Air Fryer Sausages

Golden brown sausages in 12 minutes with no oil and no spitting pan. Why you should never prick them, when to turn them, and the gap that stops them steaming.

Prep

2 min

Cook

14 min

Total

16 min

Serves

4

Ingredients

• 8 thick pork sausages (about 450g)

Method

1. Separate any linked sausages so each one has air round it.
2. Lay them in the air fryer basket in a single layer with a gap between each. No oil — there is plenty of fat in them already.
3. Air fry at 180°C (355°F) for 12-14 minutes.
4. Turn them over at 6 minutes so they brown evenly.
5. They are done when deep golden brown all over and the thickest part reads 75°C (165°F).
6. Rest for a minute before serving, or cut one open to check it is cooked through.

Notes

• Do not prick them. Every UK source agrees on this: pricking lets the fat and juices run out and you end up with a dry sausage. The old oven advice does not apply here.
• No oil needed at all. Sausages render plenty of their own.
• Chipolatas and thin sausages need 8-10 minutes, not 12-14. Check them at 7.
• Sources differ on heat: Liana's Kitchen use 180°C (355°F) for 10 minutes, Taming Twins 200°C (390°F) for 15. 180°C (355°F) for 12-14 is the middle, and it browns without splitting the skins.
• Space between them matters more than it looks. Touching sausages steam where they meet and stay pale there.
• Air fryer models vary. Treat the times as a guide, go by colour and crispness, and adjust the seasoning to your taste.

Watch it

More Air Fryer Pork & Bacon

• Perfect Air Fryer Bacon10 min · serves 2
• Air Fryer Gammon Steak15 min · serves 2
• Air Fryer Pigs in Blankets22 min · serves 6
• Air Fryer Pork Belly Bites30 min · serves 3
• Air Fryer Pork Chops18 min · serves 2
• Air Fryer Pork Ribs50 min · serves 2

Air fryer models vary in power and basket size, so treat the times here as a guide — go by colour and crispness rather than the clock, and adjust the seasoning and glaze to your taste.

Recipe source: Method corroborated across published UK air-fryer recipes: Liana's Kitchen (lianaskitchen.co.uk), Taming Twins (tamingtwins.com) and Flawless Food (flawlessfood.co.uk). Thick pork sausages, no oil, single layer, turned halfway. Both Liana's Kitchen and Taming Twins explicitly say NOT to prick them, because the fat and juices run out — which contradicts the older oven advice most people grew up with. They differ on heat: Liana's Kitchen use 180°C (355°F) for 10 minutes, Taming Twins 200°C (390°F) for 15. The 12-14 minutes at 180°C (355°F) given here is the corroborated middle for thick sausages; chipolatas need 8-10.