37 Best Sausage Recipes
Whether crumbled on top of a pizza, stuck inside a breakfast sandwich, or served straight from the grill, there's something truly magical about sausage. As a general term, the word "sausage" refers to any type of meat mixture stuffed into a casing; it can be made from poultry, red meat, or game. This meat can come in different shapes, including patties and links, and can be seasoned to fit almost any cuisine. Some different types of sausage include andouille (a French pork sausage popular in Cajun and Creole dishes like gumbo and jambalaya), German bratwurst, spicy chorizo, Italian hot or sweet sausage, and Polish kielbasa.
Since there is immense variation in the types of sausage you can find at your local grocery store or specialty shop, there is also a large array of recipes in which it can be utilized. Below, some of our favorite ways to use this meaty ingredient in the kitchen to elevate everything from soups to pasta.
Chicken sausage and bell pepper pasta
If you're looking for a pasta dish with endless ingredient substitution opportunities, you've stumbled across the right one.
Although it's made with chicken sausage, this recipe can be easily substituted with other varieties like spicy chorizo, andouille, or Italian sausage. You can swap out the pasta with your favorite shape, too; rotini, cavatappi, or penne all work. Besides the pasta and the sausage, the recipe's flavors are finished with the delicious creamy addition of parmesan and heavy whipping cream, which can be omitted for a lighter pasta dish, perfect for packing for lunch or a picnic.
Easy breakfast turkey sausage
Adding a breakfast sausage to your favorite breakfast sandwich, wrap, or bowl is an easy way to get more protein into your diet. This turkey sausage recipe has two main ingredients (ground turkey and mayonnaise) alongside seasonings like sage, garlic, salt, and pepper. Once the patties are shaped into discs, the meat can be easily frozen and popped into a hot skillet when ready for cooking.
Recipe: Easy Breakfast Turkey Sausage
Flaky British sausage roll
There are few dishes as intertwined with British culture as the sausage roll. This snack food is made by encasing seasoned sausage meat in a flaky pastry shell. Lucky for you, you won't need to make your own pastry at home — just pick up a roll of pre-made puff pastry from the store instead. For optimal freshness, you can freeze the uncooked sausage rolls, or bake and eat them within three days.
Recipe: Flaky British Sausage Roll
White lasagna with sausage and ricotta
Lasagna is the perfect Sunday night dinner dish to share with loved ones. This variation is made with layers of flavorful Italian sausage, pasta, ricotta béchamel, caramelized onions, and spinach. To add an extra element of flavor, the onions are cooked in the residual sausage fat and deglazed with wine. Serve your layered lasagna masterpiece with a great glass of wine, or keep in an airtight container for up to a few days for easy, yet satisfying, leftovers.
Biscuits and herbed sausage gravy
No Southern breakfast is complete without biscuits and gravy. This classic comfort dish is made with pre-made breakfast sausage and standard white gravy ingredients like flour, milk, sage, red pepper flakes, and a unique addition: nutmeg. While you could use pre-made biscuits for this recipe, making your own at home means you'll have on-demand soft biscuits just begging to be spooned with a hefty portion of sausage gravy. Although the dish is filling on its own, it can also be eaten with other classic breakfast accompaniments like eggs and fresh fruit.
One-pan orecchiette with sausage
One-pan dishes are not only easy to make, but they also cut down on cleanup. This pasta recipe requires only one cooking vessel (a Dutch oven) and relatively inexpensive ingredients (Italian sausage, canned crushed tomatoes, onion, broth, cheese, and orecchiette pasta). After the onions and sausage are cooked, the canned ingredients, broth, and pasta are added until well combined. Serve this dish with a generous helping of mozzarella cheese.
Recipe: One-Pan Orecchiette with Sausage
Sourdough sausage stuffing
If you're getting ready for a Thanksgiving feast, you need to have a bowl of stuffing on your table. This recipe doesn't use any turkey drippings, but instead derives its flavor from delicious Italian sausage, mirepoix, a sage butter sauce, and stale sourdough bread.
You can bake it in the oven while prepping your other fixings, then reheat the leftovers in the same dish to keep the bread pieces crispy for days, long after your guests have gone home.
Recipe: Sourdough Sausage Stuffing
Sausage and butternut squash pasta
Butternut squash and sausage are an underappreciated autumnal combo. This recipe combines both colorful and nutrient-dense butternut squash and savory pork sausage with fusilli pasta. If you're in a rush, you can always buy pre-cut butternut squash and veggies like red onion and garlic to add to your pasta. Once the recipe has come together, garnish with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese and serve with a fresh garden salad or some of your favorite crusty bread slices.
