Air Fryer Mini Puff Pastry Sausage Rolls
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How many of you have had sausage rolls? If you haven’t yet, you’re really missing out! My life has changed after having sausage rolls, and I always crave them! They’re easy to make and unbelievably delicious! They’re always a hit at dinner parties and in my opinion I think they’re fantastic for Christmas, Thanksgiving - any holiday feast!
If you’re subscribed to me on YouTube, you may know that August has been a month of appetizers, and I called the open collab #hotshots2022! There’s still a few days to participate, so if you have a YouTube channel then I highly encourage you to do so! Even if you’re not on YouTube, then you can still join in on the fun! I explain more about how having a theme can really push your boundaries and get you excited to get creative in the kitchen in my free Making Cooking Fun!! guide! Perhaps you’ve always wanted to make your own sausage rolls! Now is the time to check it off your bucket list as part of the Live to Cook one-month challenge! Sign up to my newsletter to get the free downloads, and don’t forget to tag me on Instagram to share your amazing creations with me!
To see the full picture on how I make these Air Fryer Mini Puff Pastry Sausage Rolls in the oven and in the air fryer, then don’t forget to check out the video at the bottom of this post! I love to share the videos so you’ve got all the tools you need for guaranteed success when you give it a try at home! Let’s get cooking!
What’s a Sausage Roll?
A sausage roll is a savoury British snack recipe where sausage - typically pork sausage - is wrapped in puff pastry, topped with an egg wash or milk, and then baked in the oven. Sausage rolls can be very long served as a meal or they can be mini to be served as a snack or appetizer. This recipe will be making mini sausage rolls, but the principle is the same if you wanted to make large sausage rolls!
Sausage rolls are also popular in other European countries and in Australia. An Italian sausage roll is actually made with pizza dough! I’ve done this before and while it was delicious, there’s something about the flaky buttery puff pastry that makes me love the British/Australian sausage roll so much! On the other hand, the American version of a sausage roll is “pigs in a blanket,” where a hot dog is wrapped in crescent roll pastry. Admittedly, I’ve never had pigs in a blanket, but they look pretty tasty and I would love to try them soon!
You can make your own sausage or use a store-bought sausage for this recipe. I like to make my own because I have control over the flavours and freshness! I’ll be showing how to make your own sausage here. You can also make your own puff pastry if you really want to, but that’s extremely tedious and we don’t have time for that! I recommend you get the frozen store-bought ones unless you are extremely ambitious!
Why You’ll love this air Fryer sausage roll recipe
Sausage rolls are one of my all-time favourite appetizers! They’re perfect for any party! I find them pretty easy to make when you have your sausage ready to go! Once you start making them, you’ll want to make them for any occasion!
Here’s why you need to make Air Fryer Mini Puff Pastry Sausage Rolls for your next gathering!
Fast: If your sausage is ready, you just need to roll the sausage into the puff pastry and air fry! The air fryer cooks the sausage rolls significantly faster than the oven!
Minimal clean-up: All you need to do is clean the basket, a knife, cutting board, and a pastry brush!
Crowd-pleaser: Not to brag but whenever I make sausage rolls, they’re always well-praised! Everyone loves a good sausage roll especially when you have a homemade sausage that’s so flavourful and fresh! They’re so addictive that I bet you can’t stop at one!
Make-ahead friendly: I encourage you to air fry the sausage rolls fresh for the most delicious results. However, you can get your sausage rolls shaped and ready to air fry - prep them and then throw them in! I’ll explain more how to cook frozen sausage rolls later on in this post, so be sure to read on!
Is Puff Pastry the Same as Filo/Phyllo Dough?
No, it’s not. Both puff pastry and filo dough are made by layering the dough, however puff pastry is made with butter and filo dough is almost fat free. Instead, you will add the butter or oil to the filo dough before baking. You need to use puff pastry for a classic sausage roll because the butter helps the pastry get fluffy and rise up in the oven, which is why the dough is called “puff pastry!” On the other hand, filo dough becomes crispy on the outside. You could use filo dough if you want, but cook times will be different and technically you won’t have a sausage roll - you’ll have a completely different appetizer made!
Do You Cook the Sausage Before Making Sausage Rolls?
No, you don’t. We’ll add the sausage directly onto our puff pastry, and everything will cook together in the air fryer.
How to ROll Sausage Rolls?
Flour is your friend, be sure to dust the work surface with flour and place the pastry over it. Then, act quickly to add the beat and then gently roll the pastry into a tight cylinder.
What Temperature Do You Air Fry Sausage rolls?
350 Fahrenheits does wonders!
How Long Does it take to cook sausage rolls in the air Fryer?
Just around the 20 minute mark at 350 F, however this can be different based on your air fryer model.
Do You Cut The Sausage ROlls before or after baking?
If you know you will be cutting it to serve, its wiser to mark the pastry before baking. This will prevent any juices from drying out if you were planning to bake it pre-cut into smaller pieces. It is also easier to cut puff pastry that’s already been marked.
What Air Fryer Do you Use?
I use the Ninja Foodi 6 Basket 2-in-1 Air Fryer. If you’re going to cook multiple appetizers, then this is an excellent air fryer to have! You can have different settings on the two baskets and time them so that they finish cooking together. This is extremely efficient and nothing will get cold! I definitely recommend this air fryer for that reason! For a more in-depth review of the air fryer, check out my video here.
Ingredients for Air Fryer Mini Puff Pastry Sausage Rolls
Time to review what we need to make our awesome Air Fryer Mini Puff Pastry Sausage Rolls! These ingredients include what’s required to make the sausage from scratch. To see all ingredient quantities and the complete instructions to save for later, scroll to the bottom of this post for the FULL PRINTABLE RECIPE CARD! You can also click the “Jump to Recipe” button to go directly to the recipe card. The card will also allow you to scale the recipe based on how many sausage rolls you want to make so that you know exactly how much sausage you need to make for the amount of puff pastry!
