Sausage Rolls are classic British fare that are as versatile as they are easy to make. They can be served hot or cold, in smaller pieces as hors d’oeuvres or quick snacks, or in a larger roll for lunch, brunch, or a main meal.
In addition, the unbaked sausage rolls can be frozen for later use. Also, the cooked sausage rolls can be refrigerated and reheated at a later time.
Regardless of how you serve this classic British sausage roll, you’re in for a real treat.
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About British Sausage
The key to a good sausage roll is good savory pork sausage. British sausage tends to be different from American sausage in several ways.
First, British sausage often has a bread crumb or rusk filler, while its American counterpart doesn’t. Also, British sausage tends to have a finer grind and consistency than American sausage.
Both the Master Taste Tester and I personally prefer British sausage to American sausage.
Experimentation for the Perfect British Sausage
Over time, I’ve experimented with trying to replicate British sausage. I think that I finally have a winner that’s super easy to make and absolutely delicious!
Initially, I made the British sausage by using a combination of bulk American sausage and ground pork. When I first blogged about the British Sausage Rolls in 2017, I used the recipe developed with the combination of American sausage and ground pork.
Over time, however, I continued experimenting and ultimately decided to omit the American sausage and focus on making the sausage filling with just ground pork and seasonings.
This post is updated to include the British sausage made without adding any American sausage. Also, I’ve added new photographs, enhanced text, and a Web Story showing how I make my own sausage and these tasty sausage rolls.
For anyone interested, however, my original recipe using American sausage and British sausage, which was posted in 2017, included the following:
- 1 pound (16 ounces, 454 grams) of ground pork
- ½ pound (8 ounces, 227 grams) hot bulk sausage
- ½ cup (2.65 ounces, 75 grams) dry bread crumbs
- ⅓ cup (2.65 ounces, 75 grams) of water
- 1 ½ teaspoons (0.35 ounces, 10 grams) Kosher salt
- 2 Tablespoons (0.25 ounces, 7 grams) fresh sage, chopped
Here’s What You’ll Need: Ingredients for Sausage Rolls
- For the Sausage: For the delicious sausage, I used ground pork, dry bread crumbs, ground nutmeg, ground mace, Kosher salt, dried sage, black pepper, and water. I could have also used panko breadcrumbs.
- For the Pastry: I used store-bought puff pastry sheets to enclose the sausage. The premade puff pastry works quite well.
Here’s How I Made the Sausage
- To make the sausage, I added ground pork, bread crumbs, salt, pepper, dried sage, nutmeg, mace, and water to the bowl of my food processor fitted with a steel blade. I’ve found that using a food processor is the easiest way to make the sausage.
- I processed the sausage mixture for about 20 seconds. Then I took a small piece, microwaved it for about 20 seconds, and tasted it to see if additional seasonings were needed. The Master Taste Tester said that it was perfect!
Next, I continued processing the mixture for another 30 seconds, until it reached the proper consistency. If the mixture seemed too dry, I could have added a little water.
See how finely ground it is – almost like a pâté, which is how we like it.
That’s it – British sausage with the food processor doing all the work!
Here’s How I Made the Sausage Rolls
- With the sausage made, I turned my attention to making the sausage rolls.
I rolled out a thawed puff pastry sheet on a floured surface of parchment paper to approximately 14 x 10 inches. Next, I cut the puff pastry in half, length-wise.
- I placed a roll of sausage down the center of each piece of puff pastry. Then, I brought the long side of the pastry together and pinched the edges to enclose the sausage and produce one long roll. I pinched the edge puff pastry together to ensure that it was completely sealed.
- I cut each of the puff pastry sausage logs into four equal pieces with a sharp knife. Each of the little rolls was the perfect size for us. Then, I placed the sausage rolls, seam side down, onto a rimmed baking sheet, that I had lined with non-stick aluminum foil.
Finally, to allow the steam to escape during baking, I cut two slits in each roll.
I placed the prepared sausage rolls into the refrigerator until I was ready to bake them.
- Before baking the sausage rolls, I brushed the top of the pastry with an egg wash (beaten egg with about a tablespoon of water). I could have also brushed them with milk.
