Air Fryer Hamburgers

Delicious and juicy air fryer hamburgers made with your favorite toppings make a easy weeknight meal!

Air fryers are known to make deep-fried foods a little healthier, but most people don’t know you can cook the best raw hamburgers in the air fryer!

There’s nothing I love more than great homemade burgers on the grill. Except we live in New York and it can get down to negative degrees with the windchill here in the winter. That doesn’t make good grilling weather.

I started craving some hamburger patties and figured I would try cooking them in the air fryer. They came out juicy and perfectly cooked medium well!

How to Cook Hamburgers in the Air Fryer

STEP ONE: Preheat your air fryer to 360 degrees.

STEP TWO: Mix together the ground beef, minced garlic, salt, and pepper with your hands. Form the ground beef into 4 hamburger patties.

I like to use the bottom of a plate to press the patty into the cutting board to help get my burgers pretty thin.

The burgers will shrink in size and rise a little inside the air fryer.

STEP THREE: Place a piece of bread in between the air fryer basket and drawer if using a basket air fryer. This will soak up any grease that drips to avoid smoking in your air fryer.

STEP FOUR: Place the hamburger meat in the air fryer in one layer. They can be touching but should not overlap at all.

If there isn’t enough room in the air fryer, you can cook in batches.

STEP FIVE: Cook the air fryer hamburger patties for 8-12 minutes, flipping once halfway through until the hamburgers reach the internal temperature of 155 degrees (for a medium-well hamburger).

STEP SIX: Remove the hamburger patties from the air fryer, place them on hamburger buns with your favorite toppings, and enjoy!

How To Add Cheese to an Air Fryer Hamburger

1. Once the air fryer burgers are cooked, turn the air fryer off, open it, add the cheese on top, and close the air fryer back up with the hamburger steaks inside.
2. Allow 1-2 minutes for the cheese to melt with the residual heat inside the air fryer.

If the cheese does not melt using the above method, simply place 4 toothpicks on each “corner” of the burger where the cheese is and cook at 360 degrees for about 1 minute.

If you have a thick slice of cheese, like cheddar, it may need to cook for an additional minute.

Now you have an air fryer cheeseburger!

How Long to Cook Hamburgers in the Air Fryer

The time it takes to cook a hamburger in the air fryer depends on how well you would like your burger.

Always check the internal temperature using a meat thermometer prior to removing the hamburgers from the air fryer and eating.

• Rare (125 degrees): approximately 4 minutes + let the burger rest for 3 minutes
• Medium Rare (135 degrees): approximately 5 minutes
• Medium (145 degrees): approximately 6 minutes
• Medium Well (155 degrees): approximately 8-12 minutes
• Well Done (160 degrees): approximately 10+ minutes

Toppings to Add to Air Fryer Hamburgers

• Ketchup
• Mustard
• Relish
• Onions
• Hot sauce
• Lettuce
• Tomatoes
• Mayo
• Mushrooms
• Roasted Peppers
• Green Tomatoes
• Bacon and Blue Cheese
• BBQ Sauce
• Buffalo Sauce

What Kind of Hamburger Meat Should I Use?

I personally like to use an 80/20 (80% ground beef/20% fat) burger as it contains enough fat to make the burger juicy but is still much healthier than fattier versions.

Using a 90/10 burger starts to make a hamburger in the air fryer became a little dry.

When hamburgers cook, they release the liquid inside causing the burger to shrink. That liquid also includes fat.

The fattier your ground beef, the more your burger will shrink.

When forming your patties, make them larger than the bun size to account for the inevitable shrinkage.

What to Serve with Hamburgers

• Air Fryer French Fries
• Air Fryer Sweet Potato Fries
• Air Fryer Waffle Fries
• Air Fryer Onion Rings
• Instant Pot Potato Salad
• Air Fryer Steak Fries
• Air Fryer Curly Fries
• BBQ Chicken Pasta Salad

And try out these 16 ways to make fries in the air fryer to make air fryer burgers and fries!

How to Make Frozen Hamburgers in the Air Fryer

1. Preheat your air fryer to 370 degrees.
2. Place the burgers in the air fryer and cook for 10 to 20 minutes, depending on cook preference (15 to 17 minutes for medium).
3. Remove the hamburgers from the air fryer and enjoy!

And read our Air Fryer Frozen Hamburgers recipe and post for any other questions you have about using frozen burgers.

How to Reheat Hamburgers in the Air Fryer

1. Preheat your air fryer to 350 degrees.
2. Place the leftover hamburger patty in the air fryer reheating and cooking them for 2 to 3 minutes until warmed thoroughly.

Other Air Fryer Burger Recipes You’ll Love:

• Air Fryer Frozen Hamburgers
• Air Fryer Turkey Burgers
• Air Fryer Salmon Burgers
• Air Fryer Beyond Burgers
• Air Fryer Impossible Burgers