Best Homemade Sausage Rolls

Prep: 25 mins
Cook: 27 mins
Chill Time: 10 mins
Total: 62 mins
Servings: 6 to 10 servings

Sausage rolls are a staple of both British and Irish food. They're so common that it is easy to forget what clever things they are: A buttery puff pastry baked to golden perfection gives a delightful flakiness and crisp texture to accompany the hearty meat filling made out of eggs, sausage, onions, and spices.

British sausage rolls

The Spruce Eats / Bahareh Niati

Improvise

So often overlooked, this easy dish celebrates the amazing variety of British sausages and leaves room for improvisation. Add other veggies of your liking in addition to the onions or combine two or more types of sausage for the filling. Try this recipe and make it your own with the flavors and spices you'd like the most. You can make tiny canapé-sized sausage rolls or big long hunks. Sausage rolls can be served hot, warm, or cold, so they're great for all kinds of occasions.

What Is a Sausage Roll in the United States?

The British sausage roll is not well-known in the United States. A staple of U.K. food since the 1800s, its distinguishing feature is the use of ground sausage meat rather than sausage in the casing. The closest American food is pigs in a blanket, which wraps hot dogs in crescent roll dough. The U.K.'s version of pigs in a blanket skips the pastry and wraps cocktail sausage in bacon instead.

How to Serve Sausage Rolls

As noted above, sausage rolls can be served hot or cold, so they're very versatile. Pack them in a lunch box or picnic basket, serve them warm or cold for a light meal, or set out a tray of them on a party buffet. Make honey mustard sauce, a cheese-beer dip, or homemade ketchup to serve with your rolls.

Tips for Making a Sausage Roll

  • DIY filling—If you can't find quality sausage meat, buy your favorite British sausages and squeeze the meat out, discarding the skins. This method is also a great way to create fillings for your sausage rolls by choosing different sausages. If you like, combine two or more types of sausage.
  • Thaw puff pastry properly—When using store-bought frozen puff pastry, thaw it out according to the manufacturer's instructions before use.
  • Shape the sausage without sticking—To keep the sausage mixture from sticking to your hands, dampen them with a bit of water before shaping the sausage.
  • Chill the rolls for easier slicing—If the rolls are difficult to cut after enclosing the sausage in the puff pastry, return the pans to the fridge to chill before slicing.
  • Cut down on mess—For less baking mess, line the pans with parchment paper or greased foil.

Make Ahead

You can make a large batch of sausage rolls, cut, and freeze them to have these little rolls on hand for a last-minute dinner or an afternoon treat. For the best results, freeze unbaked sausage rolls prior to adding the egg wash on the top of the roll. Cut them up into the desired size and freeze on a baking tray for a few hours before placing them in a freezer-safe bag or container. Defrost sausage rolls in the refrigerator overnight, then let them reach room temperature before baking. Apply an egg wash and bake according to the recipe (they may need a little longer to cook through).

"These were delicious and quite easy to make following the instructions. There are no 25-ounce packages of puff pastry in my part of the U.S., but two 14-ounce packages worked perfectly. I defrosted it in the refrigerator and kept it cold throughout. Each package contained one sheet almost perfect in size and needed little rolling." —Diana Rattray

Best British Sausage Rolls
A Note From Our Recipe Tester

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

  • 1 medium onion, finely chopped

  • 2 pounds sausage meat

  • 3 medium eggs, preferably free-range divided

  • Fine salt, to taste

  • Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

  • All-purpose flour, for the pastry

  • 25 ounces homemade or store-bought puff pastry, or shortcrust pastry

  • Cooking spray

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Ingredients to make British sausage rolls

    The Spruce Eats / Bahareh Niati

  2. In a small skillet, heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil on medium heat until it shimmers. Add 1 finely chopped medium onion and cook until it starts to lightly brown, about 7 minutes.

    Onions cooking in a pan

    The Spruce Eats / Bahareh Niati

  3. In a large bowl, add 2 pounds sausage meat, the cooked onion, and 2 eggs. Season with fine salt, and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Mix until all the ingredients are thoroughly and evenly combined.

    A bowl of sausage meat, eggs, cooked onion, salt and pepper

    The Spruce Eats / Bahareh Niati

  4. Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat to 400 F. Lightly sprinkle all-purpose flour on a work surface. Roll out 25 ounces homemade or store-bought puff pastry or shortcrust pastry into two 8- by 10-inch rectangles. Cut each rectangle into 2 long strips (4 total) and rest them in the fridge for at least 10 minutes.

    Sheets of puff pastry on a cutting board

    The Spruce Eats / Bahareh Niati

  5. Lightly spray 2 baking sheets with cooking spray. Place 2 cold pastry rectangles on each baking sheet. In the center of each pastry, form the meat mixture into a long sausage the length of the pastry strip, leaving a 1 1/2-inch border all around. Beat the remaining 1 egg in a small bowl and lightly brush the edges of the pastry.

    Two sheets of puff pastry with a line of sausage meet mixture in the middle, and egg wash on the edges

    The Spruce Eats / Bahareh Niati

  6. Fold the pastry over the meat filling to form long rolls. Flip the sausage roll over so the seam is on the bottom. Lightly brush the top surface with egg.

    Long roll of sausage-filled puff pastry being brushed with egg wash

    The Spruce Eats / Bahareh Niati

  7. Cut the rolls into 1 1/2-inch lengths. Or vary the length to the style of roll you want.

    One and a half inch pieces of sausage roll on a baking sheet

    The Spruce Eats / Bahareh Niati

  8. Bake oven until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Leave them to cool before packing them into your picnic basket or lunch box, or simply eat them right away. Enjoy.

    Cooked sausage rolls on a baking sheet

    The Spruce Eats / Bahareh Niati

Feeling Adventurous? Try This:

  • Try a different shape—Use small cupcake tins and cover the bottom of each with a disc of puff pastry. Add 1 tablespoon of filling, cover with a smaller disc of pastry, and press the edges so both discs come together. Use egg wash on top, and pinch the upper disc with a fork before baking so the steam can escape.
  • Add more veggies—Finely chop peppers, onions, and spinach, and sauté them in vegetable oil until soft. Use any other vegetables to add flavor and volume; by adding more veggies, you can make more rolls with the same amount of meat.
  • Add some herbs—Sage and thyme are commonly added to sausage rolls, though other herbs can be mixed into the meat as well.
  • Give them a Scottish spin—Scottish sausage rolls often use ground beef rather than pork sausage for the filling.

How to Store and Freeze

  • Leftover baked sausage rolls can be stored for a few days in the refrigerator. Enjoy them cold or gently reheat in the oven.
  • Both unbaked and previously baked sausage rolls can be frozen for two or three months.
  • To freeze baked sausage rolls, let them cool down completely and then pack into a freezer container with parchment paper to separate the layers.
  • Defrost sausage rolls in the refrigerator overnight, then let them reach room temperature before baking. For previously baked rolls, heat them in a 400 F oven for about 15 to 20 minutes. Apply an egg wash to rolls that have not been previously baked and bake according to the recipe (they may need a little longer to cook through).
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
717 Calories
56g Fat
35g Carbs
18g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 6 to 10
Amount per serving
Calories 717
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 56g 71%
Saturated Fat 13g 64%
Cholesterol 104mg 35%
Sodium 1007mg 44%
Total Carbohydrate 35g 13%
Dietary Fiber 1g 4%
Total Sugars 2g
Protein 18g
Vitamin C 0mg 2%
Calcium 27mg 2%
Iron 3mg 15%
Potassium 518mg 11%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)