The air fryer is great at taking frozen chicken patties and turning them into hot, delicious food in a matter of minutes. You can cook chicken patties in air fryer very simply, and the simplicity of using the air fryer is one of the best reasons to use it to cook just about anything you can.
The air fryer is actually considered one of the best methods to cook up frozen chicken patties, which is why when you buy a package of frozen patties at the grocery, there will be air fryer cooking instructions on the package. However, these directions won’t always give you the best results.
How to Cook Frozen Chicken Patties
If you want to make your chicken patties in for coming you don’t need to defrost them first or allow them to reach room temperature. You can put them straight into the air fryer while they’re still frozen. You also don’t have to use any oil, which helps keep this meat somewhat healthy. It’s a lot healthier than deep frying them in oil on the stove top, which is why I prefer the air fryer.
You want to preheat your air fryer to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Let the fryer heat up all the way before you add in the patties, and this ensures that the patties cook completely and that the inside cooks just as well as the outside.
Once the fryer has heated up, you can put your frozen chicken patties into the air fryer basket. Place them in a single layer and don’t let them stack on top of each other or overlap, if you can help it. You may have to cook your patties in batches to cook enough for everybody, particularly if your air fryer is kind of small. If you overcrowd the air fryer, the patties will cook evenly. You may end up with some cold patches here and there.
The patties should cook for about 7 to 8 minutes, and you want to give them a flip around halfway through the cooking time. You can use tongs to flip them so that you don’t burn yourself.
If you’re making chicken patty sandwiches, you can throw the buns into the air fryer as well, after the patties come out, and then cook them for about a minute or two to make them hot and crispy.
How Long to Cook Chicken Patties in Air Fryer?
It’s really important that you don’t cook the chicken patties for too long and that you don’t undercook them either. There’s not much risk that you’ll get food poisoning from undercooking them, since they’re already cooked before you buy them. You don’t have to make sure that they reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees like you would with raw chicken. However, if they’re not heated all the way through, they might be cold in the middle, and that won’t be very pleasant to eat.
So, how long to air fry chicken patties? If you’re cooking them at 400 degrees Fahrenheit and you’ve allowed the air fryer to heat up to that temperature before you add in the chicken patties, it should only take them a maximum of eight minutes to cook. If you overstuffed the air fryer basket, they may not cook all the way through in that time. To ensure that they cook well and thoroughly, flip the chicken patties over at about 3 to 4 minutes into the cooking time, letting them finish cooking on the other side.
You can check them when they’re done cooking to see if they’re heated all the way through. If not, and you’ve already turned off the air fryer, you can finish heating them up in the microwave, warming them for a minute at a time until they’re ready.
How to Reheat Chicken Patties Using the Air Fryer
You know how to cook chicken patties in air fryer now, but what about if you cook them up the day before and you just want to reheat them. You could heat them back up in the microwave for a minute or two on high, but heating them in the air fryer gives them a wonderfully crispy, lightly fried texture that’s just so wonderful.
How to make chicken patties warm again using the air fryer after they have been cooked? You only need to heat the air fryer to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Then, just heat up the patties for three to five minutes. For best results, flip them over halfway through that cooking time.
Can I Melt Cheese on Patties in Air Fryer?
One of my favorite things to have on chicken patties is a slice of cheese, melted to where it becomes part of the patty. You may be tempted to use the air fryer to melt the slice of cheese onto your patty, and while you can do this, it might not be using the method you think.
What you’ll need to do is heat up your chicken patty in the air fryer first. Then, shut off the air fryer and place the patty back in the fryer basket with a slice of cheese on top. Close the air fryer and leave your patty and cheese there for about half a minute to a minute. That should give it enough time for the cheese to melt onto the patty. Just make sure to use the tongs to pull the chicken patty out of the basket, because it will be hot.
You could melt cheese onto your chicken patty in the microwave, but this can affect the texture of your meat a little bit. To keep the texture consistent and crispy, use the air fryer for all your heating needs.
As you can see, it’s pretty easy to cook chicken patties in the air fryer. Without any need to defrost or thaw them, they cook very simply. It only takes a few minutes, and it’s definitely my favorite method for heating up frozen chicken patties, much preferred to the sogginess that microwave heating gives them or the lengthy time it can take in the oven.
