Breakfast is one of my favorite meals and if you follow me on Instagram, you know I love a big savory breakfast. I also strive to get in lots of protein at breakfast to help me feel my best. This breakfast sausage recipe helps me so do while being the perfect accompaniment to a savory breakfast.
This recipe is inspired by the blueberry breakfast sausages they have at Whole Foods. While theirs are delicious, if you look at the ingredients, they are sweetened with maple syrup and brown sugar and also have canola oil in them. So I decided to make my own.
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Plus, making sausage at home is really quite simple. While they will more than likely be in patty form rather than link form, they are just as delicious. All you need is ground meat, some ad-ins if you like, and your spices/seasonings.
The end result of this breakfast sausage recipe is a perfect balance. I find the blueberries add enough sweetness to offset the savory sausage and no added sugar is needed. And since I used lean pork, there are lower in fat than typical breakfast sausages and packed with more protein.
Why we love this homemade breakfast sausage recipe
- easy to make – they come together in about 20-25 minutes
- better than store-bought breakfast sausage – not only do they taste great, but there are no added nitrites or nitrates, fillers, and binders
- 9 grams of protein per patty!
- customizable to your liking – change out the spices to change the flavor from week to week
- great for meal prep for the week
Is breakfast sausage healthy?
Breakfast sausages can be a healthy addition to any diet when made with the right ingredients. When making them at home, you have full control over the quality of the ingredients. There are no added nitrites or nitrates, fillers, binders, or artificial ingredients. They also aren’t loaded with sodium and just a pinch of sea salt is used for the whole recipe.
What gives breakfast sausage that distinct taste?
The combination of spices, usually sage, fennel, and thyme, give breakfast sausage their unique and distinct flavor. Other spices can also be used as well and sometimes they are sweetened with maple syrup or sugar.
Ingredients
- ground pork – I used lean 90/10 ground pork
- garlic powder
- thyme
- sage
- cinnamon
- ginger
- nutmeg
- fresh blueberries – for a natural touch of sweetness
- salt and pepper
- oil, for frying
How to make breakfast sausage
- Combine your ingredients. Add ground pork, spices, and a pinch of salt and pepper in a medium or large bowl. Using your hands, mix to combine. Add in the blueberries and carefully mix to combine. Form sausage mixture into 10 equal-size patties. When forming the sausage patties, try to enclose the blueberries with some of the meat so they stay in place and do not fall out when cooking.
- Cook. Heat up a large skillet or cast iron over medium heat. Add oil and let it get hot, about 30 seconds. Add sausage patties in a single layer and cook for 4-5 minutes, flip, and cook for another 2-4 minutes until browned and cooked through. You may have to cook in two batches depending on how big your pan is.
- Enjoy! Serve with your favorite breakfast items and enjoy!
Make them in the oven
If you want to make a double batch or just don’t want to sit by the stove to cook these, you can easily bake them in the oven. Form sausages and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes until cooked through.
What to serve with breakfast sausage
You can treat this recipe as an addition to breakfast or serve them as is with other classic sides. Here are some ideas:
- at breakfast with eggs, toast or potatoes, and veggies
- in a breakfast salad with greens, veggies, poached eggs, avocado, and dressing
- in breakfast sandwiches
- with any kind of roasted or sautéed veggies and roasted potatoes
- alongside pancakes or waffles
Meal prep
These breakfast sausage patties are excellent for meal prep! Make a batch at the beginning of the week (I love to meal prep on Sunday) and you have an easy breakfast side during the week.
Storage and reheating
- fridge – homemade sausage patties will last 4-5 days in the fridge in a tightly sealed glass container.
- freezer – freeze in a large container or in individual servings in plastic wrap. Defrost in the fridge overnight. They should last up to 3 months in the freezer.
- reheating – to heat them up, you can lightly pan-fry in a little oil (be careful not to overcook and dry them out) or pop them in the microwave for a minute.
Substitutions
- ground pork – ground chicken, ground turkey, or even ground beef would work for this recipe. Swapping out the pork will change the nutrition profile and flavor.
- garlic – you can use fresh minced garlic instead of garlic powder. Use 2-3 cloves or 1 tablespoon worth.
- spices – you can swap out or add spices for ones like fennel seeds, onion powder, or red pepper flakes to change the flavor.
- fresh blueberries – apples would be a good substitute for blueberries.
More healthy breakfast recipes
- chicken apple sausage
- sweet potato & sausage breakfast casserole
- chicken hash
- breakfast stuffed sweet potatoes (3 ways!)
- sweet potato sausage hash
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Blueberry Breakfast Sausage Recipe
equipment
- cast iron skillet
ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground pork (I used 90/10)
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon gound sage
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 cup blueberries (80 grams)
- salt and pepper, to taste
- oil, for frying
instructions
- Combine your ingredients. Add ground pork, spices, and a pinch of salt and pepper in a medium or large bowl. Using your hands, mix to combine. Add in the blueberries and carefully mix to combine. Form sausage mixture into 10 equal-size patties. When forming the sausage patties, try to enclose the blueberries with some of the meat so they stay in place and do not fall out when cooking.
- Cook. Heat up a large skillet or cast iron over medium heat. Add oil and let it get hot, about 30 seconds. Add sausage patties in a single layer and cook for 4-5 minutes, flip, and cook for another 2-4 minutes until browned and cooked through. You may have to cook in two batches depending on how big your pan is.
- Enjoy! Serve with your favorite breakfast items and enjoy!
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These was amazing little nuggets. 😉
Mine were not a pretty as hers but they were delicious.
Glad you enjoyed them Kymberly! Thanks for trying them!
Tasty
They are so good!
These sound awesome! Was wondering about using frozen blueberries…what do you think? Also would wild blueberries work better vs regular since they’re smaller or doesn’t really matter? Looking forward to trying these out!
I haven’t tried it, but I would think frozen would work just fine. And 100% – smaller blueberries work much better. The patties can be a little challenging to get the blueberries to stick and stay put when forming and frying, so if using smaller ones, I would think it would be easier! I try to cover them with a little bit of meat to help them stay put when I make them. Hope that helps!
These were really yummy! I just wish I added a bit more salt or garlic powder to my mixture – Kelly does say “salt and pepper, to taste” so that was my bad. 🙂 I used ground turkey instead of ground pork. I loved the cinnamon/allspice flavor in there too! Thank you 🙂
Glad you liked them Kariann! Ground turkey sounds good too!
I had a hard time Integrating the blueberries into the sausage they wouldn’t really mix in and kept falling out during cooking 🙁 any tips ?
Hey Rebecca! You do need to be pretty careful when mixing and being really delicate. The smaller blueberries tend to work a little better since they aren’t as large. I try to make sure they are covered by some of the meat mixture to help them stay in place, but it is a little more tricky than just stirring and mixing. For cooking, you need to make sure you flip them carefully. I hope that helps some!