Last updated on December 16th, 2021
Hearing, “Air fryer smoked sausage with red cabbage” may not seem all that inspiring, or make one think of a hearty meal worthy of an average-sized family. I have made this dish for two with plenty of leftovers, and have made for four to satisfy all. It’s incredibly versatile and – dare I say it? Delicious!
Tips & Tricks for making Air Fryer Smoked Sausage with Red Cabbage
The number one trick here is to have a decent-sized air fryer. I try to keep my recipes “air fryer agnostic”, meaning – friendly for air fryers of all shapes and sizes. However for this recipe, bigger is definitely better. For reference, I’m using this Ninja Foodi 5-in-1 air fryer.
In addition to the ingredients mentioned in the recipe card below, I have found it also helps to have a few pastry brushes, and a few toothpicks – I’ll explain why in a bit.
Combine oil, fennel, caraway seeds, salt, and pepper in a small bowl and mix well.
Arrange cabbage and onion in a single layer in the air fryer basket. Please note: If you aren’t able to use a larger air fryer, or prefer using a smaller air fryer basket, you may need to work this part in batches.
Air fryers are small convection ovens, which means they are “fan based” appliances Heat blows around inside of the air fryer at high speeds to cook food evenly. Leafy vegetables and other “light” food gets blown around against the heating elements during the cooking process. In order to prevent this, I use wooden toothpicks to secure vegetables to keep them in place. They can be easily removed after the cooking has completed. (see image below)
Add the bell peppers on top of the onions and cabbage.
Notice that you now have more than one layer of food in the air fryer basket, which defies the typical “rules” of cooking in an air fryer.
This is okay, as this works for this dish. We’ll be “steaming” all of this food together to make our air fryer sausage with red cabbage.
Brush vegetables with spice and oil mixture.
Place sausage on top of cabbage, onions and bell peppers.
Brush sausage with spicy mustard.
Cook for 10 – 12 minutes or until cabbage is tender.
Remove from air fryer and remove toothpicks from the cabbage wedges (if used). Serve immediately. Serve with more spicy mustard if desired.
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Air Fryer Smoked Sausage with Red Cabbage
Equipment
- Air Fryer
- toothpicks
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon fennel
- 1 teaspoon caraway seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 cup Red or Orange Bell Pepper, seeded and sliced thin
- 1/2 head red cabbage, cut into small wedges
- 1 cup onion, cut into slices
- 1 13.5-ounce link cooked smoked sausage cut into 1 to 2 inch pieces on the diagonal
- Spicy mustard – for serving
Instructions
- Preheat air fryer to 350°. Line air fryer basket with parchment paper and spray with a vegetable-based cooking spray.
- Combine oil, fennel, caraway seeds, salt, and pepper in a small bowl and mix well.
- Arrange cabbage and onion in a single layer in the air fryer basket. Please note: If you are using a smaller air fryer basket, you may need to work this part in batches.
- Add sliced bell peppers on top of the cabbage wedges and sliced onions.
- Brush vegetables with spice and oil mixture.
- Place sausage on top of cabbage, onions and bell peppers.
- Brush sausage with spicy mustard.
- Cook for 10 – 12 minutes or until cabbage is tender.
- Remove from air fryer and remove toothpicks (if used).
- Serve immediately.
- Serve with more spicy mustard if desired.
