How to Cook Chicken Sausage (4 Ways)

Chicken sausages are such a healthy staple to add into your weekly rotation. So if you’re wondering how to cook chicken sausages– this blog post will give you four methods to suit whatever appliances you have in the house. The result- perfectly cooked, tender chicken sausages, whipped up in a flash. 

Why you’ll love these methods 

I won’t make you scroll to the bottom to see which methods win each category for cooking chicken sausages.

• Fastest: Pan frying for the win! Depending on the size of your chicken sausage, the fastest method is usually pan-frying, as you can fry them in oil over a medium/high heat.
• Flavorful: Now this is a preference- I have to say, using a griddle or BBQ does impart a flavor of summer, which does make me want to choose it as the winner. But both the airfryer and pan-frying method get amazing browning, which is the most important factor when it comes to deciding the best way to cook chicken sausages. Sorry oven!
• Least effort: Air frying! All you have to do is chuck the sausages in the air fryer basket, no preheating required! You don’t even have to rotate them halfway through. The only thing I’ll mention is that you should use foil if you hate washing your air fryer basket.
• Healthiest: Air frying or oven, with both of these methods, I use the least oil, making these the healthiest methods. 

Looking for fast cooking protein? Consider cooking these other quick and easy meats this week: Healthy Air Fryer Turkey Burgers, Air Fryer Ribeye Steak In Just 12 Minutes!, Easy Sauteed Chicken Breasts (in just 15 minutes!)

Best way to cook chicken sausage

Fully Cooked Sausage: If one of your biggest fears for cooking chicken sausages is ensuring it’s fully cooked, the best method for you is the airfryer/ oven. This is the least likely to have a crisp outside whilst being raw on the inside. 

Raw Sausage: I have cooked my particular brand of chicken sausages hundreds of times so I don’t need to check, but if it’s your first time cooking with a new brand or a different size of sausage, you should cook the sausages until it reaches an internal temperature of 165°F/ 73°C. 

Make a note of the time it takes you to get there, then you can set a timer the next time you cook them. \

Favorite Chicken Sausage To Use

When wondering how to cook chicken sausages, we have to first choose the chicken sausages in question! 

Trader Joes- I’m obsessed with the spicy jalapeno chicken sausages from trader joes, they’re slightly thicker so take a little longer to cook, but the flavor profile is phenomenal.

Kirklands- If I’m in Costco I’ll treat myself to Kirklands parmesan and black pepper. They’re so delicious and have 14g of protein per serve too! 

Applegate- These are a great organic option. However I prefer a skinnier sausage with them being slightly lighter calorie wise. 

Aidells- These are another great organic option which are also thicker in size.

Ingredients

The main ingredient that makes this Chicken Sausage fantastic is of course, the following:

Raw chicken sausages
The sausages that I use a lot (photographed) are raw chipolata style sausages. Although they are raw, they are thin so they have a short cooking time. Just be sure to cook your sausage to an internal temp of 165°F/ 73°C. 

Variations/ Adaptations

Use your favorite sausage:  You can switch up the meat of your sausage (turkey/pork is also delicious!) or you can go for another flavour- there’s a reason that one of the top questions for this post was ‘How to cook italian chicken sausages’- they’re such a versatile base which pair with many different dishes. 

How to cook Chicken Sausage (4 Ways)

How long to cook chicken sausages depends on whether you are starting with raw or pre cooked chicken sausages, whether they are frozen or thawed, and which cooking method you will be using. Below you will find the cooking times and instructions for cooking raw chicken sausage links 4 different ways.

Cooking Chicken Sausage From Frozen
If you have frozen your chicken sausages, if possible let them thaw in the fridge overnight, then pat them dry with a paper towel to remove any excess moisture. This will prevent browning which will reduce flavor! 

Cook Chicken Sausage In the Oven

Preheat oven to 200°C/400°F.

1. Place the sausages in an oven safe pan lined with foil that has been sprayed with avocado oil. Make sure the sausages are not touching each other (Image 1).
2. Cook the chicken sausages in the oven for 12-18 minutes depending on the thickness of your sausages (Image 2).

Cook Chicken Sausage In a Skillet On the Stove

1. Spray a non stick frying pan with avocado oil or add a tsp of olive oil. Next add the chicken sausages to the pan (Image 3).
2. Fry the chicken sausages on the stove over medium-high heat for 6-8 minutes, rotating every 2 minutes so they brown evenly (Image 4).

Cook Chicken Sausage On the Grill (using a griddle pan)

Preheat the BBQ or griddle pan you plan to use until slightly smoking.

