How to cook a fry-up in the air fryer

Thea Everett

Deputy editor (audiences) Thea loves to be in the kitchen and has a particular interest in cooking on a budget and deep frying. She thinks Sri Lankan and Indian food is the food of the gods. She looks after the brand’s social channels and newsletter – and contributes features and recipes.

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Making a fry-up is notoriously a juggling act. There are always 2 or 3 pans, not to mention the stressful task of keeping items warm, unless you happen to have an at-home plancha. But with the advent of the air fryer comes a new age of fry-up. For meat, mushrooms, potatoes and tomatoes, the air fryer is a brilliant tool, getting each breakfast item cooked to perfection with less oil and less mess.

The virtues of the air fryer full English

There are few breakfasts mightier than the fry-up, and the air fryer can turn your breakfast cooking process from stressful to easy with just a few tips. Forget having 3 frying pans and the oven on slowly drying out your different items. Forget the fug of a greasy spoon permeating the house for the day – the air fryer keeps smells at bay and means far less oil is needed to get the desired fried result.

The air fryer’s unparalleled reheating abilities also mean that you can get everything to optimum temperature just before serving too, should any elements have cooled down in the process (whether you need to do this will depend on the size of your air fryer and how many drawers it has). Below, we take you through each essential fry-up ingredient, from sausages to mushrooms.

Step 1: air fryer sausages and bacon

If you’ve not made sausages in your air fryer yet, you’re in for a treat! The gadget renders the skin perfectly browned all around while the middle remains moist, as all good sausages should be. The best part is they take half the time than they would in the oven. Add your bacon a few minutes later, if space allows, to get two items cooked in one go.

For the sausages, place them in the preheated air fryer and cook for 10-11 minutes at 200ºc.
For the bacon, lay the rashers in a single layer and add to the gadget after 3 minutes (if cooking at the same time as the sausages). Close the lid/drawer and cook for 7 minutes. Check, and cook for slightly longer if you prefer your bacon crispier, or remove if cooked to your liking.

Step 2: air fryer fried potatoes/hash browns

Air fryers and potatoes are good friends, as our air fryer jacket potatoes, air fryer wedges, and air fryer chips demonstrate. To fry potatoes in the air fryer, we favour slicing the potatoes into ½ cm semicircles.

Toss your cut potatoes in vegetable oil and sprinkle them with salt.
Layer them in a single layer in the pre-heated machine, then cook at 200ºc for 15-18 minutes or until golden.

Step 3: air fryer mushrooms and tomatoes

Mushrooms and tomatoes can be added to the gadget half way through the cooking of your potatoes, if space allows.

To cook your mushrooms and tomatoes in the air fryer, chop them as desired, then toss them gently in vegetable oil and arrange in a single layer and cook at 200ºc for 7 minutes, or until cooked to your liking.

Step 4: air fried eggs

Admittedly, the eggs are the trickiest item to make in the air fryer, but it can be done. To get an even cook on your egg, you’ll need a small vessel such as a ramekin. If you have room, put your ramekins in the air fryer shortly after you’ve put the mushrooms and tomatoes in.

Oil your ramekin well (you could use a pastry brush or your fingers to ensure the oil was completely covering the ramekin).
Then crack your egg in the middle and cook in the pre-heated gadget at 180ºc for 5-6 minutes or until the white is set.

Step 5: beans

There is simply no one who could persuade us that heating beans in an air fryer is more efficient than in a pan on the hob, so we won’t be telling you to do it. If you opt for beans, heat them in a saucepan alongside or in a container in your microwave and save yourself the trouble!

Step 6: serving up

The best thing about the air fryer is its ability to reheat food in a matter of seconds. So, before you plate up, check whether any ingredient needs a quick blast and if so give it 1-2 minutes at 150ºc. Finally, plate everything up and add toast if desired.

Find more air fryer recipes and ideas here.