Frozen breakfast sausage is something I feel like I always have on hand. It’s great since you can just portion out and cook what you need, when you need it! To make it even easier, I make air fryer frozen sausage patties like Jimmy Dean, because it comes out juicy, browned, and delicious!
Why Make Frozen Sausage Patties in the Air Fryer
Let’s face it, frozen breakfast sausage patties are just so convenient, and Jimmy Dean sausage in the air fryer is even better! Of course, links are great too, but patties are perfect solo, on breakfast sandwiches, and on sliders, so I feel they’re just a little more versatile.
Most commercially frozen sausage patties are pre-cooked, which means that really you’re just heating them up and browning them. For a fresh option, check out my Air Fryer Turkey Breakfast Sausage patties, which are also simple to make!
Air fryer sausage patties are generally ready in about 10 minutes when cooked from frozen (unless they’re incredibly thick), and you don’t even need to defrost them! If you do happen to have raw frozen sausage patties, it still only takes about 15 minutes.
That’s a quick breakfast with no fuss, and no standing in front of the stove or cleanup of splatter mess required! Perfect for busy mornings, and an easy air fryer recipe even for beginners!
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Ingredients List
- Frozen sausage patties (such as Jimmy Dean or Banquet)
Ingredient Notes
- You only need some frozen sausage patties. Flavor and meat type doesn’t matter, so choose your favorite. There’s original, maple, and spicy flavors, and pork sausage patties, turkey sausage, and even chicken breakfast sausage just to name a few!
- Brand doesn’t make much difference either. If you get thinner patties (like Great Value) they make take 2-3 minutes less time to cook through. Otherwise, use your favorite sausage patty, like Jimmy Dean, Brown ‘N Serve, Smithfield, Swaggerty’s, or Tennessee Pride
- This also works with frozen vegetarian breakfast sausage just as well, like Morningstar Farm or Beyond patties
- A serving size is typically 2 frozen breakfast sausage patties so adjust the quantity based on how many you’re feeding. No additional cooking time is needed if you do more (so long as they fit in your air fryer comfortably)
- If you use defrosted or refrigerated precooked sausage patties then cut the cooking time down to 8 minutes to start. Many brands offer both options
How to Cook Frozen Sausage Patties in Air Fryer
- Preheat your air fryer to 375°F (or 380°F, depending on your air fryer’s available settings)
- Place frozen sausage patties in the preheated air fryer basket in a single layer, allowing some air space between them. Cook in batches if needed; don’t overcrowd
- Cook on air fry setting for 10 minutes at 375°F, pausing to flip halfway. If your frozen sausage patties are raw instead of precooked, cook for 15 minutes instead, or until the internal temperature reaches 160°F per a meat thermometer or instant read thermometer
- If you desire a deeper level of browning, you may add additional cooking time in 1-minute increments until it reaches the desired level
- Serve with your favorite breakfast or brunch items!
Pairing Suggestions
Air fryer frozen sausage patties are savory, convenient, and incredibly versatile. Serve them as part of a classic breakfast or brunch spread, pair them with sweet morning favorites, or crumble and use them in everything from burritos to casseroles.
Classic Breakfast Pairings
- Eggs: Scrambled, fried, or folded into an omelet, eggs are a natural match for sausage
- Hash browns: Crispy potatoes make any sausage breakfast more filling! Try Air Fryer Hash Browns and Eggs for the best of both worlds!
- Breakfast hash: Chop the patties and toss them with potatoes, peppers, onions, and eggs!
- Biscuits and gravy: Serve sausage patties alongside, or crumble them into the gravy for even more savory flavor.
- French toast casserole: The sweet and savory combination is perfect for brunch
- Pancakes or waffles: Add maple syrup for a classic sweet-and-salty breakfast
- Fresh fruit: A lighter, refreshing option to balance the richness of the sausage!
Breakfast Sandwiches & Handhelds
- Breakfast sandwich: Layer a sausage patty with egg and cheese on an English muffin, biscuit, croissant, or bagel
- Breakfast burrito: Wrap crumbled sausage with eggs, cheese, potatoes, and your favorite toppings
- Breakfast tacos: Add sausage, scrambled eggs, cheese, avocado, and salsa to warm tortillas!
