Vegan Sausage in Air Fryer
Buy our air fryer e-cookbooks today 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!
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.
Video: Vegan Sausage in Air Fryer
Best brands of plant based sausages or links to air fry?
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!
Tips on Making Air Fryer Plant Based Sausage or Links
- 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.
Air Fryer Vegan Sausages/Hot Dogs
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
- Oil Sprayer , optional
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.
- 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.
- Air Fry at 380°F/193°C for 5 minutes. Flip or shake the basket to turn the vegan sausages/hot dogs.
- Continue to Air Fry at 380°F/193°C for another 2-5 minutes, or to your liking.
- 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.
- You can also serve the sausage on pasta, noodles or on a salad.
Notes
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
Nutrition Information per Serving
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.
What to serve with the Meatless sausage links?
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.
