Homemade Sausage Rolls

You’d never guess these luxury sausage rolls are made with such simple ingredients! Easy to make and perfect to plait, homemade sausage rolls don’t come more delicious than these!

Because really, who can resist the sausage rolls at a party spread? In fact, if you’re anything like me then it’s the first thing you stock up on! But let’s keep it real here, those sausage rolls are always store-bought and have been sat there for at least 6 hours. And if we’re keeping it even more real here, do they even taste that nice? Or are you just eating them because it’s a damn sausage roll 😂 I know it’s certainly the latter for me!

Sausage Roll Filling

My point is after you try making your own sausage rolls there’s just no comparison to store-bought. SO SO SOOOO much tastier! Here’s what you’ll need for these delicious luxury sausage rolls:

Sausage Roll Filling Ingredients

• Puff Pastry – Pre-made and pre-rolled does the trick perfectly!
• Ground Pork – NOT sausage meat! You’ll want it quite fatty, so step away from the lean meat.
• Bacon – Yup! An absolutely essential for homemade sausage rolls. Adds texture and a yummy salty flavour.
• Worcestershire Sauce – A  gorgeous douse of flavour that pairs perfectly with pork.
• Breadcrumbs – To lock in moisture. Panko work great.
• Egg – To bind the meat and glaze the pastry.
• Carrot, Onion & Garlic – These add a great base flavour and texture.
• Fennel & Sage – Two absolute game changers, both of which go hand-in-hand with pork.

All of these ingredients combined make for a truly gourmet sausage roll, but as you can see no real ‘gourmet’ ingredients are used! All pantry staples or easy-to-access ingredients.

Process shots: add bacon to pan (photo 1), fry until crisp (photo 2), fry carrot & onion (photo 3), fry garlic (photo 4), cool then add to bowl with pork, breadcrumbs, eggs, Worcestershire sauce, fennel, sage, salt & white pepper (photo 5), combine (photo 6).

Sausage Plait

First things first, let’s address the elephant in the room because I can already hear people screaming ‘THAT’S NOT A SAUSAGE ROLL IT’S A SAUSAGE PLAIT’. Look, I hear ya. Could I have just rolled the sausage in puff pastry like a normal human? Yes. But it looks pretty neat, right? 😏

Either way, the filling is exactly the same, so let’s quickly discuss how to get the most out of your sausage rolls!

Tips for the best Homemade Sausage Rolls

• Sausage meat vs minced pork – Personally I like starting with a blank canvas, so I always opt for minced pork. I’m never really sure what’s in sausage meat and I’m way too anal over the fact that different sausage meats taste differently.
• Fennel Seeds – Umm pork and fennel? A marriage I am NOT here to break up. It’s really important to crush the seeds (there’s a section on this in the recipe card – very easy to do).
• Fry the veg – By putting in raw veg, it releases too much moisture during the cooking process and makes for a soggy pastry! Plus, the extra flavour from frying is worth the effort.
• Sesame seeds – Not just a pretty garnish, the sesame flavour actually goes gorgeously with the pork and fennel.

Now you can simply roll the sausage rolls, but like I mentioned I like to plait them. Very easy to do and makes them slightly more ‘luxurious’ looking!

How to make sausage plaits

1. Lay the meat in a log shape and slice the pastry around 1.5″ either side.
2. At a 45-degree angle, slice equal strips around 0.5″ wide, ensuring you slice an even number on both sides.
3. Starting from the bottom, braid your strips.
4. Keep whole or slice into mini sausage rolls.

Baked Sausage Rolls

When it comes to baking the sausage rolls, the first and most important thing you’ll need to ensure is that you’re using a decent greaseproof baking tray. I talk from experience when I say it’s one of the most upsetting things in life when a sausage roll simply will not detach itself from the pan 🥲. If you’re not confident in your tray, just lightly coat it in oil, or use parchment paper.

From there, whack on some egg wash, sprinkle with sesame seeds and bake until golden!

Process shots: add sausage rolls to baking tray and brush with egg wash (photo 1), add sesame seeds and bake (photo 2).

Sausage Rolls FAQ

How do I prevent sausage meat from drying out in the oven?

A problem we too often experience is a dry sausage. Here are my 3 killer tips for producing juicy sausage rolls:

• Breadcrumbs – Contrary to popular belief, breadcrumbs aren’t just there to help mould the sausage. In fact, breadcrumbs help keep the sausage moist. As the meat cooks and releases fat, the breadcrumbs capture it and keep it locked up within the meat. Obviously if you use too many breadcrumbs it’s going to have the reverse effect, but just a small amount will work wonders.
• Non-lean pork – You want to aim for pork at least 15% fat, 20-25% is best though. Unfortunately, this is not the recipe to use that lean pork you’ve got waiting in the fridge!
• Don’t work the meat too much – Just like when you’re making meatballs, you only want to mix the ingredients until they’re just about evenly spread. No more. If you overwork the meat it’s gonna come out tough and gross.

Mini Sausage Rolls vs Giant Sausage Roll

It depends on what the occasion is. For dinner, I’ll keep them as large sausage rolls, but obviously, if it’s for a buffet or party I’ll slice them up. The best way to make mini sausage rolls is to slice them before they go in the oven. You may need to pop them in the fridge beforehand the firm up the pastry. Either way be very gentle with the knife to ensure you don’t ruin the shape.

Can I make these sausage rolls ahead of time?

Yep, keep them uncooked in the fridge and apply the egg wash just before you put them in the oven. Add an extra 5/10mins onto the cooking time and ensure they’re piping hot through the centre.

