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Homemade breakfast sausage is easy to make with ground pork and a handful of simple seasonings. Make it into patties or use it as bulk sausage in your favorite breakfast recipes.
Pork breakfast sausage
This recipe started with my husband's homemade breakfast sausage recipe. His original recipe made a whopping 30 pounds of sausage at a time! That's a great amount when you're stocking the freezer, but not very practical for most home cooks.
I scaled his recipe all the way down to one pound of ground pork so you can make a small batch whenever you need it.
Making your own breakfast sausage also means you get to control exactly what goes into it. The seasonings are simple, and you can easily adjust them to suit your taste.
This homemade sausage cooks perfectly on the stovetop or you can bake the sausages in the oven.
Key ingredients
This section reviews the best ingredients and substitutions for this recipe. For an exact list of ingredients and quantities, check the recipe card below.
- Ground Pork - Use ground pork with some fat for the best flavor and texture. If you're grinding your own, pork shoulder or pork butt works well. Aim for about 20–30% fat.
- Brown Sugar - Just a touch of brown sugar is added (2 teaspoons!) The brown sugar helps balance the flavors without making the sausage sweet. It also helps with the browning of the sausage.
- Salt - Use a coarse salt, like kosher salt.
- Seasoning - Pepper, garlic powder, dried sage, thyme, parsley and rosemary.
- Red Pepper Flakes - Give a bit of heat to the sausage without making it spicy. You can always add a bit more or a bit less.
Making homemade breakfast sausage
In this section, I share step-by-step photos, cooking methods, techniques, and a general overview. For detailed instructions, temperatures, and timing, check the printable recipe card below.
- Place the ground pork in a large mixing bowl.
- Sprinkle over all seasonings and the brown sugar.
- Use clean hands to combine everything. I dig my hands in and squeeze the pork through my fingers and knead lightly until everything is combined.
- Cook a small piece of the sausage in a skillet. Taste and adjust the seasonings if needed.
- Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour so the flavors can all meld together.
- Form into patties by first portioning out the meat mixture with a cookie scoop and then flattening each round with your hands.
Recipe tips
- Mix the pork and seasonings thoroughly. Clean hands are the easiest way to make certain everything is evenly distributed.
- For the best flavor, refrigerate the sausage mixture for at least one hour before cooking.
- Cook a small test patty and taste it before forming the remaining patties. Adjust the seasonings if needed.
- If using fresh herbs instead of dried, use 3–4 times the amount called for.
- Adjust the herbs to suit your taste. Add more sage or leave out the rosemary or thyme if you prefer.
- For bulk sausage, skip forming the patties and cook the sausage in a skillet, breaking it apart as it cooks.
Storage and freezing
Store uncooked sausage in a covered container in the refrigerator until ready to cook.
To freeze, shape the sausage into patties and place parchment paper between each patty. Freeze in a freezer-safe container or bag for up to 3 months.
You can also freeze the sausage in bulk if you don't want to form it into patties.
Ways to use breakfast sausage
- Cook and serve with your favorite fried egg.
- Serve with blueberry pancakes.
- Cook the sausage and add to biscuits and gravy
- Cook the sausage into crumbles and add to a tasty hash brown casserole.
- Use the uncooked sausage in these stuffed mushrooms.
More homemade sausage recipes
If you enjoy making your own sausage, try my Homemade Mexican Chorizo and my Homemade Italian Sausage. For breakfast, I also have an Apple Pork Breakfast Sausage with a slightly sweet and savory flavor.
If you make this recipe, I’d love to hear about it! Leave a comment below and snap a picture and tag me on Instagram @beyondthechickencoop
Check out all my breakfast recipes!
Homemade Breakfast Sausage
Equipment
- Cookie Scoop (#20 size scoop)
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground pork
- 2 teaspoons brown sugar
- 1 - 1 ½ teaspoons salt (use a coarse salt, like kosher salt)
- ¾ teaspoon ground sage
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon dried parsley
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon dried rosemary
- ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Mix all ingredients together in a mixing bowl. Use your hands to fully combine everything.
- Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour to allow the flavors to fully meld together.
- Remove from refrigerator and blend together again.
- Use a cookie scoop, #20 scoop or about 3 tablespoons, to form evenly-sized balls. Place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Flatten each ball into a 2-3 inch patty.
- Cook in a lightly greased pan over medium heat for 4-5 minutes per side until sausages are cooked all the way through.
- Serve hot.
Notes
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- Make certain your sausage meat is fully mixed. It's okay to get in there and really mix that meat with your clean hands. It's the best way to mix the meat.
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- Allow time for the flavors to meld together. While you can cook the sausage right away, if you give it at least an hour, the flavors will be more pronounced.
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- This recipe uses dried herbs, but if you prefer to use fresh herbs, increase the amount of fresh herbs by 3-4 times the amount of dried herbs.
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- Feel free to adjust the amount of herbs to your liking. Add a bit more sage, or omit the rosemary and thyme.
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- This sausage can also be cooked and used as bulk sausage. Skip forming the patties and cook in a medium pan, breaking up the sausage while it cooks.
Nutritional Disclaimer:
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and should only be construed as an estimate rather than a guarantee. To obtain the most precise nutritional information in a provided recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the exact ingredients you are using when preparing the recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Nutrition
This recipe was originally published in April 2015. The recipe, images, and information have all been updated.
Susan Langheld says
I made this after grinding up some pork. so I kept out a 1 1/4 # of ground pork. used the recipe exactly except I did put in 1/4 c of maple syrup. I fried one patty and it was delicious. For my taste I will double the sage. Thank you for such a clear recipe.
Kathy says
Thanks so much! I like the addition of maple syrup! 🙂
Janet. Moore says
I would like to do my own ground pork, I have a meat grinder. Do you have any suggestions for the part of the pork to use?
Kathy says
Hi Janet,
You'll want to use something with fat, like a boneless pork butt. You want about about 20-30% fat to meat. My husband will sometimes request extra pork fat from the butcher if the pork we are using is a bit lean.
Let me know how it turns out!
Kathy
Danielle @So Munch Love says
Wow, my stomach is growling looking at this. I am a HUGE fan of breakfast sausage. I make a homemade turkey Italian sausage that is loaded with fennel, but I haven't made my own breakfast breakfast sausage. Now I'm feeling inspired. 🙂
Kathy says
Thanks, Danielle!
Rachelle says
30 pounds of sausage! Oh my! I'm glad you were able to scale it back a bit. We have a meat grinder attachment for the Kitchenaid and have made sausage that is more like a hot dog that you put on a bun with mustard. It was totally fun and delicious. Chris loves grinding meat (I think he feels manly) so we will have to try breakfast sausage because I LOVE me some gravy biscuits! Yours looks like it would be perfect!
Kathy says
30 pounds is a lot, but it's great to have it in our freezer!
Annie @ The Garlic Diaries says
This is so cool! I need to get a meat grinder so I can do stuff like this.
Kathy says
In the meanwhile, you can buy pork already ground from your butcher. Grinding your own is fun though!
Senika @ Foodie Blog Stalker says
Love homemade breakfast sausage! I've subbed ground turkey for pork & real maple syrup for brown sugar for a healthier version & it was yummy but yours looks amazing!!
Kathy says
Ground turkey and maple syrup sound like a great combination.
Debbie says
I'm using 1 lb ground pork how much maple syrup syrup to add?
Kathy Berget says
Hi Debbie,
The addition of the maple syrup is a recommendation from a reader. You'll need to follow the ratio she recommends.
Kathy
yummychunklet says
Great looking homemade sausage!
Kathy says
Thanks! It was delicious.
Lori from LL Farm says
Hi Kathy,
Thanks for sharing the recipe. We love using sage in ours also.
Lori
Kathy says
Sage is what makes it so good!