With just a few ingredients and less than half an hour, you can have a batch of these flaky and delicious Chicken Sausage Rolls ready to go. Using chicken sausages and store bought pasty isn’t cheating, its working smart! Both oven and air fryer instructions included for ultimate ease.
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Chicken sausage has never really been a big thing in my family, we’re ferocious pork eaters and so we’ve always gravitated towards traditional pork sausage rolls.
Part of the reason for this is that chicken sausages have never been all that common in the UK. Unlike in the US where chicken and turkey sausages are readily available and widely eaten. But that’s changing and chicken sausages are available in most supermarkets and shops now.
Which led to me think how delicious chicken sausage rolls would be. And I wasn’t wrong. Lets face it, there really aren’t many things in life that aren’t delicious when wrapped in puff pastry.
There are quite a few recipes for chicken sausage rolls floating around already but they mostly involve using chicken mince (ground chicken) and creating a filling from scratch. I’m not a huge fan of these fillings – the texture just isn’t right for a sausage roll. This is why I love my easy version using chicken sausage meat.
How to Serve Chicken Sausage Rolls
Fresh out the oven (or air fryer) and dipped in some tomato ketchup is my secret pleasure! These are actually really versatile so there are loads of ways to serve them. Like most chicken dishes, you can pimp them in pretty much any way you choose.
They are as good eaten cold as hot so a sausage roll of some kind is essential on any buffet table worth its salt. Picnics, lunchboxes and just as a snack grabbed out the fridge are all great ways to serve them.
If you want to make these in a more festive presentation, use the filling from this recipe to make my Sausage Roll Wreath recipe. Its easy to make and really fun to serve.
More Sausage Roll Recipes
You can now find all of my sausage roll recipes in one place. Plus I’ve included a few extra bonus sausage based recipes too!
Ingredients for Easy Chicken Sausage Rolls
Chicken Sausage Meat
As I’ve mentioned, I use chicken sausages for the filling of these rolls. In general I skin the sausages, discard the casing and use the inner sausage meat.
But I have found with some chicken sausages that they don’t really have much of a skin to speak of. I used Heck Chicken Italia sausages for the version that you can see in this recipe and they don’t really have any skin. So i made sure to give them a good smush so they didn’t stay rigid in the rolls.
You can use any type or flavour chicken sausage you prefer or can find for this recipe. Using a pre flavoured one like I did adds instant extra flavour. But I love using a really plain sausage too – this has the benefit of being easily added to to make a wide variety of flavoured chicken sausage rolls.
Egg
The egg in this recipe is simply for gluing the pastry together and giving it a coating that goes lovely golden and shiny in the oven. You can use just the egg yolk for a really deep colour if you prefer.
Pastry
I love to make my own Homemade Puff Pastry. I find it quite relaxing and the final result is simply unbeatable. But realistically like the vast majority of people I tend to buy it ready made. In fact I generally go that step further and buy it ready rolled.
If is worth looking for the “all butter” versions of ready made puff pastry which is much more commonly available than it once was.
You can also use rough puff, flaky or shortcrust pastry.
Poppy Seeds
These are entirely optional. I sometimes use sesame seeds, dried herbs, cheese or just leave them plain instead.
Be Flexible
There are so many ways to be flexible with this recipe.
The first way is the size that you make them. I’ve given instructions for making 16 fairly small sausage rolls. But you can cut them into as many pieces as you like. 4 extra large ones like my Vegan Sausage Rolls would be the minimum, and if you cut them like my Mini Sausage Rolls then you can get 36 from the same quantity.
Then lets talk about adding flavours. Use a plain chicken sausage and the options are really quite endless – I’ll make a few suggestions of my favourites –
Curried Chicken Sausage Rolls – Knead 2 tbsp curry powder into the sausage meat. These have serious coronation chicken vibes and I think King Charles would really appreciate the gesture.
Chicken & Stuffing Sausage Rolls – Make up some sage and onion paxo stuffing and mix it with the chicken sausage meat.
Lemon & Herb Chicken Sausage Rolls – Mix in 2 tsp lemon zest and 2 tsp dried or fresh herbs of your choice.
Thai Chicken Curry Sausage Rolls – For something a little different and a bit spicy, incorporate 1 tbsp of thai curry paste into the sausage meat. Make sure it is really evenly spread because no one wants to get a whole chunk in one bite. Mix in some fresh chopped coriander (cilantro) and fish sauce for extra flavour.
