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Homemade Breakfast Sausage Patties are easy to make and loaded with fantastic flavor!
Homemade Breakfast Sausage Patties are a perfect way to add a special touch to Sunday brunch and holiday breakfasts.
Ground pork is flavored with maple syrup, bacon, and a variety of herbs and seasonings – with no preservatives or artificial flavorings that you sometimes find in store-bought sausages.
Instead of frying, we bake our sausage patties – so they stay tender, moist and juicy when cooked through. Then we broil them for a few minutes to caramelize and brown before serving. You can bake the sausage patties while you prepare eggs, toast and the rest of your breakfast.
Chef’s Tip – Unlike sausage links which have a casing around the meat, these sausage patties do not have any sort of casing to hold the juices in while they cook. While you can fry these patties instead, we found that baking the patties kept them softer, tender and more juicy.
Why You’ll Love Breakfast Sausage Patties
- Delicious, juicy breakfast sausage without preservatives or artificial flavors
- You can make these sausage patties ahead of time – perfect for feeding breakfast to a large crowd
- Vary the spices and seasonings if you’d like to suit your favorite tastes.
Key ingredients and Substitutions
- Ground pork – Choose quality ground pork from a reputable market and avoid super fatty packages. If you have a meat grinder (this attachment works great) you could even hand pick your own pork pieces at the supermarket, and grind the pork yourself.
- Bacon – Chopped, uncooked bacon added to the ground pork will add great smokey flavor, plus it helps to keep the patties moist during cooking.
- Herbs and spices – We included fennel seeds, fresh sage, fresh thyme, red pepper flakes, kosher salt, black pepper, nutmeg and ground cloves to flavor the meat. You can swap in dried herbs instead, or vary the seasonings if you’d like.
- Maple syrup – Maple syrup adds a hint of sweetness. Brown sugar can be substituted. You could also eliminate any sweetener; however, breakfast sausage typically has a little bit of sweetness.
Special supplies needed
- Small food processor or a large food processor with a smaller bowl insert
- Large bowl
- 1-ounce cookie dough scoop
- Sheet tray with sides (line with parchment paper for easy cleanup)
How do I make Breakfast Sausage Patties?
- Grind the spices and herbs in the bowl of a small food processor.
- Add chopped bacon to the food processor, then process to rice-sized pieces.
- Place ground pork and maple syrup in large bowl. Add bacon and herb mixture and mix to combine – but be careful not to overwork.
- Scoop the pork into portions and shape into small patties.
- Bake until almost cooked through, then turn the oven to broil to brown the tops of the patties.
- Serve with eggs, toast or other breakfast items.
Chef’s Tip –
- Avoid overcooking the patties. They need to cook to an internal temperature of 145 degrees F. (use an instant read probe thermometer) which takes 10-12 minutes. We found that baking them retained more moisture than pan frying.
- Adding a thumb print on each helps to keep the shape flat instead of bulging in the center as they bake.
- To test for the correct flavoring, bake or pan fry one patty to taste. You could also drop one in some hot water to cook. After tasting, adjust seasoning before forming the patties.
Frequently asked Questions
Can I make Breakfast Sausage Patties ahead of time? Yes, these can be formed and refrigerated until ready to bake. Do not mix the patties more than a day ahead of time – or freeze (see below).
How do I store leftovers? Store cooked patties in the refrigerator for up to three days.
How do I reheat leftovers? These are best cooked and served fresh so ideally, only cook what you need for each meal. But gently reheat leftovers in the microwave and avoid over cooking during the reheat.
Can I freeze the patties before cooking? Yes. Freeze on a parchment-lined sheet tray and do not have the patties touching each other. Once frozen, remove the frozen breakfast sausages to a zipper seal bag and keep in the freezer. Pull out individual pieces as needed to thaw and bake or pan fry.
You may enjoy these other Sausage recipes:
- Sausage Gravy Over Chicken Fried Steak
- Baked Sausage Egg Cups
- Southwestern Breakfast Muffins
- Hash Browns Breakfast Stacks
- Pepper Pig Breakfast Sandwich
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Breakfast Sausage Patties
Ingredients
2 1/2 pounds ground pork
1/2 pound bacon
1 tablespoon fennel seeds
2 tablespoons fresh sage, coarsely cut up
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (more if you like it spicy)
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
Few grinds fresh nutmeg
2 tablespoons maple syrup (more if you like it sweeter)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Line a sheet tray with a piece of parchment paper.
In a large mixing bowl, place the ground pork and set aside.
Cut the bacon into pieces (will be put into food processor so the size doesn’t matter. Also, bacon is easier to work with when cold or partially frozen)
In a small food processor, place fennel and run the food processor to crush the seeds. If the blade doesn’t reach the seeds, use a coffee grinder or mortar and pestle before continuing.
Add the sage, thyme, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, ground cloves and ground nutmeg and process to the consistency of ground coffee.
Add the chopped bacon and process until the bacon is rice sized. Ok if there are a few larger pieces.
Add the contents of the food processor to the bowl with the pork then add the maple syrup.
Mix just until the ingredients are incorporated. Try not to over mix.
Fill a small bowl with water and start scooping balls of meat using slightly heaping scoops from a one-ounce scoop, using the water to keep the scoop wet. Each ball should weigh about 1 ½ ounces. You should get about 36 pieces. Continue scooping out onto your counter or cutting board.
Wet your hands and roll each into a ball. Line these up on the prepared sheet pan and with your thumb, press down, making a divot in each one. Then flip divot down on the sheet tray. The divot will stop the patties from rising in the center as they bake.
At this point, you can refrigerate the pan until you are ready to bake, or freeze the pan. Once they are frozen, remove each patty to a zippered bag and keep frozen until ready to thaw and bake, or pan fry.
If baking now, bake for 10-12 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 145 degrees F using a probe thermometer.
Then broil for a minute or two to brown.
If pan frying, cook in a saute pan with a small amount of a light oil over medium low to medium heat. Cook to brown each side, again looking for internal temperature of 145 degrees F. Cook divot side down to start then finish divot up. Do not press with a spatula.
Serve three per portion along with other breakfast items such as eggs, toast or pastries, juice and coffee.
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Notes
We tested making these in a sausage link shape as well as a patty. We found the patty stayed moister than the link shape. Also, with a link, you are expecting a snap from a casing, which these of course don’t have.
Can’t wait to make this recipe 😋
Hope you enjoy the sausage patties Margie!