Homemade breakfast sausage makes breakfast time extra delicious! This pork sausage is easy to make and is perfect for weekend and holiday breakfast or brunch.
Pork sausage
Making your own breakfast sausage isn't difficult. You get to control the seasoning and you know exactly what's in your sausage.
I like to make this sausage for breakfast and I also use the sausage in several recipes. This recipe makes eight patties or a pound of bulk sausage, but you can easily double if you need a larger batch.
Key ingredients
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 - You can often find it at your meat counter. You want unseasoned ground pork. Ask your butcher if you can't find it.
- 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
How to make it
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.
- Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour so the flavors can all meld together.
- Form into patties by first using a cookie scoop to portion out the meat mixture and then use your hands to flatten each round.
- Cook in a large, lightly greased skillet over medium heat for 4-5 minutes per side until the sausages are cooked through.
Recipe tips
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Feel free to adjust the amount of herbs to your liking. Add a bit more sage, or omit the rosemary and thyme.
- 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.
Frequently asked questions
The uncooked sausage mixture should be covered, refrigerated and used within 3-5 days.
Cook until the internal temperature reaches 160°F.
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.
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 teaspoon 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 toether 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. Flaten 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
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Feel free to adjust the amount of herbs to your liking. Add a bit more sage, or omit the rosemary and thyme.
- 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.
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.
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!