Air Fryer Sausage and Peppers is a fantastic quick meal that you can make just under 30 mins. This air fryer sausage, peppers and onions is made with smoked Cajun sausage, and a simple seasoning mix. You can use your favorite smoked sausage.
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Sausage and Peppers Air Fryer
Sausage and peppers in air fryer is so easy to make and extremely beginner friendly. Onions, peppers & smoked sausage are diced, tossed in oil and a simple blend of herbs and than air fried to perfection.
You’ll have sausage that gets crispy and brown around the edges and juicy veggies with a slight crunch. So good!
Use your favorite smoked sausage like Cajun, Creole, andouille or kielbasa. Smoked turkey or chicken sausage are also great options. You can also use your favorite seasonings or try our homemade salt free Cajun seasoning to give the recipe a slight kick. We kept it simple by using a blend of readily available pantry staples.
Ingredients and Substitutions
Find the Ingredients with actual measurements at the bottom of the post. The list below is just a reference.
- Smoked Sausage: We used smoked Cajun sausage. You can use smoked Creole sausage, Kielbasa, andouille or even smoked turkey or chicken sausage. The cook time won’t change.
- Peppers: We used Yellow, green and red bell pepper diced into squares. You can also use orange belle pepper.
- Onion: We used yellow onion for a milder flavor. You can use diced red onion, it’ll pack a punch.
- Seasoning: Italian seasoning, crushed black pepper, red pepper flakes and salt according to your own personal taste preference. If you are making this recipe for kids do skip adding the red pepper flakes.
- Cooking Oil: Extra light or light olive oil. You can also sub it with avocado oil or even canola oil.
Top Tips
- Sausage: Dice the smoked sausage into thick pieces of similar thickness. This will ensure even cooking.
- Veggies, Onion: Dice the veggies into large squares (½ inch) for even cooking. Also, dice the onion into ½ inch squares and separate the petal. This will ensure perfectly cooked onion.
- Spicy flavor: Add about ¼ tsp cayenne along with the other seasonings to make this dish spicy. You can also throw in 1-2 chopped jalapenos along with the bell peppers and onion.
- More Veggies: You can sub the bell peppers with sliced mushrooms, thinly sliced zucchini or small diced potatoes. The cook time would remain the same.
- Uniform cooking trick: Do shake the basket every 5-6 mins to ensure even cooking. If you are making a really small batch you do not need to shake the air fryer basket while cooking the sausage and peppers.
How to make sausage and peppers in air fryer?
Find the detailed step by step recipe along with measurements + Video at the bottom of the post.
Step #1 Season veggies, arrange in basket
- Season veggies: Toss the chopped onions and peppers with oil and seasonings. Make sure that they are coated well. Dice the sausage.
- Layer ingredients: Layer the veggies in the air fryer basket and place the diced sausage on top in a single layer. Do not mix or stir.
Step #2 Air Fry and serve
- Air fry: Air fry the sausage and peppers in a 380 F pre-heated air fryer for 15-20 mins shaking the basket every 5-6 mins for uniform cooking. Serve immediately and enjoy! You might have to cook in batches if you have a smaller air fryer. You might also have to adjust the cook time depending on your air fryer make, model and brand.
Serving Ideas
We love to serve this best sausage and peppers recipe with the following:
- Perfect Jasmine Rice instant pot.
- Brown Rice.
- Cauliflower rice.
- Zoodles.
- Broccoli Rice.
Leftover & Storage
Fridge: Store the air fryer sausage and peppers recipe in air tight containers for up to 5 days in the fridge. Follow the reheating directions shared below.
Freezer: You can freeze the sausage, peppers and onions in heavy duty freezer safe bag for up to 2 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight and than follow the reheating directions shared below.
How to reheat
Air Fryer: Reheat the sausage and peppers in a pre-heated air fryer set at 390 F for 2-3 mins. Serve immediately.
Microwave Oven: You can reheat the dish in the microwave oven until warm or hot and serve immediately.
FAQs
Set the temperature at which you are cooking the food. Or at the temperature that the recipe suggests. Click “on” or “start” and let the air fryer heat for 3-4 minutes. We suggest 2-3 minutes for small air fryers less than 3 quarts. And for larger air fryers, we suggest about 3-4 minutes.
You must preheat an air fryer with the basket in always.
Yes, you can cook raw sausages in a 380 F preheated air fryer for about 8-10 mins. Flip sides half way through. The air fried raw sausages comes out perfect and wonderful tasting every single time and it’s a completely hands free method of cooking.
It takes about 10-12 mins to cook a sausage in a 380 F pre-heated air fryer.
To determine whether sausage are fully cooked through, you can measure the internal temperature with a meat thermometer. Sausages should reach 155–165°F (68–74°C).
More air fryer recipes you might like
- Air fryer cajun shrimp.
- Air fryer sausage and potatoes.
- Air fryer salmon patties.
- Air fryer tilapia.
- Air fryer brownies.
- Instant pot bang bang chicken.
Recommended
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Air Fryer Sausage and Peppers
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Ingredients
- 13 ounce Smoked Sausage (**we used smoked Cajun sausage.)
- 1 cup onion (**yellow onion diced into ½ inch squares and petals separated.)
- ½ green bell pepper (**diced into ½ inch squares.)
- ½ yellow bell pepper (**diced into ½ inch squares.)
- ½ red bell pepper (**diced into ½ inch squares.)
- 2 tbsp Olive Oil (**use extra light or light olive oil.)
Seasonings
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes (**skip if heat intolerant.)
- Salt (to taste) (**add according to your own personal taste preference.)
Equipment Used
Instructions
Prep onion peppers & sausage
- Dice sausage into ¼ inch or ½ inch discs. Set them aside. Dice the onion and bell peppers into ½ inch squares. Place them in a large bowl.
- Add the olive oil and all the seasonings mentioned above in the ingredients list in the "seasonings" section into the bowl. Toss the onion and peppers to coat them well with the oil and the seasonings.
Air Fry
- Pre-heat the air fryer at 380 F for 3-4 mins. Arrange the onion and peppers in the basket in a single layer and place the diced sausage on top in a single layer. Do not stir or mix. Air fry for 15-20 mins. shaking the basket every 5-6 mins for even cooking. You might have to slightly adjust the cook time depending on your air fryer make, model and brand. We tested this recipe using a Bella air fryer, Instant pot vortex and also using the instant pot air fryer lid. Serve the air fryer sausag and peppers immediately and enjoy!
Notes
- Cook time: You might have to slightly adjust the cook time depending on your air fryer make, model & brand. We tested this recipe in Instant pot vortex, Bella air fryer and also using the instant pot air fryer lid.
- Why shake the air fryer basket: This will ensure uniform cooking. Do shake the basket every 5-6 mins.
- Seasonings: You can play around with the seasonings and add a dash of garlic powder and onion powder to add an extra layer of flavor. You can also oregano instead of Italian seasoning. For extra spicy flavor add cayenne pepper.
Do let us know if you created this recipe