Low Sodium Breakfast Sausage

About Homemade Breakfast Sausage

Sausage is one of the tastiest breakfast foods, but it's often quite high in sodium.

And if you're trying to reduce the amount of sodium in your diet, you'll probably feel the need to cut back on the sausage.

Lucky for you, you don't have to get rid of sausage!

Simply make it yourself.

It's actually pretty easy to make your own homemade breakfast sausage, and since you are using ground meat and only adding seasoning (plus a small amount of optional maple syrup), you will get to enjoy a flavorful, yet low-sodium sausage.

Homemade breakfast sausage is also a filling breakfast that you and your family will enjoy. Plus, it's budget-friendly.

This recipe is so simple. Just add ground meat (turkey, pork, beef, and/or chicken) to a bowl with spices and maple syrup. Stir together and cook.

You can cook them in the skillet, bake the homemade sausage patties in the oven, or make sausage in the air fryer.

Ingredients

Ground Meat: Ground turkey is what I typically use, but ground chicken, ground pork, and ground beef will all work well. You can also do a combo of ground meats if you want.

Maple syrup: Maple syrup gives a slight sweetness to add depth to the
sausage breakfast patties. Use 100% real maple syrup for the best flavor. Brown sugar can be used or omit the maple syrup entirely.

Spices: For the breakfast sausage seasoning, use garlic powder, ground sage, ground thyme, cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes, nutmeg, and salt. Fennel seed is also a great addition but optional. Black pepper can also be added.

Budget-Friendly Tips

• Buy large (or "family-sized") packages of ground meat because it typically costs less per pound.
• Compared to buying cooked sausage patties at the grocery store, this is almost half the cost.

Recipe Tips

You'll notice in the photos that the spices are individually added to the ground meat, but it's really only for a nice photo (haha).

For evenly seasoned sausage, stir together the spices first; then add to the ground meat.

Make-Ahead Ideas

This is a great breakfast recipe to make in advance. It makes about 24 sausage patties and they can be frozen for breakfast meal prep.

Simple prepare as directed and store.

Storage Suggestions

Keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 6 days or in the freezer for up to 12 weeks. I prefer a freezer bag instead of a container since you can remove the air to help prevent freezer burn.

To reheat:

• In the microwave: Place on a microwave-safe plate, and heat for 30 seconds at 100% power. Flip and microwave for another 30-45 seconds until warm.
• In a skillet: Over medium heat, place the sausage in a dry skillet and cook for about 2-3 minutes per side until warm.
• If reheating from frozen, add an extra 30-90 seconds.

Variations

If you prefer a spicy sausage, increase the cayenne pepper to ½ teaspoon or add ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes.

Ingredient Substitutions

Spices: Honestly, I think you could omit a few spices and it would still taste good. My rule of thumb is to make sure that I add at least 3 or 4 spices.

Alternative Prep and Cooking

This maple sage breakfast sausage can be prepared and cooked in the skillet, air fryer, or oven.

See the recipe card below for detailed instructions.

How to Make Allergy-Friendly

Maple sage breakfast sausage is naturally gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, soy-free, and nut-free.

Nutrition Benefits

This is a great recipe for a high-protein breakfast; plus, it is low sodium.

Using lean meat, like lean ground turkey or chicken, helps keep the saturated fat lower.

Compared to store-bought breakfast sausage, one of these homemade sausage patties (using 93/7 ground turkey) has 1 gram of saturated fat versus 3.5 to 7 grams of saturated fat each.

Also, it is low sodium with 39 mg of sodium each; whereas sausage patties from the grocery store average between 210 mg and 350 mg of sodium each.

What to Serve with Homemade Breakfast Sausage

Pair this high-protein breakfast meat with some carbohydrates like toast, fresh fruit, instant oatmeal, or english muffins.

Want something a little more exciting? Try pairing this low sodium sausage recipe with a Microwave Oatmeal Cookie, Pumpkin Pie Spice Smoothie, or Microwave Baked Apples with oatmeal.

You can also use these homemade sausage patties on breakfast sandwiches. Serve on an English muffin with sliced cheese and an optional fried egg or egg patty.

If you want a sauce, try low sodium bbq sauce, ketchup, or combine mustard + maple syrup (use about 3 parts mustard to 1 part maple syrup).

Final thoughts:

Making your own sausage is as simple as combining ground turkey (or other ground meat) with spices and optional maple syrup.

This easy recipe needs no special equipment, and you can cook them on the stove, in the oven, or in the air fryer for your convenience.

That way, you can have homemade pork sausage, turkey sausage, chicken sausage, or whatever you prefer at the ready for a filling, high protein breakfast option.

Plus, these homemade sausage patties are very low sodium and can be salt free.

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