How Long To Cook Meatballs In Air Fryer?

Learn how long to cook meatballs in air fryer as part of our air fryer back to basics series.

Let us share with you the ideal air fryer meatballs cooking time and temperature, as well as a master recipe that you can keep as is or make your own.

Meatballs In Air Fryer

If there is a super-easy air fryer recipe that is perfect for those lazy weeknight dinners, then it is meatballs in the air fryer.

You can make your own homemade meatballs (which is so quick) or you can use shop bought raw meatballs and load them into the air fryer.

In our first air fryer cookbook, The Complete Air Fryer Cookbook we showed you a delicious recipe for meatballs in the air fryer, that uses a mix of both beef and pork mince for the best results.

Today, we wanted to share with you our favourite air fryer meatballs recipe, and exactly how long to cook raw meatballs in air fryer, then you can choose between homemade or shop bought and have a quick meatball fix in just a few minutes from now.

The Complete Air Fryer Cooking Guide

The Complete Air Fryer Cooking Guide is new for 2024, following on from our first air fryer cookbook. Our first cookbook sold over 160,000 copies worldwide is still selling well and has changed the way people use the air fryer.

In this newer mini book, we provide you with the air fryer cooking times and temperatures for more than 275 everyday air fryer foods. It also highlights with symbols when to flip, shake and spray your air fryer food.

Read more about The Complete Air Fryer Cooking Guide here.

Free Air Fryer Time & Temperature Printable

During the pre-order promotion of our first air fryer cookbook “The Complete Air Fryer Cookbook”. We gave away a free time and temperature air fryer chart of a lot of the single item foods that were featured in the cookbook.

It was a HUGE success and you asked for, so here I am with more for you. A FREE air fryer time and temperature chart that features the top 30 most cooked air fryer food including these yummy air fryer frozen egg rolls. You will no longer have to scroll whilst cooking dinner, because you can print it out and save it for later!

Can You Cook Meatballs In An Air Fryer?

Yes, you can cook meatballs in the air fryer and you will love them. Its one of those classics that the air fryer is perfect for and best of all, perfect for different sized air fryers.

Should Meatballs Be Cooked Frozen Or Thawed?

You can cook meatballs either frozen or thawed. Its very handy if your meatballs are still frozen, to cook frozen meatballs in the air fryer. Or if you love meal prep (check out our air fryer meal prep 101) and you can prep your own meatballs and then freeze them for later. 

Is It Easier To Bake Or Fry Meatballs?

We find its easier to use the air fryer to air fry the meatballs. You can just load the air fryer up with thawed or frozen meatballs, set the time and temp and then leave the air fryer to it.

Plus, when cooking meatballs in air fryer there is no preheat required like there is with the oven.

Air Fryer Beef Meatballs Or Pork?

I used to always get asked when I am cooking air fryer beef meatballs what about pork, or if I share an air fryer pork meatballs recipe what about the beef?

Well, back when we lived in Portugal (we moved back to the UK in 2021) we always bought mince that was mixed pork and beef (sometimes veal) and it was delicious. The beef was lean and mixed in with the less lean pork it made a brilliant combo.

What we now recommend for the best air fryer meatball recipe is to use 50/50.

Meatballs In Ninja Air Fryer

I am a big fan of my Ninja Air Fryer (and we have this dual) and you will be pleased to know its easy to make meatballs in your ninja.

Ninja air fryer meatballs carry the same time and temperature, and you can do the meatballs in one drawer and the sauce in the other. Then you can do your favourite air fryer meatballs with sauce. Or you could do part baked bread rolls in the 2^nd drawer and make a meatball sub.

Air Fryer Easy Everyday

In our first air fryer cookbook, The Complete Air Fryer Cookbook (get it here) we showed you how to cook homemade meatballs in air fryer.  

But in our 2^nd air fryer cookbook Air Fryer Easy Everyday (get it here) we showed you loads more recipes with mince in the air fryer such as our burger in a bowl.

So, if you want to get confident with the air fryer, we recommend that you check out our cookbooks.

Meatballs Air Fryer Ingredients

Mince – Mince to us Brits or ground meat to our readers across the pond, you can go with beef, pork or a mix of the two. We like to go 50/50 as they are so much more flavoursome.

Onion – To have or not to have onion? I know some people hate onions and others love it. We used some finely chopped onion to add flavour to ours.

Secret – The secret ingredient in this meatball air fryer recipe is cream cheese aka Philadelphia. It makes the meatballs so creamy and stops them going dry when cooked in the air fryer.

Flavour – Then for flavour we love a mix of ingredients including garlic and tomato puree, Worcestershire sauce, and tomato ketchup.

Seasoning – Then for your seasonings we love salt, pepper, Italian seasoning (or mixed herbs), mustard powder, and oregano.

How To Cook Raw Meatballs In Air Fryer?

• Prep. Before you cook meatballs in air fryer its about adding everything in a bowl and mixing with your hands. Then form into meatball shapes.
• Cook. Load the meatballs into the air fryer basket spreading them out, or between 1 or 2 dual drawers and then cook at 180c/360f for 10 minutes or until cooked to your liking.

That is how simple it is to cook meatballs in air fryer but now let’s talk all about how long to cook them for.

How Long To Cook Raw Meatballs In Air Fryer?

The meatballs air fryer time is 10 minutes. This is for a medium meatball and cooking between 1 and a full single layer of meatballs in the air fryer, i.e. not on top of each other.

How long to cook large meatballs in air fryer? If your meatballs are quite large, then you will need to adjust and add a few extra minutes. We would recommend between 12-14 minutes depending on how much larger they are.

How long to cook meatballs in ninja air fryer? For the ninja air fryer we would recommend the same time and temp as mentioned in our main air fryer recipe, because we find there isn’t any difference. Though make sure you use the air fryer button.

Temperature to cook meatballs in air fryer? For the ideal temperature for air fryer meatballs we would recommend 180c/360f.

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Plus, don’t forget more mince recipes you can cook in your air fryer. Our favourites include ground beef in air fryer, air fryer lasagna, air fryer hamburgers, air fryer koftas, air fryer doner kebab, and our favourite – air fryer meatloaf.

Learn all about meatballs in the air fryer cooking times below, note you can print it out with or without photos, adjust servings, or click between metric and imperial depending on where you are in the world.

Though before you do, don’t forget to subscribe, and grab your FREE VIP Pass to Recipe This. You will get access to our latest recipes first, you will be able to request recipes, you will have access to free mini courses, free ebooks and useful cooking time charts and so much more.

Can’t make it now? Then save it for later!