Simple sausage gravy
Everyone should know how to craft a standard sausage gravy recipe. Not only can it be used on top of the standard buttermilk biscuit accompaniment, but it can also be an upgraded sauce for your mashed potatoes or fried chicken. We love that this gravy comes together in less than 20 minutes and can be made in a single pan. Store the leftovers in an airtight container for up to three days, and you'll have the perfect meaty sauce for your home-cooked favorites.
Recipe: Simple Sausage Gravy
Cheesy sausage breakfast casserole
While you can fix yourself a plate of every single savory breakfast staple — hash browns, cheesy eggs, and meat — you could also put it all together in a casserole for a simplified eating experience. This recipe is made with store-bought ingredients and simply needs to be assembled and baked at home. Perfect for a family brunch, you can meal-prep this recipe ahead of time, then put the finishing touches together for an easy morning.
Mac & cheese with chicken-apple sausage
When you're done eating Kraft mac and cheese, this recipe serves as the grown-up version of one of the best comfort food dishes ever invented.
It's packed with four different types of cheeses, chicken-apple sausage, Honeycrisp apples, hard cider, and cavatappi pasta. The cider can be substituted with beer, and the chicken-apple sausage with a standard pork sausage, but we think these fruity elements really provide an unexpected surprise to the dish.
Sausage burger with peppers and onions
After trying this recipe, we doubt you'll go back to eating regular beef sliders anytime soon. These burgers are made with delicious pork sausage seasoned with fennel seeds, thyme, oregano, and a hint of brown sugar. Besides the thick and juicy patties, the burgers are also topped with crunchy bell peppers, onions, fennel fronds, provolone cheese, and a thick schmear of Dijon mustard. They're guaranteed to be a hit at your next barbecue.
Portuguese New England clam boil
Summertime in New England is the perfect time for a clam boil. Besides the standard staple ingredients like littleneck clams, corn on the cob, and red potatoes, this Portuguese rendition of a regional favorite includes linguiça — a pork sausage seasoned with aromatics like garlic, paprika, and oregano. The sausage is sliced into small pieces and added to the bake with the clams and the corn. The sausage helps mellow out the fishy flavors in the dish while amping up its aromatic qualities.
Recipe: Portuguese New England Clam Boil
Classic English toad in the hole
Toad in the Hole is a fusion of two classic British dishes: Yorkshire pudding and pork sausage. Breakfast sausages, pork country sausages, or English breakfast sausages (also called "bangers") are the most authentic sausage varieties used for this dish. After the meat is wrapped in bacon — after all, there's never too much pork to go around — the pudding batter is added to the baking pan, and the entire dish is baked until golden brown. Toad in the Hole is best dressed with warm gravy and fresh greens.
Recipe: Classic English Toad in the Hole
Deconstructed lasagna soup
Let's face it — making lasagna takes a lot of time and energy. This soup recipe takes all the best elements of lasagna, including pasta, cheese, meat (both ground beef and sausage), and tomatoes, and makes it into a recipe that comes together in less than 30 minutes in a single pot. It's particularly delicious when accompanied by a slice of warm garlic bread or a light green salad.
Recipe: Deconstructed Lasagna Soup
Sausage balls with cream cheese
Picking an appetizer for a party can be tough, but these meaty sausage balls are surely going to outrank any plate of crudités. The recipe is versatile enough to include any type of sausage (sage and fennel, Italian, or sweet sausage would be good ideas) and cheese. To prepare, the raw sausage is mixed with cream cheese, shredded cheese, and some binding ingredients. Then, it's cooked on a baking tray (similar to a meatball) and served warm with freshly chopped herbs.
Recipe: Sausage Balls with Cream Cheese
Churrasco with grilled scallion chimichurri
Although churrasco typically refers to grilled beef, it can also mean an assortment of grilled meats. This recipe combines picanha (Brazilian top sirloin), Portuguese linguiça sausage, and tiger prawns together in a citrus dressing before hitting the flame. The mixed grill is then served with an herby, bright, and fragrant grilled scallion chimichurri seasoned with parsley, lemon zest, and a Fresno chile. The whole meal is spicy, aromatic, and perfect for upgrading your conventional neighborhood barbecue.
Bubbly cheesy mostaccioli
Mostaccioli is a casserole-like dish cooked in tomato sauce; it resembles a baked ziti or penne. However, it's made with a ridgeless tube pasta, which separates it from the latter dishes.
The casserole includes a protein boost from hot Italian sausage and ground beef, and a cheesy bite from fresh mozzarella and grated parmesan. This dish is relatively simple to bring together and bake, or it can be prepped ahead of time for a freezer-friendly dinner meal during the week.
