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. 😉
Had a similar sausage roll recipe from a 2004 weekend Australian mag that we’ve made many times but this one is even better! Thanks again!
The best sausage rolls I ever had!!! The whole family can’t get enough of it! What can I say five stars aren’t enough! Thank you so much!
These are so delicious. This recipe is forgiving as I put straight into oven and never put into fridge and forgot to gut until half way through cooking. I’ll remember for next time lol. Thank you once again Nagi.
One of the most popular recipes on here! Thanks for the compliment, Charmaine!! N x
The best sausage rolls I ever had! Thank you so much! The whole family can’t get enough of it. Five stars isn’t enough.
I hate celery 🥲 is something I can substitute instead? Many thanks
Just leave it out Jess! N x
I just went to make these again today and realised I didn’t have any pork mince left in the freezer! I did have coles pork cumberland sage and pepper sausages so I used those instead and wow the sausage rolls turned out just delicious! I followed your recipe exactly otherwise, just left the salt out as I assumed the sausages would be salty enough. Thanks for helping me be a more confident cook!
Hi Nagi – Would it be ok for me to take the egg out for no dairy version?
Love. Love. Love!!
😄😄❤️! N x
Best ever and worked perfectly first time, we also split the mix in two and added parmesan cheese to one half but preferred the original
It’s always fun to mix it up a bit! N x
This was the first recipe that had fennel in it which I tried, it became my new favourite herb. Thanks Nagi. 😊
I’m not a rookie but I made a rookie mistake and added the egg to the mixture. Still turned out excellent
Thats hilarious…just did the same thing lol..going in the oven now..
Also made these for the GF. Sensational. Thanks Nagi!
Pretty good, personally wasn’t a fan on the fennel seeds, but I would happily make them again and just use less.
Absolutely perfect, made a huge batch for the Granny on Saturday & had to sample of course! Husband loves them.
I was a bit worried about the fennel (I have one child who is a bit of a picky eater) but even he gave the thumbs up to this! I made this in a round pie dish (the pastry puff i bought was round-shaped, and on the sweet side, to boot) but it tasted awesome (even with a sweet pastry puff) and so easy to put together! I was late getting started on the bake and was worried that i wouldn’t be able to get it on the table in time, but the recipe was so easy that to follow that everyone was fed on time and very happily. I will next try it with pastry puff that’s the right-size and taste haha. Thank you so much Nagi, for all your effort that’s gone into this website. All the time taken to work on recipe testing and super-detailed notes/tips/tricks… it’s been invaluable for me <3
Thank you very much for yet another 5star ripper! I go straight to Recipetineats now. All the classics and heaps more. You’re the best Nagi. Love to Dozer. Mojo.
These are so good Nagi, thank you!! We used to live in Sydney and enjoyed Bourke St Bakery pork and fennel sausage rolls so your comment got me in – these are every bit as good. Yummy!
These are lovely! They didn’t make it far from the oven tho…my sons scoffed them all between ‘these are really, really good’ every few bites! Thanks for the recipe Nagi, definitely a keeper!
Hi Nagi, whilst in lockdown I have been doing some home economics lessons with my 11 year old, tea hing her simple recipes and this one has become a favourite and definitely our go to for sausage rolls. Thank you for all your fabulous recipes.
You’re so welcome Emma!!! N x
Hi Nagi, great recipe for an Aussie classic! I just had one question: how much pepper do you typically add? (sounds like a silly question but I always have trouble guesstimating how much in recipes where you can’t taste as you go!)
I once found what seemed to be a beautiful sausage roll recipe on an English website. Made it exactly as described and was so disappointed when the filling turned out to be super dense and hard. I LOVE sausage rolls, and have been waiting for a long time for a recipe that did not use sausage meat. I can’t wait to try this. Cross fingers that it will be soft and moist this time. 🤣🤞