Sausage Rolls

Epic, EASY classic homemade sausage rolls recipe that I dare say rivals the famous Bourke St Bakery, declared by many as the best sausage rolls in Australia!

It takes more than store bought sausage mince to make a truly delicious filling. The little but important thing I do that takes this from “yummy” to “OMG these are incredible!!” is to sauté garlic, onion, celery and BACON to mix into pork mince (not store bought sausage meat!).

Sausage Rolls

Sausage rolls are Australia’s answer to America’s Pigs in a Blanket – but (I’m going to say it!!) SO MUCH BETTER!!!

A juicy homemade sausage mixture wrapped in puff pastry. I mean really – do you need any more information than that to know these are wickedly delicious?

Brits reading this are probably rolling their eyes or getting fired up, thinking “Hey!!! WE invented Sausage Rolls!”

OK, true that. One might say Australia has adopted it as our own. 😉

These sausage rolls are a tried and tested favourite we regularly pull out for gatherings!

Why this is the BEST Homemade Sausage Rolls Recipe ever

It was actually my brother who created this recipe, so I can shout from the rooftops that this is the BEST homemade Sausage Rolls recipe ever and not feel like I’m being big headed!

Here is what makes these sausage rolls so good:

1. REAL PORK – It’s not made with store bought sausage mince which is a mix of questionable ingredients – query how much is actually meat. This starts with pure pork mince. Real meat. Yay! TOP TIP: No beef. Beef mince is not as juicy or tender, it will make the filling more dry.

2. BACON – It’s not just about adding bacon for the sake of it. The plain fact is that bacon is salty and juicy and when you chop it up finely and mix it through the pork, it makes it so much tastier!

3. GARLIC, ONION & CELERY – Fact: when you saute these together slowly, they become sweet and form the flavour base of many of the most epic classic recipes in this big wide world. Like Beef Ragu. And Beef & Guinness Stew. And it does the same for Sausage Rolls. The sweetness and extra flavour it adds to the filling is just incomparable to just mixing in some raw chopped onion into the mince, which is what many standard recipes do. Plus, this adds moisture to the filling without making it watery (which = soggy base); and

4. NO GRATED VEGGIES – I won’t tell you not to sneak any veggies in, but what I will caution is that grated veggies are the main culprit for soggy pastry bases, even if you squeeze excess liquid out…..I think there is a time and place for hidden veggies. In my world, that does not include sausage rolls!

Fennel all the way!

This homemade Sausage Rolls recipe includes fennel, because fennel and pork are great mates. Just like basil and tomato.

And if you’re a sausage roll connoisseur then you would probably know that the really great sausage rolls from patisseries and posh bakeries usually have a hint of fennel. 🙂

But it is all about tastes, so if you know for a fact you don’t like fennel then skip it. Or if you are wary, then just use 1/2 teaspoon and it will be a very subtle barely-there background flavour!

How to make Sausage Rolls

There’s nothing complicated about this recipe, I promise. Cook off onion, garlic, celery and bacon, then just mix the filling (I use my hands!), place on puff pastry, roll and bake.

30 minutes later, your self control is going to be seriously tested as you try to resist taste testing just one more, just one more….

Once cooked, the inside will still look a bit pink because of the bacon. But it’s very easy to tell that it’s cooked because the texture of the meat is completely different to when it’s raw.

Also, there’s no way that that the inside would not be cooked by the time the pastry is a deep golden brown which takes a good 30 minutes.

Sausage rolls are one of the few classic Aussie party foods that really can be made ahead because they can be frozen unbaked then when you’re ready to serve, all you have to do is bake them. No fussing with garnishes or assembling, just make sure there is plenty of tomato sauce (ketchup) to dunk them in! – Nagi x

More Aussie favourites

• Scones – and Lemonade Scones 3 ingredient shortcut scones!

• Caramel Slice

• Pikelets

• Lamingtons

• Pavlova

• Party Pies and Meat Pies

Watch how to make it

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Homemade Sausage Rolls

Author: Nagi | RecipeTin Eats

Prep: 20 mins

Cook: 30 mins

Total: 50 mins

Appetizer, Finger Food, Party Food

Australian, British, Western

4.97 from 218 votes

Servings20

Tap or hover to scale

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Recipe video above. "The secret is the bacon..." It really takes this sausage roll to another level! Also, sautéing the onion and celery before mixing into the filling makes it sweet and more moist than the usual, and using panko instead of normal breadcrumbs also contributes to making the filling of this sausage roll so moist.

The addition of fennel adds an extra burst of flavour but it's optional. Pork and fennel are great mates and though most everyday suburban bakeries won't use it, you'll find better bakeries use it (like Bourke St Bakery). If you're wary, drop it to 1/2 teaspoon. Or just skip it!

