This simple step-by-step guide shows you How to Air Fry Black Pudding Slices so you have a lovely crispy exterior and soft rich interior. This classic British blood sausage is ideal for serving on a traditional breakfast, packing into breakfast rolls or just adding to your meals as a protein packed snack or side.
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Black pudding is certainly a divisive food! Some will die on the hill that a cooked breakfast isn’t complete without it. And others would rather it didn’t come within 6 foot of them. I’m going to assume that if you’re here then you are in the former camp, or you love someone enough to cook it for them.
British black pudding is made from blood, animal fats, some kind of cereal grain and herbs/spices. The exact recipe varies from manufacturer to manufacturer and region to region, just like regular sausages. The texture also varies with some being much chunkier and some being more finer cut like the one I’ve cooked here.
After time living and working in Lancashire, I’ve been indoctrinated to believe that Bury black pudding is the king of the genre. But of course others will have their own preferences.
How to Serve
Of course the most natural way to serve black pudding slices is with a cooked breakfast. I’m the biggest fan of a full English breakfast and I’ve created a whole slew of both air fried and non-air fried recipes for breakfast and brunch too.
To me you can’t have breakfast without eggs – choose from my eggs fried without oil, super creamy scrambled eggs or fuss free poached eggs.
As for the rest – have a look at my collection of recipes and mix and match your favourite items:-
Air Fryer Full English Breakfast Recipes
Find all of my air fried breakfast recipes in on place. Mix and match to your hearts desire or just go for it and make them all!
Featuring thick and thin back bacon, tasty sausages, simple hash browns, delicious mushrooms and grilled tomatoes.
Of course you don’t need to restrict black pudding to just full breakfasts. Try some of these other serving suggestions:
- Make eggs benedict with a twist by swapping the ham for black pudding. Stack a slice on top of a toasted English muffin (or bagel!), top with a poached egg and then douse with hollandaise sauce.
- Make a stack with caramelised apple slices for a fancy pants starter. Or make mini versions as a canape. Add slices of crispy pork belly for a heartier meal.
- Serve with air fried scallops for a classic flavour combination. Add a strong salad leaf like rocket/arugula and a balsamic vinegar glaze.
Ingredients
Black Pudding
There is a wide variety of black pudding type available across the UK and Ireland.
Slices like I’ve used here are sliced off a large thick sausage and sold as a whole sausage for you to cut yourself or by the slice. You can also buy rings which are like smaller sausages that are bent round so the ends meet and are then tied.
Some butchers will make and sell their own, you can buy from online retailers and any supermarket across the UK will have at least one option available to buy. In regions where black pudding is most popular like the North West of England and Scotland you will likely find a wider selection.
It is worth nothing that by it’s nature, black pudding is pre-cooked. But it’s much nicer to eat once it’s been heated and ideally crisped up.
Allergen Information
This recipe is free from egg, dairy and nuts.
Gluten Free Black Pudding Slices: Traditional black pudding usually includes a gluten containing grain as a primary ingredient. You can get special gluten free black puddings although you are more likely going to need to look online or for a specialist retailer.
Please note that this recipe may contain other allergens not referred to above and any variations suggested have not been tested unless otherwise stated. For more information regarding any dietary information provided on this website, please refer to my Nutritional Disclaimer.
How Long to Air Fry Black Pudding Slices
The cooking process is extremely easy, brush the slices with a little oil and then cook in a pre-heated air fryer for 12 minutes. This makes sure there is a really crispy outer.
I don’t find that they need to be turned over during cooking but if you are really packing them in, you might wish to after around 8 minutes.
The slices I cooked were supermarket purchased and roughly 40-60g/1½-2oz each and 2cm thick. So if you are cooking thicker or thinner slices, you may need to adjust the cooking time accordingly
How to Air Fry Black Pudding From Frozen
Black pudding slices air fry well from frozen. As is my usual suggestion, it is a good idea to make sure that there are no ice crystals left on the surface of the slices. To do this I run them under the tap for a couple of seconds and then dry them thoroughly. You can then just proceed as normal.
I don’t generally find that you need to add any extra cooking time to the slices when cooking from frozen.
Leftovers – Storage & Reheating
I would really advise trying to only cook the number of slices you need and avoiding leftovers as much as possible. As black pudding starts out cooked, the second reheat has a real tendency to dry out the black pudding.
If you do need to, it will reheat a second time in just a couple of minutes.
Common Air Fryer Questions – A Brief Guide to Air Frying
- What exactly is an air fryer?
- What are the benefits of using an air fryer?
- Are all air fryers the same?
