These sausage rolls the best and easiest appetizers. You can make then with whatever sausage you love. Just be sure it’s a quality sausage, with good ingredients. They are a great make ahead app. Sausage rolls are wildly popular in Ireland and the UK. Often found in take-away shops, but they are so easy to make. Here’s my version!
Ingredients needed for sausage rolls:
- Good quality sausage, whatever is your favorite
- Puff pastry, please try to use all-butter, it’s so much tastier!
- Pesto, any good quality store-bought is great. I love the Kirkland brand, good ingredients
- An egg and some sesame seeds for the top
How to change up your sausage rolls:
- No pesto? Chop up some sun-dried tomatoes (in oil) and spoon them onto the pastry
- You can absolutely use turkey or chicken sausage!
- If using sausage links, but sure to take them out of the casing. They will be much easier to cut
- Try a different topping, such as parmesan cheese or Everything But the Bagel Seasoning. I’ve even sprinkled some Connemara seaweed on top—yum.
Sausage Rolls
- Prep Time: 20
- Cook Time: 20-25 minutes
- Total Time: 40-45 mintues
- Yield: 16 1x
- Category: Appetizers
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Irish
Description
Tasty, flakey, savory and easy. If you’ve got puff pastry in the freezer, you’ve got an appetizer (or a meal!). Get this recipe on the rotation; your parties will be a hit!
Ingredients
- 9 oz. all-butter puff pastry*, thawed in the fridge overnight (if frozen)
- 2–3 tablespoons pesto**, drained of extra oil
- 16 oz. good-quality sausage meat*** (or Italian sausage) (about 3-4 links)
- Flour, for dusting
- 1 egg
- 2 teaspoons sesame seeds for sprinkling
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment.
- Roll out the puff pastry on a lightly floured counter to make a 14 x 12″ rectangle. Cut the pastry in half again lengthways. Spread each with one generous tablespoon of pesto, leaving a one-inch border around the whole thing (so the pastry will stick).
- Take half of the sausage meat and shape it into a long log that will run the whole length of the pastry on top of the pesto.
- Crack the egg into a small bowl and lightly beat together for egg wash.
- Brush the border of the pastry with the egg wash, then fold the pastry over to enclose the filling and press down well to seal. Crimp the edges with a fork. Repeat with the other pastry.
- Cut each roll into eight bite-sized pieces with a long serrated knife, trimming and discarding the ends.
- Brush the sausage rolls with more egg wash, sprinkle each with sesame seeds, and arrange on the baking sheet. Using the serrated knife, make a small slit in each roll to let the steam out and ensures a well-cooked sausage.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes, until cooked through (internal temperature of 140°) and golden, turning the baking sheet around in the oven shelves halfway through.
Notes
*I like the Trader Joe’s brand. Not sure if it’s seasonal, but when I see it, I buy a bunch, it freezes beautifully.
**Kirkland brand of pesto is really tasty and has good ingredients. This, too, freezes well; I freeze them in ice cube trays and, once frozen, pop them in a freezer bag. They are ready when you need to add zip to any dish!
***If using bulk sausage, you can add other herbs and spices, then shape into sausage shaped logs.
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