I baked the sausage rolls in a preheated 425°F oven for 25 to 30 minutes. The flaky puff pastry rose nicely and was a deep golden brown. More importantly, the sausage was fully cooked!
- Once the sausage rolls were done, I removed them from the oven. I allowed the sausage rolls to cool for about 10 minutes before serving them.
Even though sausage rolls are most often served as an appetizer, I also like to serve them as an entrée.
Either way, the Easy Peasy British Sausage Rolls in flaky pastry are amazingly delicious.
Do yourself a favor and try this homemade sausage rolls recipe. Yum!
Frequently Asked Questions
Both puff pastry and phyllo dough utilize layering of dough. Puff pastry is created by incorporating butter into the dough. On the other hand, phyllo dough, all by itself, is virtually free of any fat. Rather the fat is added right before baking. Phyllo dough doesn’t puff when it bakes—it crisps.
Phyllo dough does not puff when during baking, whereas puff pastry, as the name implies, does puff during baking.
You can make your ground pork for the sausage rolls if you have a food processor. I typically use a Boston butt that I cut into 1 to 1 ½-inch pieces. I process the pieces for 10 to 15 seconds before adding the other ingredients.
I make the sausage rolls with uncooked sausage. The sausage cooks as the sausage rolls are baked in the oven.
Some fat in the sausage is necessary. If my ground pork is too lean, the sausage ends up being very dry. In cases where the sausage is quite lean (90% lean or higher), I often add about a tablespoon of butter to the sausage ingredients.
If I use the food processor to “grind” the Boston butt, I make sure not to include too much fat in the pieces.
You can make the sausage rolls ahead of time. If you’re going to cook them on the same day as you make the sausage rolls, just refrigerate them until you’re ready to pop them in the oven.
You can also freeze the uncooked sausage rolls and bake them frozen. Just add 5 minutes or so to the cooking time.
These sausage rolls make delicious leftovers. I refrigerate the leftover sausage rolls and heat them at 350°F for 10 to 15 minutes.
Other British Recipes
For a bite-sized treat, try my British-style Sausage Roll Bites. Also, if you’re looking for some more authentic British fare, you should try some of my favorites:
I hope you liked this Easy Peasy British Sausage Rolls recipe as much as I did. If so, please consider rating it and leaving a comment. Also, if you’d like to receive notifications of new posts by email, enter your email address in the Subscribe box.
Thank you so much for visiting Pudge Factor. I hope you’ll come back!
Recipe
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Easy Peasy British Sausage Rolls
Ingredients
- 1 sheet puff pastry thawed
- 1 pound (16 ounces, 454 grams) ground pork (See Tip 1)
- ½ cup (2.65 ounces, 75 grams) dry bread crumbs
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon dried sage
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- Dash ground nutmeg
- Dash mace
- ⅓ cup (2.65 ounces, 75 grams) water
- 1 egg for egg wash (optional)
Instructions
Sausage
- Add ground pork, bread crumbs, salt, pepper, sage, nutmeg, mace and water to bowl of food processor fitted with steel blade. Process 20 seconds. Cook small amount in microwave for 20 seconds; taste for seasonings and consistency. Correct seasonings if necessary. Process for additional 30 seconds, or until desired consistency is reached. Cover and refrigerate. Yield: About 20 ounces sausage. (See Tip 2)
Sausage Rolls
- Preheat oven to 425° F.
- Roll puff pastry sheet to approximately 14 x 10-inches on a lightly floured surface. Cut in half lengthwise. Place a roll of half of the sausage down the center. Bring sides together, and pinch to seal. Make sure that roll is thoroughly sealed. Repeat with other half of puff pastry and remaining sausage.
- Cut each roll to desired size (I cut each roll into four pieces). Cut 2 to 3 diagonal slits in each piece. Place on rimmed baking sheet lined with non-stick aluminum foil. (See Tip 3)
- Brush with egg wash. Bake at 425° F for 25 to 30 minutes, or until golden brown and sausage is completely cooked. Cool 10 minutes before serving. Yield: 4 servings. (See Tip 4)
Tips/Notes
- If you can’t find ground pork, you can grind your own with pieces of Boston butt. Cut Boston butt into 1 to 1 ½-inches and process in food processor for 10 to 15 seconds. Add remaining sausage ingredients and proceed as above.
- If your ground pork is very lean (90% lean or above), you might want to add a tablespoon of butter to the sausage mixture. The finished sausage should have the consistency of a pâté and be very finely ground.
- You can make the sausage rolls ahead of time up to this point. Refrigerate if you’re going to cook them later in the day or freeze for up to one month. You can cook the sausage rolls frozen. Just add 5 minutes or so to the cooking time.
- Cooked sausage rolls can be refrigerated and reheated at 350°F for 10 to 15 minutes.
Laura Gienapp says
Loved by my English-raised SIL and ALL who celebrated with us this Christmas. Thank you!
Chula King says
So glad they liked the sausage rolls!
Annie says
Plan o make these today. I have one question. Onepart of the recipe indicates 2 tablespoons fresh sage, chopped, then further down, it indicate 1 teaspoon dried sage.
Which is correct?
Thank you
Annie in Montana
Chula King says
Annie,
You can use either fresh sage (if you happen to have it) or dried sage. The reason for the differences in measurements is that the dried sage has a more concentrated flavor than fresh sage. Generally, I use 1 teaspoon of dried sage.
Chula
Angel says
My parents are from England and growing up mum made a few things I really miss as an adult. Chutney, lamb and mint sauce, British sausage, Piccalilli, pickled onions, etc. As a grown adult with Celiacs many of my favorites have been ruined (no puff pastry/philo/shortbread). When I read your post I was inspired to just follow your recipe for the sausage.
JOYOUS DAY!! You have brought back a taste (and texture) of childhood that was greatly missed. Her sausage was a Thanksgiving Day specialty and now thanks to you, I can make it this Thanksgiving. The seasonings and texture are exactly as I remember them. Thank you so much for sharing.
Chula King says
Hi Angel,
I’m so glad the the sausage recipe worked out for you. Although I’m not from England, I think that the taste and texture of English sausage is far superior to that in the US. Since you mentioned Piccalilli, I thought you might be interested in my English Piccalilli recipe (even though you can purchase it in the US). I make it all the time for my English husband!
Chula
Gregory Johnson says
Perfect. I lived in England for eight years and have missed sausage rolls the most. We have a local British market close by and can purchase them frozen there, but this recipe is perfect, simple, and soo much better. And as a bonus your home smells fantastic when you’re done.
Chula King says
So glad you liked them! My husband is from the UK and these have his stamp of approval.
Gretchen says
Oh my. Sooooooooo good. Easy and delicious. You had me at easy. Thanks for a great, new recipe that I’ll be serving in a variety of ways. Had it tonight for dinner with a side of fresh green beans and salad wasn’t sure how the “pate-like” consistency was going to go over with the fam but actually, I think the consistency makes the dish.
. I can easily see making this as an appetizer too for charcuterie trays. Thanks again! You have another fan.
Chula King says
I’m so glad that you liked the sausage rolls Gretchen! You’re totally right – they make awesome appetizers.
Chula
Irene says
I found the recipe really easy to follow and the results delicious! I just thought that the ratio of pastry to sausage was a bit off (too much sausage). I measured properly and made sure to only use 20oz. of filling, but even my carnivore-all-the-way husband thought that the ratio was a bit skewed to the sausage side. I will definitely make this again, but will put a bit less sausage mixture in the next time….
Cathy says
These are really delicious! Due to my obsession with the British Baking Show, I had seen them on there several times and had been wanting to try to make them. I like your suggestion of buying the premade puff pastry! I followed your “revised” recipe exactly (except I did not have any mace on hand) and the seasoning was perfect just like it was. These were so easy to make and very tasty! Thank you!
Chula King says
Hi Cathy!
I love to watch the British Baking Show as well! I’m so pleased that the sausage rolls turned out for you.
Chula
Cindy says
Can these be made ahead of time and frozen? Then baked to order from frozen?
