My Homemade Chicken Apple Sausage recipe is an easy way to make your own fabulously fresh sausage right at home ~ it freezes beautifully, too, so be sure to make extra so you can enjoy it anytime.
Chicken apple sausage is something our whole family can agree on, it’s been a favorite here forever. We buy it at the grocery store and order it in restaurants all the time, so I’m thrilled to be able to make it myself. And frankly, even though I love it, I’m always a little uneasy eating sausage in general because of the high fat content, and possible additives like nitrates, etc. This simple recipe takes care of all that and lets us indulge worry free!
sausage ~ demystified!
There’s really no mystery about making sausage, it’s essentially ground meat that has been mixed with various spices. If you don’t want to fuss with casings, you can form patties like I did. When you make it yourself you can control the quality of the meat, and the amount of fat. I used regular ground chicken from my grocery store, and mixed it chunky bits of apple and onion, lots of fresh cracked black pepper, and a nice amount of fresh sage for an easy but really delicious flavor. I was actually surprised at how ‘sausage-y’ these tasted, and I think that’s largely due to the seasonings.
chicken apple sausage making tips
Texture is key: the bits of apple and onion need to be small enough that the sausage patties hold together, but not so finely minced that you lose their great texture and crunch. I’ve talked before about this vegetable chopper that I love to use for getting a perfectly even tiny dice in fruits and vegetables.
The stand mixer! When it comes to mixing ground meats, I like to do it in my stand mixer. I find it does the best job of thoroughly mixing the ingredients without compacting the meat, and I don’t have to get my hands into the raw meat ~ yay!
Need to taste? Pinch off a small bit and cook it in a skillet, then taste. Adjust your seasonings accordingly. This is a good trick for meatloaves, meatballs, and any other ground meat recipe.
cooking your chicken apple sausage
After browning the sausage, I make sure to cook it gently so I don’t dry out the chicken. I like to cover the pan and lower the heat to let them cook through.
You can freeze homemade sausage patties raw or cooked
Raw:
– Shape into patties, freeze on a tray, then bag them up.
– Cook from frozen or thaw overnight.
– Best within 2–3 months.
Cooked:
– Fully cook the patties, cool, freeze on a tray, then bag.
– Reheat in skillet, oven, or microwave.
– Best within 2–3 months.
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Homemade Chicken Apple Sausage
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground chicken
- 1 Granny Smith apple, or other tart, firm variety very finely diced
- 1/2 medium onion, very finely diced
- 1/4 cup finely minced fresh sage
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
- olive oil, for frying
Instructions
- Put the ground chicken into the bowl of a stand mixer, breaking it apart as you add it. You can also do all this by hand in a large mixing bowl.
- Add the rest of the ingredients EXCEPT the olive oil, and mix until everything is well combined, and the little chunks of apple and onion are evenly distributed.
- Form the meat mixture into small 1 inch balls. I use a 1 inch scoop to portion out the meat and then roll it in my hands. Place all the balls on a baking sheet and put in the refrigerator until you are ready to cook them.
- Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet and brown the sausage patties for 2 minutes on each side. Then lower the heat, cover the pan, and cook for another 7-10 minutes, or until the meat is cooked through. The internal temperature of the sausage should be 165°F.
Notes
- I used packaged ground chicken for this recipe, but you can also grind your own with a meat grinder or a food processor. You could try boneless thighs for extra flavor.
- If this recipe seems a bit too lean for you, you can also finely chop some bacon (raw) and add it to the mix.
Nutrition
Do you skin the apple? Or leave the skin on?
I peeled the apple Jessie.
These sausage patties look soooo good, Sue! I just lost myself in your recent posts for half an hour. Good grief. As always, every single thing you make is calling my name!
I am all for letting the mixer do the work (germophobe right here!) and homemade is always better!
They look so delicious my tummy is growling! Great idea, Sue!
Sue, I always make my own pork sausage, but I’ve yet to venture into chicken. This sounds exactly right! And I much prefer making patties. If I had to mess with casings, I’d never do it. And I love the way you diced the add-ins so tiny and cute! 🙂
Thanks Jean, I’m planning to try other flavors soon, these were so good.
I love this idea! I have never tried making my own sausage, but this sounds so lovely I just have to try it 🙂
Whenever ground chicken is on sale I buy extra to make sausage. (Once I bought boneless, skinless thighs and ground them myself. It made super delicious sausage but was time consuming and messy, so I stick to purchasing chicken already ground!) Next time I’ll try a batch with apple added.
Wow, I never thought of making my own chicken sausage but why not? You always have wonderful ideas Sue! I love that you can control what goes in and tweak it just the way you’d like.
This was a lot of fun, Chris, maybe next time I’ll attempt sausage in actual casings!
Very tender and juicy…I love the combo of meat and apple.
I agree, Angie, meat and fruit goes together in so many different ways, who knew?
What a brilliant recipe Sue! I love turkey sausage so I know this chicken and apple version would make our entire family happy. It looks delicious!
You inspired me, Tricia!