Honey Mustard Chicken Sausage Rolls – Stir in 1 tbsp honey and 2 tbsp wholegrain mustard into the sausage meat. If you prefer a more fiery flavour, use half wholegrain and half English mustard.
Chicken and Bacon Sausage Rolls – Add 100g smoked streaky bacon cut into very small pieces into the chicken sausage meat. Or loosely wrap the chicken filling with the bacon for a pigs in blankets type thing!
Make it Vegetarian or Vegan
There is no point in expressly trying to make this version of sausage rolls veggie or vegan friendly. I do however have recipes for both these options so I would check these out first.
Make it Allergy Friendly
This recipe is free from nuts.
Gluten Free Chicken Sausage Rolls: Simply swap the pastry for a gluten-free pasty. Its readily available now, even as a ready rolled option. You should also ensure that the chicken sausages you use are gluten free.
Egg Free Chicken Sausage Rolls: Switch the egg for milk or cream. If you can’t have dairy either, use a plant based milk.
Dairy Free Chicken Sausage Rolls – If you use standard store-bought puff pastry, it is usually accidentally dairy free. Do double check the packaging however. And you will obviously need to steer clear of all-butter varieties.
Please note that this recipe may contain other allergens not referred to above and any variations suggested have not been tested unless otherwise stated. For more information regarding any dietary information provided on this website, please refer to my Nutritional Disclaimer.
Equipment Notes for Chicken Sausage Rolls
A good sharp knife will help with getting nicely sliced sausage rolls without super squished ends. A good knife steel will help to keep your knives good and sharp, regardless of how much those knives cost. Sharpening isn’t just the preserve of a fancy Sabatier set.
I make sure to use a good large baking tray to make sure that the sausage rolls have sufficient space to puff up and expand without hitting the other rolls. Use more than one tray if you need to. Lining the tray with baking parchment will ensure that the rolls don’t leave the bottom layer of pastry stuck to the tin!
A meat thermometer is really handy to keep around to check that the meat is cooked all the way to the middle. The centre of the rolls should reach 75c.
To Make Air Fryer Sausage Rolls
You will need an Air Fryer! I use a Corsori Lite (CAF-LI401S) with a 3.8 litre capacity. This is a fairly basic, single level, single basket air fryer with adjustable temperature and a timer.
Please make sure to read the notes at the bottom of the recipe card. You will also find the air fryer baking instructions towards the bottom of the recipe, just under the oven instructions.
A comprehensive list of the equipment used to make this recipe is included in the main recipe card below. Click on any item to see an example. There are no hard and fast rules so many items can be sensibly substituted to achieve the same results.
Get Ahead
Sausage rolls are ideal for prepping ahead of time. The best way to do this is to prepare them right up to the point that you would bake them and then freeze. It is best to freeze them individually on a tray and them move them to a bag or box once frozen solid. Otherwise they will just freeze as one big lump.
You can also prepare them earlier in the day before baking a little later to serve fresh. I wouldn’t do this more than 10 to 12 hours in advance or the pastry has a tendency to discolour. Do also make sure to store them covered in a fridge.
Leftover Puff Pastry Chicken Sausage Rolls
Leftovers never tend to hang around for very long.
The vast majority of the time I tend to just eat them cold but I also sometimes pop them into the microwave. I quite like the way the pastry goes soft. For a crispier reheat, I pop them into my actifry or give them a few minutes in a hot oven.
If you need to keep them for a later date simply pop them into the freezer. They can be eaten cold once thawed or reheated as normal.
Easy Chicken Sausage Rolls Tips
Make sure to use a really sharp knife when cutting the pastry. Use a sawing motion rather than pressing down hard to cut the rolls so they don’t get squashed.
It is worth spending those extra few seconds to make sure that the seam on the rolls is properly sealed. You can use your finger to smudge the two pieces of pastry together.
If you wet your hand before handling the sausage meat, this will stop it sticking to you in a sticky mass. Re-wet between dealing with each new section.
Take a little time with your egg wash. Try not to get it everywhere but cover all sides of the sausage rolls except the underneath and exposed ends.
Make sure your pastry is cold. It needs to be slightly warm to unroll without cracking but if you feel like it is too soft, put it back into the fridge flat for a few minutes.
