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. 😉
Your all recipes are spot on. Absolutely amazing. Thank you so much for the recipes Nagi
You’re so welcome Hesala, thanks so much! N x
During lockdown I started making sausage rolls because I’ve never tried before and this recipe was the most recent one I attempted and wow, the flavour was amazing! Definitely going to be part of my ongoing snack rotation! Was able to bring them over to a friend’s place as well and they loved them!
I’ve tried a bunch of your recipes in lockdown and they’re all so delicious! Thanks Nagi!
Absolutely loved this recipe. Oh so delicious, moist and they looked like we had bought them from the bakery !! Our guest loved them too and took some home to heat up for supper. Thank you Nagi for sharing this recipe xx
Five stars all the way, I have made these a few times now, my husband loves them, so full of flavour and no rubbish sausage meat. Thanks for all your wonderful recipies Nagi
“Once cooked, the inside will still look a bit pink because of the bacon.”
I must admit when the last few seconds of the video played and I saw the pink I exclaimed “oh…”.
Thankfully your comment has put me back on track to make these!
Hi Nagi, thank you for all your yummy recipe 🙏🏾❤️ Because of them I am the best wife 😁 yay. Also I’m making this sausage roll now hope it turns out good, I’m using lean meat as I don’t have full fat minced pork. But I’ve got pork fat (like oil from pork) added on the recipe. So fingers crossed 🤞
So delicious!! Just as good as Bourke St Bakery. Nagi you’re amazing!
These were delicious, Nagi. Thanks for always sharing your recipes. My daughter loves these so much, will be making again. Great to bring to school too.
These taste soo good
Hi Nagi! Desperately want to make these, but it’s impossible to get puff pastry where I live. I’ll have to make my own. What are the measurements for your sheets? Thanks in advance!
Great recipe! As I don’t have celery and funnel, I put spring onion and cumin instead. I also put 1 tbsp soy sauce. Awesome 👏 . Thank you 😊
Thank you for sharing this recipe. I had fun making them. Unfortunately I can’t say they’re the best I’ve tasted – I used 1tsp of fennel seeds and still found it to be very over powering.
I would definitely make again with adjustments to suit our palate.
Hi Kj, sorry you full the fennel overpowering – you can just leave it out if you prefer! N x
These sausage rolls are just divine!! I made them exactly to the recipe and teamed them with a homemade bbq sauce. My guests all raved about them and I’ve now shared the link to the recipe. Thank you so much Nagi…your recipes are awesome!
Oh my, another great recipe from you Nagi! The fennel seeds and bacon (I used smoked streaky bacon for extra flavour) really made all the difference. Definitely a keeper.
Hi Nagi
Made sausage rolls, cooked and frozen last week. Have just heated four straight from the freezer into my Air Fryer. I have never used fennel seeds before, rolls have a great flavour.
Hi Dawn,
How long did you reheat in the air fryer?
Thanks!
Ten minutes @180 then five mins @150.
Pastry stays perfectly crisp
Another nagi inspired dinner tonight. Yum and easy too! Thanks for the recipe.
Hi Nagi, I made these today and they were so delicious. Even the one reluctant about meat ate them.
I did use beef instead of pork, and i traded fennel for rosemary and added a bit of chicken seasoning which has onion powder and marojam ect. It worked so well.
Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Hey Nagi! I just wanted to say thanks so much for always sharing such amazing recipes. Every time I go to look something up, I find the one with the best reviews and go to look at it, and you’re always the author! 99% of the time it’s one of your recipes I’m making just through coincidence, and they’ve all been amazing. I just wanted to say thanks so much for sharing it, and making me and my family so happy with such good food!
That’s exactly what I do also! I even put “best” whichever it is I’m looking for in search and then check for the highest rating thus why I’m here 😋 Going to grab the ingredients for these right now!
I read these and was like YES! Me too! Whenever I want a recipe I look it up with recipetineats at the end because I know 100% that it’s going to be the best! I’ve made so many of your recipes and they are flavourful home cooking at its best that makes you excited to eat it 🙂
I appreciate how thorough you are as well with the notes and certain ingredients it helps so much.
Thank you Nagi xx
That’s so kind of you Serine, thanks so much! N x
These were amazing! Really easy to make. Will be making more for freezing. Many thanks Nagi. You’ve nailed it again!
Wahoo, thanks so much! N x
I used to try to make sausage rolls but they always had a soggy bottom 😂. But with these, I baked 1/2 in the oven per recipe and the other 1/2 in the air fryer. Both methods were perfect!
Can these be made with egg.? I want to make them for someone with an egg allergy
Do you mean without egg Christine? I have heard they work fine without, however I haven’t tried – N x
Hi Nagi, I am a big fan of the Bourke Street Bakery sausage rolls so I was very excited to try these. They tasted great but I think 2 tsp of fennel is too much. I would probably use less next time (if at all). Also how much salt and pepper are you using? Otherwise great recipe. Looking forward to making them again.
Hi Nagi,
My family and I love your recipes, easy and super flavoursome! I was just wondering how these would go with beef mince? I have some to use up but I don’t have any pork.
Hi Dayna, it would have a different flavour but definitely doable – just make sure it’s not lean 🙂 N x