Frozen butter puff pastry: Unless you really want to make the entire sausage rolls from scratch, I recommend you get store-bought puff pastry. It will save you lots of time and hassle! You’ll need at least two rolls of puff pastry. Puff pastry is the best for this recipe because it’s so flaky and crispy, and the butter adds an incredible taste and texture.
Ground pork: Medium or lean ground pork works here. This is key to make our own sausage!
Bacon: We’ll cook up some bacon bits to add into our sausage. Your favourite type of bacon will work for this recipe.
Onion: Cooked with the bacon for the sausage.
Egg: You’ll need one egg to make the sausage and one egg to create an egg wash over the sausage roll before they air fry.
Parsley: Freshly chopped parsley will add tremendous flavour to your sausage!
How to Make Sausage Rolls in The Air Fryer
For the sausage
Finely dice the bacon and add to a cold pan. Turn the heat to medium and let the fat start to render. Cook the bacon until most of the fat has been rendered and the bacon has started to become crispy.
Add garlic and onions and stir well. Continue cooking until the onions have softened and the bacon has become crispy. Set the pan aside and let the mixture cool down.
In a large bowl, add the meat, egg, onion-bacon mixture, parsley, salt and pepper. Mix well until combined.
For the air fryer mini sausage rolls
Defrost the puff pastry in the refrigerator, it should take a few hours.
In another bowl, whisk 1 egg. This is your egg wash.
Dust your some parchment paper with flour and place the rolled out puff pastry sheet on top. Alternatively, you can dust the parchment paper the puff pastry was rolled in.
Cut the sheet in half to create 2 rectangles (10 inch by 5 inch) along with the parchment paper and separate the two halves.
Add 4-5 tablespoons of the sausage down the middle.
Brush the edges of the pastry with the egg wash.
Gently roll the pastry into a tight cylinder. Repeat the same with the other pieces of puff pastry. It's best to keep the other portions chilled to ensure you are able to roll the pastry without the dough becoming sticky.
Chill in the fridge or freezer in a baking sheet for 45 mins to 1 hour.
Once chilled the top with more egg wash. If you know you want to cut the sausage roll into smaller pieces, using a serrated knife, slice the top layer of the roll to mark the pieces.
Preheat the air fryer at 350 F for 5 minutes.
If required, cut the sausage roll in half to fit the basket. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown.
Let the sausage roll cool down for 10-15 minutes before slicing.
I Don’t Have An Air Fryer! How do I make Sausage ROlls in the Oven?
Preheat oven to 400 F. Place the sausage roll to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Bake for 35-45 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown.
Let the sausage roll cool down for 10-15 minutes before slicing.
Tips & Tricks For Mouthwatering sausage rolls
You can substitute the bacon with chorizo, ham and even Canadian bacon.
Always start cooking the bacon from a cold pan - this helps to render the bacon fat gently and get a better crisp on the bacon.
If freezing, form patties or your usual serving amount in separate weighed out freezer bags for ease and convenience later.
Puff pastry will start to warm up instantly as you start working with it. Be quick, use flour for dusting and chill any portions that don’t have an immediate use.
The egg wash helps give color to the final pastry. For a darker colour, you can use just egg yolk with a tsp of water to top the pastry.
Always use a serrated knife to cut puff pastry once baked.
ServinG Suggestions For Air Fryer Mini sausage rolls
I’m serving Air Fryer Mini Puff Pastry Sausage Rolls with my Classic Marinara Sauce - the sweetness of the tomatoes complements the savoury sausage rolls really well! Other great dipping sauces are:
Cheese Sauce, from my Creamy Cheese Fries recipe!
Honestly you can have the sausage rolls as an appetizer before pretty much any meal or just to munch on for a delicious savoury snack!
Can you make Air Fryer Mini sausage rolls in advance?
Yes, you definitely can! Sausage rolls are best served fresh, but you can certainly prep them. Simply add the sausage in the puff pastry, roll it up, and place in a plastic bag to freeze!
CAn I Cook Mini Sausage Rolls From Frozen in the air Fryer?
Yes for sure! You won’t need to defrost your sausage rolls - they cook just fine directly from frozen. The cook time may increase by 5-10 minutes
How to Store Air Fryer Mini Sausage Rolls
You can freeze raw sausage rolls as described above. However, if you have extra cooked sausage rolls, then place them in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator. Cooked sausage rolls will stay good in the fridge for about 3 days. To reheat the cooked sausage roll, place in the air fryer at 350 for two to three minutes, or until warmed through. You can also reheat the sausage rolls in the oven at 350 F, although this will take 5 to 10 minutes.
What If I have extra Sausage?
That’s no problem at all! I had some extra sausage, so what I did was form some patties to use in a Breakfast Sandwich or in a Farmer’s Wrap. You could also use sausage casing to turn this into breakfast sausages and enjoy it over the grill if you are ambitious. Check out my detailed recipe for the Pork & Bacon Sausage for even more storage and cooking instructions.
Additionally, you can leave the minced meat and freeze it in a plastic bag. Minced sausage is amazing to use in pasta, such as in my Baked Penne with Spicy Calabrian Pepper Sausage or Orecchiette with Spicy Italian Turkey Sausage - just substitute the Calabrian sausage with this one!
More Amazing Game Day Appetizer Recipes!
Watch how to make Air Fryer Mini Puff Pastry Sausage Rolls here:
Let me know what you think of this recipe in the comments! If you’ve tried this recipe, be sure to post it on social media and tag it with #cookingwithanadi and mention me @cookingwithanadi. Thank you!