How to Cook Air Fryer Frozen Roast

How to cook an air fryer frozen roast is here! If you forgot to defrost it ahead of time you can cook frozen beef in an air fryer still! We showed you how to air fry roast to tender melt in your mouth delicious fresh, now it is coming straight out of your freezer.

Frozen Air Fryer Roast Beef

Our Instant Pot frozen roast was so possible we thought we would share it another way. The benefit to air frying is you get a nice dry rub crust on the outside like no other. To get the inside tender and juicy at the same time the hack is to cook it at a lower heat for a bit longer than if it were soft.

Same as our air fryer roast beef dry rub dish, you can serve it up a number of different ways. Of course sliced over a bed of mashed potatoes with gravy over the top is a winner. That isn’t all though. My kids love all finger foods so I often times slice this thin and lay them in between two little buns, oh yes I do.

Ninja Foodi Frozen Roast

If you are using a Foodi you can do this too with the air crisp button and the lid that IS attached. If you use the other one you would have a different softer texture overall and would follow our Ninja Foodi roast beef pressure cooker recipe steps instead. Both are fantastic but a different function with a bit different results texture wise.

We are going to use a 2 – 2.5 lb beef roast for this one. I will tell you that when it comes to meat I MUST have a rub of some sort on the outside, sauce isn’t enough if you ask me. Sometimes I will make a sweet and savory mixture depending on how I’m cooking it. With the high heat sugar doesn’t do well so I left that out of our Roast Dry Rub.

• 1.5 tbsp garlic powder
• 3/4 tbsp salt
• 1/8 tsp pepper
• 1/4 tsp cumin and smoked paprika
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/4 tsp Montreal steak seasoning

It is important when you are coating the outside of proteins that you blot it dry first with paper towels. It will still stick with the bit of moisture on there. Coat the outside all over the top, bottom and sides too. If you want a thick coating you could double this.

Frozen Roast in Air Fryer

Since the outside of your piece isn’t moistened and seasonings won’t stick well you will need to add it halfway thru. Once it has cooked for 30 minutes it will be mostly defrosted at that point, that is when you will be able to get it to stick nicely. Remember it will be hot so you’ll need to roll it around with tongs.

• Preheat air fryer to 330 degrees for 5 minutes. Take out beef roast, unwrap and place on the counter.
• When preheated place inside the air fryer basket and cook for 30 minutes.
• Right before timing expires, mix together dry rub seasonings and spread out on a plate or cutting board.
  • (take note of which side was facing up to begin with so after coating you can place inside with the other side facing up for remaining time)
• Use tongs to remove roast out of basket and set on seasonings, flip to other side and set on seasonings again to try to coat the whole roast.
• Place roast on the other side in the basket for another 30 minutes or until the middle reaches 140 degrees F using a meat thermometer.
• Turn machine off, remove basket with meat inside (or place on a cutting board to sit) and allow protein to rest for 10 minutes before slicing so it remains moist.

I know there are many beef cuts out there. The weight and thickness is the best determining factor as to how long to cook it. Most roast recipes whether you air fry chuck roast or pot roast will follow this same timing for 2-2 1/2 pounds. Near minute 50 you should check often so it is perfectly cooked to your likeness.

Roast Temperatures

These are the temperatures you will want if you want rare to well done inside. I have steps when you jump to recipe too that can be printed if you want to keep it in your folder or box for later.

1. Medium-Rare: 130-135 degreesF
2. Medium: 135-145 degrees F
3. Medium-Well: 145-155 degrees F
4. Rare: 125-130 degrees F

How do you Cook Frozen Beef in an Airfryer?

I hope we have answered this in depth for you here. As for a great side dish you could make cabbage steaks in air fryer if you have another machine, or while this is resting. With a little drizzle of olive oil or butter with Old Bay and pepper this is a veggie that is often overlooked but so so good and cheap.

Love this and want to try it low and slow cooking all day long? You have GOT to make our slow cooker frozen roast my friends. With that one you could add halved potatoes and chunks of carrots into the pot at the same time for a one pot meal. Both are great, I use whichever I have time for.

How do you reheat a frozen cooked roast?

I would use this same machine once again. Take it out of your fridge, it should’ve been stored in a freezer bag with the air sucked out. Leave on the counter for 30 minutes to warm up just a bit. Slice it into 1/2 inch slices and lay into a preheated air fryer at 350 degrees F. Drizzle with a bit of beef broth on top and heat for a few minutes until warmed.

Serve with freshly made taters or over rice with a bit of gravy on top is ideal. You will want to add moisture again as the hot air will dry it out a bit. Sitting in the fridge will suck some of the moisture out too so you want to add that back in. Another way is to add gravy into a pan on the stove and reheat that way.