Christmas Sausage Rolls are festive and full of yum! Perfect as snacks, freezer friendly and with a special combination of ingredients that remind us of family and friends you will love the taste of these. Quick and easy festive sausage rolls will fly off the plate, don't forget the sauce!
Recipes like my Mini Sausage Rolls, Chorizo Sausage Rolls and Beef Mince Sausage Rolls offer variety with sausage roll fillings.
My Air Fryer Sausage Rolls save turning on the oven as well as cut down on cook time.
Jump to:
🤍 Recipe Highlights
I have summarised everything that you will come to know and love (LOVE ❤) about the recipe in the points below:
- Unique flavour combination: Christmas is that food time of year where there is no holds barred. We want the potatoes, the turkey, the stuffing and cranberry sauce. I considered this as a I developed the recipe so that you can taste the festive yum in these bad boys! 🎄🎄🎄.
- Fuss free as well as effortless: homemade sausage rolls are super easy to make but also fun and tasty! They work as tasty appetizers and will get any party off to a good start. They don't take much hard work to bring together and they will be the talk of the town with requests for them to be at every holiday gathering.
- Suitable for all skill levels of cooking: if you have a read of my step by step instructions you will see photos for everything you need to do. This cuts down decision making so that you can follow the recipe very easily!
- Freezer friendly: these sausage rolls are perfect to make, let cool then freeze. You will then be able to grab them to heat and serve or eat as you please. Don't worry that the pastry has already been frozen, it will refreeze without any issues!
Tasty Tip: we use 1 egg and brush this onto the pastry so that as the sausage rolls cook, they turn a lovely golden brown. Use a mini fork to whisk the egg into a small bowl and a pastry brush to coat the pastry.
🥗 Ingredients
The photo below is to show you everything you need to make the recipe. Please refer to the printable recipe card for specific ingredient measurements as well as detailed instructions.
As you can see the recipe calls for:
- Pork sausages: I am using standard pork sausages that don't have additional fillings (eg sage and feta). We use a small fork or knife to remove the casing which is discarded and not used in the recipe.
- Store bought puff pastry: this has to be one of the most handy as well as versatile ingredients that you can use. Keep some in the freezer and grab it out for all types of sweet and savory ideas. It is budget friendly and lends itself to a multitude of uses.
- Cranberry sauce: is it sauce, or jam, the jar says sauce but it really has a jam like consistency and texture about it. Everywhere from Walmart to Safeway, Tesco, Aldi, Woolies and Coles will have a brand or 2 of this. It is thick like jelly and a delightful festive Christmas taste 🎄😁😉!
- Pistachios: I recommend either purchasing chopped ones (bits and pieces) or whole ones which you pop into a glass jug or mug and use kitchen scissors to roughly chop. (This is what I do 😘).
- Dried onion: you will be able to get your hands on this in the spices section of the supermarket. It is such a great ingredient to use! Providing onion flavour but no tears, it is a time saver and almost essential to have in your pantry spice collection!
- Sesame seeds: these are to top the sausage rolls before we cook them.
- Poppy seeds: these are also used to top the sausage rolls. Remember it is Christmas, so let's not hold back on the festive yum 😉😁!
- Egg: we whisk this and use it both to seal the sausage rolls as well as brush some on top to produce the golden colour of the pastry and allow the seeds to stick.
Tasty tip: the puff pastry needs to be thawed so that it will be soft and easy to roll. As a starting point, you can grab it out of the freezer to start as by the time you have got the rest of the ingredients sorted, it will be ready to use!
🍳 Instructions
Here at the step by step instructions to make the recipe. We start by removing the casing from the sausages and then combining the filling ingredients.
- Remove the casings from the sausages (Photo 1)
- Add the ingredients to a food processor (Photo 2)
- Blitz to combine (Photo 3)
- Roll and wrap (Photo 4)
👩🍳 How to Make Christmas Sausage Rolls
To make the sausage rolls start by using a fork or knife and chopping board to remove the casing from the sausages. These can be discarded. The next step is to add all of the sausage roll filling ingredients to the food processor. Add the pork mince, sausage meat, dried onion, cranberry sauce, chopped pistachios, cinnamon, salt and pepper. Blitz these for around 20 seconds to combine.
- Roll the pastry around the sausage roll filling (Photo 5)
- Cut the long pastry long into portions (Photo 6)
- Transfer to baking sheet (Photo 7)
- Brush the sausage rolls with egg (Photo 8)
- Repeat for each sausage roll (Photo 9)
- Combine both the sesame seeds and poppy seeds (Photo 10)
- Sprinkle on top of the sausage rolls (Photo 11)
- Cook the sausage rolls for 25 to 30 minutes (Photo 12)
🍽 Serving Suggestions
Sauce, sauce, don't forget the sauce!
There are plenty of types of sauce that work well with sausage rolls.
The most popular and common are tomato sauce (ketchup) and BBQ sauce.
For festive sausage rolls, you might like to experiment and try serving them with cranberry sauce or plum sauce for a nice sweet change. The 2nd photo at the top of this post shows you these as serving options.
👍 How to Guide
How to Store
The sausage rolls are best stored in a sealed, air tight container.
How to Freeze
To freeze the sausage rolls, simply allow them to cool after cooking.
Once cool, place them in a sealed, air tight container in the freezer for up to 3 months.
How to Reheat
To reheat the sausage rolls, you can use the oven or air fryer. Whilst the microwave will reheat them so that they are warm, the pastry won't be as flaky and crispy as it will from the 1st 2 methods listed.
You can reheat them either from cooled or frozen. Simply place the sausage rolls onto a baking tray or into the air fryer basket. Then reheat for 15- 20 mins. Allow an additional 10 mins if reheating frozen sausage rolls.
