These Air Fryer Cocktail Sausages are simplicity itself. They’re an ideal little snack or delicious as part of a buffet or picnic spread. Just as tasty served hot or cold, these mini pork sausages are great for lunchboxes too or even as a fun addition to a breakfast feast.
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I’m not sure I’ve even met a sausage I didn’t like. And these little “poppers” are a dangerous affair because I can quite easily eat a whole pack of 18 without batting an eyelid. They cook in under 10 minutes in the air fryer which makes then even more dangerous because I’m never very far from having some on my plate.
Glazing cocktail sausages with something sweet and sticky like a honey mustard glaze is very common. But I’ve kept these air frying instructions plain and simple – literally.
You can of course add a glaze. Simply remove the sausages from the air fryer halfway through cooking, toss them to thoroughly coat in your chosen glaze then continue to air fry them until charred and sticky. It is a good idea to use a little foil for the second stage of cooking to make cleaning up a little easier.
How to Serve
The great thing about cocktail sausages is that they are just as delicious hot or cold. Which makes them a very versatile little snack or addition to a buffet.
It’s rare to find a classic British style beige buffet without at least a few mini sausages. All you need to do is add a few cocktail sticks to pick them up with and ideally, something to dip them in.
Like the inspiration for this site’s name suggests, you can’t go wrong with hot sausage and mustard, so if in doubt, mustard is your friend. For something more festive, use some whole cranberry sauce or if you’re making something more akin to a ploughman’s lunch, try dipping in some luscious homemade chutney.
If you’re feeling like just the pork in the sausages isn’t quite sufficient, try my mini pigs in blankets instead!
Ingredients
Cocktail Sausages
You can buy cocktail sausages ready cooked but this is a recipe for how to cook them from raw. You can easily find them in both the chiller cabinets and frozen in UK supermarkets.
As with any sausages, there are many options with differing levels of quality so choose whichever you prefer. They do generally all tend to be around a similar size – about 15g each and around 4cm long.
You don’t tend to get the variety of flavour options that you do with regular size sausages – they’re usually just plain pork. But if you can find other options, go for it!
Oil
The little bit of oil in the recipe is used to lubricate the sausage skins. This prevents them from drying out as they air fry and helps them to brown nicely. I just use neutral vegetable oil but you can choose to use any oil that you prefer.
Allergen Information
This recipe is free from egg, dairy and nuts.
Gluten Free: Although the Tesco Finest sausages that I used here are labelled gluten free, many of the cocktail sausages on the market do contain rusk/wheat. This is especially more common in the frozen sausages. So you must check label carefully before selecting your sausages.
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 Cocktail Sausages
For these 15g/½oz sausages, I find that around 9 minutes is the perfect cooking time. They’re beautifully brown on the outside, cooked right through and still gorgeously juicy on the inside. Just what you want in a sausage!
How to Air Fry Cocktail Sausages From Frozen
Sausages cook really well from frozen. The trick to making them brown and gorgeous is to give them a quick rinse under the cold tap to remove any surface ice crystals.
You can then dry them really well with a kitchen towel and then add the oil. Doing this will give a surface for the oil to stick to properly and allow the sausages to “fry” and not boil in any remaining ice.
Leftovers – Storage & Reheating
The cooked sausages will store in an airtight container in the fridge for several days. They can also be frozen once cooked and eaten cold just as soon as they’re defrosted.
To reheat the sausages, you can simply microwave them until piping hot – only around a minute or so depending on how many you are heating. They can also be re-air fried until hot, again this will only take a few 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
Air Fryer Cocktail Sausages – Mini Pork Sausages
Ingredients
- 18 Cocktail Sausages - around 15g/½oz each
- ½ tsp Vegetable Oil
Instructions
- If your air fryer requires pre-heating, Start this setting now.
- Take 18 Cocktail Sausages out of the packet and cut into individual links if needed. Give them a pat dry with kitchen paper if they are at all wet.
- Drizzle over or spray roughly ½ tsp Oil and move the sausages around so they are all coated all over with a very thin layer of the oil.
- Use tongs to place the sausages into the air fryer basket. Or just tip them in! Leave a little space between each so the air can circulate.
- Air fry for 9 minutes at 200c/390f.
- And serve!
To Cook From Frozen
- Prepare 18 Cocktail Sausages by making sure they are all separated. If there is any ice on them at all, give them a quick run under the cold tap to remove it and they dry them thoroughly with a towel.
- Drizzle or spray with ½ tsp Oil and move the sausages around so they are all coated all over with a very thin layer of the oil.
- Place the sausages into the air fryer basket. Leave a little space between each so the air can circulate.
- Air fry for 10 minutes at 200c/390f.
- If you want to turn them a couple of times as they cook then you can do – I don't need to using the rack in my air fryer.
- Serve!
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 easily fit 18 cocktail sausages in the basket at a time. This gives plenty of room to allow air to circulate. I could probably fit in double this but they may take longer to cook and need to be turned a time or two.
- 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.
Lesley says
I found a pack of cocktail sausages in my freezer so popped them in the air fryer and I added a little honey too. They were perfectly cooked.