When fast and mess-free are the order of the day, but a good burger is all you want, make air fryer hamburgers and have supper on the table pronto. You’ll get the delicious flavor we all know and love without any mess.
🍽️ Why This Works
It’s fast. Your burgers will only take 9-12 minutes, so you can pop open a bag of chips, mix up a dip, or roast some honey gold potatoes in the oven and still have dinner on the table in about 12 minutes. That’s gold.
These burgers are tasty. The added flavors of our spice mix with good quality ground beef are all that you need to have a fantastic, yummy burger on the table.
Mess Free. Add a parchment liner to your air fryer to make clean-up a breeze. There will be no sticky, gunky skillets to clean.
Even cooking. Unlike ceramic cooktops, grills, or cheap skillets, the air fryer keeps a very steady temperature, so you can trust that your burgers will cook evenly and be perfectly done.
🍔 Ingredients
📝 Ingredient Notes
Ground Beef – 80/20 Ground Beef will have better flavor, but the burgers will shrink more and have more fat. 90/10 will be leaner and lack a little bit in the flavor department, but it will also shrink less. You can use any kind you like.
Spices – Paprika, Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, Salt, and Pepper.
Buns – Pick the Best Buns for Burgers and take your burgers to restaurant quality in a heartbeat.
⏲️ Equipment and Tools
Air Fryer | Any version will work with this recipe. We use an Instant Vortex 7-in-1 (which heats higher) and a Ninja basket. The Vortex has a heat source at the top that is pretty powerful, so always remember to check early when using that machine.
Mixing Bowl | A large mixing bowl is perfect.
Hamburger Press | This is optional, and we did not use one, but it does make your hamburgers very uniform and perfectly shaped.
Optional: If you don’t want to use your hands to mix the ground beef with spices, you may want a potato masher. It will be more gentle on the meat than a hand mixer and easier to mix with than a spoon. This handy tool is also great for mashing avocadoes!
🔥 Instructions
Step One: In a medium bowl, combine ground beef and seasonings until well combined. I like to use my hands to fold the seasoning into the meat. Use a pair of plastic gloves to make clean up easier.
Step Two: Divide beef into four equal portions, roll into balls, and press into patties. If you have a hamburger press, here is where it comes in handy.
Step Three: Preheat Air Fryer to 370ºF. If your air fryer has preset temperatures instead of a dial, just pick the temperature closest to 370ºF.
Step Four: Add patties in a single layer into the basket. Make sure you have good air circulation between the hamburger patties so that they will cook evenly. The air fryer relies on that air circulation to do its job fast.
Tip: Add an air fryer liner before adding the patties to help make cleanup a breeze.
Step Five: Cook for 6-7 minutes, turn burgers over and continue cooking until internal temperature reaches 160°F. It should only take about 3-5 more minutes. Add cheese, if using, and cook until cheese is melted slightly.
Step Six: Serve immediately with your favorite toppings:
❗ Recipe Tips and Tricks
Do not overwork the meat. It will become tough. Fold the seasoning in with your hands until just mixed. There really is no need for a hand mixer.
Toast your buns for added flavor! Place them open side up on a baking sheet in the oven at 350ºF for three to five minutes. Brush with melted butter if desired.
Prepare your toppings before you start the air fryer because this goes fast! This is especially true if you want to caramelize some pineapple rings or onions. When those burgers come out of the air fryer, it is time to eat.
Putting a small dent in each patty using your thumb will help prevent shrinkage.
🧑🍳 Storage and Reheating
Keep your leftover hamburgers in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to three days.
If you won’t be able to use the hamburgers within three days, freeze leftovers in an airtight container for up to three months.
Reheat refrigerated burgers in a skillet or air fryer for a few minutes. To reheat from frozen, simply lower the heat and add more time.
Make sure to snag your {FREEBIE} Air Fryer Cooking Times Printable, Deep Fryer to Air Fryer Conversion Printable and Oven to Air Fryer Conversion Printable.
Meal Prep
You can prep the hamburger patties up to two days ahead of time and keep them in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Separate the patties with waxed paper to keep them from mashing together.
You can also freeze uncooked patties. For instance, if you only need burgers for two people, but make enough patties for six people, freeze at least a couple of the extras uncooked. This will save you time on a busy weeknight or be a nice quick meal when you get home from vacation and don’t have fresh food in the house.
Additions and Substitutions
You can add all kinds of fun ingredients to your burger meat if you like. Finely diced onions, zucchini, yellow squash, oatmeal, cornflake crumbs, or panko bread crumbs are all good options. Once you start adding mix-ins, you will also likely need to add an egg to hold it all together.
Change up the spices for variety. Use a store-bought burger mix, a dry rub mix, or come up with your own blend.
Add cheese shreds to the meat. Try cheddar, colby jack, feta, or gouda.
Baste the outside of your burgers with your favorite barbecue sauce a few times during the grilling process.
If you don’t want to use ground beef, try ground turkey, ground chicken, or Beyond Meat (a meat substitute) instead. With poultry, make sure your goal temperature is 165ºF.
Serving Suggestions
Burgers in the air fryer are fast and easy. Prepare toppings ahead of time. Change up the toppings for variety. Here are some burger toppings we enjoy beyond the typical condiments:
| Caramelized Onions | Air Fryer Crispy Shallots |
| French Fried Onions | Diced Raw Onions |
| Relish | Sautéed Mushrooms |
| Roasted Red Peppers | Gourmet Cheeses |
| Pineapple Rings | Guacamole |
| Potato Chips | BBQ Sauce |
Pair your burgers with roasted veggies, an easy green salad or fruit salad, some chips and dip to keep things easy, or if you have two air fryers, make Air Fryer Sweet Potato Fries and Air Fryer Waffle Fries or Air Fryer Tater Tots.
All your burning questions: Can You Put Parchment Paper in Air Fryer? Can You Put Foil in the Air Fryer?
❓ Recipe FAQ
9-12 minutes, flipping once at six minutes at 370ºF. If you have a fixed temperature setting on your machine, just adjust the time accordingly. Your goal is 160ºF internal temperature for the meat. Use an instant-read thermometer to check for doneness.
Yes. You will need to increase the time slightly — it will take 16-20 minutes flipping once. This is great for those who won’t use a full package of ground beef in one meal. Just freeze the extra patties for later!
370ºF. If the temperature on your air fryer is fixed, just adjust the cooking time.
Preheat the air fryer to 370ºF and heat until the burger reaches 165ºF. This will take 3-5 minutes.
Air Fryer Recipes
Tried this recipe? Please leave a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page. You can also stay in touch with me through social media by following me on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook!
Air Fryer Hamburgers
Equipment
- Mixing Bowl
- Air Fryer Liner
Ingredients
- 1 lb Ground Beef lean
- ½ tsp Salt
- ½ tsp Ground Pepper
- ½ tsp Paprika
- ½ tsp Garlic Powder
- ½ tsp Onion Powder
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine ground beef and seasonings until well combined. Don’t over work the meat though, it will become tough.
- Divide beef into four equal portions, roll into balls and form into patties
- Preheat Air Fryer to 370° F
- Add patties in a single layer into the basket. Add an air fryer liner first to minimize cleanup.
- Cook for 6-7 minutes, flip burgers and continue cooking until internal temperature reaches 160° F, about 3-5 minutes
- Add cheese, if using, and cook until cheese is melted.
- Serve immediately with your favorite toppings
Notes
Nutrition
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