces to make this work.
If crispy air-fryer food is your thing, you can also try our fried cheese curds in an air fryer.
What About Frozen Smoked Sausage?
You can use the air fryer for frozen smoked sausage too, but I wouldn’t give every frozen sausage the same exact cooking time.
First, check the label. You still need to know whether you’re dealing with a fully cooked product or an uncooked one.
If the sausages are frozen together, warm them just enough that you can separate them, then spread them around the basket. They’ll need longer than refrigerated links, so check them as they cook rather than assuming they’re ready after a certain number of minutes.
With uncooked frozen sausage, a thermometer is especially useful.
If you like the convenience of cooking straight from the freezer, our guides on how to cook frozen egg rolls and how to cook frozen asparagus can help with a couple of other easy options.
A Few Things That Make a Difference
Smoked sausage isn’t difficult to air fry, but these details can improve the result.
Don’t pack the basket. If you’re cooking enough sausage for several people, two batches are better than one overcrowded batch.
Turn the links once. You don’t have to constantly move them around. One turn halfway through is usually enough to help with even browning.
Don’t chase crispiness for too long. If the outside already looks good, extra cooking time can start drying out the center.
Check uncooked sausage with a thermometer. The outside can brown before the middle is safely cooked.
And don’t assume the word “smoked” means the sausage is ready-to-eat. The package will tell you what you’re working with.
Easy Ways to Serve It
Smoked sausage can go in a lot more than a bun.
Slice it over rice with peppers and onions for a quick dinner. Add it to pasta, serve it with roasted potatoes, or pair it with eggs in the morning.
It also goes well with broccoli, asparagus, sauerkraut, mac and cheese, and other simple sides. Our how to steam broccoli in an Instant Pot guide is useful if you want a quick vegetable alongside the sausage.
For breakfast, sausage and eggs are hard to overcomplicate. If you want something a little different, browse our Mexican breakfast ideas for more ways to build a filling morning meal.
And yes, a bun still works perfectly well. Add mustard and onions and dinner is basically done.
Reheating Leftover Smoked Sausage
If you’ve already cooked the sausage and just need to warm up leftovers, you don’t need to go back to 400°F.
Try 350°F for about 3–4 minutes. Turn it once and check it early so you don’t dry it out.
Thicker links may need another minute.
The USDA recommends reheating leftovers to 165°F (74°C).
The air fryer is useful for plenty of leftovers that tend to dry out in the microwave. If that’s something you deal with often, our guide on how to reheat ribs is another one worth keeping around.
Storing Leftovers
Put leftover cooked sausage in a covered container and get it into the refrigerator promptly.
The USDA leftover food safety guidance recommends using most refrigerated cooked leftovers within 3–4 days.
If you know you won’t finish the sausage within that time, freezing it makes more sense than letting it sit forgotten at the back of the refrigerator.
Cleaning Up the Grease
Smoked sausage will usually leave some grease behind. That’s normal.
Once the air fryer has cooled, remove the basket and wipe away excess grease before washing it according to your manufacturer’s directions.
If you’re making several batches and grease starts building up, deal with it before it becomes enough to smoke.
That’s about it. No greasy stovetop and no pan to scrub.
Final Thoughts
If the sausage in your refrigerator is already fully cooked, air frying it is pretty straightforward: 400°F, about 8–10 minutes, and turn it once halfway through.
After that, use your eyes instead of being ruled by the timer. If it’s hot through the middle and has the browning you want, take it out. Another few minutes won’t necessarily make it better.
The only part I wouldn’t guess about is whether the sausage started out fully cooked. Check the package, and if it’s uncooked, get the thermometer out.
Once you’ve done that, the rest really is easy.
Frequently Asked Questions
No, not usually. Smoked sausage generally contains enough fat to brown without adding oil.
There’s normally no reason to. Piercing the casing can let juices escape. Unless your sausage package specifically tells you to pierce it, leave it alone.
Absolutely. Sliced sausage browns quickly and is useful for pasta, rice, eggs, and vegetables. Check it earlier than you would whole links.
Heat causes the contents of the sausage to expand, and occasionally the casing splits. Overcooking can make this worse. Start checking toward the lower end of the cooking range instead of leaving the sausage in longer than necessary.
Read the package. Look for wording such as “fully cooked” or “ready-to-eat.” If it says “uncooked” or “cook before eating,” it needs to be properly cooked before serving.
For uncooked sausage made from beef, pork, lamb, or veal, the USDA recommends 160°F (71°C). Uncooked chicken and turkey sausage should reach 165°F (74°C).
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