One of the things that takes some getting use to about living in the country is the concept that “I’m just gonna run out and grab this thing I need” is insanely impractical. We’re a good 40 minutes to the closest supermarket, and while we have a small mom and pop grocery store about 10 minutes away, it certainly isn’t open all the time and has a very small selection.

Because of this, I’ve gotten really good at making substitutions. It’s not ever ideal, but it does the job and saves us the gas money (and time) of a trip “into the city”.

My newest substitution achievement is turning pork breakfast sausage into pork Italian sausage.

pork sausage

For some reason, our CSA keeps us in near-constant supply of delicious, flavorful, local pork breakfast sausage. Our freezer is stocked. So when I went digging in our deep freeze the other day for some Italian sausage, and all I was met with was pounds and pounds of breakfast sausage, I knew it was time for some substitution magic.

In an ideal world, we’d use the highest quality Italian sausage from the most incredible little Italian shop you could find. But this isn’t ideal. This is the country, where we do insane things like chase off coyotes and turn breakfast sausage into Italian sausage.

italian sausage

Because breakfast sausage is loaded with all kind of its own flavorings (most of which we don’t want in the final product) it takes some herb and spice subterfuge to cover those up and bring out that nice, spicy, fennel-y Italian sausage flavor. So open up your spice drawer kids, we’ve got some work to do.

breakfast sausage spices

The mixture is easy, in a bowl, combine:

  • 1 pound breakfast sausage
  • 1 teaspoon fennel seeds (this is absolutely imperative, fennel seeds are what *make* Italian sausage)
  • 1 teaspoon dried basil
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon dried parsley
  • 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • Pinch of red pepper flakes (more if you like it hot)

Use your hands and get it really well-mixed and get all the spices distributed. Go on, get dirty. Once all the spices are mixed it, it’s ready to be used just like you would a store-bought pound of Italian sausage. I used mine in a tomato sauce over fresh pasta. Yum!

pasta

What’s your favorite kitchen substitution?

Cassie is a holistic nutritionist, cookbook author, and all-around food lover. She grew up cooking dinner with her parents every evening, and her passion for home cooking has been strong ever since. Cassie is the author of two published cookbooks (Cooking with Greek Yogurt and Chia, Quinoa, Kale, Oh My!) and dozens of recipes published in major magazines and newspapers. Cassie has been sharing her award-winning recipes on Wholefully since 2010. She loves dark chocolate, homegrown tomatoes, motorsports, and anything that sparkles. She lives in Indiana with her family on a small homestead.

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55 Comments

  1. Thank you, Cassie. I took plain pork Scottish
    sausage out of the casing and had erything except rosemary, but it was still magic. I’ll be
    doing this a lot. Clever girl you are!

    Reply

    1. The fennel is the main seasoning that gives the sausage its trademark flavor – so it will still taste good if you leave the fennel out, but it won’t necessarily taste like Italian sausage.

      Reply

  3. Are you me? I also live 10 minutes from a small store and 40 miles from a supermarket (and from the bank/pharmacy/most everything else).
    I also have a freezer full of pork breakfast sausage from the pig we slaughtered last year. Thanks for the help. My chili recipe appreciates it! ๐Ÿ™‚

    Reply

  4. Score!!! I just purchased 11 one pound packages of jimmy dean original breakfast sausage on sale for $3 each and had a $2 coupon for each making it $1 a pound . I was searching for recipes to turn breakfast sausage into Italian sausage and found your site. Love it!!! Thanks!

    Reply

  5. Making meatballs tonight. Just have ground chuck and 5 lbs of jimmy dean regular. Just checked my cabinet and there sits an EMPTY spice bottle labeled “Fennel” Argh! It means it’s on the list to buy at the spice store to refill the jar.. so, HELP? ANY suggestions to making it Italian without fennel? And oh, we are in a 55+ golf course community, and our grocery store I’d 1.5 miles away and open 24 hours. Lol. But our town is small. Cuz 2 miles the other way are cows. And they bring sheep and goats to keep the weeds down naturally. All night long I hear baaaa. Baaaa at this Time of year. Lol. 30k people. Coyote and bunnies and geese cross the road. California living. Lol. 50 min to Tahoe.

    Reply

  6. Does anyone know how to make an all beef sausage that can imitate a taste of an old fashion .jimmy dean breakfast pan sausage? NO PORK RECIPES PLEASE.

    Reply

    1. I’ve actually just scrambled some ground beef and added salt, pepper, garlic and sage to replace bulk pork sausage.

      Reply

  7. I halved the recipe and ate the gravy over whole wheat toast. The next day I heated up the gravey to go over a plain egg omelette. Tasted great both ways. Thanks ๏ปฟ

    Reply

  9. My lucky day! I’m making baked ziti and my husband got pork sausage because that’s all they had without casing. I live in the country, too, and don’t want to drive 15 min to get it.

    Reply

  10. I’ve been trying to find Italian sausage in the stores for months! They’re either sold out or no longer carry the brand I like. After buying fennel seed. I’ll definitely try this. Tanks!

    Reply