Cooking Hamburgers In The Air Fryer

Next time you're craving a restaurant-style hamburger, let your air fryer do the work! In less than 10 minutes you'll have juicy, flavorful Air Fryer Hamburgers cooked to perfection right in your very own kitchen!

a hand holding a cheeseburger with lettuce, tomato, and pickles on a tan bun

Air Fryer Hamburgers are easy to make and take less than 10 minutes to cook!

Imagine fresh, juicy hamburgers cooked to a mouthwatering finish in your air fryer with minimal effort!

Serve with some air fried french fries, and you'll have the perfect all-American diner-style meal!

air fryer hamburger with lettuce cheese tomato pickle and bun

The Best Air Fryer Hamburgers Recipe

It doesn't take much to make the best hamburgers in your air fryer!

All you need is a couple ground protein patties, a pair of hamburger buns, and whatever toppings you desire.

You can make beef, turkey, or chicken, or veggie burgers in your air fryer with ease!

Beyond Meat is a great plant-based option if you want to get the texture of a classic grilled hamburger.

Feel free to add seasonings or liquid smoke (my favorite!) to your protein to give it a little extra flavor if you like.

How do you make the perfect hamburger patty?

Making hamburgers in your air fryer is ridiculously easy! Here's what you'll need to do:

a collage of four photos showing steps for cooking hamburger patties in an air fryer

First, you need a couple of nice thick burger patties. If you're making your own, start with your preferred ground protein and add whatever seasonings you desire. Using your hands, shape the ground meat into patties that are around ¾ to one inch thick.
Next, place your patties in the bottom of your air fryer basket, making sure to leave an inch of space between them.
Cook your air fryer hamburgers for 4 minutes at 350 degrees, then open the air fryer basket and use a spatula to flip them. Cook them for another 4 minutes until they're golden brown on the outside and cooked to a medium consistency on the inside.
When your air fryer burgers are done cooking, you can then add a slice of cheese and cook for one additional minute before serving.

a cooked round hamburger patty on a round white plate

How to Assemble the Perfect Burger

Assembling the perfect burger may seem like a science, but what it really boils down to is personal preference.

You can any toppings that you desire to your delicious, juicy air fryer burgers!

Here's how we like to do it:

a collage of six photos showing how to assemble a cheeseburger with a bun, lettuce, tomato slice, and three pickle slices

Start with a bun on a sturdy plate.
Place the top part of the bun aside, and layer a couple of pieces of fresh leafy green lettuce on top of the bottom bun piece.
Next, Place your cooked air fryer hamburger on top of the lettuce.
Add a thick slice of fresh tomato on top of the burger.
Next, layer on a few crunchy pickles. (You could also add onions and condiments at this point.)
Finally, top the burger with the remaining half of the bun, then serve and enjoy!

air fryer hamburger with lettuce on a bun on a white plate and white background. This horizontal picture has a white and

Tips for Making Hamburgers in the Air Fryer

If you like your burger a little more well done, you can add up to 4 minutes to the air fryer time.

Keep in mind that this recipe is for patties that are around 1 inch thick, so if your patties are thinner, you'll want to reduce that time by a minute or two.

I recommend only cooking 2 burgers at a time so that they'll cook thoroughly - don't crowd the basket!

When in doubt, use a meat thermometer to check doneness. Your air fryer hamburgers should reach an internal temperature of 160 degrees F before consuming.

If cooking beef burgers, your air fryer may smoke. You can add a little water to the basket of your air fryer to prevent smoking.

Always make sure to clean your air fryer well between uses, especially when cooking protein with a higher fat content.

Do you have any additional tips that you've learn from trying this recipe?

If so, leave them in the comments below. It will help future readers! Thanks for sharing your experience!

side view of an air fryer hamburger with a bun on a white plate. a red and white napkin (striped) is at the front of the vertical picture.

Can you cook frozen hamburgers in an air fryer?

Yes! Frozen hamburgers cook nicely in your air fryer.

Simply add a minute or two to the air frying time to make sure that the burgers reach a safe internal temperature.

a cheeseburger on a light tan bun with green lettuce, a red tomato slice, and a few slices of green pickle

Looking for more delicious restaurant-style air fryer recipes? Check these out!

We have so many air fryer recipes to choose from!

If you are having trouble figuring out which one to try next, we suggest: Air Fryer BBQ Chicken Wings, Hotdogs in the Air Fryer and Air Fryer Chicken Breast Or maybe you want to try an Apple Bacon Burger.

Pro Tip: This recipe can be made in the air fryer unit with a basket or the air fryer oven.

If you are using the air fryer oven, use the middle rack and select the "Air Fry" function.

PRO TIP: When cooking meat it is extremely important that you measure the internal temperature to make sure your meat has been cooked to completion.

I highly recommend that you get a meat thermometer to keep handy when cooking in your air fryer!

Have you made this recipe? Please leave a comment AND rating below! It helps other readers!

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Air Fryer Hamburgers

Cook Time 8 mins

Total Time 8 mins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: air fryer, burgers, cheeseburgers, hamburgers, homemade

Servings: 2

Calories: 350 kcal

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Air fryer

2 4 oz burger patties Or Plant Based Alternative
2 hamburger buns
cheese or other toppings if desired

Place your hamburger patty into the basket of your air fryer.
Cook your air fryer burger for 8 minutes at 350 degrees F. At the 4 minute mark (halfway through cooking your hamburger), flip the patty over to ensure that it will cook evenly.
When the air fryer is done cooking, you can add a slice of cheese and continue cooking for 1 minutes at 350 degrees F to melt the cheese.
Remove the hamburger from the air fryer basket and place onto bun.
Add desired toppings, and enjoy!

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This timing works great with Beyond Burgers
If you are making your burgers from scratch, be sure to shape the patties into sizes that fit into your air fryer basket.
If you are using a frozen burger, add a few extra minutes to the cook time, to ensure that the burger patty cooks all the way through.
If you are making a beef or turkey burger, make sure to test the burger with a meat thermometer. For optimal safety, hamburger patties should reach a minimum internal temperature of 160 degrees F before consuming.
You can add spices to your burger patties if shaping them from scratch! I love adding liquid smoke to my burgers to give them a fresh grilled taste.
If using beef, you can place a little water on the inside of the basket to help prevent smoking. When the fat drains into the basket and sizzles it sometimes smokes a little.

Pro Tip: This recipe can be made in the air fryer unit with a basket or the air fryer oven. If you are using the air fryer oven, use the middle rack and select the "Air Fry" function.

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Air Fryers can vary greatly. Please take the time to learn your specific air fryer. You may need to adjust times and temperatures based upon your air fryer.All though this website attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, the information should only be considered an estimate. Varying factors such as different product types, different brands, etc. can change nutritional information. It is your responsibility as a consumer to read all labels to make sure the ingredients fit your dietary needs as well as calculate your own nutritional information as a double check.