- Is an air fryer always better to use than an oven?
- Do air fryers need to be pre-heated?
- What is the best temperature to air fry at?
- What setting is best to use? Air fry, bake, dehydrate, etc…
- Can food be cooked from frozen in an air fryer?
- Can I reheat food in an air fryer?
- Are air fryer liners a good idea?
The Air Fried Feast Community
Come on over to Facebook and join my community discussing all things air fryer. Get involved in sharing your experiences and trials, help out others and find out what wonderful things everyone is cooking in their air fryers!
What Exactly is an Air Fryer?
Very simply, an air fryer is a small convection (fan) oven. The benefit is that the hot air is circulated all around the food being cooked which speeds up the cooking time and cooks the food more evenly.
What are the Benefits of Using an Air Fryer?
Size, time and energy usage. Air fryers are ideal for cooking smaller quantities. Heating up a space that the food just fits into requires less energy and means that the heat source is much closer to the food. Combining these two things can speed up the cooking time.
Are all air fryers the same?
Nope! The term air fryer is now used very broadly. I consider there to be 4 main types:
Basket Air Fryers
These are what I would consider to be the most common, especially in the UK. A boxy type unit has a pull out drawer/basket. Food isn’t usually visible whilst cooking.
Some larger models have two drawers so different items can be cooked at different temperatures or for different times.
This is the type that you’ll see in the images in this recipe. I mostly use a Cosori Lite 3.8L (CAF-LI401S) with a 3.8 litre capacity. The square(ish) shaped basket is 21cm x 21cm and 24cm on the diagonal. It isn’t an overly expensive or fancy model.
I’ve also recommended to several friends and family the model with a slightly larger basket. This is the Cosori 4.7L (CAF-L501) with a 4.7 litre basket. The unit is no larger than the 3.8 litre model on the outside but does have a larger internal basket capacity. I’ve since bought this version to use for some recipes where my smaller model was just too small. I’ll always note this in the recipe.
Rotary Air Fryers
Round air fryers with a paddle in the centre that rotates to move the food. This is the type I used for years – the most common is a Tefal Actifry.
Rotary types are not usually good for recipes where the food is breaded, glazed, likely to break up or in a tray/container. They do however make the best chips and roasted veg.
My 2 in 1 version like the one I’ve linked also has a rotating tray for things that could be broken up by a paddle, but the height clearance with the lid isn’t deep enough to use it to cook some items like sausage rolls. I’ve now actually retired by Actifry in favour of having my two basket type fryers.
Mini Oven Air Fryers
These usually have a glass door, shelves and overall are really quite large. You can cook quite a decent quantity of food in them so are best if regularly cooking for multiple people. They often come with extra features like a rotisserie spit or kebab skewers.
Multicookers with Air Fryer Functions
Some like Ninja 11 in 1 and some of the earlier versions with a few less functions, have an air fryer option. They mostly operate the same as a basket fryer but the basket drops in the top rather than sliding in like a drawer.
Some electric pressure cookers like Instant Pots can also air fry when used with a specific lid.
Is an air fryer always better to use than an oven?
As much as I do love air frying, the honest answer to this is no. And the more detailed answer is that it will always depend on what you’re cooking, how much of it you’re cooking and what type and size of air fryer you have.
Once you need to cook in more than 2 batches, it often makes more sense to use an oven. If you already have the oven on to cook other items, it may make more sense to throw one more item in rather than using an additional appliance.
I don’t think either method is often necessarily better than the other. The important point to note is that there is absolutely no difference in the finished product.
Do Air Fryers Need to Be Pre-Heated?
The answer to this is rather annoying – it depends. It depends entirely on your model and type of air fryer. The best advice I can offer is to check your manual and follow their guidance. My Cosori models have a preheat function. I press a button and it heats at 205c/400f for 4 minutes.
It’s also worth noting that regardless of whether you are supposed to pre-heat or not, if you are cooking in batches, it is quite likely that anything after the first batch will cook a little quicker because of the retained heat. It is best to check on them before the cooking time is completed.
What is the best temperature to Air Fry at?
It will always depend on what you are cooking and from what state. All of my air fryer recipes don’t use temperatures above 200c/390f because many of the most common fryers in the UK don’t go above this. Mine goes to 230c/450f and I use this temperature a lot but it is no help for me to share recipes which many people can’t use.
What setting is best to use? Air fry, bake, dehydrate, etc…
Not all air fryers have different settings like this. When they do it usually relates to the fan speed. The default setting to use will always be “air fry” so unless something else is specifically stated in the recipe, always use the air fry option.
