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By Karly Campbell on | Updated | 13 Comments
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We love cooking bratwurst in the air fryer! The brats cook perfectly throughout and leave the outside of the brat just a little crispy. The beer cheese sauce really takes these brats over the top!
Having brats on the grill is a summer favorite of course. But what do you do when you plan on grilling and the weather gets in the way? Bust out the air fryer.
This bratwurst recipe is even easier in the air fryer! No need to wait for the grill to heat up, brave the weather, or scrape things down after cooking. Just pop them in the air fryer and devour them!
Take these air fryer brats over the top with a special topping: Beer Cheese Sauce!
The beer cheese gives a nice thick cheesy sauce to put on the sausage and the combo just works great!
As a bonus, if you are making brats with air fryer hot dogs, the cheese works great with the dogs too!
Table of Contents
Ingredient Notes
For the brats– Grab some fresh hot dog buns and the bratwurst. To pair with the volume of beer cheese sauce, and to fit your air fryer nicely, five is a good number of each.
For the beer cheese sauce– You will need butter, flour, beer, milk, shredded cheddar, smoked paprika, and chives.
Skip the chives if you hate them, but I love them.
Your milk for the beer cheese sauce can be pretty much any type of milk.
For the shredded cheddar, freshly shredded cheddar will melt much better and make a slightly better sauce than a pre-shredded packaged cheddar. Consider shredding yourself if you want a little improvement to the recipe!
How to Cook the Brats in an Air Fryer:
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There isn’t much to this! Preheat your air fryer to 360 degrees Fahrenheit.
Put your brats in the air fryer. Be sure to use uncooked brats for this recipe, not the pre-cooked kind that you can just microwave. 😉
Don’t stack them, and leave room around the brats for air to move around them.
Then cook them for 15 minutes flipping halfway through. When done cooking the internal temp should be 160 degrees Fahrenheit.
How to Make Beer Cheese Sauce:
Add the butter to a saucepan and let it melt over medium heat.
Next whisk in the flour and continue to cook for one minute.
Now whisk in the milk and beer and keep whisking over medium heat as the sauce thickens. It should be the consistency of a thin gravy and take about 5 minutes.
After that, turn off the heat and stir in your cheddar and paprika.
Adding the cheese to the sauce while it’s still on the heat is what contributes to a grainy, gritty cheese sauce. No bueno.
We Love Beer Cheese!
This beer cheese sauce is good for so many other dishes too! I love to dip my French fries in it, or pour it over roasted potatoes. It is great with hot dogs too if you are serving hot dogs alongside your brats like we usually do.
Want more topping options?
If beer cheese sauce isn’t your thing, that’s fine. It isn’t super traditional even if it is my favorite way to eat them. Here are some more topping options to consider for your taste buds and your grocery list before you air fry your brats!
- Sauerkraut
- Chopped onions
- Relish
- Jalapenos
- Banana peppers
- BACON!
- Ketchup, mustard, mayo, or BBQ sauce
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More recipes you might like:
- If grilling is an option for you and you would rather do that. Then try this grilled brat recipe! I would still use this beer cheese sauce recipe though, it is sooooo good!
- I recommend you give these buffalo chicken flautas a shot if you are looking for something with a little heat.
- If you want something to serve with these, try some air fried potato chips!
- A perfect simple dessert option is air fryer pineapple! So amazing!
- For filling your 90’s shopping mall craving, check out our air fryer pretzel recipe too!
Air Fryer Bratwurst with Beer Cheese Sauce
Created by: Karly Campbell
Course Main Dish
Cuisine American
Prep Time 4 minutes minutes
Cook Time 21 minutes minutes
Total Time 25 minutes minutes
5 brats
Super easy air fried brats are amazing when topped with this thick beer cheese sauce!
Equipment
Ingredients
For the brats:
- 5 uncooked brats
- 5 brat buns
For the beer cheese sauce:
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup beer
- 1/2 cup milk
- 2 cups shredded Cheddar
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 2 tablespoons chopped chives
Instructions
For the brats:
Preheat your air fryer to 360 degrees.
Arrange brats in a single layer in the air fryer basket.
Cook for 15 minutes, turning halfway through, or until brats reach an internal temperature of 160 degrees.
For the cheese sauce:
Add the butter to a small saucepan over medium heat and let melt.
Whisk in the flour and cook for 1 minute.
Whisk in the beer and milk until the sauce thickens, about 3-5 minutes.
Remove from heat and stir in the cheddar and paprika.
To serve:
Place the brats in the buns and drizzle with the cheese sauce. Sprinkle with chives.
Notes
Leftover cheese sauce makes a great dip for french fries, chips, and pretzel nuggets! Store in the fridge and reheat on the stove over low heat, whisking constantly.
Nutrition
Serving: 1g | Calories: 569kcal | Carbohydrates: 44g | Protein: 28g | Fat: 31g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 13g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 73mg | Sodium: 1231mg | Potassium: 402mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 482IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 344mg | Iron: 3mg
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