Classic Herb AIP Breakfast Sausage (Allergen free, Paleo)
An AIP breakfast sausage that is so delicious everyone in your family will want it. This recipe is egg-free, nightshade free and 100% compatible with the Autoimmune Protocol (AIP) and Paleo diet. And best of all, it goes well with a large number of side dishes and can be used for any meal or as a snack.
And what I really love about this recipe is that it is so easy to prepare batches ahead of time to help with meal prep. Sometimes we fry up a big batch of ingredients and then freeze them, other times we mix a few batches and freeze them, and when we need some sausage, we defrost one of the premixed batches and fry them up. Anything to make life a little bit easier.
These AIP breakfast sausages pair really well with almost anything. For some carbs I like to have them with either plain microwaved sweet potato or sweet potato patties. And to add some veg we like to add some sauteed mushroom or zucchini or just simple mushrooms.
📸 RECIPE SNAPSHOT
In This Post
Why You will Love this Recipe
What can I have for breakfast while on the AIP elimination diet? This is a question I see so many people ask, and that is a question that I struggled with when I first started with the core elimination diet of the Autoimmune Protocol. And these simple sausages using classic herbs can be the answer to some of your breakfast struggles.
These breakfast sausages use herbs and spices that you most likely already have in your pantry. No need to buy fresh, but of course if you have fresh, that is definitely an option.
These are also super easy to prepare ahead of time. Either keep the mixture ready in the fridge or freezer for when you want to fry some up. Or fry them all up and then freeze the sausages. So many options to help you prepare food and stay ahead of things. Food prep on AIP can be difficult and cumbersome, so hopefully these sausages make your life a little bit easier.
Plus you can eat these any time of the day. While I call them breakfast sausages, I have had these for lunch, dinner and even as snacks. And if you don’t want to always eat pork sausages, mix it up with some beef meatballs, mixed with sweet potato and spinach.
Ingredients You will Need
The ingredient list is very simple for this recipe. Ground pork is of course the main ingredient. For flavor add some dried thyme, rosemary, parsley and sage and a little bit of salt and garlic powder.
To add some sweetness you will need some maple syrup and some apple cider vinegar to balance that sweetness.
The only other fresh ingredient you need is a shallot. The shallot adds some sweetness, improves the texture and adds moisture to the sausage. Shallots are milder in flavor than onions, and because shallots have smaller and thinner rings, they are easier to chop finer than regular onions.
How to make this Classic Herb AIP Breakfast Sausage Recipe
Step 1: Place the ground pork in a large mixing bowl and flatten it out all around the base and sides. This will make mixing the ingredients in a lot easier.
Fine dice the shallot.
Step 2: In a small bowl, measure out the dry salt, thyme, rosemary, parsley, sage and garlic powder and mix them all up.
In another small mixing bowl measure out the maple syrup and apple cider vinegar.
Sprinkle the herbs and spices, shallot and wet ingredients evenly over the surface of the ground pork.
Step 3: Mix it all together by cautiously folding and pressing until everything is evenly distributed. Try not to overwork the mixture as this could lead to a tough end product.
Step 4: To divide the mixture you can either eyeball it and make 12 evenly sized little balls, or you can weigh the entire mixture, divide by 12 and then weigh out each portion. The benefit of weighing the portions out is that it will make for evenly sized patties that will cook more evenly. Roll into balls and then flatten.
Step 5: With the cooktop on Medium/High, preheat a large cast iron skillet or other suitable pan that can tolerate high heat. Drizzle enough olive oil or avocado oil to coat the bottom of the skillet or pan.
Once hot, place some patties in the skillet. Our skillet can take 6 patties, without crowding them. Cook for 4 minutes. With a spatula, gently press down on the patties so they make good contact with the skillet. After 4 minutes you should see some good browning on the bottom.
Step 6: Flip them over for another 4 minutes. Do not press these ones down too hard. You do not want to squeeze all the moisture out.
After 4 minutes, measure the internal temperature. It should be 165-180°F (74-82°C). Depending on your cooktop you may need to add a minute or so. See Note for cooking time and temperature guidance below.
