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Home » Main Dish

How to Cook Bratwurst in an Air Fryer

By Karly on August 13, 2020 | Updated August 20, 2020 | 13 Comments

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These air fried brats covered in beer cheese are absolutely perfect for a quick and easy lunch! #airfryer #bratwurst #lunchrecipesThese beer cheese brats or super simple when you make them in the air fryer!  #airfried #recipe #bratwurst

We love cooking bratwurst in the air fryer! The brats cook perfectly throughout and leave the outside of the brat just a little crispy. The beer cheese sauce really takes these brats over the top!

A close up of a bratwurst on a bun topped with beer cheese sauce and diced green onions.

Having brats on the grill is a summer favorite of course. But what do you do when you planned on grilling and weather gets in the way? Bust out the air fryer.

This bratwurst recipe is even easier in the air fryer! No need to wait for the grill to heat up, braving the weather, scraping things down after cooking. Just pop them in the air fryer and devour!

Take these air fryer brats over the top with a special topping: Beer Cheese Sauce!

The beer cheese gives a nice thick cheesy sauce to put on the sausage and the combo just works great!

As a bonus, if you are making brats with air fryer hot dogs, the cheese works great with the dogs too!

Raw bratwursts in an air fryer pan.

Table of Contents

  • How to cook the brats in an air fryer:
  • How to make beer cheese sauce:
  • Important Air Fryer Notes:
    • More recipes you might like:
  • Air Fryer Bratwurst with Beer Cheese Sauce
    • Equipment
    • Ingredients  1x2x3x
      • For the brats:
      • For the beer cheese sauce:
    • Instructions 
      • For the brats:
      • For the cheese sauce:
      • To serve:
    • Notes
    • Nutrition
      • Did You Make This Recipe?

How to cook the brats in an air fryer:

This post contains affiliate links. As a member of Amazon and other affiliate programs I earn from qualifying purchases.

There isn’t much to this! Preheat your air fryer to 360 degrees Farenheit.

Put your brats in the air fryer. Be sure to use uncooked brats for this recipe, not the precooked kind that you can just microwave. 😉

Don’t stack them, and leave room around the brats for air to move around them.

Then cook them for 15 minutes flipping halfway through. When done the internal temp should be 160 degrees Fahrenheit.

brats in air fryer basket

How to make beer cheese sauce:

Add the butter to a sauce pan and let it melt over medium heat.

Next whisk in the flour and continue to cook for one minute.

Now whisk in the milk and beer and keep whisking over medium heat as the sauce thickens. It should be the consistency of a thin gravy and take about 5 minutes.

After that, turn off the heat and stir in your cheddar and paprika.

Adding the cheese to the sauce while it’s still on the heat is what contributes to a grainy, gritty cheese sauce. No bueno.

A side view of a cheesy bratwurst in a metal serving tray with handles next to a cloth napkin.

Important Air Fryer Notes:

The first thing to note is that you want to take care of your air fryer. Don’t spray non-stick spray on your air fryer basket, it will damage it over time. Instead, put cooking oil in a mister and pump spray out normal cooking oil.

Secondly, we have an entire page on our site dedicated to our air fryer recommendations. You can check it out for a quick shopping reference. We ALWAYS target convenience in the decision-making and of course performance!

More recipes you might like:

  • If grilling is an option for you and you would rather do that. Then try this grilled brat recipe! I would still use this beer cheese sauce recipe though, it is sooooo good!
  • I recommend you give these buffalo chicken flautas a shot if you are looking for something with a little heat.
  • If you want something to serve with these, try some air fried potato chips!
  • A perfect simple dessert option is air fryer pineapple! So amazing!
Overhead view of brats resting in an air fryer.
Overhead view of a cheesy brat topped with green onions.

Air Fryer Bratwurst with Beer Cheese Sauce

Created by: Karly

Course Main Dish
Cuisine American
Prep Time 4 minutes
Cook Time 21 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
5 brats
Super easy air fried brats are amazing when topped with this thick beer cheese sauce!
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Equipment

  • Air Fryer

Ingredients
  

For the brats:

  • 5 uncooked brats
  • 5 brat buns

For the beer cheese sauce:

  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup beer
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 2 cups shredded Cheddar
  • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 2 tablespoons chopped chives

Instructions
 

For the brats:

  • Preheat your air fryer to 360 degrees. 
  • Arrange brats in a single layer in the air fryer basket. 
  • Cook for 15 minutes, turning halfway through, or until brats reach an internal temperature of 160 degrees.

For the cheese sauce:

  • Add the butter to a small saucepan over medium heat and let melt.
  • Whisk in the flour and cook for 1 minute.
  • Whisk in the beer and milk until the sauce thickens, about 3-5 minutes.
  • Remove from heat and stir in the cheddar and paprika.

To serve:

  • Place the brats in the buns and drizzle with the cheese sauce. Sprinkle with chives. 

Notes

Leftover cheese sauce makes a great dip for french fries, chips, and pretzel nuggets! Store in the fridge and reheat on the stove over low heat, whisking constantly.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 569kcal | Carbohydrates: 44g | Protein: 28g | Fat: 31g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 13g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 73mg | Sodium: 1231mg | Potassium: 402mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 482IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 344mg | Iron: 3mg

Did You Make This Recipe?

Share it with us on Instagram @air.fried and tag us #air.fried

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A close up of four bratwursts in an air fryer pan.
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posted in: Main Dish, Pork

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    Comments & Reviews

  1. bob tremblay says

    June 4, 2021

    Made cheese brats in my air fryer today,with sauteed onions I fried seperately.OH SO GOOD.

    Reply
    • Karly says

      June 5, 2021

      Sounds delicious!!

      Reply
  2. Crystal Lazewski says

    April 8, 2021

    i just love this blog

    Reply
    • Karly says

      April 8, 2021

      Thanks, Crystal!

      Reply
  3. Lee says

    February 10, 2021

    When making the cheese sauce avoid the pre-shredded cheese in a pouch, that also will give you a grainy, nasty sauce. It’s always best to use cheese freshly grated from a block.

    Reply
  4. Viola DuBay says

    August 13, 2020

    What could be used instead of beer ? Would a soda of some type work ? Coke or Dr Pepper or Sprite or 7up? Just asking

    Reply
    • Karly says

      August 14, 2020

      I’d just double the milk and you’ll have a thicker, creamier cheese sauce. Soda would make the cheese sauce sweet and that doesn’t sound super appealing. 🙂

      Reply
  5. Alicia says

    August 13, 2020

    Hi! Have you tried these with skinless brats, by chance? We love the skinless from our local grocery store but wonder if they would make a huge mess. Love your new website!

    Reply
    • Karly says

      August 13, 2020

      Hi Alicia! I’ve actually never cooked a skinless brat, so I’m not sure how the process differs. If you grill them the same, I think they’d cook in the air fryer the same. 🙂

      Reply
      • Alicia says

        August 13, 2020

        That’s what I was thinking too. Thanks for responding! Can’t wait to give these a try!

      • Karly says

        August 14, 2020

        Let us know how they turn out! 🙂

      • Alicia says

        August 18, 2020

        We made the skinless tonight and they were SO good!! We cooked them the exact same and they were perfect!

      • Karly says

        August 18, 2020

        Oh, awesome! Thanks for letting us know! 🙂

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