This savory Sausage Roll Wreath with cranberry sauce is the perfect pull-apart Christmas appetizer! Flaky, buttery puff pastry encases a flavorful thyme, fennel & sage seasoned sausage mixture, with a layer of Dijon mustard for an extra punch of flavor. This is such a show-stopping recipe that's surprisingly easy to make!
This is such a fun and festive appetizer for the holidays.
And as someone that didn't really think I liked sausage very much, I have to admit that I ate almost half of this the first time we made it. (My husband ate the other half, so I guess this also works as a main meal, too!)
It's perfect for serving at holiday parties. You can assemble the sausage roll ahead of time and refrigerate it for a few hours until you're ready to bake it. Your guests will absolutely love this one!
We like to serve it with a cranberry chutney that has a hint of orange liqueur, but it would also be great with a mustard sauce or even ketchup.
If you're throwing a party this holiday season, pair this sausage roll wreath with our Cranberry Orange Whiskey Cocktail or our Christmas Old Fashioned.
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What You'll Need to Make This Recipe
- Pork sausage: We use unseasoned ground pork sausage and add our own spices and herbs.
- Aromatics: A base of onion, celery and garlic provide lots of flavor.
- Seasonings: The main flavor comes from toasted fennel seeds, sage and thyme.
- Worcestershire sauce: For extra savory depth.
- Dijon mustard: Don't skip this โ it really brings everything together.
- Puff pastry: Every brand is a bit different size-wise, so you may have to patch two pieces together with egg wash to get the right sized rectangle.
- Cranberry sauce: Based on our orange cranberry sauce recipe that we make for Thanksgiving every year!
How to Make This Recipe
STEP 1: Sautรฉ the onion for a few minutes, then the celery and garlic until softened. Let it cool slightly before adding to the pork mixture.
STEP 2: Mix together the ground pork, breadcrumbs, onion mixture, salt, pepper, sage, fennel seeds, thyme, onion powder, garlic powder, and Worcestershire sauce until evenly incorporated.
STEP 3: Transfer the pork mixture to a long piece of plastic wrap (20 inches+ in length), forming it into a log, then wrap it up and roll it into an 18 inch log.
STEP 4: Roll the puff pastry into a rectangle measuring 18x10-inches (45x25-cm).
STEP 5: Spread the dijon mustard into a strip measuring about 2 inches (5cm) wide down the middle of the puff pastry.
STEP 6: Place the sausage log atop the dijon, in the center of the puff pastry. Fold one side of the puff pastry over the sausage, tucking it under. Brush the edge of the other side of puff pastry with egg wash, then fold it over the sausage and crimp the edge with your fingers.
STEP 7: Turn the log over so it's seam side down, then cut ยพths of the way through the side of the sausage roll every 1.5 inches. Carefully transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet.
STEP 8: Turn the open ends towards each other to form a circle, then brush a little egg wash on one end of the puff pastry, and pinch them together. Gently turn each section of the sausage roll to expose the sausage, so it looks more like a wreath.
STEP 9: Brush any exposed puff pastry with egg wash, sprinkle with sesame seeds, and bake at 400หF for 30-35 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the pork reaches 160หF / 70หC.
STEP 10: While the sausage roll is in the oven, simmer the cranberry sauce ingredients for 10-15 minutes, until thickened. Serve warm with the sausage roll.
Storage
If you have any leftovers (I highly doubt you will!), keep them in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. You can also freeze them for up to 3 months.
To reheat, bake them for 10-20 minutes at 350หF, until heated through. An air fryer works great for this and only takes 3-5 minutes to heat through! (Times may vary if you're heating them straight from the freezer.)
Lexi's Best Tips and Tricks
- Keep the puff pastry cold: In order to get those beautiful flaky layers, it's important that your puff pastry stays cold. If it's starting to get warm/too soft while you assemble the sausage roll, pop the entire sausage roll back in the fridge for 15-30 minutes before baking.
- Use a sharp knife: If your knife is dull, it will be very difficult to cut through the sausage roll without smushing it. We use a super sharp serrated knife and gently saw back and forth to retain a perfect shape.
- Pre-shape the sausage: Using plastic wrap to shape the 18-inch sausage log is so much easier than shaping it by hand on top of the puff pastry. Plus, you'll get much more uniform distribution. You can even make the pork mixture, form the log wrapped in plastic, and keep it in the fridge for 3-4 days before baking this.
More holiday appetizers to try...
