A meal prep friendly breakfast option that cooks well from frozen or fresh! Delicious and juicy breakfast sausage with clean ingredients- no added sweeteners, just apples, cinnamon and a few other spices.
Ok, raise your hand if you’ve ever got stuck in a breakfast rut…everyone should be raising their hands right now! Since taking out grains from our meal repertoire we have become heavily dependent on eggs. And those get boring quick. This sad and boring egg rut is the reason why I started making these clean cinnamon apple breakfast sausages.
There are so many reasons to try your hand at making your own breakfast sausages, to name a few…
The first and foremost is that you will be the one controlling the ingredients! If you have a family member with allergy issues like I do here, then you know that this is a huge deal.
The second reason is that you then have the ability to cook in large batches, freeze and serve up on your own time will AND save money doing it!
The organic ground turkey I am using runs about $6/lb plus a few cents for an apple or two and then less than a dollar total for all the spices used…were talking about getting a bulk amount of ORGANIC sausage patties for around $8. You won’t find that anywhere but your own kitchen.
My third reason is that it never hurts to hone in on your homemaking skills like cooking. I love cooking from scratch with clean ingredients, and I love when it actually tastes good! It’s a skill worth learning, for the sake of your family’s health.
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So let’s get down to the nitty gritty of these clean cinnamon apple breakfast sausages.
Which meats to use?
I use organic ground turkey. And the BEST tender and juicy results have come from the organic ground turkey found at Costco. I was using the supermarket’s organic brand and the sausages kept coming out pretty dry and tasteless.
Occasionally, if I am feeling a little wild, I’ll throw in half a pound of ground pork too!
Apples and cinnamon, really?
Yes. Just try it.
The apples add a little bit of sweetness but also moisture and the cinnamon is just a nice touch. I think it pairs well with the fennel and sage.
I will say, that I used to just chop the apples but my 4 year old started complaining about the texture, so now I shred them up using the smallest holes on our cheese grater and she doesn’t seem to notice now.
Oh, and I enjoy using a red variety apple for these. We use primarily gala’s.
Have a thing for apples and cinnamon like me too? Check out this recipe.
How can I use these for meal prepping?
When I want to make a big batch to freeze, I will double or triple the recipe and cook as described below. Then once cooled, I’ll freeze in some glass tupperware containers. When we are ready to use them, I don’t bother with thawing, since they are already completely cooked I just throw a little water in a pan or pot with a lid, heat on low until warmed and then remove the lid and fry for some crispness.
What fats should I use for cooking these sausages?
My personal preference is this clean pork lard but I’ve also used goat butter and this unrefined coconut oil.
Here’s the recipe-
Clean Cinnamon Apple Breakfast Sausage
Delieciously tender, juicy breakfast sausages with no added sweeteners. Egg free, dairy free and grain free too.
Ingredients
- 1.5 lb ground turkey or pork (or mix of both)
- 3/4 cup shredded apples
- 3/4 tsp cinnamon
- 3/4 tsp fennel
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 3/4 tsp sage
- 1 to 1 1/2 tsp of salt
- Few grinds of black pepper
- 1-3 tbs fat of choice for frying
Instructions
- Shred your apples.
- Add all ingredients into large bowl.
- Mix well, I usually use my hands.
- Heat cast iron skillet on medium heat and add in 1 tbs of fat.
- Form meat mixture into golf ball sized flattened patties.
- Add to preheated skillet, I usually cook about 7 at a time in my 12 inch skillet. Try not to over crowd.
- Once half ways cooked through, flip over. This takes about 3-4 minutes usually.
- Cook on remaining side until they are done (another 3 or so minutes)
- Add more oil if needed before cooking the rest of your meat. I find that I need to use a decent amount of oil to get a nice browned sausage result.
- Enjoy!
Notes
To freeze, cook as directed and freeze in glass containers once cooled. Remove from freezer when ready to use, add a little bit of water into medium-low pan and heat sausages up. When warmed through you can fry them up a little for some added crispness as they may be a bit soggy from reheating.
PIN THIS FOR LATER…
I love this clean recipe. The ingredients are simple but makes for a delicious breakfast. Works perfectly for my way of eating. I’ll be giving this a try.
Awesome, Esther! I hope you enjoy them as much as we do here.