We love a good air fryer cheese hot dog. Those plump hot dogs filled with cheese oozing out when it’s cooked. We’re like kids again and never pass up on air fryer cheese dogs! Air frying cheese hot dogs are so easy and they crisp so well. It’s a game changer to air fry these within 5 minutes.

holding air fryer cheese dogs with tongs

Simple Air Fryer Cheese Dogs

This is seriously one of the easiest ways to cook hot dogs: by air frying them. The hot circulating air cook the cheese dogs perfectly and within minutes they are way better than microwaving. They’re almost as good as grilling them without having to have a grill or fussing with the grill. If you need to cook multiple hot dogs at once to a great texture, then air frying is the way to go.

plated air fryer cheese dogs with pickles

What brands of cheese dogs can you air fry?

Pretty much any brand of cheese dogs can be air fried. There’s so many brands out there but we tested two popular brands and they worked out great: Oscar Mayer and Johnsonville. These air fryer cheese hot dogs are so good! It’s hard to eat just one.

brands of cheese or cheddar dogs

Video: Easy Air Fryer Cheese Dogs

Should you score the cheese hot dogs?

Unlike the regular hot dogs that can benefit from being scored, we don’t suggest scoring the cheese dogs. Why? Because all the precious cheese can ooze out and you can lose alot of the cheese. So keep it simple and just air fry the whole cheese dogs without any scoring.

Tips for Air Frying Cheese Hot Dogs

  • Like we mentioned before, don’t score the cheese hot dogs. You’ll lose all the delicious cheese when it cooks. You want all the golden cheese goodness to be contained in the hot dog and not all over the air fryer basket.
  • Don’t stack the hot dogs. Try to keep them in a single layer so that they can cook evenly all the way around.
  • Make sure to warm the hot dog buns! That’s the best part is to make the buns warm and slightly crispy. It only takes an extra minute or two to warm in the air fryer. You won’t be sorry.
  • Try different condiments and have fun with toppings.
plated air fryer cheese dogs with pickles

Air Fryer Cheese Dogs

Yield: 4 servings
Prep Time: 2 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 12 minutes
These air fried cheese hot dogs are so good! You can cook the hot dogs to whatever doneness you like. Just check them halfway through the cooking time and adjust the remainder of your time to your personal taste and texture.
If you like your hot dogs extra crispy (similar to grilled hot dogs), Air Fry at 400°F/205°C for about total of about 5-8 minutes. Flip the hot dogs after the first 4 minutes. However, the cheese may ooze out of the hot dogs more with the hotter heat.
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Ingredients

Topping Options for Serving

  • ketchup, mustard, BBQ sauce, pickles, jalapeños, sauteed onion, crispy onions or shallots, hot sauce, bell peppers, etc.

Equipment

Instructions 

  • Place the cheese hot dogs in air fryer basket/tray in a single layer.
    plain air fryer cheese dogs in basket
  • Lightly spray cheese hot dogs with oil spray.
    oil spray on air fryer cheese dogs
  • Air Fry at 380°F/193°C for 4 minutes. Shake or flip the cheese hot dogs.
    flipping and turning air fryer cheese dogs
  • Continue to Air Fry for another 1-3 minutes, depending on your preferred texture and size of cheese hot dogs.
    cooked cheese hot dogs
  • Place cheese hot dogs in the buns and put back in the air fryer. Air Fry for about 1 minute for the buns to warm and crisp. Or warm the buns separately if you like the inside of the bun crispy. Serve with your favorite toppings!
    cheese hot dogs in buns warmed

Notes

One note about the hot dogs: they are sold in different sizes and lengths! So after you cook your first batch, you’ll know exactly how long to cook your future batches in the air fryer.

If your air fryer is preheated or if you are cooking multiple batches, you may need to reduce timing by a few minutes (unless preheating is called for in the recipe).

Video

YouTube video

Nutrition Information per Serving

Calories: 236kcal, Carbohydrates: 20g, Protein: 10g, Fat: 14g, Saturated Fat: 4g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 2g, Cholesterol: 30mg, Sodium: 616mg, Potassium: 68mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 4g, Calcium: 40mg, Iron: 2mg
Course: Sandwiches, Snack
Cuisine: American
Calories: 236
air fried cheese dogs in buns in air fryer basket

Why did the cheese hot dogs explode during air frying?

This is a very vaild question and it can happen to you! It’s probably because your air fryer cooks really hot or because it’s smaller and the hot dogs are too close to the heating element. This can cause the hot dogs to cook too quick and make it pop leaving all the cheese inside the air fryer basket or tray. So if it does happen, be patient and clean the inside of the air fryer. Then cook it a little lower, about 15 degrees lower in temp to avoid over cooking the precious cheese hot dogs during air frying. Here’s an interesting article on the history of hot dogs.

Make Chili Cheese Dogs

Can you get enough of one good cheese dogs? Not really because you can amp this up by adding some chili to it and make it a chili double cheese dog. It’s so easy to make a batch of chili or even buy a can. Just adding some chili and more cheese takes these hot dogs to another level.

More Easy Hot Dog Recipes: