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Homemade Breakfast Sausage Recipe

Katie Wells Avatar
Katie Wells

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Homemade breakfast sausage recipe
Wellness Mama » Blog » Recipes » Breakfast Recipes » Homemade Breakfast Sausage Recipe

Breakfast sausage is a favorite food of the men (including the little ones) in our home. I love it too, but don’t love that many store-bought breakfast sausages have nitrates or nitrites and other preservatives and flavors added.

When a local farmer started selling pastured pork, I decided to figure out a recipe for homemade breakfast sausage. This recipe can actually be made with beef for those who don’t like pork, though the taste will be a little different.

I originally made this recipe with diced pieces of pastured Boston butt, mainly because I had an awesome (and somewhat scary looking) old fashioned metal meat grinder that a relative gave us. I soon realized, after spending much cleaning time on said scary meat grinder, that this made the process more time consuming. I now just buy ground (pastured) pork for this recipe. However, if you also have a scary meat grinder and the patience to clean it, I highly recommend that option as well.

I pre-make this in two-pound (or larger) batches and refrigerate or freeze for quick breakfasts. The patties turned out pretty light in the picture but are typically darker and have more visible spices.

Homemade breakfast sausage recipe

Homemade Breakfast Sausage Recipe

Homemade breakfast sausage with spices, herbs, and salt.
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Calories 237kcal
Author Katie Wells
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Servings

16

Ingredients

Instructions

  • If grinding yourself, grind meat with the finest blade of the grinder.
  • Combine ground pork with all other ingredients and mix well.
  • Form into 16 one-inch patties.
  • Store in the refriferator or freezer until ready to use.
  • To cook, heat in skillet over medium heat for 5-7 minutes per side until cooked through.

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts
Homemade Breakfast Sausage Recipe
Amount Per Serving (2 patties)
Calories 237 Calories from Fat 148
% Daily Value*
Fat 16.4g25%
Saturated Fat 6.1g38%
Cholesterol 74mg25%
Sodium 233mg10%
Carbohydrates 1g0%
Fiber 0.5g2%
Sugar 0.1g0%
Protein 20.3g41%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Notes

To freeze individual patties:
  1. Form patties
  2. Lay on wax-paper lined baking sheet
  3. Freeze until firm
  4. Store in a sealed container in the freezer until ready to use

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Ever made sausage? Ever used a scary meat grinder? Share below!

Katie Wells Avatar

About Katie Wells

Katie Wells, CTNC, MCHC, Founder of Wellness Mama and Co-founder of Wellnesse, has a background in research, journalism, and nutrition. As a mom of six, she turned to research and took health into her own hands to find answers to her health problems. WellnessMama.com is the culmination of her thousands of hours of research and all posts are medically reviewed and verified by the Wellness Mama research team. Katie is also the author of the bestselling books The Wellness Mama Cookbook and The Wellness Mama 5-Step Lifestyle Detox.

Comments

77 responses to “Homemade Breakfast Sausage Recipe”

  1. Beth Benson Avatar
    Beth Benson

    I made this recipe Friday night. (Bought the boston butt on sale and froze it till I had the time.) I did not have fennel, but added garlic powder and, paprika and seasoned salt. Kept it in the refrigerator for two days, stirring twice a day. Simply amazing. It took two days for the seasonings to blend together well. Thanks again for this recipe,

    Reply
  2. Alex Barber Avatar
    Alex Barber

    Great recipe! It was a tad salty for us, but not too much:)

    We are going to add veggies to the next batch so our 11 month old may not notice she is benefitting from the added nutrition that she doesn’t necessarily enjoy on it’s own (she loved the sausage!)

    Thank you and will report back on how she likes it with the veggies!

    Reply
  3. Jennifer Avatar
    Jennifer

    Perhaps this is in another post on your site and I just haven’t found it yet, but can you tell me why avoiding nitrates/nitrites is so important. Obviously additives of any kind are good to avoid, but so far I’ve only come across advice to avoid the nitrates but not heard why. I am moving more and more toward making my own foods at home (like hopefully this sausage soon!) and really want to make bacon, but almost all the DIY recipes I’ve seen still have you cure it with sodium nitrate. I don’t want to ruin the pastured pork I’ll be receiving soon, but I do want to eat the bacon!

    Reply
  4. Beth Benson Avatar
    Beth Benson

    The best way to can pork sausage is to cook it in a frying pan. Divide the patties into clean sterilized jars. Then pour the leftover hot grease into the jars, screw the lids on tight, and turn them upside down. By morning they will have sealed. Keeps for months, great for taking camping because it’s already cooked. I learned this from Freda Bell who grew up in West Virginia.

    Reply
  5. Joan Avatar
    Joan

    Thank you for some great ideas. I am off of red meat and didn’t know what to do with ground poultry.

    Reply
  6. erika Avatar
    erika

    I’ve made something like this with some homegrown chicken. Used curry powder and other spices and they were great. Pork can take a lot of different flavors like chicken. I used two big knives to chop up the chicken so it was still slightly coarse, learned that from my mom’s old school Chinese friend. Very easy to clean.

    Reply
  7. Allison Avatar
    Allison

    I make something similar but I only put mixed herbs, salt and pepper in the mince (pork, turkey or chicken). I make them into flat patties, bake for 20 mins and then use instead of the buns in a burger! Truly amazing! In between the buns, I put anything in like mashed avocado, red onion, baby spinach, bacon, tomato, Greek dip, etc…

    Reply
    1. Lauren Avatar
      Lauren

      Hey, great idea! I can’t wait to try a “bun” like this!!

      Reply
  8. pervaiz ismail Avatar
    pervaiz ismail

    please mention another type of meat as i do not use pork at all.
    thanks.

    Reply
    1. Wellness Mama Avatar
      Wellness Mama

      I haven’t tried it with other meats meats, but I bet would work with turkey or chicken. If you try it, let me know how it turns out!

      Reply
  9. Kate Avatar
    Kate

    Polish Sausage. Sounds amazing. Are you able to share the recipe please – or is it a family secret

    Reply
  10. William H. Grimball Avatar
    William H. Grimball

    Do you think it would be better to cook the Boston Butt first, and then grind it up?

    Reply
    1. Wellness Mama Avatar
      Wellness Mama

      Well, I mix it (as ground meat) uncooked, then cook it before serving. The pork may not mix well with the other ingredients if it’s already cooked.

      Reply
  11. Valerie Avatar
    Valerie

    Just requesting your readers to please only use pork from compassionately-raised pigs. Pigs confined in cages on factory farms suffer terribly. They are highly intelligent and aware, so it is particularly cruel to treat them this way. The more we buy pork without ensuring it’s not from a factory farm, the more we contribute to animal suffering. Nothing will change until meat eaters care.

    Reply
    1. Angela Callick Avatar
      Angela Callick

      5 stars
      Top tip when using meat grinders, scary or otherwise, when you are done grinding your meat, push through a couple of slices of bread or half a cup of oats, forces out most of the traces of meat so more ends up in your dish and far easier to clean

      Reply
  12. Mary Avatar
    Mary

    I have made sausage with venison and sage and the Creole seasoning my husband likes so well. We really like it, but I think if it had pork in it too (or possibly turkey) it would fry up better and not be as dry.

    Reply
    1. Jessica Avatar
      Jessica

      Venison and bison meat are very lean so adding 1% to 2% beef fat to it will make it just right!!

      Reply
  13. Irina Avatar
    Irina

    Hi there,

    I’m just wondering if these stick well together seeing that there is no egg in the recipe. Thanks!

    Reply
  14. Cat Avatar
    Cat

    This is perfect! My husband just had a heart attack and now he has to give in to this whole clean eating thing (finally!) He was just complaining that he is relegated to eating sticks and twigs cuz all the food he likes has nitrates or sodium benzoate or other scary sounding ingredients. He will love this 🙂

    Reply
  15. Maria Mercado Avatar
    Maria Mercado

    I really appreciate all the home recipes. I love sausage but cant eat it often because its to salty & i have high blood pressure. I will try to make it myself with less salt.

    Reply
  16. Sarah Barnette Avatar
    Sarah Barnette

    Every year near Christmas, our family makes Polish sausage. We do about 50 or so pounds and split it between the siblings and parents. We grind pork butt and add salt, pepper, and garlic. Then we case it and hang it for 24 hours. It’s the best sausage ever!

    Reply
    1. Diana Avatar
      Diana

      When you ‘case it’ – what do you use for casing?
      When you hang it – what temp – room temp, refrigerate?

      Thanks!

      Reply
    3. Dora Wolvin Avatar
      Dora Wolvin

      5 stars
      I’m from Florida, where do you hang it? And can you do this with other meat?

      Reply
  17. Linda Sand Avatar
    Linda Sand

    I used to make sausage from ground beef. Adding some Liquid Smoke made then really good. I have not done this for years but I’m pretty sure Liquid Smoke meets paleo guidelines.

    Reply
  19. Kim Avatar
    Kim

    Hi
    First off love the website. It’s so full of wonderful information. Quick question… since i don’t eat pork could i use say ground beef, chicken, or turkey in the recipe….thanks

    Reply
      1. Denise Wood Avatar
        Denise Wood

        I’ve made homemade breakfast sausage (not this recipe) using ground chicken, it’s delicious!

        Reply
    2. Tracy Avatar
      Tracy

      You can use ground turkey and it turns out just about the same, but I’m pretty sure ground beef wouldn’t give you the same “sausagy” taste – it would be more like an oddly flavored hamburger patty. I’d stick to the more benign tasting meats like pork and turkey that take to these added flavors well and need the extra bump of flavor. I use a similar rendition of this recipe but I add two Tbsp of organic maple syrup. That, mixed with the fennel, tastes amazing!

      Reply
    3. joyce Avatar
      joyce

      I’ve always used ground turkey. It’s excellent and much Heather.

      Reply
    4. Verna Avatar
      Verna

      Because this is a wellness site, I’m actually shocked that pork would be included as an ingredient on this forum. I had high standards for this site.

      Reply
      2. Kimberly Baker Avatar
        Kimberly Baker

        5 stars
        To Verna – Katie is right. Pastured pork is not the same as factory farmed pork! This wonderful site and great information.

        Reply
          1. Wilde Avatar
            Wilde

            Did your studies mention that if the meat is not certified organic, it could be FDA-approved cloned flesh?

    5. John Avatar
      John

      I like ground chicken the best. I prefer the texture because it more closely resembles the texture of pork sausage. BTW this recipe is really tasty. Added to my own personal recipe book

      Reply
  20. Magistra Avatar
    Magistra

    I’ve used a meat grinder… and I completely agree about the cleaning time (no thanks)! Tastes great. Nowadays, I usually just pulse things in the Ninja because it’s easier to clean.

    And homemade sausage is the best! I’m excited to try this rendition soon. Thanks for sharing. 🙂

    Reply
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