There are other air fryers that have an additional heating element which cooks from underneath rather than just the top. Just as with the other settings, unless you are using a recipe which states to use a second heating element, stick with just using the top down air fry option.
Of course if and when you become more confident with air frying, using recipes and the settings of your air fryer, you can start adapting them to suit.
Can Food Be Cooked From Frozen In An Air Fryer?
Absolutely! To cook from frozen you usually will need to reduce the cooking temperature and increase the time to make sure your food is cooked right through to the middle.
It is best to check my individual recipes for cooking from frozen advice as some items are a little different. And there are occasionally exceptions to the rule.
Can I Reheat Food In An Air Fryer?
Yes. As a general rule I reheat food for roughly 1/3 of the original cooking time at the same temperature. Or at 10 degrees lower for half the time for larger items.
Are Air Fryer Liners a Good Idea?
Unless otherwise stated, I do not use liners when air frying. Basket and rotary type air fryers are designed to be used without liners. Mini oven types will generally require some kind of tray like with a regular large oven although most come with crisper racks to use.
There are many air fryer liners available including quite thick silicone ones. These will affect the cooking times and possibly temperatures of your cooking/baking. I also don’t like how cooking juices are prevented from dripping through the basket rack. This can stop food from crisping all the way around.
When I do want to collect the juices, I mostly use some foil, or occasionally a foil tray which can be washed and reused.
If you do prefer to use them, once you have got a feel for how they affect your cooking and baking, you may need to make adjustments to the recipe accordingly.
More Air Fryer Recipes
All my recipes with instructions for how to cook or bake them in the air fryer can be found in my Air Fryer Recipe Index.
Don’t forget to let me know in the comments if you try making this recipe – I want to know what you think and if you made any substitutions, how did it turn out?
Still Have Questions?
Simple! Just contact me and I will do my best to help as quickly as I am able. Head over to my Contact Me page, any of my social media channels or post a comment at the bottom of this page and I’ll see what I can do.
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The Recipe
How to Air Fry Black Pudding Slices
Ingredients
- 6 Black Pudding Slices - roughly 40-60g/1½-2oz each
- 2 tsp Vegetable Oil
Instructions
- If your air fryer requires pre-heating, start this setting now.
- Thoroughly dry 6 Black Pudding Slices. I do this with paper towels or a clean tea towel.
- Brush over roughly 2 tsp Oil – make sure to cover both sides of the slices and the edges.
- Use tongs to place the black pudding into the air fryer basket. Leave a little space between each so the air can circulate.
- Cook for 12 minutes at 200c/390f.
- If you want to turn them after 8 or so minutes, you can do – I don't need to using the rack in my air fryer.
- Check the crispiness and caramelisation on the slices and if you want more, keep cooking for 1 or 2 minutes at a time until they are just how you want them.
- Once you're happy, carefully remove the black pudding from the air fryer and serve hot!
Notes
- The air fryer version of this recipe is tested in a Cosori Lite (CAF-LI401S) with a 3.8 litre capacity. The square(ish) shaped basket is 21cm x 21cm and 24cm on the diagonal.
- Not all models advise preheating is required. Please follow the recommended instructions for your model. Mine has a specific preheat setting which is 4 minutes at 205c.
- For this recipe, I can fit 6 smallish black pudding slices (250g total) in the basket at a time. This gives plenty of room to allow air to circulate. I would also be able to fit 4 of the larger slices commonly available (225g total) in. I could probably squeeze in another 2 of each.
- As all air fryer models are a little different, you may find that you can fit more or less in at a time. Some models include stacking shelves which will increase capacity.
- Required cooking times and temperatures can also vary between models and brands. If you know that your air fryer runs a little hotter than most recipes suggest, use a lower temperature. And vice versa. Equally if you find that food cooks more quickly in your machine than instructions usually state, reduce the cooking time (or check it earlier) and vice versa.
Cat says
Although I am not a black pudding fan I’m a nice wife and cook it for my husband. Air frying it is so easy and will definitely be how I cook it going forward.
Steve says
Air frying black pudding works perfectly, it’ll be my go-to way of cooking it now.
Janice says
I was excited to see this recipe as I love black pudding. I tried it out on Sunday and it’s so easy and comes out perfectly.
Lesley says
Followed your instructions and the black pudding was cooked in minutes, perfectly crisp on the outside and soft pudding in the middle.
James Moss says
Totally agree Lesley, really helpful instructions.
{Site owners note – this comment has been edited for clarity and to remove the swearing of a small manchild who thinks he’s owed everything for nothing. Bless.}