How to cook Impossible Burgers in an air fryer
The best way to cook an Impossible Burger is in the air fryer in our book; moreover it’s always best to cook from raw. While cooking from frozen is possible (see below) it’s not the best. To cook Impossible patties from fresh:
- Preheat air fryer to 400F
- Spray patty with fat free cooking oil
- Cook for five minutes at 400F
- Flip the burger once after three minutes
- Finish with a sprinkle of salt
We used the COSORI to air fry this (affiliate link, we get a fee), always check your food with a good kitchen thermometer.
This recipe works equally well for pre-made Impossible patties or made from scratch quarter pounders. If you’re making Impossible burgers yourself, one twelve ounce package is enough to make three quarter pound Impossible patties. Simply portion the meat into three with a knife, then roll each into a ball, before flattening down into round patties.
I was skeptical that the air fryer would produce a great Impossible Burger, but boy was I wrong. If anything, the quick high heat of the air fryer made for an even juicier patty than when we’ve air fried these. If you’re new to Impossible check out our review on our sister site Shop Smart here. These are currently our favorite meat free burgers.
How to cook frozen Impossible Burgers
- Preheat air fryer to 400F
- Cook for twelve minutes at 400F
- Flip the burger two or three times during cooking
The above will cook a frozen Impossible burger to the 165F and above mark. This does result in a quite crisp exterior, which isn’t the best in my opinion, but you may love it! The interior remains nice and juicy though. If possible, I would either defrost your burgers overnight in the fridge, or gently defrost them in a microwave first – the quality of the finished burger is much better!
This website and all recipes are presented as a reference only. Many variables may influence your own cooking times. Read this info on using our recipes.
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I made this for my husband and we loved them!!! I saw other posts about cooking for longer but these instructions were perfect!!!!!
Also, I added 2 tbsp of milk and 1 tbsp worschestershire sauce, garlic powder and some cajun seasoning (just a dash of these) and made them sooo juicy!!!
Thanks for the feedback Karissa, I’m so glad the instructions worked out for you!
Hello Karissa,
Did you add that seasoning to your patties PRIOR to cooking or after?
Thanks for the instructions, timing was what I needed. Definitely season your “meat” for the most delicious experience! Also try topping with caramelized onions and vegan cheese, yum 🤤
I’m right there with you on the caramelized onions, that and a nice sunny side up egg 🙂
Have you tried air frying frozen Impossible Burger patties?
If not, any thoughts on timings?
If possible I’d for sure recommend 60-120 seconds in the microwave on defrost mode first.
I bet they’d cook up just fine in the air fryer from frozen, requiring maybe 2-3 minutes more. They would probably be a little over crispy on the outside mind you. Another option might be to toss the patties in during the preheat, so rather than getting an immediate blast of 400F they heat up slower (eg defrost) while the air fryer heats up. As ever, try to get a cheap kitchen thermometer (see link above) and you can experiment away; cook for a few mins, temp check, cook for a few more, temp check – thats basically how I do things.
I haven’t tried any of the above – but next time I get some I for sure will test this out 🙂
Mine have a weird bloodlike taste. Any ideas on what that is?
I think that’s possibly the heme the Impossible brand use Jake, here’s a good story from a few years ago on Wired:
https://www.wired.com/story/the-impossible-burger/
I am not sure if different air fryers heat differently, but in mine, 5 minutes is not anywhere near long enough for a frozen patty. Ten to twelve minutes is what it takes to brown and cook thoroughly in my air fryer. This is only a little longer than cooking in a fry pan at medium high heat.
Hi David – there are two guides on the page – at the top is the fresh patty guide, and at the bottom for frozen. I agree that about 12 minutes is needed for the frozen ones 🙂
I just tried this per your instructions and it turned out really really good! Unfortunately I didn’t read.. ALL the instructions (I didn’t defrost the patty first), however I did just let it sit in the air fryer for the pre-heat. The next time I do this, I will be following your instructions, as mine came out perfectly fine, but could have been a little more done? I think it’s all in what brand you have as well. I have the Instant Vortex (non-plus) 4qt version.
Also for mine, I kept it simple. Lightly toasted white bread, added a little green chili sauce on it and used habanaro flavored cooking oil on the burger, with a slice of Sargento Pepperjack.
I’ve cooked from frozen too, and just check the temp with a thermometer, it’s all good. The finish is a little more crispy exterior though in getting it to temp. I def prefer cooking from defrosted but it’s all good 🙂 Your burger toppings sound great too!