- Stuffed crescent rolls: Wrap sausage and cheese in crescent dough for an easy handheld breakfast
- Empanada or pierogi filling: Crumble cooked sausage into the filling for a hearty, savory twist
- Breakfast bombs: Add cheese, wrap the sausage in bacon, and cook until hot and crispy
Hearty Breakfast Recipes
- Quiche: Crumbled sausage is an easy substitute for ham (see my recipe for Air Fryer Ham and Cheese Quiche for inspiration) or other breakfast meats
- Breakfast casserole: Add sausage to an egg-based casserole with cheese, bread, or potatoes
- Breakfast pizza: Use crumbled sausage as a topping with eggs, cheese, and your favorite breakfast ingredients
- Sausage pancake muffins: Combine sweet pancakes and savory sausage in a fun, portable breakfast
- Stuffed vegetables: Use crumbled sausage as part of a filling for peppers, mushrooms, zucchini, or other vegetables
- Breakfast hash: A great way to use leftover sausage with potatoes and vegetables!
Easy Ways To Use Leftovers
If you have extra cooked sausage patties, chop or crumble them before adding them to recipes. This makes them especially easy to work into burritos, tacos, quiche, casseroles, stuffing, and other fillings and great for meal prep too!
Build The Ultimate Breakfast Spread
Of course, frozen sausage patties are also delicious served on their own as part of a delicious breakfast or brunch. Add eggs, crispy potatoes, pancakes or waffles, fresh fruit, toast, and coffee for an easy spread that works for everyday mornings or feeding a crowd.
Recipe FAQs
Can You Put Frozen Sausages in the Air Fryer?
Yes, you can put frozen sausages in the air fryer. It will cook or heat the sausages from frozen, while browning the exterior. This cooking method works with all kinds of sausages, such as breakfast or Italian sausage, whether in links or patties.
How Long to Cook a Frozen Sausage Patty in an Air Fryer?
On average, it takes between 8 and 12 minutes to cook a frozen sausage patty in an air fryer. The time will vary based on the thickness of your sausage patty as well as the power level of the air fryer.
You do not need to defrost the sausage patties in advance of cooking them.
How Do You Cook Frozen Raw Sausage Patties in the Air Fryer?
To cook frozen raw sausage patties, air fry for 15 minutes at 375°F, or until an internal temperature of 160°F is reached for pork or beef sausage.
If you are using chicken or turkey sausage, then the internal temperature should reach 165°F, and may require a minute or two longer.
Cooking times may vary slightly based on your air fryer and patty thickness.
How Do You Cook Jimmy Dean Fully Cooked Sausage Patties in an Air Fryer?
To cook Jimmy Dean and other fully cooked breakfast sausage patties in an air fryer, use the air fry setting at 375°F for about 8-10 minutes.
Additional time may be added if you’d like them more browned. Since the patties are fully cooked, you’re just reheating them.
They take closer to 8 minutes if thawed or refrigerated and 10 if you’re cooking from frozen.
Can You Cook Frozen Sausage Without Thawing?
Yes, you can absolutely cook frozen sausage without thawing it in your air fryer. It only adds a couple minutes to cooking time compared to defrosted sausage, and comes out equally juicy, delicious, and warm. This saves you time and from having to remember to take it out of the freezer.
Tips For the Best Air Fryer Frozen Sausage
- Sausage is naturally high in salt, so you don’t need to add any additional seasoning (unless you want maple seasoning on a plain sausage, for instance)
- Most sausage patties are also high in fat, so there will be some grease in your air fryer (and no need to add any extra oil for cooking). Make sure your grease tray is in if you have a toaster oven style model, and know what to do if Your Air Fryer is Smoking.
