Oh you’re going to love this air fryer sausage and peppers recipe! It’s like a mean all in one and super delicious. This air fryer bratwurst sausage is cooked in under 15 minutes. You’ll love it as much as we do. Promise! It’s even easier than cooking them stovetop or on the grill and has even less mess.

air fryer sausage peppers and onion in basket

Air Fryer Sausage or Bratwurst: What’s the difference?

First of all, this recipe is starting with sausage that has not been cooke yet, so it’s raw. When it comes to sausage vs bratwurst the main differences are these:

  • Sausages cover a big category of ground meat in casings. Bratwursts are a type of German sausage. But not all sausage are bratwursts.
  • Some sausages have both artificial and natural intestine casings, whereas bratwursts are usually always in natural casings in animal intestine or animal skin.
  • Bratwursts usually bigger than most average sausages and brats have more spices and herbs.
  • But for this article, you can air fry all types of sausages or brats. Sweet Italian sausage, Chicken sausage and turkey sausage is great too.
  • Here’s a great article about history of sausages
air fryer sausage

Video: Air Fryer Sausage with pepper and onions:

Tips on How to Air Fry Sausage or with Peppers and Onions

  • We like throwing in some thick sliced peppers and onions when air frying sausages. But you don’t have to.
  • If you want to just air fry the sausages or brats on their own without veggies, then the timing still remains the same.
  • To keep the sausages from bursting, we like to poke a few holes in the before air frying. Using a toothpick solves the problem and keeps the sausages from bursting during air frying.
  • Make sure to keep the sausages in a single layer so that they can cook evenly. Don’t stack them or fill the air fryer too much. When the sausages overlap, they’ll cook un-evenly and less crispy.
  • If you want to cook a lot of sausages in the air fryer but have a small air fryer, then just cook in batches. This will ensure that each sausage tastes great with a great “snap”.
  • Depending on how you like your veggies cooked, they may finish sooner than the sausage. Remove the veggies from the air fryer when they are to your liking and the continue cooking sausages until they are to your perference.
  • Use a meat thermometer to read the internal temperature of the sausage.
  • All air fryer sausage recipe details are in the recipe box below.
air fryer sausage peppers and onion in basket

Air Fryer Italian Sausage with Peppers & Onions

Yield: 3 Servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 18 minutes
Total Time: 28 minutes
Add as many peppers and onions as your air fryer allows, but make sure to not crowd the basket too much. Veggies will shrink as they cook, but they still need space between them to crisp and cook evenly. Cooking in batches works better for smaller air fryers.
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Ingredients

  • 1 pound (454 g) sausage , about 2-3 links
  • 1 bell pepper , seeds removed and cut in thick strips
  • 1 onion , sliced thick
  • 2 teaspoons (10 ml) olive oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 ml) dried herbs
  • 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 ml) garlic powder
  • salt , to taste
  • fresh cracked black pepper , to taste
  • olive oil or oil spray , for coating

Equipment

Instructions 

  • Preheat air fryer at 380°F/193°C for 5 minutes.
    Touching screen to preheat air fryer
  • In a bowl combine peppers, onions, olive oil, herbs, garlic powder, salt and pepper.
    Pouring oil over bowl of peppers and onion
  • Using a toothpick poke a few holes around the sausages. Coat outside of sausage links with olive oil or oil spray.
    Poking raw sausage with toothpick
  • Spray the air fryer basket/tray with oil.
    Spraying air fryer basket with oil
  • Lay sausages inside basket/tray and lay veggies around the sausage.
    Uncooked sausage, peppers, and onion in air fryer basket
  • Air Fry at 380°F/193°C for 8 minutes. Flip the sausage and stir the veggies.
    Turning half cooked sausage, peppers, and onion in air fryer basket
  • Continue to Air Fry for another 4-6 minutes or until sausages are cooked through (if the veggies look like they are going to finish cooking earlier than the sausage, then pull out the veggies sooner.) Poke a hole through the center of the sausage to make sure the juices run clear or check the internal temperature with an instant read thermometer to see if they are 165°F/74°C.
    Checking internal sausage temperature with instant read thermometer
  • If sausage is not cooked enough, Air Fry for another 2-6 minutes, or until cooked through.
    Fully cooked sausage in air fryer basket

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: 517kcal, Carbohydrates: 6g, Protein: 24g, Fat: 44g, Saturated Fat: 14g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g, Monounsaturated Fat: 20g, Trans Fat: 0.3g, Cholesterol: 109mg, Sodium: 966mg, Potassium: 520mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 3g, Vitamin A: 1362IU, Vitamin C: 55mg, Calcium: 28mg, Iron: 2mg
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Calories: 517

What kind of sausages

Generally for this recipe, you’ll want to use Italian sausage or other uncooked savory sausage links. Often they are pork sausage, but chicken, turkey, or whatever you’re favorite sausage is works great. If you are using pre-cooked sausages, we suggest cutting them into bite sized pieces and then air frying with the peppers and onions. You’ll usually reduce cooking time some for pre-cooked sausages.

How do you know when the sausages are done?

There are a few ways to test the sausages. You can always make a cut into one and see if the meat is cooked through. Great if it is just for yourself, or at least just test the one you plan on eating.

You can poke the cooked sausage with a toothpick or similar and if the juices run clean, the sausage is usually done.

A little more accurate of a method is to use an instant read thermometer. Poke it in the center of the sausage and if the temperature is 160°F for pork, or 165°F for chicken or turkey, the FDA says it is cooked through. Personally we like to cook any of the sausages to 165°F/74°C.

Air Fryer Sausage with peppers and onions on a plate

What to serve with air fried sausages?

There’s so many ways to enjoy air frying sausages. The possibilities are endless and delicious.

  • Sausage is great in sandwiches or served in a hot dog bun or roll. Add the peppers, onions and some mustard. Fantastic!
  • These are a great snack or appetizer and best of all, they’re low carb and keto friendly. Cut them into slices for the appetizer.
  • They’re great for breakfast or brunch and a quick way to cook several sausages at once. Air fried breakfast sausages are fantastic!
  • Serve them with air fried potatoes, tater tots or air fryer fries.
  • We love slicing them then adding them as a pizza topping. Check out all our easy air fryer pizza recipes here.
  • Cut them up into small bites and top them on pasta or rice. Kids love noodles with some sausage on top with pasta sauce. This is a great way to cook air fryer sausage links or even air fryer sausage patties for the kids.

Why is your air fryer smoking?

When cooking pork sausage, the grease can often cause the air fryer to smoke. Even in an air fryer oven, the splattering grease can hit the heating element which causes smoke. Using parchment paper under the sausage can help as it helps absorb some of the oil. Read our article on smoking air fryers and what to do to minimize the smoke.

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