๐ Recipe
Sausage Roll Wreath
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: Serves 8
Description
This savory Sausage Roll Wreath with cranberry sauce is the perfect pull-apart Christmas appetizer! Flaky, buttery puff pastry encases a flavorful thyme, fennel & sage seasoned sausage mixture, with a layer of Dijon mustard for an extra punch of flavor. This is such a show-stopping recipe that's surprisingly easy to make!ย
Ingredients
For the Sausage Roll Wreath:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced (~1 cup)
- 1 stalk celery, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 lb (450g) ground pork
- ยพ cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ยฝ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon ground sage
- 1-2 teaspoons toasted fennel seed, to taste
- ยฝ teaspoon dried thyme
- ยฝ teaspoon onion powder
- ยฝ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- ~12 ounces puff pastry, thawed in the refrigerator (we used 1 ยฝ sheets of this puff pastry)
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds (optional)
For the cranberry sauce:
- 1 ยฝ cups fresh or frozen cranberries
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
- 2 tablespoons orange juice
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon orange liqueur (optional)
Instructions
For the sausage roll:
- Preheat your oven to 400หF / 205หC and line a large sheet pan with parchment paper.ย
- To a skillet over medium low heat, add the onion and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until softened. Add in the celery and garlic and cook for 3 more minutes, until fragrant. Transfer the mixture to a separate bowl to cool slightly.
- OPTIONAL: To a small skillet over low heat, add the fennel seeds and toast for 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until fragrant.
- To a large mixing bowl, add the ground pork, panko breadcrumbs, the cooled onion/celery/garlic mixture, salt, pepper, sage, fennel seeds, thyme, onion powder, garlic powder, and Worcestershire sauce. Use a spatula or your hands to mix everything together until evenly incorporated.
- For easier shaping, transfer the pork mixture to a long piece of plastic wrap (20 inches+ in length), forming it into a log, then wrapping it up and rolling it out with your hands until it's roughly 18 inches long.
- The puff pastry we use comes in two sheets. To seal them together, we place one sheet of puff pastry down on a lightly floured work surface, then cut another sheet of puff pastry in half. Brush the edge of the full sheet with the beaten egg, then overlap the half sheet and press down to combine the two sheets. Roll the puff pastry into a rectangle measuring 18x10-inches (45x25-cm).ย
- Use an offset spatula or a knife to spread the dijon mustard into a strip measuring about 2 inches (5cm) wide down the middle of the longer portion of the sheet.
- Unwrap the sausage log and place atop the dijon, in the center of the puff pastry.ย
- Fold one side of the puff pastry over the sausage, tucking it under. Brush the edge of the other side of puff pastry with egg wash, then fold it over the sausage and crimp the edge with your fingers. At this point, you'll have a log with two open ends.
- Turn the log over so it's seam side down, then cut ยพths of the way through the side of the sausage roll every 1.5 inches. You'll end up with 11-12 sections. Carefully transfer to the prepared baking sheet.ย
- Turn the open ends towards each other to form a circle, then brush a little egg wash on one end of the puff pastry, and pinch them together. Gently turn each section of the sausage roll to expose the sausage, so it looks more like a wreath.ย
- Brush any exposed puff pastry with egg wash, sprinkle with sesame seeds, and bake for 30-35 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the pork reaches 160หF / 70หC.
For the cranberry sauce:
- Add the cranberries, orange zest, orange juice, maple syrup and orange liqueur to a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir well and bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally.ย
- Cook for about 10-15 minutes, then use the back of a wooden spoon or a masher to gently mash any whole cranberries.
- Remove from heat and serve warm, or refrigerate before serving if preferred.
Notes
Store in airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.ย
To reheat, bake in an oven for 10-20 minutes at 350หF, or 3-5 minutes in a 350หF air fryer until heated through.ย
Keep the puff pastry cold: In order to get those beautiful flaky layers, it's important that your puff pastry stays cold. If it's starting to get warm/too soft while you assemble the sausage roll, pop the entire sausage roll back in the fridge for 15-30 minutes before baking.ย
- Prep Time: 40 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Category: Appetizer
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: British
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 sausage roll
- Calories: 321
- Sugar: 4 g
- Sodium: 290.2 mg
- Fat: 20.7 g
- Carbohydrates: 23.7 g
- Fiber: 1.6 g
- Protein: 9.9 g
Sheri says
Just what I was looking for. We are English & a sausage roll is a fav. This is Fun for Holidays!!