This Spicy Breakfast Sausage recipe is just what you need to perk up a slow Saturday morning. It’s quick to make and cooks up beautifully, whether you like your sausage with a little heat or full-on fire. The recipe is simple as can be with just five ingredients and no fillers or fuss. Shape it into patties to serve alongside eggs and toast, or crumble it into gravy and ladle it over a hot buttermilk biscuit. Either way, it’s a breakfast that sticks with you.
Now, if you want to get a bunch of Southerners engaged in a lively debate, just mention who you think makes the best sausage. It’s a big deal, believe me.
There are little “mom and pop” places dotted across the South where sausage is made according to old family recipes handed down through generations. And each sausage maker has his or her devotees.
Some are really tiny and make their recipe in small batches, sold from the meat case in the back of their little country grocery store. Then there are others who are large producers shipping all over the country. Each with their own special recipe, and all pretty darned good.
The thing I enjoy most about making homemade sausage is that you control the ingredients. Mild, medium, or hot, it’s up to you.
Recipe Snapshot
Cuisine: American
Cooking Method: Stovetop
Total Time: 30 Minutes
Servings: 8
Primary Ingredient(s): Ground pork, black and red pepper, sage, salt
Skill Level: Easy
What You’ll Like About This Recipe
- You control the ingredients and the heat.
- No preservatives or fillers.
- Very versatile (use it for a breakfast casserole, breakfast sandwiches, in an omelet, or for biscuits and gravy).
- Budget and family friendly.
Ingredient Notes
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- Ground Pork (25-40% fat content) – See the “Purchasing Pork” section below for information on the pork you’ll need for this recipe.
- Black Pepper – Grind it yourself for the freshest flavor!
- Red Pepper Flakes – You’ll want flakes, not ground cayenne pepper. I typically use the standard McCormick brand of red pepper flakes.
- Ground Sage – Some people don’t care for sage in their sausage. I do, so I always include it.
- Salt – Unless stated otherwise, I use Morton kosher salt for all my recipes.
The complete ingredient list with detailed measurements is included in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Purchasing Pork for Sausage Making
Now, I’m not an expert sausage maker. I can’t compete with “mom and pop” or with any of those big experts. But I do like to try my hand occasionally at putting together just the right combination of spices for pan sausage.
Keep in mind that if you’re using ground pork from your local grocery store, it will probably have a much different texture from a commercially produced sausage. That’s because the grocery store ground pork is usually a lot leaner, which will produce a more dense patty.
If you want yours to be more moist, juicy, and tender, then tell the butcher what you’re making and ask for fattier ground pork. A good store will grind it for you with a higher fat content. You want between 25 and 40% total fat. The only real way to know the level of fat that you like is to experiment. I’d advise you to start with about 30% fat and work up or down from there. And do remember that a lot of the fat renders out when cooked.
How to Make Spicy Breakfast Sausage
Mix the Ingredients
- Simply combine all the ingredients in a large bowl. Blend everything together thoroughly. I find it easier to just take off my rings and get my hands in there to mix it all up. However, you can also do the mixing in a stand mixer on low speed.
- Once everything is well combined, it’s a good idea to test the seasonings. Make a small quarter-sized patty and cook it until it’s done all the way through. Taste and adjust the seasonings accordingly.
Form the Mixture into a Roll (Optional)
👉 PRO TIP: You can cook the sausage immediately, or shape it into a roll, wrap it in plastic wrap, and store it in the refrigerator until you’re ready. I like to make it up the night before and then cook it the next morning.
Portion and Cook
- Divide the mixture into eight portions. Shape each portion into a patty.
- Fry in an ungreased skillet over medium to medium-high heat until cooked through. You may need a little bit of oil in the pan if you’ve used leaner ground pork.
Serve with hot biscuits and your favorite jam or jelly. I’ll have some Mayhaw jelly with mine, please.
Variations
- My recipe is very mild and simply flavored, but you can adjust the seasonings to suit your own tastes. Starting with the basic recipe, make a quarter-sized patty, fry it in a skillet, and have a taste. From there, adjust the seasonings a little at a time until you find the combination you like best.
- Additional seasonings you might want to include: garlic powder (start with 1/4 teaspoon), ground rosemary (start with 1/2 teaspoon), dried thyme (start with 1/2 teaspoon), and/or brown sugar (start with 2 teaspoons).
How to Make Ahead
Making breakfast sausage in advance is really simple! Mix all the ingredients and shape into either one long roll or form it into 8 patties. Wrap well in plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator for up to four days before cooking. When ready to cook, simply remove it from the refrigerator and place it directly in the pan.
Storage Information
- To store freshly made sausage, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and keep it in the refrigerator for up to four days.
- To store cooked sausage, allow it to cool completely and then store it in a container or ziptop bag in the fridge for 2-3 days.
