Air Fryer Sausage Dogs with Peppers and Onions

This Air Fryer Sausage Dogs with Peppers and Onions recipe is a simple classic weeknight main dish, this time made entirely in the air fryer! Use your favorite sausages, bell peppers and onions for a quick and easy dinner in 20 minutes!

Sometimes those quick dinner idea seeds just need to be planted in your brain to be helpful. Like, I know you could probably figure this one out on your own (just like air fryer hot dogs!), but I’m here to save you a couple steps.

My goal is that you don’t have to figure it out on your own! It can take a little brain power to store ideas, know all the steps, temps and cook times. So I’m keeping track of these ideas, and making them as simple as possible for you to follow along. Save that brain power for later!

These Air Fryer Sausage Dogs with Peppers and Onions are a solid choice for quick weeknight dinners, especially when it’s hot out! Feel free to modify as you wish with your favorite sausages, buns, peppers and cheese!

What are the ingredients in Air Fryer Sausage Dogs with Peppers and Onions?

The ingredients for this recipe are simple and easy to find! This recipe is very customizable and easy to modify to your preferences. Here are the ingredients I used with a little explanation for each:

• red & green bell peppers – I used two small bell peppers, one red and one green. If you like sweeter peppers, stick with both red or orange. If you want them less sweet, stick with green. I like one of each.
• yellow onion – I used a small yellow onion, but feel free to use whatever you have on hand.
• avocado oil – You’ll almost always find me cooking with avocado oil. I love the neutral flavor and high smoke point.
• fine sea salt & fresh ground black pepper – We don’t need to do much to the peppers and onions, but we do need some salt and pepper.
• fully cooked sausages – Any sausages will work for this recipe. I prefer to use fully cooked sausages so I don’t have to temp them. If you do use raw sausages, I suggest using a meat thermometer to ensure the internal temperature reaches at least 160F.
• sausage buns – Pick your favorite buns, any sausage, brat or hot dog buns will work just fine.
• sliced cheese – You can skip the cheese or go wild with it. My sausage dogs have my current favorite cheese: Tillamook Smoked Black Pepper thick cut slices. The best!!

How do you make these Air Fryer Sausage Dogs with Peppers and Onions?

There are three main steps for this recipe: starting the veggies, adding the sausages on top, and then assembling and heating the final creation.

Start by mixing up the veggies in a mixing bowl with the oil and salt. Give it a quick toss to make sure everything is coated and then add the veggies to the air fryer basket. Try to spread them in an even layer, then air fry at 350F for 7 minutes.

When you open the air fryer, the veggies will be about halfway cooked and slightly softened at this point – this is what you want! Use tongs to stir the veggies a bit before adding the sausages.

Pierce the sausages with a toothpick or slice with a knife – this helps them not explode or spray hot juices at you later. Just trust me.

Add the sausages to the air fryer basket on top of the veggies. Only cook as many as you plan to eat, up to 4 sausages.

Air fry the sausages and veggies at 350F for another 6-7 minutes, or until the sausages are plump and sizzling, and the veggies are charing at the edges. You can always take the sausages out and cook the veggies longer if you want to cook them a bit longer.

After the veggies and sausages are cooked, remove everything from the air fryer basket. I put the sausages into their buns and pour the peppers and onions into a small bowl – if you might have leftovers, choose a bowl that has a lid 🙂

Next, place your sausages dogs, including the buns, back into the air fryer basket. Use tongs to place some of the cooked peppers and onions on top of the sausages in the buns.

Air fry the assembled sausage dogs at 350F for 2-3 minutes to warm and slightly toast the buns. If you have a smaller air fryer, you may need to do this in batches of two sausages dogs, depending on how many you are cooking.

Finally, if you want to add cheese, place a long slice on top of the sausage dogs and close the air fryer for about 2 minutes. This will allow the residual heat to melt the cheese and let the sausages rest.

Remove the sausage dogs from the air fryer basket with tongs and serve immediately with any more toppings you like!

What kind of sausages work for this recipe?

All kinds of sausages will work for this recipe. Here are some specific instructions for different types of sausage:

• fully cooked refrigerated sausages – Follow the recipe exactly as written!
• raw, uncooked refrigerated sausages – Follow the recipe as written, but you may need to cook your sausages a couple minutes longer, depending on their thickness. I suggest using a meat thermometer to ensure the internal temperature reaches 160F.
• frozen sausages – Reduce temperature to 330F and air fry the sausages for 9-10 minutes total.

Can I use bratwursts for this recipe?

Yes, you can use bratwurst for this recipe. Bratwurst is a specific type of German sausage, usually made with pork.

Be sure to know if your bratwursts are raw or fully cooked. All raw sausages should be cooked to an internal temperature of 160F.

Testing notes for Air Fryer Sausage Dogs with Peppers and Onions:

While testing this recipe, here are a couple things I noticed:

• This recipe is very similar to my Air Fryer Hot Dogs recipe, but with the added component of cooking the peppers and onions with the sausages.
• For sausages in casings, I would recommend piercing with a toothpick or slicing with a knife to avoid being hit with hot juices later.

What should you serve with these Air Fryer Sausage Dogs with Peppers and Onions?

Anything you’d normally serve with hot dogs or a grilled main dish would work for this recipe! Here are some ideas:

• potato chips – Or any kind of chip and dip would be delicious.
• potato wedges – Sausage dogs would also go very well with my Air Fryer Jojo Potato Wedges. Oven potatoes would be a good option too.
• tots – Another potato option (a trend!) is tater tots. I have directions for How to Cook Tater Tots in an Air Fryer too!
• a side salad – An option that is not potatoes is a side salad! Load it up with whatever you want!
• pesto pasta salad – Always a favorite of mine! Get my recipe here!

What kind of air fryer do you use?

The air fryer I have currently, and the one that is pictured in this post is the Cosori XL 5.8 qt Air Fryer (affiliate link!).

If you’re going to invest in an air fryer to cook things for 2 or more people, you should opt for a larger size like this one, in my opinion!

I previously had a slightly smaller Philips Air Fryer with a metal grate basket which I liked, but I prefer the larger Cosori model with the nonstick coated basket instead.

Is this a meal prep friendly recipe?

No, this is generally not a meal prep friendly recipe. 

This is more of a quick weeknight dinner recipe that’s perfect when nothing is thawed or you don’t feel like doing too much work (or both!).

It’s also great because you only have to make as many as you need, and you shouldn’t have any leftovers, except maybe some cooked veggies for next time.

How to store, freeze & reheat:

This recipe is best enjoyed when it’s prepared right before eating! I would recommend only cooking as many sausage dogs as you need.

Extra cooked veggies can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Sausages in their package can be frozen for 3-6 months.

To reheat peppers & onions: Skip step 1 and cook sausages, then add peppers and onions as normal in step 3.