Avoid the high cost and dubious ingredients in commercial breakfast sausage. Make your own!
One of the things that my kids really enjoy with breakfast is sausage. To buy it at the store, though, causes me a few heart palpitations. If it’s not the high cost, it’s the dubious ingredients that give me pause.
Over the years, I’ve learned that it’s really not that hard to make my own. I included a pork sausage recipe in my freezer cookbook. I love the rich flavor of pork. But ground pork is often on the pricey side.
Ground turkey, however, lower in fat, often goes on sale for as low as $2 for a 20-ounce package. This means that with some spices (that I buy in bulk) I can make a very affordable protein that goes great with the morning meal.
This recipe makes use of fresh basil that you can easily grow yourself in a pot. It turns out to be about 25 cents per portion. Not too shabby, eh?
The sausage mixture comes together in just a few minutes and then bakes in the oven. You can freeze the patties, cooked or uncooked to enjoy at a later date if you like.
Recipe: Homemade Spicy Turkey Sausage with Garlic and Basil
Ingredients
- 1.3 pounds ground turkey (a 20-ounce package is fine as well)
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil or 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon crushed garlic
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, the more the spicier
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray it with non-stick cooking spray.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the turkey, basil, garlic, salt, paprika, pepper, and cayenne.
- With wet hands (the mixture will be sticky), divide the mixture into 8 portions and pat each into a patty. Place on the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for 25 minutes, turning once, until the patties are cooked through and starting to brown.
- Alternatively, you can cook the patties in a hot skillet until cooked through and browned.
- Patties can be frozen. If freezing them uncooked, freeze them on a plastic-lined sheet until firm. Then remove from sheet and place in a ziptop freezer bag and return to the freezer immediately. Cooked and cooled patties can be stored in a ziptop freezer bag. Chill completely before freezing.
Preparation time: 5 minute(s)
Cooking time: 25 minute(s)
Number of servings (yield): 8
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The patties would be super yummy in an English muffin or bagel with cheese! Maybe I should make some up for hubby (he’s always looking for a high protein breakfast).
Yep. You can make those ahead of time, too, and freeze them. It’s in my freezer book, made with pork sausage.
We get sausage and bacon from our own pigs that my dad raises with his chickens and beef cows on his farm so we have plenty of pork sausage. I’m not a fan because we ate it a lot as kids. I think I’m going to try this, I want to like sausage, I do
Looks amazing! My husband asked for a hand grinder for Christmas to start making his own sausages. He did get a grinder but we haven’t made any sausages yet. I gasp whenever I look at the ingredients in sausage! Not to mention the price!
Sausage ingredients are definitely scary.
This would be a great money saver in our house…we go through so much breakfast sausage-my boys love it!! If you make them and freeze them, what is the best way to reheat them? I am a big fan of freezer cooking and would love to add these to my plan!
I prefer to let things thaw completely. After that, you can reheat them in a skillet, microwave, or in the toaster oven.
I like to use sausage to be used in white gravy (biscuits & gravy), red beans & rice, and egg dishes like quiche or breakfast scramble. Since I don’t need it in patties for that (although i do plan to make some that way), how do you recommend to cook this? (I normally just squeeze the tube in the skillet and brown like ground beef).
I’d just cook it in a pan after step 2. It won’t be as greasy as typical sausage since there’s no added fat. So, if you want to cook it in some oil or add some butter, you could do that.
Is it possible to make sausage with other types of meats?
I’ve done this with pork, turkey, and chicken. I’m not sure it would taste very sausage-like with beef, though.
I am going to make this and found organic ground turkey, but it is 16oz, not 20. How would I reduce the spice amounts? Thanks!!!
I don’t think it will make a huge difference, but you could reduce them by about 1/5 if you wanted to be exact. Since it’s sausage, a little more spice shouldn’t hurt.
And isn’t it annoying that turkey doesn’t come in consistent packaging?
Oh that’s GOOD! I just made a batch for breakfast and to freeze.I left out the paprika, since I don’t have any today, and went easy on the cayenne, since my family is not fond of spice. Oh, but they’re GOOD! Next time I want to add maple syrup…