Homemade spiced maple breakfast sausage to stock your freezer, save money, and use higher quality ingredients than packaged breakfast sausage!
Homemade breakfast sausage is a staple in our house. We like to keep the freezer stocked to have an easy breakfast protein ready and save a lot of money by not buying pre-made frozen breakfast sausage.
I got a great deal on local, sustainably raised ground pork at the farmers market last week and set out to stock our freezer. This an extremely easy recipe to make – especially if you have an electric griddle, just mix, weigh and form the patties and start cooking.
MAPLE BREAKFAST SAUSAGE INGREDIENTS:
- Ground Pork (see tips below for substitutions)
- Pure Maple Syrup
- Fresh Sage
- Spices (Fennel Seeds, Garlic Powder, Salt, Pepper, Paprika, Crushed Red Pepper Flakes)
HOW TO MAKE HOMEMADE BREAKFAST SAUSAGE:
Step 1: Mix all ingredients until spices are incorporated. You want to avoid “spice pockets”.
Step 2: Weigh or measure 2-ounce portions of ground meat mixture and form into patties.
Step 3: Cook patties on an electric skillet or in batches in a cast-iron pan.
Step 4: Enjoy immediately or allow to cool completely to stock your freezer.
RECIPE TIPS:
- This is a great recipe to double or even triple if you have a little extra room in your freezer!
- These are NOT SPICY. Don’t be freaked out by the 1 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes. It’s balanced out by the ground pork and maple syrup.
- If you don’t eat pork, substitute 2 pounds of ground chicken thighs and 1 1/2 pounds of ground chicken breast. Reduce the crushed red pepper to 3/4 teaspoon.
- Detailed cooling and freezing instructions are in the recipe card below. It is important to allow the breakfast sausage patties to cool completely before freezing so that they do not stick together in the freezer.
RECIPES TO PAIR WITH BREAKFAST SAUSAGE:
Plantain Pancakes {3 Ingredient}
Egg Casserole with Beet Greens and Goat Cheese
Quick Crispy Home Fries Recipe
Did you make this recipe? Please give it a star rating below!
Homemade spiced maple breakfast sausage to stock your freezer, save money and use higher quality ingredients than packaged breakfast sausage!
- 2 pounds ground pork
- 1/4 cup pure Maple Syrup
- 1 Tablespoon fresh sage leaves finely chopped
- 2 teaspoons fennel seeds
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 Tablespoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
- 1.5 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Chop sage leaves and combine with remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Use your hands to mix until spices are well distributed.
If you have a kitchen scale, line it with a piece of wax paper, tin foil or parchment and zero out the weight. I used a 1/4 cup measuring cup to scoop the sausage mixture and then made sure each patty was 2 ounces. If you aren't concerned about them being even, skip this step.
Once you have the sausage meat weighed out, roll each pile of sausage mixture into a ball.
Use your palm to press that ball as flat as possible. I like to do this on a plate or a piece of wax paper so it's easier to transfer for cooking. Repeat until of the sausage patties are ready to cook.
If you have an electric griddle, this is a great use for it. If not, cook these in batches in a large non-stick frying pan or cast-iron pan. If using a griddle, set the temperature to 350F (for a frying pan, medium heat). Cook each patty for 2 to 3 minutes per side. Don't press down as you will release all of the juices and wind up with drier sausage (which is never good!).
When fully cooked, transfer to a baking sheet to cool. Make sure to place the patties in a single layer and refrigerate until completely cooled. Once sausage patties are cooled, transfer baking sheet(s) to the freezer. Once patties are frozen, transfer to a ziploc freezer bag or air-tight container for easier storage.
Place frozen (no defrosting required) sausage in non-stick frying pan or cast iron skillet over medium heat. Cook 4 to 6 min per side until warmed through. Serve and Enjoy!
- This is a great recipe to double or even triple if you have a little extra room in your freezer!
- These are NOT SPICY. Don't be freaked out by the 1 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes. It's balanced out by the ground pork and maple syrup.
- If you don't eat pork, substitute 2 pounds of ground chicken thighs and 1 1/2 pounds of ground chicken breast. Reduce the crushed red pepper to 3/4 teaspoon.
Did you make this recipe? Tag @EverydayMaven on Instagram with the hashtag #EveryDayMaven and please give a star rating below.
Made a huge batch of these over the weekend and they are already gone. Thanks so much for this recipe! We were buying those small boxes of frozen applegate and while they are yummy, they were costing us a fortune with 4 kids.
Same thing in my house (with two boys). They go through 1 box of those at a breakfast. So glad you liked it!
I love making homemade breakfast sausage. This recipe is perfect with the addition of maple!
Thanks Kristen! So glad to hear you love it!
Great recipe.. Made one batch. Didn’t know if I would like them. As soon as I was finished, started batch #2 to freeze.
Love hearing that Kim!! Thanks for taking the time to let me know 🙂
Great recipe! I’ve made breakfast sausage, but it’s been years. Homemade tastes so much better than store bought. And you can adjust the seasoning mixture to your own taste – my wife really dislikes sage, for example, and this is found in almost every pork sausage. Easy enough to substitute thyme. Good stuff – thanks.
Great point about the Sage – Thyme is a perfect substitute!
I’m with Faith–lovely photo styling caught my eye right away, Alyssa.
My spouse is a vegetarian-while-deployed and talking about finding local meat sources, so I’m investigating what I can get around here. I’ve got a lead on a cow, and can get happy chickens for $25 each (about 4 pound carcasses) but I don’t know about hogs.
Thank you so much Kirsten! Isn’t it insane how expensive pastured chickens are?
Maple in breakfast sausages sounds so delish!!
I’ve always wanted to make homemade sausage, Alyssa, and I can’t wait to try your recipe! I have ground turkey on hand, so I may try it with that. Love that you add a touch of maple syrup, too. I’m so happy you like the pancakes – thank you for the kind mention!
The pancakes are a family favorite – especially with my son!!
I’m so happy you’re enjoying the props – the styling is so cute! I love making homemade sausage…I bet this recipe would also be fantastic with ground dark meat turkey!
It is fantastic with ground chicken or turkey thighs Faith – that is how I used to make it. I also have an adaption in the notes b/c you need to slightly decrease the red pepper flakes for poultry or it can be too strong.
Such a comfort food. We love home made patties.
So do we Ash and it’s so easy to have a huge batch stocked in the freezer!
These sounds so good!!! Never made my own sausage before..
It’s super easy! You’ll never go back to buying pre-made sausage!
Wow, homemade sausage! I’ve got to try this. We’re not big on pork, so will try with chicken thighs.
They are really good with the ground chicken thighs Jeanette as long as you slightly decrease the red pepper 🙂
Can’t wait to try this!!
I hope you love them Liz!