Frozen Chicken Patties In Air Fryer: How to Cook

After a busy day, the last thing you want to do is spend an hour cooking dinner. This frozen chicken patties in air fryer recipe is perfect to serve yourself and your family when you get home from work late or when you need to run back out to soccer practice.

You’ll have dinner on the table in under 15 minutes, and when you add some baby carrots or a piece of fruit as a side dish, it’s a complete meal. 

Jump to:

• Why You Will Love This Recipe
• Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
• Step by Step: How to Air Fry Frozen Chicken Patties
• Serving Suggestions
• FAQs
• Frozen Chicken Patties in the Air Fryer: How to Cook

Why You Will Love This Recipe

A crispy chicken patty is reminiscent of a quick fast food restaurant, but since you will control the amount of salt and condiments going into the meal, it will be a healthier treat.

On top of that, it’s less expensive than driving through your local McDonald’s. At my local Publix grocery store, the bag of nine Purdue chicken patties was $8, so it comes out to under a dollar per patty.

Here’s why you’ll love air-fried chicken patties:

• They’re super quick and easy to make. While the patties are air-frying, you can slice up a bell pepper or wash some grapes, so the entire dinner will be ready to eat in under 15 minutes.
• Chicken patties are versatile. Serve them on a bun, on a plate with sauteed mushrooms and gravy on top, on top of a salad, or as the star of chicken parmesan.
• This meal is ultra kid-friendly. If your little ones enjoy chicken nuggets, you could cut one chicken patty into four or six sections and give them ketchup, barbecue sauce, or ranch dressing as dip.
• Chicken patties have about 250 calories each and are a good source of both protein and potassium.
• You can whip this up before work, put them in a container or on a roll, and pack up a simple lunch to carry to work or school.
• At under a dollar per serving, frozen patties are an economical way to feed your family or a larger crowd.

Ingredient Notes and Substitutions

Rolls: Use any type of bread, bun, or wrap. You can also forget the bread entirely and serve these on a salad or as a piece of meat on a plate with sides.

Seasonings: Season up your patties with salt and pepper, Italian seasoning, cajun seasoning, fresh herbs, green onions, or anything else you’d like.

Step by Step: How to Air Fry Frozen Chicken Patties

1. Preheat your air fryer. Set it to 350 degrees. In some air fryers, you need to set a time to preheat; two minutes should be adequate for most machines. Other times, the fryer will preheat on its own for a period of time, so consult your instruction manual.
2. Spray the air fryer basket with nonstick cooking spray. You can use a commercial product, or you can put the oil of your choice in a spray bottle.
3. Place the patties in the air fryer. Make sure they’re in a single layer. If you have more than the number that fit comfortably in your fryer basket, you may need to do this in two batches.
4. Cook the chicken patties for 10 minutes. Flip them over halfway through.
5. Remove the cooked chicken patties and serve as desired.
   • You can add cheese or other ingredients to the top of the patty and place it back in the air fryer for another minute to melt the cheese.
   • If you’re using a sauce on your chicken and are heating it back up in the fryer, line the air fryer basket with parchment paper, aluminum foil, or an air fryer liner to minimize mess.

Alternative oven directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.
2. Place your chicken patties in a single layer on a baking sheet. You can use oil spray or aluminum foil to prevent sticking.
3. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes, flipping halfway through.
4. Let the chicken patties sit for 3 minutes before serving as desired.

Serving Suggestions

Serve your air-fried frozen chicken patties as a sandwich, on a salad, or as part of a meat-and-potatoes meal. Here are some ideas:

• Add tomato sauce and a sprinkle of mozzarella or parmesan cheese, then place back in the air fryer for a minute to melt the cheese. Serve over pasta or on a roll.
• Add barbecue sauce and cheddar cheese for a BBQ chicken patty sandwich. You could also serve this alongside typical barbecue side dishes like mashed potatoes, green beans, and cole slaw.
• Cut each patty into quarters and serve alongside your favorite chicken nugget dip. This is particularly kid-friendly!
• Slice into strips and place on top of a salad for a healthy and delicious lunch.

The possibilities are nearly endless!