Homemade chicken breakfast sausage?? Yes! It’s as easy as making taco meat! Also perfect for meal prep -- cook it loose or in patties for meals during the week.
If you have mental images of meat grinders and sausage stuffing machines, please send those away. Sausage is simply ground up meat mixed with seasonings, and while we’re not making sausage links, my version uses ground chicken and simple spices you probably already have in your cupboard! It’s a lighter, less greasy protein option than traditional pork breakfast sausage.
I'll show you how to make it into patties, cook into crumbles, and I’ll give you tips for making tasty breakfast bowls. (I mean, really… you can eat these all day long. They’re that good.)
Why You'll Love This Chicken Breakfast Sausage Recipe
Making homemade chicken breakfast sausage was a revelation to me. It's hard to find good quality breakfast sausage without additives or extra... "stuff"
It’s a perfect addition to scrambles, omelets and breakfast bowls! One of three things I could eat everyday is BREAKFAST BOWLS!
What do I mean by breakfast bowls? Any combination of hash browns, roasted vegetables, homemade breakfast sausage, bacon, eggs (fried/scrambled/whatevs) and something creamy like avocado or a dressing of sorts. Oh, and hot sauce. Always hot sauce.
(Or, if we're talking sweet breakfast bowls, I love variations on chia bowls like in this recipe - Beet Brownie Bowls. But lately I feel a lot better -- and less munchy during the day-- if my breakfast is savory.)
Ingredients for Homemade Breakfast Chicken Sausage
Just ground chicken and a few seasonings. That's it!
I found some organic ground chicken at Costco for this, but you could use ground turkey or ground pork. Personally, I find ground turkey too dry and ground pork too greasy, so I like to combine them. Ground chicken doesn't seem to be quite as dry to me.
Beef has too strong of a flavor, I think. And might be too heavy for breakfast. Or not? Don't people eat steak and eggs for breakfast? I've never had a desire to eat a steak for breakfast.
Chicken Breakfast Sausage Recipe Tools
Non-stick skillets are fine, but mine has seen better days and needs to be replaced.
I like GreenPans the most. I have a couple of 8" pans and this 10" and 12" set of pans. The bigger ones I replace every other year. The smaller ones seems to last longer and are my favorite pans for making crepes.
I used my big stainless skillet to cook these patties. If you have trouble with meat sticking to stainless pans, here are a couple of tips:
How to Make Ground Chicken Sausage Recipe
- Put the ground meat into a mixing bowl. Add the spices and use your hands, or a spoon, to incorporate the seasonings throughout the meat. Try not to squish the meat in your fists or it'll get “mealy”. Just gently use your fingers to toss it around. It might make it easier to refrigerate the meat for a bit before forming them.
- Heat a skillet with enough oil (I use avocado oil) to lightly coat the pan. Once the pan is really hot, add the meat until cooked throughout. I like breaking it up with a spatula until it's crumbly and coated with caramelized edges.
- Serve with your choice of breakfast goodies.
Tips for cooking Breakfast Chicken Sausage in a Stainless Steel Pan
- Use enough oil. I know a lot of us are still stuck in the fat-phobic mindset of 30 years ago, but you need enough oil to lightly coat the whole pan. You don't have to have an inch of oil in there.
- Make sure the pan is really hot before you put the meat in. Whatever oil or fat you use should start rippling subtly. Not smoking, though.
- Don't touch the meat after you put it in the pan. At least for a few minutes. During that time the meat will form a little crust on the bottom. You want that crust. It allows you to move the meat without it sticking. And that caramelization is super tasty.
- If stuff sticks anyway, just keep cooking and flipping, adding a little more oil if you need it. If it gets ridiculous, add a little broth or water to the skillet and stir it around with a spatula to loosen stuff from the pan.
OR you could toss all the meat in the pan and cook it loose. This is what I prefer. And I like to cook it for a long time so there are a lot of crispy, caramelized bits.
And that's it!
How to Store and Reheat Breakfast Chicken Sausage
Store any leftovers in a lidded container for up to a week.
To reheat, I highly suggest tossing the cold chicken sausage into a skillet and warming it that way. If you’re in a pinch you can always microwave it, too.
What to Serve with Ground Chicken Sausage
Easy, right? In that bowl up there I added some roasted sweet potatoes tossed in my Sweet Potato Fry Seasoning, a runny egg, part of an avocado, and a few shakes of Chalula hot sauce. Steve likes putting sauerkraut on his, too. I do, too, sometimes. But most mornings I'm not ready for sauerkraut that early.
Ground Chicken Sausage FAQs
Breakfast sausage usually has a stronger black pepper flavor. Maybe a sprinkling of thyme, sage, or fennel. It's usually pretty simply seasoned.
More Easy Breakfast Skillet Recipes on Perry's Plate
My Potato Chorizo Hash is another breakfast skillet favorite and makes delicious breakfast bowls!
Brussel Sprout Hash uses leftover chopped ham and shredded Brussels for a surprisingly delicious hash for such simple ingredients.
I love the smoky-sweet combo in this Bacon and Sweet Potato Hash. Bacon is always king.
Do crepes count as a skillet meal? lol Because Gluten-Free Crepes are always a favorite around here.
(Not to mention the Chocolate Crepes, too.)
If you make one of my recipes, be sure to post it on social media and tag me at @perrysplate or #perrysplate so I can send you some love!
Chicken Breakfast Sausage Recipe
Making your own homemade breakfast sausage is just as easy as making taco meat! It's perfect for meal prep -- cook it loose or in patties for meals during the week. It even freezes well!
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds ground chicken (or turkey or pork or a combo)
- 1 ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon dried minced onion (or ¼ teaspoon onion powder)
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon dried sage
- ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
- Pinch (or more) of cayenne pepper
Instructions
- Put the ground meat into a mixing bowl. Add the spices and use your hands to incorporate the seasonings throughout the meat. Try not to squish the meat in your fists or it'll get mealy. Just gently use your fingers to toss it around.
- Heat a skillet to medium-high heat and cook the meat, breaking it up with a spatula until it's crumbly and coated with caramelized edges, about 20 minutes.
- Serve with your choice of breakfast goodies.
Notes
Instructions for making patties:
- Form the seasoned, raw meat into 12-14 1 ½-2 inch patties and put them on a plate.
- Heat a skillet with enough oil (I use avocado oil) to lightly coat the pan. Make sure the pan is really hot before the patties go on.
- Cook half of the patties at a time, leaving them untouched for the first 2-3 minutes until a crust forms on the bottom. Flip and continue cooking them until they're cooked through and firm when you press the centers.
- Transfer to a plate and continue cooking the rest of the patties, adding a little more oil, if needed.
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