How to cook air fryer chicken sausage in minutes. This is a delicious meal that is an easy dinner idea and perfect for a busy weeknight. I personally love cooking chicken sausage links as it’s a great option for meal prep. They are such a healthy lunch idea and can be used in a variety of different ways. I’ll share the chicken sausage links I personally love and the best way to serve them as a main meal. If you love easy air fryer recipes, you may also love these garlic parmesan chicken skewers, air fryer chicken tenderloins, or air fryer boneless chicken thighs.
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Growing up my mom used to make this amazing beef sausage, peppers and onion dish in a sweet tomato sauce that she served over rice. It was truly one of my favorite meals she made because of the richness and layers of flavor. However, as I got older and aimed to replicate that meal, I knew whatever alternative I tried not only had to be tasty but sill fit within my macro based eating plan.
WHY AIR FRYER SAUSAGES
Simply because it’s a great (and simple) main dish that the entire family can enjoy. Most of the legwork is already done for you by using pre-made chicken sausages and the only thing you’ll have to decide is how best to serve them up. The flavorful chicken sausage cook in minutes and are healthier alternative to traditional pork sausages. As an added bonus, most chicken sausage brands make a wide variety of flavors that you can easily choose from based on the type of meal you’re making.
WHAT BRAND OF CHICKEN SAUSAGES
Typically the main question I get when making these juicy sausages is “what is the best type of chicken sausage to use”? Well I have a few favorite brands I personally love and would recommend given their nutritional information. The first brand I’d recommend is Aidells chicken sausage. I personally love the chicken and apple sausage, which happens to be the links I used for this recipe. The apple and chicken sausage comes in at 170 calories and has 13g of protein per serving (1 link).
The second brand I love is Applegate dinner sausage. They also have a chicken and apple dinner sausage that is perfectly sweet and savory and would work really well for this cooking method. Lastly Alfresco chicken dinner sausage is another great sausage for this main dish. The best part is that all of these brands make their dinner sausage minimally processed with no added fillers or antibiotics. All of these brands can be easily found at your local grocery stores.
HOW TO SERVE AIR FRYER CHICKEN SAUSAGE RECIPE
There are a few options you can use to serve air fry chicken sausages. I personally love pairing them with some sautéed bell peppers and serving over jasmine rice with a drizzle of low sugar barbecue sauce.
However some additional side dishes that work well with this healthy recipe are:
- Sweet potatoes – the sweetness of the potato pairs well with the subtle sweetness in the chicken apple sausage. For a different twist, try Japanese sweet potato or purple sweet potatoes.
- Green beans – use Italian style green beans and stir together with the chicken sausage to make a quick and hearty stir fry
- Cauliflower rice – if you want to stay low carb, cauliflower rice is a great way to add some additional nutrition but keeping it low carb
- Pasta dish – the Italian chicken sausage flavor would work very nicely in any pasta dish. Simply add your favorite jarred tomato sauce and any cut of whole wheat pasta.
HOW TO COOK AIR FRYER CHICKEN SAUSAGE
Follow these step-by-step instructions to get crispy and juicy chicken sausage.
Open the package of the dinner sausage and place in the air fryer basket in a single layer. Spray the tops of the sausage with some olive oil. This will help get a crispy skin.
Next, set the air fryer to 400 degrees and air fry the sausages for 4 minutes. After 4 minutes, open the air fryer and check the sausages and flip once to ensure an even crispness. Spray with olive oil again and cook for approximately another 4 minutes. Total cook time will be approximately 8-10 minutes depending on the thickness of the chicken sausage.
Once the sausages have cooked through, remove from the air fryer and allow to cool for 1-2 minutes before enjoying!
HOW TO STORE LEFTOVER CHICKEN SAUSAGES
Storing leftover chicken sausages is really simple. Once the sausages have completely cooled and come to room temperature, place in an airtight container. You can place the sausages in a container alone, or if meal prepping, portion out the right amount in a single container works well too. Place the lid on top and store in the fridge for 3-4 days.
If you make this recipe, please leave me a comment down below how you liked it! Let’s also stay connected, feel free to follow me on my social channels: Instagram, YouTube and Pinterest.
Air Fryer Chicken Sausage
Equipment
- 1 air fryer
Ingredients
- 1 pkg Chicken Sausage
Optional Ingredients
- 1 Green bell pepper sliced
- 1 Red bell pepper sliced
- 1 Yellow bell pepper
- 1/2 Onion sliced
Instructions
- Open the package of the dinner sausage and place in the air fryer basket in a single layer.
- Spray the tops of the sausage with some olive oil. This will help get a crispy skin.
- Next, set the air fryer to 400 degrees and air fry the sausages for 4 minutes. After 4 minutes, open the air fryer and check the sausages and flip once to ensure an even crispness.
- Spray with olive oil again and cook for approximately another 4 minutes.
- Total cook time will be approximately 8-10 minutes depending on the thickness of the chicken sausage.
- Once the sausages have cooked through, remove from the air fryer and allow to cool for 1-2 minutes before enjoying!
Optional
- Sautee bell peppers and onions until they have wilted and are soft
- Serve chicken sausage over bell peppers
I more then doubled the time in order to make the sausage well done enough for our liking.
Hi Arlene! Yes, cooking times will vary based on type of sausage used and personal preference of “doneness”. Hope you enjoyed!
Does the air fryer need to be preheated? Also, do you recommend poking a couple of holes in the sausages or will they not split while cooking?
Hi Jessica! The air fryer does not need to be preheated but you can pre-heat if you’d like. Also I wouldn’t recommend poking holes in the sausages as that will allow the juices to run from them making them drier. The sausages I used did not split while cooking however note that every brand may cook differently. I hope that helps!