Air Fried Tyson Chicken Patties Recipe

We love cooking fresh foods in our air fryers but did you know that you can prepare precooked and frozen foods in your air fryer too?

While I love cooking from scratch most of the time, sometimes it’s easier to just pop something in the oven and warm it up.

My favorites are things like frozen mozzarella sticks, breakfast pastries like toaster strudel, and frozen chicken or fish.

Today I’ll be sharing a recipe to make frozen Tyson chicken patties in the air fryer. The packages of these chicken patties usually have cooking instructions on the back for oven, toaster oven, microwave, and sometimes air fryer but I find that their directions don’t always make for the crispiest patty. 

There are a few different varieties of these chicken patties available: plain breaded, spicy breaded, grilled, and tenders.

You can choose whichever one works best for your flavor preferences – for this recipe we chose the spicy breaded Tyson chicken patties to try to recreate those famous spicy chicken sandwiches you can get at many fast food joints.

Overall this recipe is incredibly easy: there’s no real prep work and you don’t even have to defrost the patties beforehand!

They are made to be cooked right out of the freezer bag. All you really need to do is find the perfect temperature and time for your air fryer to achieve maximum crispness and serve your patties the way you like best. 

To cook Tyson Spicy Chicken Patties in an air fryer, start by arranging the frozen patties in a single layer in the air fryer basket, ensuring they’re not overlapping for even cooking. Preheat the air fryer to 360°F (180°C) before placing the basket inside. Cook the patties for about 8-10 minutes, flipping them halfway through to ensure they are evenly crispy and thoroughly heated. If you prefer extra crispiness, extend the cooking time by an additional 1-2 minutes, monitoring closely to prevent burning.

Tyson Air Fryer Chicken Patties Sandwich Ingredients

This recipe is very straightforward and you don’t need many ingredients to make it work!

There also isn’t a lot of prep work involved which makes it one of the easiest things you can put together for a quick weekday lunch.

For this recipe, I’m going to show you how to cook the Tyson chicken patties in your air fryer and then turn it into a spicy chicken sandwich with air fried potato chips. Feel free to serve it like this or change it up based on your preferences!

For the chicken patty sandwich:

• 1 Tyson chicken patty
• 1 hamburger bun
• 1 slice pepper jack cheese
• 1 piece iceberg lettuce
• 1 tomato slice
• 1 yellow onion slice
• 3-4 Pickles
• Chick-Fil-A or other sauce

Tyson Chicken Patty Sandwich Directions

For this recipe, you’ll crisp up your Tyson chicken patties in the air fryer and then will assemble it into a delicious sandwich.

Step 1: Prep Your Patties.
The first step to making crispy air fryer Tyson chicken patties is to choose the patties you want to cook (we used the spicy version), take them out of the package, and spray each side with a little bit of olive oil cooking spray.

You don’t need to defrost the patties before cooking – they are ready to throw in the air fryer straight out of the package.

And if you’d like to skip the olive oil cooking spray, you can. We just like our patties extra crispy!

Step 2: Preheat Your Air Fryer.
For this recipe, you’ll need to preheat your air fryer to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

This may vary depending on what type of air fryer you are using but for most models you’ll want to use a higher temperature for these chicken patties so that they crisp up and warm all the way through.

Step 3: Cook the Patties.
Once the air fryer is preheated and your patties are sprayed with oil, place them in your fryer basket and cook them at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for about 18 minutes total.

Cook them for 9 minutes on one side and then turn them over and cook them for another 9 minutes on the other side.

Step 4: Turn Off the Air Fryer and Add Cheese (OPTIONAL).
If you don’t want melted cheese in your chicken patty sandwich, skip this step!

But if you would like some melty goodness on your patty, wait until the air fryer is done cooking and then shut it off.

Leave the patties in the basket and place a slice of cheese of choice on each patty (we used pepper jack), and let the patties sit for about 30 seconds in the turned off but still warm air fryer. The cheese will naturally melt and get gooey!

Step 5: Assemble Your Sandwich and Eat!
Once the patties are fully warmed through and crispy to your liking, it’s time to assemble the chicken patty sandwich.

For our copycat spicy chicken sandwich recipe, we chose to use sesame seed hamburger buns, chick fil a sauce, tomato, and pickles.

We skipped the lettuce and onion because that’s our personal preference but feel free to load up your sandwich with all the goods.

Sauce your buns, add your patty, and top with veggies to enjoy a chicken patty sandwich that will rival most fast food joints.

