Once you’ve air fried vegan sausage in the air fryer, you won’t want to cook it any other way. The outside of these air fryer plant based sausage links gets crispy while still staying juicy. Perfect for a vegan sausage dog feast!

tongs holding vegan sausage in air fryer

What does vegan sausage in air fryer taste like?

If you’ve had vegan or plant based sausage on a regular basis, you’re familiar with the texture. It can be chewy on the outside. But when air frying these vegan sausages or links, the outside texture can be very different. It’s crispy with a nice snap to it like you would get if they were grilled. The hot circulating air makes each plant based link crisp with a “bite” rather than rubbery and chewy.

different types of air fryer vegan sausage meals

Video: Vegan Sausage in Air Fryer

The world of plant based meat products has grown so much and with so many options. We tested many different brands and there’s some popular one out there. Depending on where you live and available grocery stores, the selection can be limiting. Here’s some options and brands that we tested:

Remove sausage from plastic casings

Some brands have the sausage in plastic casings. You must remove the sausage from the plastic casing. If you forget you obviously know what’s gonna happen: the plastic will melt and burn onto the air fryer and vegan sausage meat!

  • These vegan links or sausage can easily dry out because there’s no “meat fat” in them. And they’re usually healthy based with little fat or oil. But the outside needs an oil spry on top or a brush of oil to keep the sausages from drying out.
  • Pre-heat the air fryer first for about 5 minutes. That way the vegan sausages don’t get dried out. It’s best to heat them quick and hot and the pre-heating definitely helps.
  • If you’re only heating 1 sausage, reduce time a bit because it’ll cook quick.
  • Air frying more than 1 sausage, let’s say about 6, will take more time. So just monitor the sausages and if they need more time, air fry for additional minute or two. These products vary so much in size too. There’s some really small skinny brands and some others like Beyond Meat and Impossible meat that are thicker.
  • All vegan sausage in air fryer recipe details are in the recipe box below.
different types of air fryer vegan sausage meals

Air Fryer Vegan Sausages/Hot Dogs

Some brands of vegan or plant based sausages and hot dogs will have a thicker casing which you’ll want to remove before air frying. It almost feels like a plastic casing (it isn’t but it kind of looks that way). It will be more common to find the thicker casings on the vegan sausages compared to finding them on the hot dogs. 
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.
Nutrition will vary depending on different brands/flavors of vegan sausages and hot dogs.
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Ingredients

  • 4 vegan sausages/hot dogs
  • 4 vegan hot dog buns , optional if serving as a hot dog
  • oil spray , for coating hot dogs

Topping Options For Serving as Hot Dogs

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

Other Serving Options

  • pasta, noodles, on a salad

Equipment

Instructions 

  • If needed, remove the firm casing from the vegan sausages/hot dogs. Some brands have casings that are not pleasant to eat. Read the instructions on your specific brand that you plan on air frying.
    cutting outside of vegan sausage
  • Put the vegan sausages/hot dogs in air fryer basket/tray in a single layer. Lightly coat the vegan sausages/hot dogs with oil spray.
    oil spray over plant based sausages
  • Air Fry at 380°F/193°C for 5 minutes. Flip or shake the basket to turn the vegan sausages/hot dogs.
    turning vegan sausage
  • Continue to Air Fry at 380°F/193°C for another 2-5 minutes, or to your liking.
    cooked air fryer plant based sausages
  • If serving as a vegan hot dog, either warm the buns separately in the fryer for 1 minute if you like the inside of the bun crispy. Or place the vegan sausages/hot dogs in the buns and put back in the air fryer. Then Air Fry for about 1 minute for the buns to warm and crisp.
    holding vegan sausage dogs
  • You can also serve the sausage on pasta, noodles or on a salad.
    serving plant based sausage dishes

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: 235kcal, Carbohydrates: 13g, Protein: 25g, Fat: 9g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 1g, Sodium: 601mg, Potassium: 211mg, Sugar: 2g, Calcium: 50mg, Iron: 2mg
holding plant based air fryer sausages in bun and lettuce

Air Fryer Vegan Hot Dogs

We have some great tips and techniques for air frying plant based hot dogs! Here’s our article on making air fryer vegan hot dogs.

Oh the delicious possibilities are endless! Serve them with anything you want and just treat then like regular meat. Here’s some delish ideas:

  • Make vegan sausage dogs by buying vegan buns. We love vegan pretzel buns from Pretzilla.
  • Chop them up and add them to vegan eggs.
  • Serve them with a vegan tortilla and salsa for a vegan sausage taco.
  • Cook them in a tomato sauce for a vegan spaghetti or pasta dish.
  • Add them to a nice green salad for lunch. A little extra protein is a good idea.

Vegan Plant Based Recipes

air frying plant based meat products and vegan meats are all the rage now. Lots of folks are trying to eat less meat and choosing alternative plant based options. Check out all our air fryer vegan recipes here.