😉 Substitutions and Variations
Here are my sub ins and outs that you might be thinking about as you read the post and I will tell you if I think they will work or why they won't:
- You can use any flavour of sausages you like ie chicken, pork, beef or lamb.
- An alternative to the sesame seeds and or poppy seeds is to either use a dried herb or black sesame seeds. (Everything but the bagel seasoning will work well too!).
- You can use peanuts (chopped) in place of the pistachio nuts if you wish.
💡 Tasty Tips
Here are my top tips and tricks that I want to share with you so that you master the recipe from the get go:
- Start by grabbing the pastry out of the freezer so that it can defrost and be soft and easy to work with.
- Use a small fork and or both fork and knife to remove the sausage skin.
- Use a silicon baking mat as opposed to parchment paper (baking paper) or alfoil (tin foil) to avoid soggy pastry bottoms.
- The sesame seeds and poppy seeds will stick to the top of the pastry due to the wet egg. Simply sprinkle them on top.
🤓 Frequently Asked Questions
Are sausage rolls a Christmas tradition?
Sausage rolls are not a traditional Christmas food. They are however, very popular and work well as an appetizer during the holiday season.
What is the traditional Christmas dish on Christmas Day?
Ham, turkey, pork, stuffing, cranberry sauce and roast potatoes are traditional Christmas dishes.
Can I cook sausage rolls the day before a party?
Yes, absolutely. You can make sausage rolls the day before a party and simply reheat to serve.
How do you keep sausage rolls crispy overnight?
The puff pastry encasing the sausage rolls will become crispy and flaky when cooking. To ensure that they stay crispy, it is best to reheat them in the oven or air fryer not the microwave.
😍 More Easy Puff Pastry Recipes
If you love using puff pastry in your kitchen (I hear you 😉👍!), then here are some more recipes that I think you will enjoy trying:
- Chicken Sausage Rolls
- Pork and Fennel Sausage Rolls
- Easy Sausage Rolls
- Peanut Butter Pinwheels
- Pecan Pinwheels
- Nutella Puff Pastry (Nutella Pinwheels)
- Cheese and Bacon Pinwheels
- Cheese and Tomato Pinwheels
You can also find all of my Christmas recipes in the one spot. It's time to get festive my friend, ho, ho, ho 🎄🤣😁.
Adrianne xx
PIN and save this recipe for later!
Hunger still got you? You can SUBSCRIBE to receive the latest recipes, follow me on Pinterest, Instagram or Facebook.
📖 Recipe
Christmas Sausage Rolls
Equipment
- 1 Small fork to remove the sausage casings
- 1 Food processor to combine the filling ingredients
- 2 Baking tray
- 2 Silicon Baking Mats
- 1 Chopping board to roll the sausage rolls
- 1 Knife to cut the long pastry rolls
- 1 Gladwrap optional, helps to keep the filling together
Ingredients
- ½ cup pistachio nuts
- 500 grams/16 oz pork sausages Note 1
- 500 grams/16 oz pork mince (ground pork)
- ⅓ cup cranberry sauce
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 tbs dried onion
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon cracked black pepper
- 9 sheets puff pastry thawed
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
- 1 tablespoon black poppy seeds
Instructions
- Preheat the oven: preheat the oven to 180°C / 350-375°F / Gas Mark 4-5.
- Thaw pastry: remove packaging from pastry sheets and set flat in front of you. Allow to defrost (will take 5 mins).
- Prep the sausages: remove the casing from each sausage starting at one end and working up to the other. Note 2
- Combine filling ingredients: add the sausage meat, pork mince, cranberry sauce, chopped pistachios, dried onion, cinnamon, salt and pepper to food processor bowl. Blitz to combine. Roll the filling out and wrap in cling wrap (optional).
- Roll the sausage rolls: working one sheet at a time lay the pastry sheet onto a chopping board and transfer the rolled filled on top. Roll the pastry sheet around the filling. Brush the whisked egg onto the overlap and press gently to seal. Note 3
- Cut into portions: use a knife to trim the excess pastry off each end and then cut each rolled sausage into 4 small sausage rolls Note 4
- Coat with egg: use a pastry brush to coat the top part of the sausage rolls with the whisked eggs Note 5
- Decorate: sprinkle sesame seeds over the top of the sausage rolls (the egg will ensure they stick).
- Oven Bake: place in the oven for 25- 30 mins or until the pastry has turned light golden brown.
- Serve: provide either tomato sauce (ketch up), BBQ, cranberry sauce or plum sauce and dig in!
Notes
- Note 1 - Sausages: Go for plain pork sausages that don't have additional ingredients such as cheese and or herbs.
- Note 2 - Removing the sausage skin: I find a small fork (teaspoon size) the most effective way of removing the skin. It helps to open the end up and then you can lift it and run it the length, removing it in one go. Try and hold the sausage flat as the skin will get stuck if the sausage gets bent.
- Note 3 - Rolling the pastry: make this a snug fit so when the pastry cooks, it stays tight around the filling.
- Note 4 Sausage rolls: I cut each long length of pastry into 4 sausage rolls. Feel free to do the same or make them bigger (less portions per long length) or smaller (more portions per long length) than this.
- Note 5 Seal the overlap with egg: when you roll the pastry, ensure there is a slight overlap. Then brush a little egg on this overlap and seal the pastry.
Kristin says
Is the recipe correct? Do you really need 9 sheets of puff pastry for this? I don’t see how you would have enough filling for that.
Adrianne says
Hi Kristin, yes I added extra sheets in case you wanted to make thinner sausage rolls. You can use less sheets and make thicker sausage rolls too. Cheers