Repeat for the second batch or until all patties have been cooked.
Allow the patties to rest for 5 minutes on a warm plate, before serving.
Our Notes and Tips
You can use fresh herbs instead. Use double the amount of fresh herbs as you would use dry herbs.
When you are ready to reintroduce foods, this is a great recipe to trial some other spices. Add a little bit of black pepper. Or if you can tolerate nightshades, paprika or chilli flakes could be quite tasty.
A Note on Cooking Temperature and Time
As each cooktop and pan react differently, you may have to fine tune your temperature setting. You are aiming for a nice browning and an internal temperature of 165-180°F (74-82°C) in 8 to 9 minutes or so.
If they start to burn, use a lower temperature. If they are too pale, either turn up the heart a bit or increase the time per side.
Food safe internal temperature for ground pork is 160°F (71°C), but by going a touch further you render more fat and connective tissue which gives you a better mouth feel. This also cooks the shallot a little bit more, making it a bit sweeter.
Recipe
Classic Herb AIP Pork Sausage
Equipment
- large mixing bowl
- cutting board
- sharp kitchen knife
- frying pan or skillet
- Spatula
- 2 small mixing bowls
Ingredients
- 500 grams ground pork (or 1 pound)
- ½ cup shallot (finely diced)
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon thyme (dried)
- ½ teaspoon rosemary (dried and crushed)
- 1 teaspoon parsley (dried)
- 1 teaspoon sage (dried)
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon olive oil or avocado oil for frying
Instructions
Prepare the Ingredients
- Fine dice the shallot.
- In a small bowl, measure out the dry salt, thyme, rosemary, parsley, sage and garlic powder and mix them all up.
- In another small mixing bowl measure out the maple syrup and apple cider vinegar.
- Place the ground pork in a large mixing bowl and flatten it out all around the base and sides.
- Sprinkle the herbs and spices, shallot and wet ingredients evenly over the surface of the ground pork.
- Mix it all together by cautiously folding and pressing until everything is evenly distributed. Try not to overwork the mixture as this could lead to a tough end product.
- To divide the mixture you can either eyeball it and make 12 evenly sized little balls, or you can weigh the entire mixture, divide by 12 and then weigh out each portion. The benefit of weighing the portions out is that it will make for evenly sized patties that will cook more evenly.
- Roll into balls and then flatten into patties about 1/2“ think (or about 12mm).
Cooking Instructions
- With the cooktop on Medium/High, preheat a large cast iron skillet or other suitable pan that can tolerate high heat.
- Drizzle enough olive oil or avocado oil to coat the bottom of the skillet or pan.
- Once hot, place some patties in the skillet. Our skillet can take 6 patties, without crowding them. Cook for 4 minutes. With a spatula, gently press down on the patties so they make good contact with the skillet. After 4 minutes you should see some good browning on the bottom.
- Flip them over for another 4 minutes. Do not press these ones down too hard. You do not want to squeeze all the moisture out.
- After 4 minutes, measure the internal temperature. It should be 165-180°F (74-82°C). Depending on your cooktop you may need to add a minute or so. See Note for cooking time and temperature guidance below.
- Repeat for the second batch or until all patties have been cooked.
- Allow the patties to rest for 5 minutes on a warm plate, before serving.
Notes
A Note on Cooking Temperature and Time
As each cooktop and pan react differently, you may have to fine tune your temperature setting. You are aiming for a nice browning and an internal temperature of 165-180°F (74-82°C) in 8 to 9 minutes or so. If they start to burn, use a lower temperature. If they are too pale, either turn up the heart a bit or increase the time per side. Food safe internal temperature for ground pork is 160°F (71°C), but by going a touch further you render more fat and connective tissue which gives you a better mouth feel. This also cooks the shallot a little bit more, making it a bit sweeter.Made this recipe and loved it? Please leave a ⭐star rating and a comment below. I love to receive feedback and would love to connect with you! Snap a picture and tag me on Instagram or find me on Pinterest.