Chula King says
Cindy,
Yes, they can definitely be made ahead of time and frozen. In fact, that’s what I often do. I add about 10 minutes to the cooking time if they go into the oven frozen.
Chula
Dale Cross says
Does it matter , homemade breadcrumbs or packet
Chula King says
Dale, I always use store-bought dry breadcrumbs.
Chula
Ruth Thomas says
I’m a little confused…your original recipe calls for 1 1/2 lbs. sausage, and your “new revised” calls for only 1 lb, yet uses the same amount of the rest of the ingredients. Is 1 1/2 lbs too much meat for the rolls or does it matter? We had sausage rolls in England and loved them, so thought I’d give your recipe a try, but didn’t want to use too much meat if you found the 1 lb. was better. Thank you!
PudgeFactor says
Ruth, after a lot of experimentation we actually prefer the revised recipe that uses 1 pound of ground pork. The ratio of the breadcrumbs to the meat in the revised recipe produces the very fine texture that we love about English sausage! I thought about replacing the original recipe with the revised recipe – maybe I should have done that!
Chula
Adrienne Ledvina says
I made these shortly after returning from Scotland and craving the sausage rolls we’d pick up in the pastry shops. These turned out great and have been a big hit with the family. I tried the bulk sausage mix the first go round, and the only thing I’d like to improve is the texture/consistency. The rolls we had in Scotland had sausage that was much softer, almost mushy. Any tips for achieving a softer sausage?
PudgeFactor says
Adrienne, I totally get your craving for sausage rolls! Personally, I like the finer, “mushy” texture of the British sausage more than the granular texture of US sausages. I would suggest trying the other approach where I use 100% ground pork rather than the 50-50 blend. If I can’t find ground pork, I make my own by adding 1 to 2 inch pieces of pork butt that I’ve cut up to my food processor fitted with a steel blade and process away. In about a minute, I have ground pork that I add the rest of ingredients to. Once I have all of the ingredients in the food processor, I find that the longer I process the mixture, the finer it becomes. I generally process for around 1 minute. Chula
Renato says
good morning
may i know what hot bulk sausage is please ?
PudgeFactor says
Renato, bulk sausage is a prepared breakfast type sausage sold in the US. Since I posted the sausage rolls, I’ve started making my own sausage from just ground pork. To do this, I process the following in my food processor: 1 pound of ground pork, 1/2 cup of dry breadcrumbs, 1 teaspoon of Kosher salt, 1 teaspoon of dry sage, 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, dash of nutmeg, dash of mace, 1/3 cup of water. Process for 30 seconds. Cook a small amount in the microwave and correct the seasonings. Process for an additional 15 seconds. This makes incredible sausage rolls. I keep thinking that I need to update the post with this! Chula
A Cook says
Thank you so very much for sharing this recipe. I made these for our family’s lunch today and they all LOVED them. My husband is British and I’m always looking for recipes to create some of his favorites that can’t be bought here. I am so thankful to have found this on Pinterest. My husband and kids all said they tasted just like they came from a British bakery. That’s some pretty high praise.
PudgeFactor says
Wow – Thanks for letting me know. My husband is British as well and loves these sausage rolls!
Sean B says
A real British sausage rolls recipe – thank you! I tried it without the hot sausage, added pepper; should have added more salt too. I went a bit too heavy on the meat, which wasn’t lean. Flattening the rolls cooked them through easier, they still puffed fine and the more balanced meat/pastry ratio tasted better. My aunt used to use milk “glaze” to restore flakiness on rolls out of the tin. Will be cooking these again!
PudgeFactor says
What a good idea to use milk as the glaze! I use milk for cheese and onion pie. I’ll have to try it on the sausage rolls. So glad that you liked them!
David Slade says
You have no idea how much I miss British sausage rolls. This recipe was spot on and delicious. The instructions were easy. I will be trying other Pudgefactor recipes. Thank you.
PudgeFactor says
I’m so glad that you liked the sausage rolls. They are one of my favorites!
Mike says
Can you let the sausage mixture sit overnight in the fridge?
PudgeFactor says
Absolutely! Generally, I make a batch of the sausage mixture, cover it with plastic wrap, and put it in the refrigerator until I’m ready to use it.