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Homemade Sausage Rolls with flaky pastry are a British dietary staple and convenience food. Usually enjoyed as a snack, in miniature form for buffet and party food, or served as a meal with fresh peas and chips and one of the most popular English pub foods. Easy to make using pork sausage and the easiest homemade, flaky pastry.

A sausage roll cut open showing the sausage filling and flaky pastry

The great British sausage roll is the most popular grab-and-go foods in the U.K. Sold by every pastry shop on every high street and when you get the right flaky pastry with the most delicious pork filling, there’s nothing like it.

There are a few things involved in achieving the best sausage rolls and I’m going to tell you how to make sausage rolls from scratch.

Table of contents

A selection of homemade sausage rolls on a serving board

Pastry for Sausage Rolls

My flaky, buttery pastry recipe is my go-to dough that I use for all of my baked dishes including minced beef and onion pies. The pastry gives you the satisfying crispy texture that you come to expect with a good sausage roll and it’s the first texture you experience when you take the first bite so it’s need to be fluffy and crispy.

Flaky, crispy pastry and good pork sausages are the key to really good sausage rolls. See more below on this.

As well as being an on-the-go meal or snack, they are also so served as a meal with the standard British sides of fresh or mushy peas (recipe below) and chips (French fries).

Sausage rolls viewed from overhead

Sausage roll filling

Any good sausage roll starts with really good filling. I like to use quality pork sausage meat instead of plain ground pork because it already has so much flavor. That means you don’t need to add many extra ingredients—just a simple seasoning of onion and fresh sage. I also like to make my own sausage—if you’d like to try it, I have my own recipe for British Pork Sausage.

A closeup of a sausage roll showing the perfectly golden crust

Freezing Sausage Rolls

Sausage rolls are a great make-ahead dish because they can prepared and frozen, then baked off when you need them. Just add 10-15 minutes onto the baking time. Leftover cooked rolls freeze nicely as well and they pastry stands up nicely to warming up in the microwave, but re-heating in the oven is the best method. 435°F (225°C) for 20 minutes.

Finally, there’s one other important factor with sausage rolls, don’t forget the sauce. What sauce, you ask? There are 2 types of sauce people in England, the ketchup lovers and the HP sauce lovers. I’m a Libra; I like a good balance of both.

More sausage roll recipes

Sausage rolls are perfect for getting creative with flavors—and leftovers! Try my Turkey Stuffing and Cranberry Sausage Rolls, ideal for using up Thanksgiving or Christmas extras. Or go for a fun twist with Mini Pork Sausage Rolls served with curry ketchup for dipping. Pictured below.

Turkey, stuffing and cranberry sausage rolls lined up on a wooden board
Mini pork, apple & sage sausage rolls with curry ketchup

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Yield: 8

Homemade Sausage Rolls

Homemade sausage rolls fresh out of the oven on a baking sheet

A traditional British snack of a meaty pork filling wrapped in a flaky pastry.

Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes

Ingredients

  • For the pastry:
  • 1 ½ cups + 1 tablespoon (195 grams) all-purpose/plain flour, plus extra for rolling out pastry
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 8 tablespoons (113 grams) unsalted butter, cut into small cubes kept refrigerated until ready to use
  • ¼ cup (60 ml) cold water
  • 1 egg, beaten (to brush on pastry)
  • For the filling:
  • 1 pound (453 grams) pork sausage, skins removed
  • 1 tablespoon fresh sage (optional) finely chopped * see note 1

Instructions

  1. To a make the pastry a food processor: Add the flour salt and butter. Pulse until the butter is broken into small balls. With the processor running, very slowly drizzle in the water until it pulls away from the sides of the bowl and starts to form a ball. Stop the water immediately. You may not use all the water, you may need a little more.
  2. To make the pastry by hand: Add the flour, salt and butter to a large bowl. Using your fingertips (or a pastry cutter) rub the butter and flour until it resembles breadcrumbs. Drizzle in the water and mix using a fork until the it starts to come together and holds together when pressed in your hand. You may not need all of the water, you may need a little more.
  3. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface. If the dough is too crumbly, add a little more water in tiny amounts. If too dry, do the same with flour. Roll the dough to a rectangle. Fold the edge furthest away from you to the center and fold the edge closest to you to the center so the edges meet. Turn 1/4 and roll out to a rectangle and fold the same way again. This step will make the dough light and flaky. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes (for faster cooling, put in the freezer for up to 15 minutes).
  4. Preheat oven to 425°F/220°C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  5. While the pastry is chilling, add the sausage meat and sage to a mixing bowl and mix using your hands until well blended. Refrigerate until the dough is ready. Skip this step if not adding fresh sage.
  6. Dust a clean surface with flour and roll out the chilled pastry into a rectangle, 24 inches (60 cm) long and 5 inches (13 cm) wide with the longest side of the dough closest to you with the rectangle going from left to right.
  7. Shape the meat in a sausage shape down one side of the dough, about 1 inch (2/ 1/2 cm) thick, leaving a little pastry border. If the meat is sticking to your hands, rub a little oil on your hands. Brush beaten egg along the border (closest to the meat) then roll the other long edge to meet the egg washed egg over the meat, making sure to seal well and that the seam is on the bottom.
  8. Cut into 8, 3-inch (7.5 cm) long rolls and place onto the baking sheet evenly apart. See note 2
  9. Brush the rolls with the beaten egg and cut 2 slits into the top of the pastry taking care not to cut into the meat.
  10. Bake for 25 minutes until they are golden and crispy.

Notes

1. If your sausage already has sage, you may want to skip this.

2. To make appetizer size, cut into 2-inch (5 cm) rolls which yields 12.

Nutrition Information

Yield

8

Serving Size

1 sausage roll
Amount Per Serving Calories 531Total Fat 41gSaturated Fat 19gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 19gCholesterol 118mgSodium 657mgCarbohydrates 28gFiber 1gSugar 1gProtein 14g
© Culinary Ginger
Cuisine: British / Category: Dinner Ideas

These homemade sausage rolls recipe first appeared on Food Fanatic where I am a contributor.