Air Fryer Cheeseburgers
Oh my gosh, you guys. I just got a new toy and I am so excited to start sharing all my recipes for it. Are you ready for this?
It’s an air fryer.(amazon link)
If you thought these were just some flashy trend, think again. This baby is a total game changer for the kitchen. It’s a way to make all those delicious, deep-fried foods that you feel so guilty about eating — fried chicken, French fries, onion rings — without all the fat. And on top of that, it can make all your favorite grilled foods in record time, with that same crisp, beautifully browned surface. No need to wait for grilling season!
For my first air fryer meal, I decided to make cheeseburgers. I used my normal hamburger recipe, with thyme and Worcestershire sauce for flavor and an egg to help the patties hold together. And as you can see, they came out just beautiful: thick and juicy but perfectly browned. All I had to do was flip them once halfway through.
Email Me This Recipe!
Need to save time? Have this article emailed straight to your inbox + sign up for all the latest recipes!
Oh, and if you want fries with that? They’re super easy too. I used frozen fries, and they took less than 15 minutes to cook. And no greasy pans to clean up!
How does an air fryer actually work?
Basically, it’s a scaled-down version of a convection oven. It uses a fan to circulate hot air around the food, cooking it from all directions. This gets it browned on the outside much faster than the oven can, so it doesn’t dry out, and without all the grease you’d need for deep-frying. All you need is a tiny little spritz of cooking spray to keep the food from sticking to the fryer basket.
Can the air fryer cook the burgers to different levels of doneness?
Very easily! All you have to do is tweak the cooking time. If you cook them at 375°F to 380°F, 8 minutes will get them cooked to around medium, while 12 minutes will get them well done. And you can easily open up the air fryer partway through cooking to check the doneness.
How do you melt the cheese on top?
Also super easy. Just open up the fryer, pop the cheese slices on top of the burgers, and close it again. You can do this during cooking, or add them at the end of the process and hit the “Keep warm” button. The cheese will melt in the time it takes to all get your fixings together.
TOOLS USED FOR MAKING AIR FRYER CHEESEBURGERS
Air Fryer: Cooking time is faster than conventional oven, but with crispier and tastier results.
Food Scale: Use this food scale to make sure food is measured out equally.
How to make Air Fryer Cheeseburgers
Ingredients you will need:
- lean beef
- Egg
- Worcestershire Sauce
- thyme
- Salt and pepper
- Nonstick spray
- sliced cheese of choice
- Don’t forget your favorite fixings (buns, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, onion, etc)
Directions:
- In a mixing bowl, Combine the beef, egg, Worcestershire and seasoning.
- Form 6 quarter pound patties. It is important to make them all the same size so that they cook evenly and at the same time. I used a food scale for this.
- Spray your fryer basket with nonstick spray. That is all the oil you need! Place 4 burgers in the basket. Set the heat to 375-380. You will cook the burgers for 8-12 minutes depending on how done you like your burgers. 8 minutes will be more medium whereas the 12 minute mark will be more, well done. You will want to flip your burgers half way through.
- Once your burgers are done you can place cheese on them and put them back in the fryer and select the keep warm button. This will melt your cheese while you get your fixings together, or you can open it up any time during the cooking phase and add your cheese.
- If you would like fries, they are just a quick step in the air fryer as well and the fryer is so easy to clean it is a quick swipe and then you have fries going as well. I just quickly wiped and cleaned the grease from the burgers out, sprayed the basket again and threw some frozen fries into the basket. Set the fryer for 400 degrees and cooked 10-15 minutes. I opened it up half way through and shook them to make sure they were cooking evenly and salted them.
Air Fryer Cheeseburgers
Email this recipe!
Get this recipe emailed straight to your inbox!
Ingredients
- 1.5 pounds of lean beef
- 1 Large Egg
- 1 TBSP Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 tsp thyme
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Nonstick spray
- 6 slices cheese
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl combine the beef, egg, Worcestershire and seasoning.
- Form 6 quarter pound patties. It is important to make them all the same size so that they cook evenly and at the same time. I used a food scale for this.
- Spray your fryer basket with nonstick spray. That is all the oil you need! Place 4 burgers in the basket. Set the heat to 375-380. You will cook the burgers for 8-12 minutes depending on how done you like your burgers. 8 minutes will be more medium whereas the 12 minute mark will be more, well done. You will want to flip your burgers half way through.
- Once your burgers are done you can place cheese on them and put them back in the fryer and select the keep warm button. This will melt your cheese while you get your fixings together, or you can open it up any time during the cooking phase and add your cheese.
- If you would like fries, they are just a quick step in the air fryer as well and the fryer is so easy to clean it is a quick swipe and then you have fries going as well. I just quickly wiped and cleaned the grease from the burgers out, sprayed the basket again and threw some frozen fries into the basket. Set the fryer for 400 degrees and cooked 10-15 minutes. I opened it up half way through and shook them to make sure they were cooking evenly and salted them.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer: Family Fresh Meals is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is only an estimate. We recommend running the ingredients through an online nutritional calculator if you need to verify any information.
Did You Make This Recipe?
Make sure to share it with me below!
MORE EASY RECIPES YOU WILL LOVE!
Burger Bowls
Best Burger and Fry Seasoning
Copycat Chick Fil A Sauce
Could I use this recipe in my instant pot with the air fryer lid attached?
Hi Betsy, That might work. I haven’t used the air fryer lid yet, so I can’ say for sure.
I’ve made these delicious burgers (7 minutes for medium rare) many times using the IP crisp lid. 400 degrees, spritz of olive oil then 1 minute each side. Toss a slice of cheese on after crisping. Tastes like you cooked them on the grill.
Can’t make better burgers than this recipe.
So happy you love the recipe!
This was a big no for us 😕 I’m not only new to air frying but also to cooking; I wanted to give my husband a break but it turns out neither of us are fans of thyme. The cooking instructions were fine and the burgers were done to satisfaction but neither of us cared for the flavor! The thyme was really overpowering…I’ll stick to salt, steak seasoning, and garlic in the future
I am glad the burgers cooked to your liking, but sorry to hear you didn’t like the thyme. Some folks just aren’t a fan.
I’ve read that cooking spray shouldn’t be used in an air fryer. I just got an air fryer for Christmas and am just reading up on it. Wondered if this is true.
I use the nonarisol type of cooking spray.
I loved this recipe, as a mother of two little girls they loved the cheeseburgers!!