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 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.
Air fryer frozen sausage patties are generally ready in about 10 minutes (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 required!
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What You’ll Need
- Frozen sausage patties (such as Jimmy Dean or Banquet)
Ingredient Notes
- You’ll just 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, 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 (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 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
- 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!
What to Make With Frozen Sausage Patties
- Breakfast sandwich
- Sausage gravy
- Biscuits and gravy
- Breakfast burrito
- Quiche
- Breakfast casserole
- Breakfast pizza
- Empanada or pierogi filling
- Stuffed vegetables
- Breakfast hash
- Sausage bombs (add cheese and wrap in bacon)
- Sausage pancake muffins
- Stuffed crescent rolls
- Breakfast tacos
There are lots of great recipes you can make with air fryer frozen sausage patties! Try them in this easy Air Fryer Quiche With Crust in place of ham, as a filling in my Air Fryer Breakfast Bombs, or as a side to my delicious Air Fryer French Toast Casserole.
Of course, they’re great on their own as part of your ultimate breakfast or brunch spread as well!
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.
What Temperature Do I Air Fry Frozen Sausage Patties?
You air fry frozen sausage patties at a temperature of 375°F, or the closest equivalent setting your air fryer has.
If your sausages aren’t as brown as you’d like, up the temperature to 400°F for a few minutes to get extra coloring.
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.
Recipe 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. 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 of Frozen Sausage Patties
- Store any leftover sausage patties in an airtight container in the refrigerator 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
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 of frozen sausage patties, your air fryer is a great cooking method. In fact, it only takes around 10 minutes, making it a quick and easy protein-packed breakfast option.
Katie’s tip
If you’re looking for a poppable snack or appetizer, then try my homemade air fryer sausage rolls recipe!
Frozen Sausage Patty in Air Fryer Recipe
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
- 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!
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!