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These ground chicken apple sausage patties are simple to prepare at a moment’s notice, and make a lovely breakfast, lunch, or dinner protein option! Enjoy them throughout the week for meal prep, or savor them on the weekends.
Sausage is one of the few categories of food about which I am admittedly picky.
It can’t be overly fatty, salty, sweet, or herb-forward. Listen, I’ve got standards.
That is where this Chicken Apple Sausage recipe comes in. It is lean yet still flavorful with the perfect balance of sweet and savory flavors with no artificial ingredients. And your taste buds don’t get overwhelmed by an overabundance of herbs.
For the best experience, I sauté the onion and apple prior to adding it to the meat so that the flavors are soft yet bold and the texture is also soft so that you aren’t biting into an alarming texture.
This simple recipe comes together in 30 minutes or less, making it a convenient option to toss together on a weekend morning or any busy weeknight. I employ it as a breakfast sausage, but it easily doubles as dinner sausage too!
Plus, you can find the simple ingredients at all grocery stores.
Ingredients for Chicken and Apple Sausage
Ground Chicken: The reason we’re all here! Pick up some ground chicken from the grocery store to make your chicken apple sausage patties.
Fresh Apple: Pick your favorite kind of apple. I enjoy apples that are both sweet and a little sour, such as envy apples or honey crisp apples.
Yellow Onion and Fresh Garlic: Onion and garlic sets the savory tone to create the perfect balance of sweet and savory flavor.
Pure Maple Syrup: A little sweetness complements the apple, enhancing the apple portion of the flavor profile. Brown sugar works too.
Ground Cinnamon: Cinnamon signifies to your taste buds that you’re enjoying an apple adventure. Without it, the apple flavor is not complete!
Celery Powder: If you have it on hand, add it for a classic sausage flavor. If you don’t have it, skip it, because it is rare you will ever make another recipe that calls for celery powder.
Sea Salt: Season the patties with salt to lift up all of the flavors.
Avocado Oil: Used to sauté the onion and apple and to cook the patties. A high temperature cooking oil like avocado oil is paramount here so that it doesn’t burn during the cooking process.
Ways to Customize
- To make chicken apple sausage links, use natural pork casing to stuff the chicken mixture inside.
- For a deeper concentration of apple flavor, add apple cider to the apple mixture and cook it down until the majority of it has evaporated.
- If you have fennel seed on hand and you enjoy the flavor, add 1/4 tsp.
How to Make Chicken Apple Sausage
Heat the avocado oil in a large skillet over medium heat and add the chopped onion, Sauté, stirring occasionally, until the onion has softened, about 3 minutes.
Add in the chopped apple and minced garlic and continue sautéing until the garlic is fragrant and the apple has softened slightly, about 3 to 5 minutes.
Remove this apple mixture from the heat and stir in the pure maple syrup, celery powder (if adding), ground cinnamon, and sea salt. Set aside to cool for 10 minutes.
Once the onion and apple mixture has cooled, transfer the ground chicken to a large bowl along with the mixture.
Use your hands to mash everything together until the onion and apples are well distributed throughout the ground chicken.
Form patties out of the chicken mixture, making any size sausage patties you like.
Place a cast iron skillet on the stove top and add enough avocado oil to generously coat the surface (about 3 tablespoons). Heat to medium high heat and allow the skillet to heat for a few minutes.
Carefully place the chicken sausage patties on the hot skillet in a single layer, giving them a little space in between. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, then flip to the other side and cook for another 3 to 4 minutes, about 8-10 minutes total.
Continue cooking and flipping until the patties reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees fahrenheit. To check for doneness, insert a digital thermometer into the center of a patty.
Serve chicken sausage with your choice of eggs, bacon, salad of field greens, sweet potato hash, and any other side dishes you desire for a balanced breakfast.
Storage Tips
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. You can also freeze sausage in a freezer bag for up to 2 months.
- The next time you’re craving homemade sausage for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, whip up this great option! With low prep time and cook time, it comes together in 30 minutes or less, can be made in bulk, and is perfect for meal prep.
- Looking for more high-protein breakfast recipes? Try some of these gems.
More High Protein Breakfast Recipes
- Cottage Cheese Breakfast Casserole
- Ham and Spinach Quiche Recipe
- Broccoli Cheddar Egg Muffins
- Asparagus and Feta Breakfast Casserole
Chicken Apple Sausage
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp avocado oil
- 1 medium-sized apple, chopped into small pieces*
- ½ cup yellow onion, chopped
- 2 large cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tsp pure maple syrup
- ½ tsp celery powder, optional
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp sea salt, to taste
- 1 pound ground chicken
Instructions
- Heat the avocado oil in a large skillet over medium heat and add the chopped onion, Sauté, stirring occasionally, until the onion has softened, about 3 minutes. Add in the chopped apple and minced garlic and continue sautéing until the garlic is fragrant and the apple has softened slightly, about 3 to 5 minutes. Remove this apple mixture from the heat and stir in the pure maple syrup, celery powder (if adding), ground cinnamon, and sea salt. Set aside to cool for 10 minutes.
- Once the onion and apple mixture has cooled, transfer the ground chicken to a large bowl along with the mixture. Use your hands to mash everything together until the onion and apples are well distributed throughout the ground chicken.
- Form patties out of the chicken mixture, making any size sausage patties you like.
- Place a cast iron skillet on the stove top and add enough avocado oil to generously coat the surface (about 3 tablespoons). Heat to medium high heat and allow the skillet to heat for a few minutes.
- Carefully place the chicken sausage patties on the hot skillet in a single layer, giving them a little space in between. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, then flip to the other side and cook for another 3 to 4 minutes, about 8-10 minutes total. Continue cooking and flipping until the patties reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees fahrenheit. To check for doneness, insert a digital thermometer into the center of a patty.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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