More Recipes You’ll Like
- If you enjoy easy, hearty breakfasts, my Herbed Baked Eggs are a great option. They’re baked with fresh herbs and cream.
- For something a little sweet to start the day, try Oatmeal Cookie Pancakes.
- When you’re craving something protein-packed, Steak and Eggs is a classic pairing that never goes out of style.
- My Ham and Cheese Strata is a great make-ahead breakfast casserole that’s perfect for weekends or holiday mornings.
- Keep a jar of Homemade Granola on hand for topping yogurt or enjoying with milk. It’s crunchy, just sweet enough, and easy to customize.
- Copycat Cracker Barrel Hash Brown Casserole brings that cheesy, creamy comfort right to your own kitchen with no road trip required.
- And for a crowd-pleasing favorite, you can’t go wrong with Sausage Balls with Two Dipping Sauces. They’re always a hit whether it’s breakfast, brunch, or game day.
Questions About Spicy Breakfast Sausage
You can easily substitute ground turkey or ground chicken for the pork in this sausage mixture. One word of caution: both ground turkey and chicken are quite a bit leaner than pork, so be aware that cooked turkey or chicken sausage will be a lot drier than pork sausage. You will also need to add oil or butter to the pan when cooking it.
Yes. You can freeze the entire pound of finished sausage or make individual patties to freeze. Freeze for up to six months in a freezer-quality zip bag or other sealable, airtight container. Try to remove as much air as possible from the bag or container before freezing. Thaw the sausage overnight in the refrigerator.
Absolutely! Allow the cooked sausage to cool, then place it in a freezer bag or container. Reheat from frozen either in the microwave or on the stovetop.
Have a question or thought to share?
If you have a question about the recipe or if you’ve made it and want to share how it turned out, I would truly enjoy hearing from you. Just scroll down to leave a comment or add your star rating.
Thank you for stopping by. It means a lot to have you here.
Recipe
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Spicy Breakfast Sausage
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground pork (25-40% fat content)
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon ground sage
- 2 tablespoons cold water
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Using your hands or a stand mixer, blend together thoroughly.1 pound ground pork, ¼ teaspoon black pepper, ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, 1 teaspoon ground sage, 2 tablespoons cold water, ½ teaspoon salt
- To test your mixture for seasonings, make a small quarter-sized patty and cook until done throughout. Taste and adjust seasonings accordingly.
- Shape the mixture into patties. Fry in an ungreased skillet until cooked through.
- Serve with hot biscuits and your favorite jam or jelly.
Notes
- Additional seasonings you might want to include: garlic powder (start with 1/4 teaspoon), ground rosemary (start with 1/2 teaspoon), dried thyme (start with 1/2 teaspoon), and/or brown sugar (start with 2 teaspoons).
- Uncooked sausage may be frozen either as a whole pound or as individual sausage patties. Freeze for up to six months in a freezer quality ziptop bag or other sealable, airtight container. Try to remove as much air as possible from the bag or container before freezing. Thaw the sausage overnight in the refrigerator.
- To freeze cooked sausage, allow the cooked sausage to cool, then place in a freezer bag or container. Reheat from frozen either in the microwave or on the stovetop.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information is calculated by software based on the ingredients in each recipe. It is an estimate only and is provided for informational purposes. You should consult your healthcare provider or a registered dietitian if precise nutrition calculations are needed for health reasons.
— This post was originally published on November 8, 2010. It has been updated with additional information.
I’m Lana Stuart, an award-winning cookbook author, food blogger, and lifelong cook raised deep in Southwest Georgia. I started Lana’s Cooking in 2009 to share the tried-and-true recipes I grew up with. Around here, the food is full of flavor, the traditions run deep, and there’s always room at the table.
This looks and sounds great. I buy ground country pork from Kroger which has a higher fat content than regular ground pork. It usually makes for a nice textured sausage patty. I mainly jumped on here to comment about your biscuits. They are gorgeous! I’ll be searching your site for your biscuit recipe. Mine always turn out too crumbly for sausage biscuits. The hubby complains because he wants something that isn’t so messy. It’s my grandmother’s recipe and they turn out just like hers but I need something not so crumbly. BTW, I’m 63 and been cooking for 50+ years. Still, I’m always looking for better recipes.
If you want a great, study biscuit recipe, try my Old Fashioned Buttermilk Biscuits!
What’s the complete name of the Spucy Breakfast Sausage? Where can it be purchased or ordered? I live in Michigan and looking for a new spucy breakfast sausage since I can no longer find Odoms Tennessee pride Hot Breakfast Sausage. Thank you!
Hi Peggy – this is a recipe for making your own sausage from scratch.
I was thinking of using Tony Cacheres original seasoning in the sausage- could you advise as to how much per lb of sausage?