Serving Sausage Rolls

If I’m keeping these whole I’ll serve them for Dinner with Fries or Wedges and a side salad. If they’re mini, I typically serve them for a gathering at lunch or a party. Either, yes, there’s gotta be ketchup 😜

Alrighty, let’s tuck into the full recipe for these homemade sausage rolls shall we?!

How to make Sausages Rolls (Full Recipe & Video)

5 from 10 votes

Homemade Sausage Rolls

By: Chris Collins

You'd never guess these luxury sausage rolls are made with such simple ingredients! Easy to make and perfect to plait, homemade sausage rolls don't come more delicious than these!

Prep: 15 minutes mins

Cook: 40 minutes mins

Total: 55 minutes mins

Servings: 4 large sausage rolls

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Equipment

• Large Greaseproof Baking Tray
• Frying Pan & Wooden Spoon
• Large Mixing Bowl
• Sharp Knife & Chopping Board
• Pot & Brush (for egg wash)

Ingredients 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 1.5 sheets Pre-rolled Puff Pastry (see notes)
• ▢ 1lb / 500g Ground Pork, non-lean (see notes)
• ▢ 3.5oz / 100g Streaky Bacon, finely diced
• ▢ 1/2 cup / 35g Panko Breadcrumbs
• ▢ 1 medium Carrot, very finely diced
• ▢ 1 small/medium White Onion, very finely diced
• ▢ 1 clove Garlic, minced
• ▢ 1 tbsp Fresh Sage, finely diced (can sub 1 tsp dried sage)
• ▢ 1 tsp Whole Fennel Seeds, crushed (see notes)
• ▢ 1 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
• ▢ 3/4 tsp Salt
• ▢ 1/4 tsp White Pepper
• ▢ 2 Eggs (1 beaten for egg wash, 1 for meat mixture)
• ▢ Sesame seeds, to garnish

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Instructions 

• In a pan over low-medium heat add the bacon and fry until crisp with the fat rendered. Add in carrot & onion and continue frying until soft & golden, then add in the garlic and fry for 1-2mins longer. Remove from pan, place in a large mixing bowl and leave to cool for 5-10mins.
• In the same bowl add pork, fennel, sage, salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce, breadcrumbs, 1 egg and gently combine. Make sure you don't over work the meat or the sausage rolls will come out tough and dry. Only mix until the ingredients are evenly distributed.
• Split the first sheet of pastry into 3 even rectangles. Take a slice out of the second sheet at the same size, so you're left with 4 even-sized rectangles. Evenly distribute your sausage meat into 4 log shapes in the centre of each. At a 45-degree angle, slice equal strips around 0.5" wide, ensuring you slice an even number on both sides. Starting from the bottom, braid the strips by pulling each one right over the meat to cover it and nearly touch the other side. You can either leave the sausage roll giant, or gently slice into mini sauce rolls (5 per giant sausage roll).
• Place on a lightly oiled baking tray, brush with egg wash and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake at 180C/356F for 30mins or until a deep golden colour and piping hot through the centre.

Video

Notes

a) Puff Pastry - The size of 1 slice of pastry I use is 14"x9" (35.5cmx22cm). The weight of each pastry sheet (before dividing) is 320g/11.3oz, so if you are buying puff pastry that is not pre-rolled (i.e a slab of pastry) make sure you are using that much weight and roll out to the dimensions above. Just to confirm, it's 1 and a half sheets of that size/weight you'll need.

b) Non-lean pork - Try and get a pack of pork at least 15% fat, with 20-25% being optimum. Stores should sell up to 20%, anything above it's a butcher's job!

c) Mini vs Giant - If you're going for mini sausage rolls, then cut them before they go in the oven. In doing this you might find it easier to slice after a stint in the fridge to firm up the pastry. Either way just slice gently so you don't squash the shape.

d) Classic Sausage Rolls vs Sausage Plait - If you don't feel like being as extra as me and plaiting the pastry, simply roll the pastry. Try and leave a small overlap and fasten it with egg wash. Cook seam side down to prevent them from unfolding. 

e) Breadcrumbs - Panko works great because they're very big and light, so lock in a good amount of moisture (i.e. juicer sausage rolls). If you're using regular fine dry breadcrumbs, 35g is more like 1/3 cup.

f) White Pepper sub - I use white pepper as it adds a nice little bit of heat. You can sub 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper or just use 1/4 tsp black pepper.

g) Crushing Fennel Seeds - You can do this with a pestle and mortar or smash them in a zip-locked bag. Failing that just drizzle a tiny bit of olive oil over them on a chopping board and dice with a knife. The olive oil will stop them from bouncing over the kitchen.

h) Calories - based per sausage roll (20 in total)

Your Private Notes:

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Nutrition

Calories: 198kcal | Carbohydrates: 10.59g | Protein: 7.43g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 3.273g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1.569g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6.131g | Trans Fat: 0.031g | Cholesterol: 63mg | Sodium: 195mg | Potassium: 136mg | Fiber: 0.6g | Sugar: 0.76g | Vitamin A: 1850IU | Vitamin C: 0.8mg | Calcium: 20mg | Iron: 1.1mg

Looking for more?

You’ll find plenty more delicious comfort food like this in my Debut Cookbook ‘Comfy’

If you’re looking for a funky twist on the classic sausage roll then definitely check out my Chorizo Sausage Rolls!

For other similar recipes gives these a ganders too:

Easy Sausage Recipes

• Sausage and Fennel Lasagne
• Homemade Sausages
• Sausage Pasta
• Gnocchi with Sausage Meatballs

Party Puff Pastry Recipes

• Puff Pastry Pinwheels
• Pepperoni Pizza Pockets
• Cheese and Bacon Turnovers
• Potato, Cheese & Onion Pasties
• Cheese and Prosciutto Twists

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