We love breakfast sausage around here! For our morning protein I alternate between breakfast sausage, bacon, eggs and my raw liver smoothie. I prefer to make our breakfast sausage since then I know exactly what’s going into it (no artificial flavors, preservatives or nitrates here!)
I typically make my Chicken and Apple breakfast sausage which is really tasty, but recently I’ve been scheming ways to get more greens into our diet. I had some frozen spinach on hand, so I decided to give that a whirl. The result is these tasty (and healthy!) little morsels. Unlike the Chicken and Apple breakfast sausages which have a hint of sweetness to them due to the apple, these ones are very savory. If you prefer a hint of sweetness, you could try adding a tablespoon of maple syrup or honey.
Chicken and Spinach Breakfast Sausage
1 lb ground chicken thigh meat
1 cup frozen chopped spinach (ended up being ¾ cup by the time it defrosted)
1 teaspoon dried sage
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
3/4 – 1 teaspoon sea salt (I find 1 teaspoon is a little too salty but 3/4 is not quite enough!)
Scant 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 egg
Pinch cayenne pepper (optional)
1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Add ingredients into a food processor and blend.
3. Form mixture into patties on a parchment-lined baking sheet.*
4. Bake for 10-12 minutes each side.
Makes 18-20.
*Note: You could also cook these in a skillet, but I find baking them to be quicker and easier although you don’t get the same level of appealing “browning”.
Linking to: Real Food Wednesdays, Healthy 2day Wednesdays, Whole Food Wednesday, Allergy Free Wednesdays, Full Plate Thursdays, Simple Lives Thursday, Pennywise Platter Thursdays, Fight Back Friday, Freaky Friday, Fresh Bites Friday, Friday Food Flicks, Foodie Friday, Spinach Seasonal Recipe Round Up, Monday Mania, Make Your Own Mondays, Inspire Me Monday, Homestead Barnhop, Real Food 101, Fat Tuesday, Traditional Tuesdays, Scratch Cookin’ Tuesday, The Gathering Spot, Hearth and Soul Hop
Are you kidding me?
That’s all I need to do to make sausage patties?
No way.
I like the baking idea. We like things that are brown, but sometimes letting the grease splatters happen inside the oven rather than on the stove is okay, too.
I’m so glad I read this
Yes, that’s it! It really is that simple! To serve, I reheat them in a pan with a little oil, and that gives them a bit of browning. Thanks Dana!
Debbie, I can’t wait to try this awesome recipe for Chicken and Spinach Breakfast Sausage. This will be a special breakfast treat. Hope you have a Very Special Week End and thank you so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday.
Come Back Soon!
Miz Helen
Hi Debbie,
I just love the addition of spinach in there! I am making these for Mother’s Day! I love homemade sausage (better yet, maybe my husband will make them)!!
Have a beautiful Mother’s Day Debbie, and thank you for sharing again with us this week on AFW.
Hugs,
-Amber
It better be your hubby doing the cooking for you on Mother’s Day! I hope you enjoy the sausages, and I hope you have a truly wonderful Mother’s Day too!
This sounds like such a delicious and healthy breakfast. Thanks for linking up to Healthy 2Day Wednesday, and come back next time to see if you were featured!
Thanks Debbie. What a yummy recipe. I think I will try both versions. Have you ever done this with turkey? Just curious.
Yes, I made a turkey version just recently! I’m not a fan of the “turkey taste” personally, but I thought the sausage was still very tasty.
Great for breakfast but I could totally see myself putting this is a bun or serving this with a salad for lunch!
Thanks for sharing this with the real food community at Whole Food Wednesdays.
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Do you think these would work without the egg? Would I need to sub something else? They look great!
I haven’t tried making this without the egg, but I think it would probably be ok, especially if you cooked them in the oven because they’d be less likely to stick and break apart. But you’d probably need to substitute some kind of moisture otherwise the mixture might be too thick to mix properly…maybe try adding a tiny bit of chicken broth when mixing them.
Thank you for your submission on Nourishing Treasures’ Make Your Own! Monday link-up.
Check back later tonight when the new link-up is running to see if you were one of the top 3 featured posts!
These look delicious! Do you grind the chicken or do you buy it ground?
I buy the chicken already ground. Would love to be able to grind my own….maybe oneday!