Sweeten Up Homemade Breakfast Sausage With One Pantry Staple

There are many reasons why it makes sense to make your breakfast sausage from scratch. Sure, those pre-made sausages at the grocery store are quite flavorful, but they're also full of preservatives. Then, there's the fact that you don't have full control over the spices that give the sausage flavor. Case in point: You might want to sweeten up breakfast sausage for a balance of flavors. And when you make it homemade, you can add that element with an ingredient that's likely in your kitchen cabinet: brown sugar.

The addition of brown sugar will offer sweetness that's not quite as intense as white sugar. That sweetness will balance the salt levels in the homemade breakfast sausage, and temper the heat of any other spices like cayenne pepper or red pepper. The coarseness of the brown sugar will also help bind the breakfast sausage mixture.

When it comes to whether to use light or dark brown sugar, light works. Dark brown sugar contains more molasses, which gives it a deeper flavor, but you want the ingredient to enhance the sausage — not take it over.

It's not complicated to add brown sugar to homemade breakfast sausage. Start with about 2 pounds of ground pork, which will result in around six servings. Every recipe is different, but a tablespoon of brown sugar for every 2 pounds of ground meat will offer a mild sweetness. If you want more sweetness, increase the brown sugar or combine it with a pour of maple syrup. Either way, you'll want some other spices to balance the flavor. For heat, consider cayenne pepper, red chili flakes, or a dash of smoked paprika. Garlic powder, onion powder, fennel seeds, nutmeg, and marjoram are also go-to spices for breakfast sausages depending on the desired flavor profile. Fresh herbs like sage or dried herbs like Italian seasoning are a good way to add more layers of flavor, as well.

Our original maple-sage breakfast sausage recipe uses many of these ingredients like fresh sage leaves, and you replace the maple syrup with light brown sugar to try this trick. And if you don't like pork sausage, our easy breakfast turkey sausage recipe can easily be upgraded with brown sugar for that touch of sweetness in your morning meal. To prevent any mishaps, avoid these mistakes everyone makes with sausage.