Recipe: Bubbly Cheesy Mostaccioli
Sausage and spinach stuffed shells
Stuffed shells scream comfort food. This recipe is relatively simple; you just have to cook the pre-made shells al dente and fill them with a mixture of mild and spicy Italian sausage, cheese, and frozen chopped spinach before topping them with a decadent garlic cream sauce.
This particular recipe is very affordable, and makes enough food to feed a crowd when paired with a chopped Caesar salad and garlic bread.
Spicy little smokies
Mini sausages are the appetizer you need to have on your party's food table. These little smokies are seasoned with Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, chili garlic sauce, and barbecue sauce.
It's easy to adjust the ratio of ingredients depending on how spicy you want your sausages to be. All you have to do is combine the sauce, pour it over the meat, and bake until warmed through. You can accompany the sausages with chopped scallions, or simply a container of toothpicks.
Recipe: Spicy Little Smokies
Herby pigs in a blanket
Another popular appetizer for tailgates and upscale events alike are pigs in a blanket. These tiny cocktail sausages are wrapped in puff pastry and served with a dipping sauce, making them a crowd favorite for all ages.
This recipe utilizes canned crescent dough, which saves a ton of time and agony, and is coated with a simple yet elegant herbed butter. Although you can serve the sausages with a ramekin of herby aioli for dipping, the standard ketchup or ranch dressing is no less guaranteed to be a crowd-pleaser.
Recipe: Herby Pigs in a Blanket
New Orleans red beans and rice
A comfort dish that packs on the protein? Count us in! Red beans and rice is filled with protein from savory Polish kielbasa, canned red beans, and cooked white rice. You can also substitute andouille sausage for the kielbasa and add ham hocks for a more traditional pork flavor. The key to this dish is a generous amount of Creole seasoning and aromatic bay leaves.
Recipe: New Orleans Red Beans and Rice
Spaghetti squash lasagna boats
If you stumble upon spaghetti squash at your local farmers' market, you need to pick up a few. These nutrient-dense squashes are perfect for crafting into a low-carb dinner that doesn't skimp on the flavor. This recipe for spaghetti squash lasagna boats may omit lasagna sheets, but it nonetheless retains the dish's integral ingredients: cheese, tomato sauce, and mild sausage. It's so easy to prepare the ingredients, then stuff and bake the squash, throw it in the oven and enjoy with a glass of red wine.
Recipe: Spaghetti Squash Lasagna Boats
Turkey roulade with dried cherries and sausage stuffing
If you're looking for a novel way to craft your Thanksgiving dinner, try making a roulade instead. The butterflied turkey breast is stuffed with a flavorful blend of dried cherries, chanterelle mushrooms, sweet Italian sausage, fresh vegetables, and herbs. After rolling and roasting, the roll is served with a flavorful gravy made with turkey drippings. Not only is this dish a myriad of textures and classic Thanksgiving flavors, but it is guaranteed to be the talk of your dinner table.
Recipe: Turkey Roulade with Dried Cherries and Sausage Stuffing
Stuffed acorn squash
If you want a nourishing, filling dinner that will make your tummy happy, it's time to run to the grocery store for some acorn squash, wild rice, kale, raisins, dried cherries, and mild Italian sausages. This recipe provides a base for personalization, and can easily be adjusted with seasonings like thyme, oregano, and rosemary, or the inclusion of other vegetables like fennel or roasted carrots. If you can't find acorn squash at your grocery store, we should note that it is perfectly okay to dig into the filling by itself.
Recipe: Stuffed Acorn Squash
Traditional jambalaya
You can bring the flavors of New Orleans right to your doorstep with this traditional jambalaya recipe. The recipe is filled with classic Creole flavors, including tomato (which separates it from the Cajun version), Louisiana hot sauce, andouille sausage, shrimp, and chicken. Although the recipe has a lot going on with protein, the andouille sausage (and the residual sausage fat used to cook the veggies) really shines through. Plus, this jambalaya recipe is flexible enough to include additional spice or remain at a heat level that won't singe your tastebuds.
Recipe: Traditional Jambalaya
Breakfast focaccia
We're all about one-pan meals, and this breakfast focaccia is no different. It's made in a single baking pan, which is perfect for serving a crowd.
Although our recipe is made with classic breakfast ingredients like eggs, cheese, chopped breakfast sausage, and bacon, it can also be modified to include some chopped onions, shallots, or herbs. The secret to making this focaccia just right is to use balls of tinfoil to set the wells for the eggs during the first part of baking before removing it and carefully adding the eggs. Not only is this focaccia beautiful to look at, but it's also a nutritionally well-rounded way to begin your morning.