Tyson Chicken Patties Substitutes and Modifications

There are a few ways you can alter this recipe, including:

• Use a different type of Tyson frozen chicken OR use an alternative brand. For this recipe we used the Tyson spicy breaded chicken patties but you can use a different Tyson chicken! They have plain breaded chicken patties, chicken strips and nuggets, grilled patties and gluten-free options. You can also use an alternative brand if you don’t like Tyson. Morningstar Farms and Boca are good vegetarian/vegan options and offer strong flavors. Foster Farms, Bell & Evans, and Perdue brands are comparable to Tyson.
• Change up what you put on your sandwich. We put tomato, onion, pickles and chick fil a sauce on our chicken patty sandwiches but you can switch up the toppings and condiments to anything you like!
• Use a different sauce. We opted for chick-fil-a sauce for our Tyson chicken patties because it’s sweet and creamy in flavor, but you can also use barbecue sauce, ketchup, honey mustard, ranch, or buffalo sauce.
• Serve the chicken patties differently. This recipe uses the Tyson chicken patties to make a copycat fast food spicy chicken sandwich but you can also serve the patties on their own with some veggies on the side, in a pressed panini, or cut up in a wrap!
• Skip the oil or breading for a slightly healthier option. If you’re looking for a healthier way to enjoy these air fryer Tyson chicken patties, skip spraying oil on your patties before putting them in the air fryer. For a gluten-free option, use chicken patties that are breaded with gluten-free breading or opt for grilled frozen chicken patties instead.

Serving Options for Tyson Chicken Patties

Serve as a sandwich. For this recipe we wanted to make a copycat version of the spicy chicken sandwiches you can find at many fast food places but you can serve these Tyson chicken patties with any condiments and toppings you want in a sandwich.

Serve plain with veggies. If sandwiches are not your style, you can serve these crispy chicken patties plain with a side of dipping sauce of your choice and some steamed or air fried veggies like broccoli, carrots, or a side salad.

Serve in a wrap. Cut up your crispy chicken patties once they’re done cooking and pop them in a white, whole wheat, or gluten-free wrap or tortilla to make an on-the-go lunch option!

Serve as a pressed panini. If regular sandwiches are too plain for you, use sourdough bread instead of hamburger buns to assemble your sandwich and then toast it in the oven for a few minutes or press it down with a spatula in a frying pan over medium heat to achieve a panini-like finish.

Serve with air fryer potato chips: For a tasty side dish and snack to accompany your chicken patty sandwich, you can make homemade, simple potato chips in your air fryer. Here are the instructions.

Optional Side: Air Fryer Potato Chips Ingredients & Instructions

Ingredients you will need for the potato chips:

• 2 small to medium russet potatoes

• Salt to sprinkle
• Pepper to sprinkle
• Olive oil cooking spray

Step 1: Peel Your Potatoes and Slice Them With a Mandolin.
The first step to making crispy, homemade potato chips in your air fryer is getting your potatoes nice and thin.

Wash and peel the potatoes as usual and then use a mandolin if you have it (or a regular chef’s knife if you don’t) to slice the potatoes into thin, even pieces.

The thinner the potato slices are, the more they will crisp up in the air fryer. If you don’t have a mandolin, make sure you’re cutting all the slices as even as possible so they all cook the same.

Step 2: Soak Your Potatoes in Water.
Once your potatoes are sliced nice and thin, it’s time to soak them to get rid of the starch.

Doing this makes it easier for them to cook down and get crunchy in the air fryer so don’t skip this step!

Place your potato slices in a large bowl and fill it to the brim with cold water (you can add some ice cubes to cool down the water even more). Let the potatoes soak in the cold water for about 20 minutes.

Step 3: Preheat Your Air Fryer.
With our chicken patties we wanted a higher temperature to get the chicken nice and crispy but for our air fryer potato chips, we want a slightly lower temperature.

This is because the potato slices are so thin and will easily burn under high heat – and nobody wants a charred potato chip!

For this recipe, preheat your air fryer to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. We initially set it to 360 but realized that even that was too hot for our chips.

Step 4: Drain and Dry Your Potatoes.
While the air fryer is preheating, it’s time to dry and drain your potatoes.

Transfer your potato slices to a colander or strainer from the bowl with ice water and rinse them under cold running water to make sure you get all the starch out.

Then lay them out on a kitchen towel, cover with another towel and pat dry.

