The best and easiest way to cook crispy and juicy sausage is in the oven. We always bake breakfast sausage patties or links, Italian sausages, or other full-size sausages for perfect sausages every time without the mess.
🐖Ingredients
Sausage—breakfast sausage patties or links. Or larger sausages like Italian sausages, kielbasa, brats, or smoked sausages. Use pork, turkey, or chicken sausage.
PAM cooking spray or parchment paper to prevent sticking. Or aluminum foil for easy cleanup.
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Featured Comment by Kari :
"Breakfast made easy! Thank you for the instructions; this worked great! "
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
There is no need to stand at the stove and make a mess—cooking sausage in the oven is less work, less messy, and produces better results. We haven't cooked sausage any other way for years.
Baking breakfast sausage patties or links only takes about 15 minutes, while larger sausages, like brats, kielbasa, smoked, or Italian sausages, will take about 25 minutes to cook.
Check out other great breakfast recipes, like How to Cook Bacon in a Convection Oven, Oven Baked Blueberry Pancakes, and Cinnamon Roll Cake.
👨🍳How to Cook Sausage in the Oven—Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
You may use breakfast sausage patties or links. Or cook larger sausages like brats or Italian sausages.
1. Prepare a baking tray with sides with cooking spray, parchment paper, or aluminum foil.
2. If using breakfast sausage patties, dimple in the center to prevent puffing.
3. Evenly spread the sausage on the prepared tray.
4. Bake in a preheated 400° oven. Flip or rotate about halfway through baking.
5. Cook to an internal temp of 160° or 165° if the sausage has poultry. The cooking time for breakfast sausage is about 15 minutes and for thicker sausage about 25 minutes. You can do a few minutes under the broiler if you want more browning.
For more details, keep reading. See the Recipe Card below for complete instructions and to print.
⏲️How long to cook sausage in the oven
In a 400°F convection oven, breakfast sausage patties or links take about 15 minutes to cook while larger sausages take about 25 minutes. Cook to a final internal temperature of 160° or 165° if the sausage has poultry
Baking time will vary by the thickness of the sausage, oven temperature, amount of preheating, and even the pan can affect cooking time. So, use an instant-read thermometer and check the temperature early.
✔️Tips to make it right every time
Pork sausage, turkey sausage, or chicken sausage will all cook the same. If you cook sausage patties, dimple the center by ¼ inch and about ¾ inch in diameter to prevent puffing during cooking, which can lead to overcooking the surface before reaching a safe temperature.
Use a baking tray like a sheet pan with sides. Line the pan with foil for easy cleanup if you're making link sausage, but if you're making patties, spray the tray with PAM or add parchment paper since the spatula will frequently rip the foil.
A convection oven and a high oven temperature will both promote the sausage's browning, so use convection if you have it and a pan with low sides, like a sheet pan. But a conventional oven will also work.
This recipe quickly cooks smoked sausage, brats, kielbasa, and Italian sausage. Sliced bell pepper and onion can be added to kielbasa, smoked, or Italian sausages to make quick, delicious hoagie sandwiches or a sheet-pan dinner.
The oven temperature can match the other dishes you are cooking. I have cooked as low as 350° and as high as 450°. The time will vary, so cook by internal temperature.
If you have reached the correct temperature but the sausage is not fully browned do not bake more, but use a few minutes under the broiler for more browning.
❄️Storage and reheating leftovers
This recipe is perfect for leftovers, as you can cook a whole package at once.
To store, Seal airtight in a container or storage bag and refrigerate for 4 days. You can also freeze it for 1 to 2 months.
To reheat: If frozen, thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Microwave to reheat.
❓FAQs
No, the casing holds the juiciness in; it may break during cooking,,, but do not drain your moisture.
Yes, it will take longer since you are cooking to a temperature endpoint. The thicker the sausage and the colder your freezer, the longer it will take.
According to the USDA, ground meat is safe to eat at 160°, except ground poultry should be cooked to 165°. If you are sure there is no poultry in your sausage, you can safely stop at 160°.
Most precooked sausage is safe to eat out of the package—check the package. So you usually don't have to cook it thoroughly but just heat it through.
I prefer to cook precooked sausage for reasons of moisture and texture. Try it both ways and see which you like.
📖 Recipe
How To Cook Sausage in the Oven
Video Slideshow
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Ingredients
- 1 pound sausage - breakfast or other sausages
- PAM or Parchment Paper - to prevent sticking
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400° convection. Any oven temperature from 350° to 425° with or without convection will work—you will need to adjust time and perhaps need a couple of minutes under a broiler at the end to brown up some.
- Prepare a sheet pan baking tray with a coat of PAM cooking spray, aluminum foil, or parchment paper to prevent sticking.
- For breakfast sausage patties, make them ¾ inch thick, then dimple the patty center by about ¼ inch deep and ¾ inch diameter. This will prevent the puffing of the meat during cooking.
- Spread sausage on the prepared baking pan, so they don't touch.
- If cooking breakfast sausage patties, flip in 8 minutes. Links or round sausage should be rotated halfway through the estimated cooking time.
- The cooking time for breakfast sausage is about 15 minutes, and for thicker sausage, about 25 minutes. Cook to an internal temperature of 160° or 165° if the sausage contains poultry. If you want more browning, you can do a few minutes under the broiler.
Recipe Notes
Pro Tips
- You can use the sausage you want, breakfast links or patties, or larger sausages like Italian sausage, kielbasa, brats, or smoked sausage. You can also use pork, turkey, or chicken sausage.
- You can use uncooked or cooked sausage.
