Air fryer hamburgers are the easiest way to make juicy, mouthwatering burgers with perfectly toasty buns without stepping outside or standing over a hot grill! Season the patties with our favorite burger seasoning and let your air fryer do the rest.
Why You Should Make Air Fryer Hamburgers
After one bite of these extra-juicy beef burgers tucked inside crisp, toasty buns, you’ll always want to cook hamburger in the air fryer. These air fryer burgers are:
- Ready in minutes. The air fryer takes 10 minutes or less to air fry burgers, and it’s basically hands-free. It takes a lot of the guesswork out of cooking a perfect hamburger.
- Perfectly cooked. Air fryer burgers come out mouthwateringly juicy on the inside and deliciously seared on the outside. Cooked exactly to your liking, every time.
- All-weather. If you were planning a family BBQ only to look outside and see clouds rolling in, don’t panic. Your air fryer has you covered, making authentic-tasting burgers without ever heating up the grill!
The air fryer is a wonderful way to speed up your favorite dinners! We love using our air fryer to cook everything from steak and hot dogs, to hot honey chicken and a melty grilled cheese.
What You’ll Need
Here are some notes on the ingredients you’ll need to make your air fryer hamburger patties. Scroll down to the recipe card for exact amounts.
- Ground Beef: We make these all-beef burger patties with 80/20 ground beef. A little fat keeps the burger juicy, and the greasiness to a minimum.
- Egg: Similar to making meatloaf, mixing a whole egg into the burger meat helps bind the ingredients so that the patties hold together.
- Worcestershire Sauce: Worcestershire sauce boosts the flavors in these burgers with a hit of delicious umami. You can also use coconut aminos or tamari.
- Spices: We season our ground beef with garlic powder and onion powder, plus salt and pepper.
- Burger Seasoning: In addition to seasoning the burger meat, we season the outside of the burgers with our favorite homemade burger seasoning. You can also use steak seasoning!
How to Cook Hamburgers in Air Fryer
This is a recipe in two parts: preparing the best burger patties (ever!) and then using your air fryer to get them perfectly cooked and juicy. Both take just a few quick steps. Check out how to make these burgers below. Scroll to the recipe card at bottom of the post for full detailed instructions.
- Prepare the burger meat. Combine the ground beef and egg with the Worcestershire sauce and spices.
- Shape the burger patties. Divide the meat into four even-sized balls. Form each ball into a flat-ish disk. Press your thumb into the middle of each patty to make an indent. This keeps the burgers from puffing up in the air fryer!
- Season the patties. Give the beef patties a sprinkle with burger seasoning on both sides. Arrange burgers in air fryer basket in a single layer.
- Cook. Air fry hamburger patties for 7 minutes. Flip, and cook for another couple of minutes, or until the burgers cooked how you like them (see below).
- Add cheese. If you’re making cheeseburgers, add cheese after the air fryer switches off. Close the fryer and let the residual heat melt the cheese.
- Rest and serve. Let the hamburgers rest for a few minutes under foil so that they get extra juicy! Serve with toasted buns and your favorite toppings!
How Long to Cook Hamburgers in Air Fryer?
How long you cook your air fryer hamburger patties will depend on how cooked you like your burgers. The easiest way to tell when your burgers are done to your liking is to take the internal temperature using an instant-read meat thermometer. Here’s a quick cheat sheet with cook times based off a quarter pound burger:
- Rare: 120-125ºF, about 7 minutes total cook time.
- Medium-Rare: 130-135ºF, about 8 minutes total cook time.
- Medium: 140-145ºF, about 9 minutes total cook time.
- Medium-Well: 150-155ºF, about 10 minutes total cook time.
- Well-Done: 160-165ºF, about 11 minutes total cook time.
Cook’s Notes and Variations
- Let the beef come to room temperature. Take your ground beef out of the fridge 20 minutes ahead of time to let it rest at room temperature. It helps with even cooking!
- Season inside and out. We find that the best flavor comes from seasoning the ground beef when making the patties, and then pressing the outside of the burgers into burger seasoning (or steak seasoning). It takes homemade burgers to the next level!
- Helpful tools. If you have them, using a scale and burger press helps to ensure perfectly formed burgers.
- Make an indent in the patties. Making a thumbprint in the middle of the patties helps to keep the burgers from puffing up into meatballs while cooking.
