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
Hungry for more? Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for all of the latest updates.
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. 😉
I just made these and the result looks amazing with a crispy bottom. I used frozen minced pork and made sure that I removed all the liquid from the packet. Also added a little milk as i added too much breadcrumb by accident. The texture and flavour is amazing. I am so please with the result and I don’t ever have to buy sausage rolls from outside anymore. Thank you for the awesome recipe!
Hi Nagi, I’m going to be making these for my kids tomorrow (who are super fussy eaters). I was wondering if there is something else I could substitute the celery with (they don’t like celery so they won’t eat it). Or is it better to just not include the celery and do the rest the same? Thank you!
To be honest it isn’t obvious in there, but if you think they will find it, by all means just leave it out! N x
Made these today for a super bowl snack!
Perfect Gloria!! N x
Hi Nagi, could we use this recipe to make lamb and rosemary sausage rolls? If so, would I still add in the bacon? Thanks!
This is a fool proof recipe. My partner doesn’t like fennel, so I don’t put it in (and I add an extra slice of bacon and a garlic clove to help make up for the flavor.
We love it. It’s so hard to find sausage rolls in the States, and this give us both really lovely nostalgia for Melbourne.
The best sausage rolls ever. I take them when I need to “bring a plate” and they are always raved about!! Absolutely yummy.
Awesome Susan!! N x
Very nice recipe. The bacon added a lovely taste, as did they fennel. I didn’t have celery so I substituted for a whole grated carrot and cooked that along with the onion. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
My daughter has been asking for sausage rolls and we made these! I don’t like when people change a recipe, especially when it’s their first attempt, but we are still in lock down here, so I had to use what I had! I had a blend of pork spices that included the fennel, so I used that, I didn’t have celery, and my meat was mostly a breakfast blend, but I had 1 hot italian sausage I also added! I surprisingly had no bread crumb, but I used rolled oats I pulsed in my little blender and omitted the egg in the mix. I was worried they would be greasy or soggy on the bottom, but they are crisp, and tasty! Just what we were looking for!
Oh and for a condiment, we are mustard all the way! Dijon, honey mustard or hot!
Hi Nagi,
Made this last night. Great flavour BUT the rolls were quite soggy at the bottom. It was overall not so crispy like yours in the picture. Can I know why? I want to make it perfect next time please. Thanks
Hi K-Dish, was your meat mixture soggy by any chance? Sometimes mince can have a lot of water in it. If you find this is the case, for the final 1 minutes of cooking, put them on a baking rack so the bottoms are elevated and crisp up. N x
Made a double batch for my sons school lunches all ready to go in the freezer for the start of school on Monday. I baked a few to taste test and got the big thumbs up/ high five/“so good!” from both the 5 year old and his Dad. THANK YOU! So delicious.
Great recipe. Popular in our house in Australia. Thank you.
How do I know if the pork is not lean or not?
Easy tasty and can substitute beef sausages squeezed out of casing. Omitted the fennel.
I made it today, my first time to work with phyllo pastry. This was quite easy to make though I did have to up the temp to 210C. Would have been better if I had fennel seeds (difficult to find where I am in Thailand!)This was a hit for New Year lunch! Thank you.
These were ridiculously easy to make and so so good! Better than any restaurant or store-bought version I’ve tried.
This the best sausage roll recipe – so easy and spot on. Got it perfect 1st time. I accidentally bought a pork & beef mix so next time I will try with just pork, though my first batch was really good anyway. I really liked all your explanations and tips like why not to use vegies in it, they were so helpful. Will be making these again for next week. Thanks!
Hi there, best greetings from our cosy house in Potsdam, Germany, We made your recipe and the sausage rolls were made by myself and my husband. They are yummy and taste great. Thank you! Merry Christmas to Australia, Bettina and Paul
Hi there, best greetings from our cosy house in Potsdam, Germany, We made your recipe and the sausage rolls were made by myself and my husband. They are yummy great. Thank you. Merry Christmas to Australia, Bettina R
We are so excited to make these for the first time on Christmas morning. Any suggestions for other dipping sauces in addition to ketchup?
Other sauces?!?! GASP! (But in all honesty, bbq sauce, tomato chutney, caramelised onions, salsa… the list is endless!) N x
I served this at a party a couple of days ago and it was a big hit! Reactions range from “Chloe, she’s taking out THE sausage rolls, grab one quick!” to “The sausage roll? Oh. My. Goodness. So good!”
P.S. It was an Aussie party so you’re right — this is actually better than the typical sausage rolls. 😉
Amazing sausage roll recipe. In Australia, with young kids, sausage rolls are a staple party food. Nigella used to be my go-to recipe, but Nagi’s are my new fave. The filling is tasty & the pastry crisp. We serve it with tomato chutney, with elevates it.
Great party plate.