Hi Donna. I’ve used Tony Cacheres once or twice over the years for other recipes, but I’ve never tried it in sausage. Sorry I don’t have a recommendation for you. You’ll need to start with a small amount, fry a tiny sausage patty (about the size of a quarter) and taste it, then start adjusting your seasoning from there. That’s the standard method for determining seasoning for any herbs and spices in a sausage recipe.
if ur in NC, buy some Neese’s sausage which is made in that state. their distribution is limited. sometimes u find it in SC. they make a reg, hot, and sage (the best) in one pound ‘blocks’. i have emailed them several times, encouraging them to come to GA.
Never heard of Neece’s sausage, but I’ll look next time I’m through North Carolina. Thanks!
maybe we we flood them with requests to expand their service area, we will be able to get their products in GA.
Wow! That looks good. I love the pure ingredients of homemade. I think homemade can be healthier because you know what you’re eating – you don’t get all that processed stuff they put in food nowadays.
I honestly had no idea you could make your own sausage like this. Impressive!
Thanks, Kristen. Yes, it’s pretty easy but you have to work on getting the seasonings just right for your family.
YUM! Can I come next time you make this?
Amy, you can come over any time you like!
Now that’s an impressive breakfast. Homemade sausage – who knew!
I’m so anxious to try this! It never occurred to me to make my own breakfast sausage. Biscuits and gravy with sausage is a favorite breakfast comfort food when my grown sons come home to visit. I’ll surprise them with homemade sausage when they’re home for the holidays. Thanks!
Monica (and everyone else who has commented) – Be sure that you try out the recipe once or twice to get the seasonings the way that you and your family like. You can experiment with different herbs/spices and varying levels of pepper in your mix. Also, I wanted to be really clear that you might like more fat in your sausage than the standard ground pork from the meat case in the grocery. It’s important to play around with the mixture to get just the right combination for you!
Am going to add bacon grease to my ground pork and leave out the red pepper flakes. That should make for a great sausage gravy.
I’ve never ever thought of making my own before! We love to host brunch and I’m add this to my list of things to try. Thanks!
So glad I could inspire you, Stephanie! I do hope you enjoy it.
Homemade sausage…wonderful. A nice breakfast sammich really hits the spot. ;)
Sure does, doesn’t it? I like my sausage patties in a biscuit, but they’re good with an English muffin, too.
Homemade English muffins at that. I’m going to make this sausage today, looks very similar to the way my mom made years ago, my dad would kill a hog once a year, nothing like fresh sausage, tenderloin and country ham, my dad made the best. I miss those days.
I remember when my family processed hogs and cows once a year. We had a farm, plus my grandfather ran a small grocery store and was a butcher. Everything was fresh and homegrown.
great idea creating your own blend – endless possibilities of flavors
You’re right, Drick. I should have talked more in the post about making your own combination of spices. I use sage, red and black pepper and that’s about it. Some people use what most would consider “sweet” spices – a little cinnamon, a little allspice. That’s the beauty of making your own, you can experiment until you come up with just the right spice mix for your taste!
Yum! I love breakfast sausage, but never thought about making my own… Now I totally want to :) :)
I hope you’ll give it a try. Remember that unless you get your butcher to add some fat to the regular ground pork, it will be a dense patty more like a hamburger texture. If you want that juicy-ness you get with commercial sausage you’ll need to add quite a bit of fat.
Yummy homemade sausage! I’m so jealous that you can find Mayhaw jelly where you are located. When I would visit my great grandmother in Georgia my uncle would go up into the mountains, pick the berries and come home and make fresh jelly…sooooo good!
Brandy – Yes, I love my Mayhaw jelly. My mother makes it every year but if I run out before she does another batch, I just order a few jars to tide me over. Just can’t be without it.
I love a good pattie, so I am definitely going to have to try making my own b’fast sausage. I also loved your other links for recipes. I sometimes take a variety of recipes and do a Glee-style mash-up and come up with my own signature recipe.
BTW, next time you are up in the N. Ga. Mountains, check Ingles for Nantahala Sausage. It’s made in Franklin, NC, and is some kind of good. It is what I take as a gift when I visit friends and family in Florida. Now when my friends in FL visit me, they buy a dozen packs to take home! Sausage junkies…
Tracey – I’ll definitely look for the Nantahala sausage. I’ve never heard of it, but I love to try all different kinds. Thanks for letting me know about it! You might want to try some of my favorite sausage from a place in south Georgia called Stripling’s. They have a very nice web site at http://www.striplings.com and they ship everywhere.
You are RIGHT about Nantahala! So good! I only get to have it when vacationing in the area.
These look good- I like that they don’t resemeble “real” sausage!
Beautiful photos! Looks great! I NEVER knew that it was so easy!? I can’t wait to give this sausage a try!