how to cook frozen hot dogs

July 14, 2020 Last Modified: September 21, 2021 By

Pin image with an overhead square image at top showing air fryer hot dogs in buns with ketchup and mustard on brown background with a white bowl of sauerkraut near the center and a vertical image on the bottom taken from the side with the garnished hot dogs in the front and sauerkraut in the background.

The whole family is hooked on these crazy easy Air Fryer Hot Dogs! The air fried hot dogs come out wonderfully, and taste much better than many other methods! I would even go so far as to say that they rival freshly grilled hot dogs!!

Overhead square image at top showing air fryer hot dogs in buns with ketchup and mustard on brown background with a white bowl of sauerkraut near the center. — Cooking your hot dogs in an air fryer is the perfect way to have juicy, flavorful hot dogs any day of the year!

Sometimes the simple things are so wonderful! And these air fried hot dogs are no exception. They're juicy and tasty, and just as good as grilled hot dogs!

So now you can enjoy one of my favorite quick and easy summertime dinners any day, any season! Plus, hot dogs are usually a totally kid-approved meal that they will love for any lunch or dinner!

Now I know that hot dogs are only minutes in a microwave, can easily be boiled, and grilling is top of the line for serving hot dogs. Do try them out in your air fryer though, and see if you agree that it is indeed the best way to cook hot dogs.

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🥘 Ingredients
🔪 Step-by-Step Instructions
😋 More Great Air Fryer Appetizers!
📋 Recipe

🥘 Ingredients

Hot Dogs - Oscar Meyer, Ballpark, Trader Joes, etc.
Hot Dog Buns - Bakery style are my favorite but just plain buns work too!
Condiments - Ketchup, mustard, sauerkraut, etc.

🔪 Step-by-Step Instructions

I'm including directions for a convection oven style air fryer, like the Instant Pot Vortex Plus that I am using here, as well as for the basket style air fryers. Luckily the wattage is the same on my air fryer models, at 1500 watts. *If you are using an air fryer with a different wattage, you may need to make minor adjustments to your cooking time.

Convection Style Air Fryer

8 hot dogs set on convection oven style air fryer racks and placed in the oven after preheating, ready to cook.

Preheat your air fryer to 400ºF (205ºC) by selecting 'AIR FRY' and adjusting the temperature if needed.
Set the cooking time to 4 minutes for smaller hot dogs like Oscar Mayer and Ballpark brand hot dogs, or 6 minutes for larger hot dogs like Johnsonville sausages or Zweigle's brand hot dogs.
Place your hot dogs onto the air fryer racks, leaving space between them for even cooking.
Once the air fryer indicates to 'ADD FOOD' place the trays on the guide racks and close the door to start the cooking process. *Keep a close watch on your hot dogs at the end of the cooking cycle if you do not want them to burst. You can also puncture the ends to vent the hot dog steam, but this is my least favorite option as it allows all of the juices to escape.
At the halfway point in the cooking time, your air fryer will indicate to 'TURN FOOD'. At this time move the bottom rack to the top, and the top rack to the bottom. Turn or rotate your hot dogs while changing out the racks.
Close the air fryer door and let it finish the cooking process.

Basket Style Air Fryer

Preheat your air fryer to 400ºF (205ºC) and place the hot dogs into your air fryer basket, leaving space between the hot dogs for even cooking. You may need to make these in batches, depending on how many hot dogs you are cooking.
Place the basket with your hot dogs into the preheated air fryer and cook for 4 minutes for smaller hot dogs like Oscar Mayer and Ballpark, or 6 minutes for the larger Johnsonville sausages or Zweigle's brand hot dogs.
Turn or rotate your hot dogs at the halfway point of the cooking time.

Once The Hot Dogs Are Cooked

You can either remove the hot dogs and enjoy them as they are, or toast some hot dog buns. I like to toast my buns separately from my hot dogs, but it is also just as easy to place your hot dogs into the buns.

Either way you choose, place the buns or buns with hot dogs back into the air fryer and use the 'AIR FRY' setting at the same temperature for an additional 1 - 2 minutes. Remove from the air fryer when done and top with your favorite condiments.

Cooking Frozen Hot Dogs In An Air Fryer

Using your air fryer to cook frozen hot dogs is completely doable! Simply score the top with a few slits, or puncture the ends for venting, then cook for two minutes more than the times given in the recipe card instructions.

Vertical image taken from the side with the ketchup and mustard garnished air fryer hot dogs in the front and sauerkraut in the background.

😋 More Great Air Fryer Appetizers!

Air Fryer Frozen French Fries
Air Fryer Potato Skins
Air Fryer Pickles
Air Fryer Corn Dogs

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📋 Recipe

Air Fryer Hot Dogs

Servings: 8 servings

Calories: 229 kcal

Cooking 6 minutes

Toasting Buns 2 minutes

Total Time 8 minutes

Pin Recipe

▢ 8 hot dogs
▢ 8 hot dog buns
▢ Condiments (ketchup mustard, etc.) (optional)

For a convection oven style air fryer: Preheat your air fryer by selecting 'AIR FRY' and setting the cooking temperature to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C) for 4 minutes for smaller hot dogs like Oscar Mayer and Ball Park, or for 6 minutes for larger hot dogs like Johnsonville or Zweigle's.

For a basket style air fryer: Preheat your air fryer to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C).
Place the hot dogs on your convection oven style air fryer racks, or the basket of your air fryer. Leave spacing between the hot dogs for even cooking. Depending on the number of hot dogs you are cooking, this may need to be done in batches.

8 hot dogs
For a convection oven style air fryer: Once your air fryer indicates to 'ADD FOOD' place the racks onto the guides in your air fryer. Close the door and start the cooking cycle.

When the air fryer indicates to 'TURN FOOD' move the top rack to the bottom guides, and the bottom to the top. Turn the hot dogs, if needed, before closing the door again to finish the cooking cycle.

*Watch the hot dogs closely toward the end of the cooking cycle to prevent them from bursting, or puncture the ends to allow steam to release (not my favorite option as you tend to lose the juices).
For a basket style air fryer: Set the cooking time for 4 minutes for smaller hot dogs like Oscar Mayer and Ball Park, or for 6 minutes for larger hot dogs like Johnsonville or Zweigle's. Place the basket with your hot dogs into the air fryer and close the air fryer to start the cooking process.

Turn and roll the hot dogs at the half way point during the cooking time.
For a convection style air fryer: You can either place your cooked hot dogs in the buns to toast, or place the buns on your racks after removing the hot dogs. Cook for an additional 1-2 minutes with the 'AIR FRY' setting.

For a basket style air fryer: Place the cooked hot dogs into the buns and set back into your air fryer basket. Cook for an additional 1-2 minutes to toast the buns.
Remove cooked hot dogs and buns (or assemble hot dogs and buns) once cooked and toasted and serve with your favorite condiments.

8 hot dog buns, Condiments (ketchup mustard, etc.)

Course Air Fryer, Dinner Recipes, Lunch Recipes, Main Course

Cuisine American

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Angela is an at home chef that developed a passion for all things cooking and baking at a young age in her Grandma's kitchen. After many years in the food service industry, she now enjoys sharing all of her family favorite recipes and creating tasty dinner and amazing dessert recipes here at Bake It With Love!

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