If at any point you find that the pastry is feeling a little soft, pop it back in the fridge. It really doesn’t matter at what stage of the process you are at – get it in there.
Don’t forget to let me know in the comments if you try making this recipe – I want to know what you think and if you made any substitutions, how did it turn out?
Still Have Questions?
Simple! Just contact me and I will do my best to help as quickly as I am able. Head over to my Contact Me page, any of my social media channels or post a comment at the bottom of this page and I’ll see what I can do.
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The Recipe
Easy Chicken Sausage Rolls with Puff Pastry Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 320 g Puff Pastry
- 450 g Chicken Sausage Meat
- 1 Egg
- ½ tsp Poppy Seeds - optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200c fan | 220c | 390c or equivalent.
- Roll 320g Puff Pastry out on a floured surface to about 0.25 inch thickness. Or unroll a sheet of ready rolled pastry.
- Cut the sheet into half lengthways with a sharp knife.
- Skin enough sausages to get 450g Chicken Sausage Meat.
- Place the sausage meat around ⅔ of the way along each pastry strip. Make sure it reaches from end to end. You can mold the sausage meat into the right shape. Make sure to press the end of one sausage into the next if you are using skinned sausage.
- Beat 1 Egg in a small bowl. Use a pastry brush to cover the large side of exposed pastry.
- Start to roll the pastry around the sausage meat starting with the unwashed smaller top section. Keep the pastry nice and tight to the sausage meat.
- Continue to roll until the meat is totally sealed. Wet your finger a little and gently press along with pastry seam – this will allow the pastry to meld together and reduce the likelihood of the pastry coming apart as it cooks.
- Use the same sharp knife to cut the end off of each roll to neaten it up if needed. Cut each roll into half, then half again and then half again to end up with 16 rolls. Note – Use the knife to saw rather than press down or you will squash the rolls. Wipe the knife in between each cut. Don't forget not to press to hard.
- Using a sharp knife make gentle diagonal slashes down the whole of each roll.
- Move each roll to a lined baking tray, seam side down. Make sure the rolls each have ample room to expand.
- Generously egg wash the top and sides of each sausage roll. Make sure to not wash the exposed ends or sausage meat.
- Sprinkle roughly ½ tsp Poppy Seeds over the rolls.
- Bake for 15 minutes until light golden brown. They may need slightly longer depending on your oven. Use your eyes and judgement. If your oven does not cook evenly, turn the tray midway through cooking.
- Try to let them cool a bit before serving but I think we all know they’re not going to last long!
To Air Fry (see notes section for more guidance)
- Prepare the sausage rolls per the oven instructions but apply the egg wash without moving them to a tray.
- Preheat your air fryer if your version requires you to.
- Once hot, remove the basket and lightly grease using an oil spray (not fry light) or brush on some oil. Be careful because the basket will now be hot.
- Use tongs to carefully place the rolls into the basket. Make sure to leave enough room for the rolls to puff up.
- Cook for 15 minutes at 180c/350f.
- Remove the rolls from the basket to a cooling rack then continue to cook the remaining rolls in as many batches as you need.
Notes
- The air fryer version of this recipe is tested in a Corsori Lite (CAF-LI401S) with a 3.8 litre capacity. The square(ish) shaped basket is 21cm x 21cm and 24cm on the diagonal.
- Not all models advise preheating is required. Please follow the recommended instructions for your model. Mine has a specific preheat setting which is 4 minutes at 205c.
- For this recipe, I can fit 8 chicken sausage rolls in the basket at a time. The fit is quite snug. For the recipe as written, this means that I need to cook the sausage rolls in 2 batches.
- As all air fryer models are a little different, you may find that you can fit more or less in at a time. Some models include stacking shelves which will increase capacity.
- Required cooking times and temperatures can also vary between models and brands. If you know that your air fryer runs a little hotter than most recipes suggest, use a lower temperature. And vice versa. Equally if you find that food cooks more quickly in your machine than instructions usually state, reduce the cooking time (or check it earlier) and vice versa.
Cat says
I am partial to a chicken sausage so these are right up my street. Delicious!
Janice says
So delicious. The chicken sausagemeat is so much lighter than traditional pork and makes a nice change.
Sisley White - Sew White says
I have never thought of chicken sausage rolls before and oh wow the flavour is so stunning with the gorgeous puff pastry.