- It cooks well with other dishes since you can use different oven temperatures
- You need a pan with some sides, like a sheet pan.
- I like to use foil for sausage links due to drainage but foil will tend to rip when flipping patties. I use parchment paper or cooking spray for patties.
- Dimple the center if using patties.
- Flip or rotate about halfway through cooking.
- The most important thing is a safe internal temperature of 160° or 165° if the sausage contains poultry.
- A few minutes of the broiler may be needed at the end to get the browning you want. Do not just cook longer or you will dry the sausage.
Your Own Private Notes
To adjust the recipe size:
You may adjust the number of servings in this recipe card under servings. This does the math for the ingredients for you. BUT it does NOT adjust the text of the instructions. So you need to do that yourself.
Nutrition Estimate
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Originally Published February 14, 2015. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigation.
Charlie Holloway says
Thank you Dan for this recipe. It probably seems pretty simple to some people, and it is -- just what I was looking for!
I tried it with turkey roll sausage, formed into patties. They didn't cook very well on an earlier attempt in the skillet because there was very little fat, but with your recipe in the oven, perfect! I did not heed your advice about using parchment or a greased pan, so there was significant sticking. That was my problem. Next time I'll do as you suggest.
Thanks,
Charlie
DrDan says
Hi Charlie,
You are right that it seems a little like a how to boil water recipe but I took me 60 plus years to figure it out, so I thought I would not be alone. It is just so much easier and better in almost every way at least for me.
You are right about a lean sausage sticking but I have a non-stick quarter sheet pan that works great.
Thanks for the note.
Dan
Barb says
Any suggestions for cooking ground (crumbled) sausage in the oven?
DrDan says
Hi Barb,
I have never done it but I will guess if you promise to report back. At the 10 minute flip, it has a fair amount of firmness. Try crumbling with a wooden spoon at that point and stick it back in. It may work, it may not...
Dan
Ray E. Murphy says
I liked your article / recipe about cooking sausage in the oven. I cook two to three pounds at one time so this saves me time and a lot of mess. Thanks for the tip about the broiler that should crisp the tops up just enough. When I do it I use half sheet pans and cooling racks in the pans but first I wrapped the pans in aluminum foil this helps on cleanup. The cooling racks gets the sausage up out of the grease. Thank You Ray
Stewart says
This is just what I was looking for! Ran it on convection oven and it worked great. I lined the pan with aluminum foil to eliminate the cleanup on the cookie sheet and then put parchment on that, just to be sure it didn't stick, Nothing like wearing a belt and suspenders! First time I found a use for the full convection setting too. LOL
Dinee says
Thank you. I want to cook a couple of pounds of sausage for make ahead breakfasts. I thought of oven cooking and hoped someone else had done it to provide me with temperature and times to start with.
DrDan says
Hi Dinee,
This is the only way to do sausage and it is so much better also.
Thanks for the note.
Dan
Jessaca Mattox says
I have been doing my sausage patties/links & bacon in the oven for YEAR'S! I had no idea it was such a foreign concept to so many. I just assumed it was the lazier version of what others did only I managed to figure a simpler & quicker way of doing it lol. Glad I am not the only one out there.
Jakey Snakey says
Hush
Larry says
Thanks for the info this will be a lot less mess
DrDan says
Thanks for the note Larry,
I find the sausage also is better since I don't over cook.
Dan
Pam says
When you flip them do you cook another 10 minutes on the other side?
DrDan says
Yep about. Cook to an internal temperature of 165 and nice color. That is usually about 8-10 minutes on the second side for a total cooking time of 18-20 minutes. If you get to 165 and the color is still not what you want, hit it with a minute or two of the broiler.
Dan
Karen says
Wow!!! Why didn't i think of this before. Cook bacon in oven all the time.. Today cooked the whole tube in slices, we ate 4 and i saved 4 for tomorrow!!!! I would rate this an 8!!!!
DrDan says
I like oven so much better. I get it all to the right temperature and don't overcook and dry them out. Not to mention the mess.
Thanks for the note.
Dan
K Mahon says
Good stuff; it is the only way I will cook patties from here on. To keep the wife happy and oven clean, I line the rack with foil to catch any spatter. But there is less oil jumping all over the place because it is a much more even cook in the oven... in my opinion.
DrDan says
I haven't done stovetop for a long time. You are so right, the cooking is so much more even and it stays moist.
Thanks for the note.
DrDan
Susan Ramseur says
I've also been cooking bacon in the oven for many years and wondered about cooking sausage that way. Thanks for your instructons. I'll be doing this tomorrow.
Michelle says
Perfect? just made this, this morning! Will forever cook my sausage this way now!
Sharon Whittemore says
I was looking for an alternative to the skillet this morning. I will try this technique.
Cash Jinkins says
Oh my gosh. My hole tire life I been cookin sausage in a skillet spittin grease all over my linoleum! After a few weeks/months of that my kitchen flore is like a ice skatin rink covered in dust! This way is the best way to make sausage! I can't believe I never thunked of this ever in my hole life! No more greasy floors! Muchyass grassiass omigo!
Karen Hord says
You're a smartass!!!
Jack says
Tried your recipe this morning. Will never fry again. Trying the bacon tomorrow . I definitely rate as a5
DrDan says
Thanks for the note and rating. I wonder why I didn't do it before.
DrDan
Jack says
Tried your recipe this morning. Will never fry again. Trying the bacon tomorrow .
Linda says
wow. The sausage looks so delicious. Will try it later.
DrDan says
Thanks for the note. It is as good as it gets.
DrDan