1. Add a neutral oil to the grates and place your chicken sausages on the grill or griddle (Image 5).
2. Cook on two sides for 3-4 minutes each, flipping the sausages when they naturally release from the grates (Image 6).

Cook Chicken Sausage In the Air fryer

1. Place the chicken sausages in the air fryer basket and spray with avocado oil. Be sure the sausages are not touching (Image 7).
2. Cook the sausages for 10-15 minutes at 200°C/400°F depending on their thickness (Image 8).

Need inspiration for some side dish recipes? Try my Roasted Mediterranean Vegetables, Creamed Cabbage, Roasted Vegetable Soup

What’s the best way to cook chicken sausage?

My vote is air frying! It’s the least effort,  you get amazing browning and it takes less time than the oven (quicker cook time and also no preheating). Plus when you use foil, the clean up is minimal. 

Serving Suggestions

Here are some great sides to go with your chicken sausages:

• Peppers
• Cabbage
• Baked Apples

Here are some other uses for chicken sausage:

• Add to soups like Easy Tuscan White Bean Soup, Tomato & Lentil Soup, Green Chili Chicken Soup
• Add it to a rice dish like One Pot Chicken & Rice, Prawn Rice (Simple & One Pot), Nando’s Spicy Rice for more protein.
• You can also try putting the sausage on a bun like a hot dog and adding condiments like mustard, relish, or sauerkraut.

Leftover Storage and Reheat Instructions

Refrigerator: sometimes I like to batch cook my chicken sausages for healthy meal prep throughout the week. Store cooked chicken sausages in a sealed container for 3-4 days. 

Freezer: I prefer to freeze my sausages raw, then defrost and cook them when I’m ready to eat as they take such a short amount of time to cook. 

Reheat: the simplest and easiest way to reheat is the microwave. Cook on high for 1-2 minutes depending on how thick your sausages are. 

Recipe FAQs

Need something sweet for after? Try these recipes; Chocolate Chip Microwave Cookies, Chocolate Brownies, Chocolate Rice Cakes with Peanut Butter

Explore More Recipes

Easy Sausage and Peppers (One Pan)

Creamy Sausage and Fennel Pasta 

Italian Sausage Stuffed Peppers

Easy Sausage Tray Bake with Vegetables (+video!)

How to Cook Chicken Sausage (4 Ways)

by Mimi Harrison

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5 from 1 vote

£3.20

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American

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Servings:

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If you’re wondering how to cook chicken sausages, these 4 are fool proof and simple, with a delicious end result.

Ingredients

• ▢ 340 grams chicken sausage

Method

Oven instructions

• Preheat your oven to 200°C/ 400°F. Line a baking dish with foil and spray with avocado oil. Cook for 12-18 minutes depending on the thickness of your sausage.

Pan-fry instructions

• To a non-stick frying pan, add a spray of avocado oil or a drizzle of olive oil. Fry the chicken sausages over a medium high heat for 6-8 minutes. Rotate every 2 minutes for even browning

BBQ/ griddle instructions

• Allow your BBQ/griddle pan to preheat. You’ll know it’s ready when it starts to lightly smoke.
• Add a neutral oil (rapeseed, canola or vegetable) to the grates and place your chicken sausages onto the grill.
• The sausages will be ready to flip when they naturally release, if they are sticking- let them cook a little longer until they move without tearing.
• Grill two sides of the sausages for around 3-4 minutes each.

Air Fryer Instructions

• No need to preheat your airfryer! Place the chicken sausages in your airfryer basket, allowing space between each sausage. Spray with avocado oil and cook for 10-15 minutes 200°C/ 400°F depending on the thickness of your sausage.
• If you want to reduce mess, you can line the basket with foil. You will still get great colour on one side of the sausage, but without foil you get browning all around.

Notes

• Don’t overcook them- chicken sausages often use chicken breast not thighs so they are leaner, making them easier to overcook. Temp them and stop cooking as soon as they reach 165°F/ 73°C.
  

• Use a spritz of fry light to evenly distribute the oil, whilst still keeping the calories low. This will promote browning and flavor.

• Use foil to reduce clean up with both the oven and the air fryer

• If the chicken sausages aren’t releasing from the grill/griddle pan, leave them to cook longer until they release without tearing.

 

Nutrition

Servings: servings

Fat: 12g

Saturated Fat: 3g

Sugar: 1g

Calories: 170kcal

Carbohydrates: 4g

Protein: 13g