Air Fryer Italian Sausage

Cooking Italian sausage in the air fryer is a game-changer, friends. Not that frying it up in a skillet is exactly hard but because the air fryer cooks by circulating hot air all around the food, there’s no better way to get a fabulously crispy exterior.

Another advantage of using an air fryer for cooking Italian sausage is that you don’t have to add any oil to get that perfect bite. In contrast, air fryer potato wedges and air fryer green beans need a small amount of oil to achieve a crispy texture; however, the natural fat content in the sausage is all that’s needed.

Air Fryer Italian Sausage

Crispy exterior and juicy interior. In other words, perfectly cooked Italian sausage! The hot circulating air cooks the sausage evenly from all sides, ensuring that every bite is cooked to perfection.

Hands-off cooking with easy cleanup. When you cook sausages in a skillet, you have to keep turning them so that they brown evenly. They may stick to the pan and spatter over the stove. Air fryer Italian sausages are pretty much hands-off with just one flip at the halfway point. (And don’t worry if you forget to do even that! I’ve been there, believe me, and they still turn out.)

So many meal options. The world is your oyster with air fryer Italian sausage! From pasta to hoagies and pizza, the possibilities are endless.

Ingredient Notes

Raw Italian Sausage Links: You can use turkey or pork Italian sausage—sweet, hot, or any other flavor or variety you like! Be sure to try air fryer brats, too. Note that this recipe is for raw sausages, not smoked sausages which are already fully cooked.

Cooking Different Types of Sausage

You can cook any type of raw sausage in the air fryer. Just note that you’ll need to adjust the cooking time according to the size of the sausages. Smaller links will need less time to cook.

Cooking a Different Amount of Sausage

Although this recipe calls for 5 sausage links, you can cook as many as will comfortably fit in your air fryer basket. Just be sure each link has space on all sides for air to circulate. On the other hand, you can also cook just 1 or 2 sausages if that’s all you need.

How To Make Air Fryer Italian Sausage

Arrange the sausages in a single layer in the air fryer basket. 

Cook at 360ºF for 6 minutes. Flip each sausage and continue cooking for another 6 to 8 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 165ºF on an instant read thermometer.

Serve immediately.

How To Air Fry Frozen Italian Sausage

You can air fry frozen Italian sausage with thawing them first. If the sausages are stuck to the packaging, run a bit of water over the package to loosen them. If the sausages are stuck together, air fry them for a few minutes and you should be able to easily separate them. Add a few extra minutes to the cooking time.

Serving Suggestions

• Pasta: Serve the cooked Italian sausages with fresh tomato pasta, or your favorite pasta and store-bought sauce for an easy weeknight meal.
• Sandwiches: Tuck the sausages into hoagie buns with sautéed bell peppers and onions.
• Pizza: Use sliced air fried Italian sausage as a topping for homemade or frozen pizza. Bonus points for homemade pizza crust!
• Vegetable Sides: Round out your dinner by adding a veggie side dish like cheese and pesto stuffed zucchini, marinated mushrooms, or lemon roasted broccoli with Parmesan.
• Grains: Add protein to Instant Pot risotto or Instant Pot polenta with sliced Italian sausage.

Storage & Reheating Tips

Refrigerate/Freeze: If you have cooked sausages left over, store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or in the freezer, for up to 3 months.

Reheat: Place the Italian sausages in the air fryer and cook at 400ºF for 2 to 3 minutes, until heated through. Alternatively, you can heat them in a skillet over medium heat or in the microwave.