- This recipe was tested with my Ninja Dual Zone air fryer and Jimmy Dean frozen breakfast sausage. It was perfectly done at 10 minutes of cooking. Other air fryer brands and models may vary slightly
Storage and Reheating Tips
- Store any leftover sausage patties in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. I do not recommend refreezing after cooking from frozen once, as they will start to dry out
- To reheat sausage patties in the air fryer, use a lower temperature of 350°F and heat for 3-4 minutes (flip halfway through). Exact time will depend on your air fryer as well as the size and thickness of your specific brand of sausage patties, so adjust as needed
- Microwave reheating: Place the sausage patties on a microwave-safe plate and cover loosely with a damp paper towel. Heat in 20-30 second intervals until warmed through, which helps prevent them from drying out
- Skillet: Reheat sausage patties in a skillet over medium-low heat for 2-4 minutes per side, until warmed through. Add a small splash of water and cover briefly if they seem dry, then uncover to re-crisp the exterior
More Air Fryer Breakfast Recipes
Final Thoughts
Making frozen sausage patties in the air fryer is an easy and delicious way to prepare them. No more standing over the stove! Just pop them in while frozen and let them get nice and browned while you work on the rest of breakfast (or that much needed cup of coffee)!
Whether you have Jimmy Dean or another brand, you can’t go wrong with air fryer breakfast sausage patties. In fact, it only takes around 10 minutes, making it a quick and easy protein-packed option, and one of my favorite breakfast foods!
Katie’s tip
For more savory and delicious recipes to try, check out my homemade Air Fryer Sausage Rolls Recipe!
Air Fryer Frozen Sausage Patties (Jimmy Dean)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 frozen sausage patties (such as Jimmy Dean, Banquet, or Tennessee Pride)
Instructions
- Preheat your air fryer to 375°F (or 380°F, depending on your air fryer’s available settings)
- Place frozen sausage patties in the preheated air fryer basket in a single layer, allowing some air space between them2 frozen sausage patties
- Cook on air fry setting for 10 minutes at 375°F, pausing to flip halfway. If your frozen sausage patties are raw instead of precooked, cook for 15 minutes instead, or until the internal temperature reaches 160°F. For a deeper level of browning, add additional cooking time in 1-minute increments until it reaches the desired level
- Serve with your favorite breakfast or brunch items!
Notes
- Flavor and meat type of your frozen sausage patties doesn’t matter, so choose your favorite. There’s original, maple, and spicy flavors, and pork, turkey, and even chicken just to name a few!
- Brand doesn’t make much difference either. If you get thinner patties (like Great Value) they make take 2-3 minutes less time to cook through. Otherwise, use your favorite sausage patty, like Jimmy Dean, Brown ‘N Serve, Smithfield, Swaggerty’s, or Tennessee Pride
- This also works with frozen vegetarian breakfast sausage just as well, like Morningstar Farm or Beyond patties
- A serving size is typically 2 frozen breakfast sausage patties so adjust the quantity based on how many you’re feeding. No additional cooking time is needed if you do more
- If you use defrosted or refrigerated precooked sausage patties then cut the cooking time down to 8 minutes to start. Many brands offer both options
- Sausage is naturally high in salt, so you don’t need to add any additional seasoning (though feel free to add on unsalted seasonings like maple or spicy flavors)
- Make sure your grease tray is in if you have a toaster oven style model air fryer. Sausage will produce a lot of grease during cooking, and some smoking is normal and to be expected
- This recipe was tested with a Ninja Dual Zone air fryer and was perfect at 10 minutes of cooking. Other air fryer brands and models may vary slightly
- Exact nutritional values will vary based on brand of ingredients and quantity consumed, so please consider this a guideline only
Nutrition
New to air frying, so I’m glad to have found this post. I have Great Value Turkey Sausage Patties (frozen). I did 10 minutes, turning when the machine told me to. At two minutes I thought they could use more, so I added a minute. PERFECT! Thank you! I need to check out more of your posts now. 🌞
I’m so glad it worked out! It’s awesome that your air fryer tells you when to flip things too! That’s exactly how I got started with mine – I did frozen foods (which it is perfect for) and then branched out and got more confident and adventurous over time. It’s such a great appliance and I’m sure you’ll find more to love with it!