Recipe: Breakfast Focaccia
Baked stuffed shells
Stuffed shells are just like lasagna, but without the hassle of layering. The mixture of ricotta cheese, spinach, Italian sausage, and tomato sauce inside these easy-to-make shells is perfect for eaters of all ages, and an ideal way to switch up your pasta routine. You can swap out the tomato sauce with white sauce or use a spicy Italian sausage to amp up the flavor profile of this dish, too. Unlike other pasta recipes, stuffed shells tend to keep well in the refrigerator, so you'll have an ample supply of leftovers.
Recipe: Baked Stuffed Shells
Classic baked ziti
We firmly believe that baked ziti is a dish every home cook needs to master. It's all about concentrating flavors within layers of pasta, sweet Italian sausage, tomato sauce, and three different kinds of cheese. If you're getting bored with the monotony of your usual pasta night dish, making a baked ziti — with its perfect, crunchy baked cheese on top — is a simple way to switch things up. The recipe is also highly versatile, because it can be made for a casual dinner night or a more upscale meal with good company.
Recipe: Classic Baked Ziti
Grilled clambake packet
An authentic clambake is made on the beach, but most of us don't have the luxury of a backyard sandpit. This recipe instead comes together on a grill, thanks to the assistance of tinfoil and cheesecloth. Once all the ingredients (such as corn, clams, andouille sausage, chorizo, and red potatoes) are in the packet, it's rolled up and sealed to induce steaming. This dish serves between eight and ten people, so you'll need to enlist all of your friends to help devour it — likely, not a big ask.
Recipe: Grilled Clambake Packet
Quick & easy instant pot cassoulet
A traditional French cassoulet (a duck and white bean stew) can take upwards of three days to make. But in your instant pot, you can have this dinner ready in under an hour. Combine decadent brined duck confit legs, duck sausage, French garlic sausage, salt pork, white beans, and the rest of your ingredients in the Instant Pot for about 20 minutes. Hit the switch, walk away, and you'll have an upscale dinner waiting for you when you return.
Shortcut homemade ravioli
Although fresh pasta certainly tastes better than store-bought, the labor of making your own pasta may make you think more favorably about the pasta from your local grocery store. This recipe uses wonton wrappers instead of traditional pasta dough (sans pasta maker) for a much easier pasta-making experience. Each ravioli is filled with ricotta, cooked Italian sausages, and herbs before being boiled and served with pasta sauce and parmesan cheese.
Recipe: Shortcut Homemade Ravioli
Instant pot gumbo
Gumbo is yet another classic Cajun dish — but this version is made entirely vegetarian with the addition of plant-based sausages. If you are feeling the meat, though, we won't blame you if you swap spicy andouille or Cajun-seasoned sausage. We also love that this recipe is made in an Instant Pot and ready in just under 30 minutes. It can be served with rice or quinoa, and serves as a delicious base to top with fresh chopped jalapeños and herby cilantro.
Recipe: Instant Pot Gumbo
Slow cooker breakfast casserole
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but assembling and cooking said meal early in the morning isn't easy. This dish is a remedy to your breakfast woes; it's assembled in a slow cooker and layered with hash browns, browned breakfast sausage, eggs, cheese, and seasoning. Just pop your ingredients in the appliance the night before and cook it on low. When you wake up, you can hit snooze and fix yourself a plate.
Recipe: Slow Cooker Breakfast Casserole
Instant Pot vegan red beans and rice
We're always trying to incorporate more plant-based ingredients into our diet. Instead of using an andouille or meat-based sausage, this recipe utilizes a plant-based Beyond sausage, sautéed in an Instant Pot with the veggies.
The rest of the ingredients are then added with a ton of seasoning, and cooked in the Instant Pot for about 30 minutes. This vegan dish is best served warm, with white rice and a fresh parsley garnish.
Simple pancit Canton
You may have never heard of this Filipino dish, but it should be one you add to your weeknight dinner repertoire.
This noodle dish is made with juicy large shrimp, sweet Taiwanese sausage, and crunchy vegetables like napa cabbage, snow peas, and carrots. The Taiwanese sausages are made with pork, alcohol, and spices that give it a distinctively sweet flavor. This noodle dish is unique because it uses pancit Canton noodles, which soak up the soy-oyster sauce beautifully.
Recipe: Simple Pancit Canton
Cassoulet
If you have a lot of time to spend on dinner and are serving a meal for a crowd, cassoulet is a French dish you must attempt. It's a one-pot-wonder made with duck confit, duck sausage, white beans, and garlicky sausage. You'll need to confit the duck legs in their own fat overnight, cook them for a few hours, and then assemble the rest of the components for the dish. This dish screams "extravagant," which is perfect when you need to put something on the table that will wow your dinner guests.
Recipe: Cassoulet