Ingredients

Filling

• ▢ 1/2 tbsp olive oil
• ▢ 2 cloves garlic , minced
• ▢ 1 brown onion , small, finely chopped
• ▢ 1 celery stalk , finely chopped
• ▢ 5 oz / 150g bacon , finely minced (streaky and fatty, not the lean stuff!)
• ▢ 2 tsp fennel seeds , toasted (optional) (Note 1)
• ▢ 1 lb / 500g pork mince (ground pork) (not lean)
• ▢ 3/4 cup / 40g panko breadcrumbs (Note 2)
• ▢ 1 egg
• ▢ 1/2 tsp salt
• ▢ Black pepper

Baking & Serving

• ▢ 2 1/2 sheets puff pastry , thawed then each cut into half (Note 3)
• ▢ 1 egg , lightly whisked
• ▢ Ketchup / tomato sauce

Instructions

• Heat oil in a non stick fry pan over medium high heat. Sauté garlic, onion & celery for 2 minutes, then add bacon.
• Cook for a further 2 minutes (don't make bacon golden) then transfer to bowl and allow to cool for 10 minutes.
• Add remaining Filling ingredients into the bowl. Use your hands to mix well.
• Lay out a rectangle of pastry, long edge closest to you. Brush egg along one long edge.
• Get 1/5 th of the filling and shape into a long log shape down the middle of the pastry. Ensure the meat is tight and compact, without gaps.
• Brush edge of pastry with egg. Then roll up, finishing with the seam side down.

  Roll up, sealing on the edge with egg wash on it .
• If you have time/patience, refrigerate for 1 hour (makes it easier/neater to cut)

To Cook

• Preheat oven to 350F/180C.
• Cut each log into four equal lengths, or just two if you want full size sausage rolls. Brush with egg.
• Place on 2 baking trays lined with baking paper (or sprayed with oil). Bake for 30 - 35 minutes in total, swapping tray shelves at 20 minutes, or until the pastry is deep golden brown. (Note: The filling will still look pink because of the bacon, but it's easy to tell from texture that it's cooked)
• Cool slightly on trays. Serve hot or warm with tomato sauce or ketchup!

Recipe Notes:

1. Toasted fennel seeds (optional) - heat small fry pan over medium heat. Add fennel. Shake pan and toast for 1 - 2 minutes, until you can smell the fragrance of the fennel seeds.

See summary above for background on fennel seeds. If you're wary, decrease to 1/2 teaspoon. Or skip it entirely!

2. Panko breadcrumbs are Japanese breadcrumbs which are larger than normal ones. For crumbed/breaded things, it makes them even crunchier. For fillings, they make the filling less dense, more moist. You can find them in the Asian section of most supermarkets in Australia nowadays (see here for Woolworths) and even alongside normal breadcrumbs.

You can substitute for normal breadcrumbs, but reduce the quantity to 1/2 cup otherwise the filling won't be as moist.

3. Puff pastry in Australia comes in sheets that are 25 x 25cm / 10 x 10" squares. Cut them in half so you have five 25 x 12.5cm / 10 x 5" rectangles.

4. To make ahead: Best assembled, cut, then frozen or refrigerated unbaked. Place in an airtight container in single layers with baking paper between each layer. Brush with egg wash just before baking (optional - could just spray with oil, helps make it golden). Bake from frozen for 40 minutes, or from fridge per recipe.

It is perfectly safe to thaw then refreeze puff pastry, it is not like meat. If you want the absolute best results, use a puff pastry made with a combination of butter and oil/shortening because it will puff up better after thawing. But the difference is negligible. Another great tip I learnt from Cook’s Illustrated!

5. Nutrition per sausage roll. If you use low fat / turkey bacon, it reduces to 205 calories. If you use "light" puff pastry, it reduces to 150 calories.

Nutrition Information:

Serving: 64gCalories: 236cal (12%)Carbohydrates: 26.7g (9%)Protein: 4.9g (10%)Fat: 12.4g (19%)Saturated Fat: 3.1g (19%)Cholesterol: 16mg (5%)Sodium: 300mg (13%)Potassium: 73mg (2%)Fiber: 0.8g (3%)Sugar: 0.5g (1%)Vitamin C: 0.8mg (1%)Calcium: 10mg (1%)Iron: 0.7mg (4%)

Keywords: sausage rolls, sausage rolls recipe

Did you make this recipe?I love hearing how you went with my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @RecipeTinEats.

Sausage Rolls recipe original published September 2016. Updated August 2019 with new photos, brand new video and update on Life of Dozer!

Life of Dozer

As always when I travel, Dozer stays with a Golden Retriever boarder where he thunders through the house with other golden retrievers like he owns the place. It’s a 24/7 party over there!!!

I get daily updates from her, and this is the photo I woke up to this morning – Dozer trying to eat a tree stump. Golden Retrievers really DO eating anything!!! 😂

And Life of Dozer from the first time I published this Sausage Rolls recipe back in 2016:

He has a rather generous sized bottom, doesn’t he? Bit like his Mama. 😉