Do not skip this step! If your potatoes are still wet, they will not get as crispy in the air fryer. Make sure they are totally dry before proceeding.

Step 5: Season Your Potatoes.

Once your potatoes are dry, they are ready for seasoning. For this recipe we sprayed a little olive oil spray on all of our potatoes, added salt and pepper to taste and then mixed them all up to make sure each potato was coated in the seasoning.

You can use a different oil or seasoning mix here based on your preferences.

Step 6: Air Fry Your Potatoes.
After the potatoes have been seasoned, lay them out in rows in your air fryer basket (make sure they don’t overlap otherwise they won’t cook as well as they can).

Air fry them for 20 minutes total at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Be sure to keep an eye on them while they are cooking in case they start getting too brown!

Step 7: Serve and Enjoy!
The last step to make your own homemade air fryer potato chips is to take them out of the air fryer basket, let them cool down a bit, and enjoy with your chicken patty sandwich!

How To Make This Recipe Keto?

To make this recipe keto-friendly, use a gluten-free hamburger bun and a gluten-free Tyson chicken patty instead of the regular breaded version.

How To Make This Recipe Vegan?

To make this recipe vegan, substitute the Tyson chicken patty with a vegan faux chicken patty of your choice. Swap out the pepper jack cheese with your favorite vegan cheese brand.

How To Store This Recipe – Fridge or Freezer?

We recommend making this recipe fresh when you plan on eating it, but if you need it to store it for later the fridge is the best option.

Cooking Times by Air Fryer Model

Recipe Notes

• The Tyson chicken patties are precooked and frozen so all you have to do is warm them up in the oven, air fryer, or with some other method. However, we recommend not air frying the patties unless you’re ready to eat them so you can enjoy them hot, fresh, and crispy!
• We sprayed our Tyson chicken patties with olive oil cooking spray before popping them in the air fryer to make them extra crispy but if you’d like a slightly healthier patty, feel free to skip the oil spray or use avocado oil instead.
• The Tyson chicken patties are ready to cook straight out of the bag and do not need to be defrosted. For this recipe we skipped defrosting them and they turned out perfectly crispy just the same. You can defrost them if you’d like but it won’t make that much of a difference to the overall crispiness.

Air Fryer Tyson Chicken Patties

Yield: 2 servings

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 38 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 8 minutes

If you’re craving a fast food spicy chicken sandwich but don’t want all the calories and extra fat that comes with it, this air fryer Tyson chicken patty sandwich is perfect for you.

It requires minimal prep work, it’s easy to make for novice cooks, and it’s ideal for a quick lunch! Plus it can be completely customized based on you and your family’s preferences.

Serve your chicken sandwich alongside some homemade air fried potato chips, fries, or steamed veggies/a side salad depending on what you like. 

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Ingredients

• 1 Tyson chicken patty
• 1 hamburger bun
• 1 slice pepper jack cheese
• 1 piece iceberg lettuce
• 1 tomato slice
• 1 yellow onion slice
• 3-4 Pickles
• Condiments of choice (chick fil a, BBQ, ketchup, honey mustard, etc.)

Instructions

1. Prep your patties. Take the frozen patties out of the Tyson package (no need to defrost!) and spray them lightly on both sides with cooking oil spray (like olive oil or avocado oil).
2. Preheat your air fryer to 400 degrees Fahrenheit (adjust this based on your air fryer model).
3. Place the sprayed patties in your air fryer basket and cook for 9 minutes on one side, then flip and cook the other side for an additional 9 minutes (18 minutes total cook time).
4. Turn off the air fryer, leave the patties in the basket and pop a slice of cheese on each patty and let sit for 30 seconds in the air fryer basket to melt. (you can skip this step if you don’t want cheese). 
5. Assemble sandwich and serve. Take the patties out of the air fryer basket and use whatever buns, condiments, and toppings you want to assemble your Tyson chicken patties air fryer sandwich!

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 2 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 240Total Fat: 13gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 26mgSodium: 994mgCarbohydrates: 20gFiber: 2gSugar: 4gProtein: 11g

Keren Tayler

My name is Keren Tayler. I am a stay-at-home mama to three lovely girls, Sarah + Rachel + Hannah. Prior to becoming a mom, I had a successful career in the accounting field, steps away from becoming a CPA. I decided to give up on my career in order to raise my own kids (as opposed to letting a nanny do it, no judgment here :)) I learned a lot and I love sharing it with other moms.  Along the way, I also became a Certified Food Handler.