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!
-
Party Pies and Meat Pies
Watch how to make it
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Homemade Sausage Rolls
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:
Nutrition Information:
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. 😉
So good looking be these sausage rolls
Have made these many times, this recipe is an absolute favourite with everyone. Just getting the second tray out of the oven now for street Christmas party
This recipe is so good! I was nervous about the fennel but it’s such great flavor. I also added a tsp of garlic chili paste for some heat. Will definitely make again.
These were delicious!!! Great for a crowd – very popular!
These are delicious! My husband loves them
These are delicious. I found the butter pastry a little difficult to work with. I think I left it out of the fridge too long. Next time I’ll only defrost the pastry just enough to roll.
Didn’t matter as they still tasted delicious even though they looked a little rustic.
Love these. I use fresh sage rather than fennel. Never have any left to freeze!
Never have a problem with grated vegies in my sausage rolls.
This recipe was easy to follow but more importantly made the most amazing sausage rolls!
I’m from England so grew up with the world best sausage rolls (as did all my kids as a result!) and this recipe is a contender in that category! Only 1 minor edit- HP sauce is a better dunk than ketchup and enhance the flavour of all the ingredients. So at a minimum out both out!!
I doubled this recipe using 6 sheets puff pastry. Made with 500g pork mince & 500g turkey mince, omitted the bacon as I didn’t have any, bit of extra garlic but only 3 tsp fennel & 1 apple grated. Other ingredients double and was the best sausage rolls I’ve ever tasted. Certainly much better and healthier than sausage mince. Thank you Nagi
Hi Nagi, these sausage rolls were the absolute hit for our family! It tasted perfect, never had such flavoursome sausage rolls in my life! We didn’t have celery so we replaced it with kale, but for the rest of the ingredients I followed to the the latter. Thank so much for sharing this recipe!
My go to recipe these days. I’m making some today and freeing ready for Christmas parties. Thanks again. Love ‘emm
Hi Nagi, thank you for this recipe. I’m allergic to egg and wondered if these work out ok with grated apple instead of the egg and brush the pastry with milk? Love all your recipes. Thanks so much.
I live in Maun Botswana, on the edge of the beautiful Okavango Delta. I made these for our Golden Year’s Group library club one Saturday. What a hit! Thanks for this easy peasy delicious recipe
These were great! I grou d up the fennel seeds before toasting. I also added some apple sauce! These were not greasy like the beef ones i made. 10/10!
Made these yesterday, with the idea of putting most of them in the freezer…
By the time they were completely cold, there were two left! So tasty!😍 Only change was to use 1 1/2 tsp of fennel seeds and that was just right for us. Another winner, thanks Nagi
Made these tonight. Amazing taste. I was a bit worried about the fennel might overpower the mix, but it was perfect
Picture says it all ,I would put in some rosemary next time as the fennel was not to my taste ,I did finish them all though .Thanks
First time every making sausage rolls. So proud of how these turned out!
Rolling them was the hardest bit 🤣 not quite in 0.05 seconds like the video.
I made it with Beef sausage mince . Put the Panko breadcrumbs, bacon, grated and finely chopped some carrot, celery and onion in it along with an American Smokey spice rub. To stop the pastry going soggy on the bottom, I placed them on a cooling rack in the oven whilst cooking and the fat and moisture dripped out onto another tray below. They turned out moist inside and totally yummy and the pastry base was nice and crisp.