- Toast the buns. Toast your burger buns in the air fryer! While the burgers rest, turn the air fryer down to 350°F. Open up the hamburger buns and let them toast for 1-3 minutes inside the basket. For even more flavor, brush the buns with melted butter or garlic herb butter.
Recipe FAQs
Most burgers take about 10 minutes to cook in the air fryer. The exact time depends on the size and thickness of your burgers and your desired doneness. See the How To section above for details.
Yes, it’s a good idea to flip your burgers after the first 6-7 minutes of cooking. This way they’ll cook through and sear evenly all over.
Sure! We’ll always recommend freshly made hamburgers, but if you’re not up for the task of shaping your own patties, you can cook your preferred frozen hamburger patties in the air fryer instead. Cook them straight from frozen at 400ºF for 13-15 minutes, flipping halfway through.
Burger Topping Ideas
In our house, we like to BYOB: Build Your Own Burger! You can be as classic or as creative as you like when it comes to customizing these air fryer hamburgers. Here are some easy ideas:
- Classic: We love our air fryer hamburgers topped with crisp lettuce, sliced red onions, pickles and tomatoes.
- Gourmet: Try different sauces like this creamy mushroom sauce, garlic aioli, honey mustard. For even more flavor, try toppings like caramelized onions, roasted tomatoes, avocado slices and specialty cheeses.
- BBQ Bacon: Slather your burger in bbq sauce and top with crispy bacon and onions!
What to Serve With Air Fryer Burgers
Nothing pairs better with juicy hamburgers than crispy French fries, sweet potato fries, or zucchini fries (all easy to cook in the air fryer!). We also like these air fryer potatoes and onions.
During the summer, we love these air fryer burgers served with a side of creamy cucumber salad or a Mexican corn salad. For something heartier, try crock pot baked beans, broccoli Mac and cheese, or this twice baked potato casserole.
Air Fryer Hamburgers
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon burger seasoning, or steak seasoning
Instructions
- Set ground beef on the counter for 20 minutes before you are ready to cook to allow it to warm up and come to room temperature. (This helps with even cooking!)
- Preheat the air fryer to 375°F.
- In a medium sized bowl, combine the ground beef, egg, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and black pepper.
- Quarter the meat into 4 equal sections. Pat the meat into a ball, lay the meat on a flat surface, with the palm of your hand flatten the ball into a disk.
- To keep the hamburgers from puffing up use a measuring spoon or your thumb to press an indent in the middle of each burger.
- Season all sides of the patties with the burger seasoning and place in the air fryer basket.
- Cook for 7 minutes, flip and cook 3 more minutes, until desired doneness. If adding cheese, when the air fryer turns off, add cheese and close the air fryer for a couple of minutes. No need to turn on the air fryer the heat will melt the cheese perfectly.
- Toast the buns: While the burgers rest, turn the heat down to 350°F. Add the buns and cook for 1 to 3 minutes, until lightly toasted. You can brush the buns lightly with butter, or garlic herb butter, for even more flavor.
- Let the burgers rest for 5 minutes, covered with foil to allow the burgers to become extra juicy. Serve on your favorite toasted buns or wrapped in lettuce!
Notes
- We find the best flavor for a burger is to season the ground beef, then press the outside of the burger into burger seasoning (or steak seasoning). It really takes them to the next level flavor wise!
- Using a scale and burger press will ensure perfectly formed burgers.
- We used 80/20 ground beef; we find a little fat helps keep the burger juicy.
- Making a thumbprint in the middle of the patties helps to keep the burgers from rising and becoming puffy while cooking.
- Use an instant read meat thermometer to ensure your burgers are cooked to your desired doneness:
- Rare: 120-125ºF
- Medium-Rare: 130-135ºF
- Medium: 140-145ºF
- Medium-Well: 150-155ºF
- Well-Done: 160-165ºF
How To Store Leftovers
- Refrigerate. Store your leftover hamburgers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- Reheat. You can reheat burgers in the air fryer at 350ºF for a few minutes until warmed through. It’s way better than the microwave!
- Freeze. The cooked burger patties can be frozen for up to 3 months. Once they’re cooled, double-wrap the burgers in plastic wrap and store them in the freezer. Thaw at room temperature, or you can cook the burgers straight from frozen (add a few extra minutes to the cooking time).
