These chicken breakfast sausage patties have all the same sausage flavor you love with a fraction of the fat and calories. Now you can have peppery, smoky breakfast sausage for just 60 calories a piece.
And if you think making your own sausage might be complicated, think again. Mix a few spices together, add to ground chicken, form patties like you’re making burgers, and throw ’em in a pan. That’s it!
Chicken Breakfast Sausage Ingredients and Substitutions
If you’re familiar with my recipes, you know I love using reduced fat pork sausage. While it’s a great ingredient, it’s still rather high in fat and calories—even for a reduced fat version.
These chicken sausage patties use a leaner source of meat in ground chicken. Not only is ground chicken much leaner, it takes on the breakfast sausage flavors really well.
In case you have trouble finding ground chicken, you’re welcome to use ground turkey or even ground pork. You may also be able to have chicken breast ground for you in the butcher section of your grocery store.
Chicken Breakfast Sausage Seasoning Recipe
After testing SO many spice blends, I think I finally nailed the classic breakfast sausage flavor. Here’s everything you’ll need:
- salt
- black pepper
- crushed red pepper
- smoked paprika
- allspice
- sage
- brown sugar
With all the testing, I’ll say that there’s plenty of wiggle room with the ingredients. I tried adding a bit of thyme, ground cloves, and sweet paprika without any failures. So, if you’re missing an ingredient, you can probably substitute something else and get pretty close.
The only ingredients I’d try to nail 100% would be the salt, black and red pepper, and brown sugar.
Side note: For another fun seasoning blend, check out my ground chicken chorizo (seasoning from scratch) or lean pork Mexican chorizo (pre-mixed chorizo seasoning option) recipes.
Tips for Cooking the Chicken Sausage
As I mention in the recipe notes below, stainless steel or cast iron will work best for creating a sear and crispy crust. A nonstick skillet should work just fine but if you’re lacking that fatty-like sausage exterior, this could be the culprit.
And in case you’re wondering if the oil is necessary, it’s not, but I highly recommend using it. The olive oil provides a ton of flavor and, once again, helps create the crust on the chicken breakfast sausage. You can, however, use another type of oil if you don’t have olive oil on hand.
Freezer Storage and Bulk Meal Prep Tips
I think making an even bigger batch is smart since this a more labor intensive breakfast recipe to begin with. It’s not much more effort to mix an extra pound or two of ground chicken with the seasoning blend and get a second pan going.
The sausage patties should refrigerate well for 3-4 days, and you can freeze them in an airtight container or bag for later. I would recommend placing small sheets of parchment paper between them inside whatever freezer container you use. That way they’re easy to separate and pop in an air fryer or microwave to reheat.
I always like to thaw proteins before reheating instead of reheating from frozen, if possible. So you might freeze the chicken sausage patties in smaller portions to easily transfer from the freezer to refrigerator the night before. This also makes it easier to submerge the bag or container in water for 30 minutes to thaw on the day of.
Healthy Breakfast Sandwiches and Other Ways to Serve Your Homemade Breakfast Sausage
These sausages make the perfect breakfast sandwich. Try my Greek yogurt biscuits or pair them with folded eggs to make Homemade McGriddles. Or feel free to keep it simple and serve this recipe up with a fried egg on toast or biscuits, or with a side of my air fried breakfast potatoes and peppers.
That should be plenty of inspiration. If you have any recipe questions, drop a comment below. And don’t forget to snap a pic of your healthy breakfast sausage and tag me on Instagram!
Chicken Breakfast Sausage Patties
Ingredients
- 1 lb Ground Chicken, I used 97/3
- 2 tsp Black Pepper
- 1 tsp Smoked Paprika
- 1/2-1 tsp Crushed Red Pepper
- 1/2 tsp Kosher Salt, or 1/4 tsp table salt
- 1/2 tsp Rubbed Sage
- 1/4 tsp Allspice
- 2 Tbsp 24g Swerve Brown Sugar (or dark brown sugar)*
- 1 Tbsp 16g Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Instructions
Making the Sausage Patties
- Mix the dry spices and brown sugar in a small bowl before adding to the ground chicken. Work the chicken and spices together until evenly mixed.
- Divide the ground chicken into 10 pieces (about 48 grams or 1.8 ounces each) and press between your palms to flatten.
Cooking the Chicken Breakfast Sausage
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat with the olive oil. (I used a 12" cast iron skillet. If you’re using a smaller skillet, you may need to cook in batches.)
- Once the oil is hot, carefully add the sausage patties to the skillet. Cook for 3-4 minutes or until the bottoms are a crispy brown. Flip each patty and cook for an additional 3-4 minutes or until the patties are cooked through and reach an internal temp of 165ºF. Transfer to a plate and let the sausage patties rest for a few minutes before serving.
Notes
- Each sausage patty has 0 WW SmartPoints (blue).
- With 92/8 ground chicken, each chicken breakfast sausage patty has 80 calories, 9g protein, 0g carbs, and 5g fat
- Check out my sausage gravy and sausage egg and cheese breakfast skillet casserole if you love the flavor of this breakfast sausage and want more ways to use it.
OMG these are sooooo good. I skipped the brown sugar once and then remade adding the brown sugar. Definitely the best combo of spices. These are on repeat as a staple at our house. Follow the recipe and definitely ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Wow! I loved how sweet but savory these little patties are! I made a batch to eat for breakfast. Froze half and kept the other half in the fridge! Worked perfectly for the egg white burritos!
This was my first time making homemade sausage. My son has sausage and toast every morning before school so I thought “why can’t I just make it myself.” Well I did and it is fantastic! The flavor is so good and my son likes it better than the store bought sausage. Thank you!
I absolutely love these patties. I make them with extra lean ground turkey. I followed the spices exactly the first time, the second time I used a little chili powder, cinnamon, hot paprika with a few listed in the original recipe. They’re such a great addition for protein with my morning pumpkin oats! I am obsessed. I never would have thought I could make fresh sausages like this so easily. No more frozen for this gal anymore!
Always happy to see someone taking a recipe and making it their own. I’d be interested to try them with the added cinnamon and spice!
Hi, I want to make these ahead for the week. Would you recommend frying all of the patties and then storing them in the fridge throughout the week and reheating them ? Or is it better to freeze and cook the day of?
I would cook them all at once for easier cleanup and reheat before serving. They should keep for 3-4 days in the refrigerator. I’d freeze the rest if you’re planning to stretch them longer than that.
Does the macros include the oil you use to cook them in?
Yes, it is.
THESE ARE AMAZING! Will make them again. Easy and delicious!
Thanks, Silvia! This is definitely a favorite in our household as well.
I meal prepped this today- so good. Made a breakfast bowl with an egg and air fried potato and a chicken sausage patty-YUMMY😋
My family loves this breakfast sausage. We cut back on the black pepper just a tad and cut the sweetener about in half since I have a couple that don’t like as much sweetness. I’ve made a bunch and frozen then 3 and then reheated which worked really well. I’ve also made larger patties to use for breakfast sandwiches too. Yum!
I’ve made a few times, made it per recipes (no modifications), and I’m always surprised how easy it is (literally a one bowl, one pan clean up) and how delicious these are! I like them as a high protein snack but are perfect for dinner. Never tried freezing them, they don’t tend to last the week!