14 Easy And Delicious Ground Sausage Recipes

It's not always the first source of protein people reach for, but ground sausage is a versatile ingredient that brings bold flavor to any meal. Italian cuisine is particularly fond of ground sausage, so several of the recipes we've compiled here involve pasta and other Italian staples, but there's a recipe here for every occasion. Whether you're searching for a big pot of ziti to bring to your next office potluck or hoping to mix up your game day finger foods with flaky sausage rolls, ground sausage is ready to be a star player in your kitchen.

Because ground sausage is so easy to cook with, it also makes for a great addition to any meal prep regimen. There are several different types of ground sausage, including Italian, chorizo, and breakfast sausage. The recipe will note which flavor is suggested, but there's no reason you can't substitute in your favorite ground sausage brand if you're craving something specific.

You can't talk about good sausage recipes without first highlighting one of the greatest brunch items to ever grace the Earth: biscuits and gravy. Anthony Bourdain may not have been a huge brunch fan, but we certainly are. This sausage gravy recipe is tasty enough to make you second guess whether you want to spend your Saturday morning waiting in line for a booth since brunch at home is just as delicious. The recipe calls for refrigerated biscuits, but you can easily upgrade to a batch of homemade biscuits if you have the time.

Recipe: Simple Sausage Gravy

The Brits harbor a great love of sausage rolls, but you don't need to live next to a Greggs to enjoy this delicious pastry. Perfect as a morning snack or as finger food for the next football game, this sausage roll recipe comes together in less than an hour with relatively minimal prep work. They're delicious when they're hot out of the oven, but you can serve them cold too. They only have a shelf life of three days in the fridge, but you can freeze them if you need longer.

Recipe: Flaky British Sausage Roll

An excellent choice for meal prep or as a go-to potluck staple, this baked ziti is full of flavor and plenty filling. The ziti pasta adds a nice baseline of texture, the Italian sausage and tomato sauce brings a vibrant flavor profile, and the ricotta cheese gives the whole dish a decadently creamy vibe. If you've never had baked ziti before, you're only doing yourself a disservice by glossing over this easy dinner classic. Our recipe developer also has some creative ideas for how to preserve the dish for long term storage.

Recipe: Classic Baked Ziti

Thanksgiving is a great time to show off your talent in the kitchen, which means store-bought stuffing just isn't going to cut it anymore. There are a number of great ingredients to add to your stuffing, but sausage is a clear winner, and it really shines alongside the sourdough bread in this particular recipe. Seasoned with sage and thyme, you also get a nice textural boost from the onion, carrot, and celery here. Of course, you don't have to wait until November comes around to enjoy the robust herbal flavors of this sourdough sausage stuffing.

Recipe: Sourdough Sausage Stuffing

If the baked ziti recipe caught your attention but you were hoping for something a little less familiar, this Chicago favorite is worth a look. Mostaccioli pasta looks similar to penne pasta, except it has smooth sides instead of ridges, in case you weren't familiar. This mostaccioli recipe mixes Italian sausage and ground beef together with bell peppers, carrots, and shallots cooked in white wine. What you get is a pleasantly complex flavor profile that's still plenty rich thanks to the crushed tomatoes and the mozzarella and parmesan cheese topping.

Recipe: Bubbly Cheesy Mostaccioli

If you're tired of eating the same old meals and looking to breathe new life into your recipe book, this deconstructed lasagna soup is definitely a creative twist on an old favorite. Easier to put together than an actual lasagna, this soup still gives you all of the hearty flavors you crave, which makes it a good option for people on a tight schedule. The soup uses a chicken stock base that is filled with Italian sausage, ground beef, peeled tomatoes, and lasagna noodles before being topped with ricotta cheese.

Recipe: Deconstructed Lasagna Soup

Although sausage makes for a great main dish, this sausage ball appetizer plate may very well steal the show. This recipe uses flour, cheddar cheese, ground sausage, and cream cheese to create delicious little finger foods. There is way more flavor here than the amount of prep work would suggest, which means you get to maximize the wow factor without maxing out your busy schedule. They're best served fresh, but you can reheat them in the oven if needed.

Recipe: Sausage Balls With Cream Cheese

There's something very satisfying about eating a big plate of ravioli, but we can't eat out every night, and store bought ravioli often doesn't have the bold flavors we're looking for. But while making ravioli at home is fun, it often takes forever to make enough to feed the family. This shortcut gets around that dilemma by substituting the pasta with wonton wrappers; it's a no-fuss solution that considerably cuts down on prep time. This recipe offers a simple marinara sauce, but there are plenty of other ravioli recipes whose sauce ideas you can borrow from.

Recipe: Shortcut Homemade Ravioli

We love biscuits and sausage gravy so much that we keep more than one recipe in our back pocket. Technically, the first recipe on this list was just sausage gravy, but this recipe also differentiates itself with the addition of rich herbs and spices like nutmeg, sage, and fresh parsley. You'll also get a fantastic homemade biscuits recipe to work with here so that you don't need to rely on processed biscuit dough. The best part is that the biscuits and gravy can be frozen separately and stored for months.

Recipe: Biscuits And Herbed Sausage Gravy

If you're looking for a nice fall meal, this sausage and butternut squash pasta has bright autumnal flavors in droves. The sauce is a mix of white wine, vegetable stock, and heavy cream, which offers a great foundation for the pork sausage and butternut squash to stand on. There isn't an excessive amount of bells and whistles to this dish, enabling the ingredients you use to really shine through, but it also cuts down on cook time. Just make sure you know what to avoid when buying butternut squash.

Recipe: Sausage And Butternut Squash Pasta

Looking to meal prep your breakfast for the week? This sausage breakfast casserole is full of hearty breakfast ingredients like hash browns, eggs, and breakfast sausage so that you can have the energy you need to kick your day off right. The phrase "breakfast is the most important meal of the day" is a bit overplayed, but it is important to fuel your body, and this casserole is a great way to bulk up on protein with minimal effort. It will stay fresh in the fridge for up to four days.

Recipe: Cheesy Sausage Breakfast Casserole

This is another super creative recipe that's perfect for anyone looking to cut down on carbohydrates. The spaghetti squash is used as a low-carb alternative to pasta, and you fill it with all of the great flavors of lasagna, similar to a stuffed pepper. It makes for a fun presentation that is surprisingly flavorful and filling, and the nutritional benefits are just icing on the cake.

Recipe: Spaghetti Squash Lasagna Boats

You can think of strata like a savory version of bread pudding. This brunch version is criminally easy to put together, and it's another great option for meal prep too. For one, it takes eight hours in the fridge to fully finish, which means you need to plan it ahead of time even if the prep work is simple. But it's also quite filling, and the recipe makes 12 servings, so you're going to get a ton of mileage for very little effort. Take one bite, and your whole breakfast routine might change.

Recipe: Brunch-Perfect Sausage Strata

Sausage balls are pretty underrated, but we're big enough fans that we've put together more than one recipe. This version ditches the cream cheese in favor of cheddar cheese, parsley, and scallions and uses Bisquick as a binder. They've got great texture and flavor, but the recipe also suggests serving these crowd pleasers with a side of homemade honey mustard dipping sauce, which is just genius. Again, these are best served fresh, but you can refrigerate them for a of couple days and reheat in the oven if needed.

Recipe: Italian Sausage Balls With Bisquick