Homemade Italian Sausage – Girls Can Grill

Learn how to make homemade Italian sausage with pork, fennel and herbs. Includes storage tips, cooking steps and ways to use it in recipes.

Italian sausage is a pork sausage seasoned with fennel, garlic and herbs, which is what gives it that classic Italian sausage flavor.

You’ll usually find sweet (mild) and hot versions at the store, but making homemade Italian sausage lets you control the heat and ingredients while getting the same great flavor for pasta, soups, pizza and more.

What is Italian sausage?

Italian sausage is usually made with ground pork that is seasoned with spices commonly used in Italian cuisine, such as fennel seeds, garlic and herbs.

Variations include sweet Italian sausage and hot Italian sausage. The heat level depends on whether you add chile flakes to the ground meat. Sweet sausage (also called mild sausage) doesn’t actually contain sugar. Instead, fennel gives it a slightly sweet aroma.

What you’ll need

• Ground Pork: You can buy ground pork from the grocery store or use a meat grinder to grind your own pork from cuts like pork shoulder or pork butt.
• Kosher Salt
• Ground Fennel
• Ground Coriander
• Italian Seasoning
• Paprika
• Garlic (dried or fresh)
• Parsley (dried or fresh)
• Black Pepper
• Red Pepper Flakes (optional)
• Nutmeg

Substitutions: Instead of Italian seasoning, you can also use dried basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary and/or marjoram. 

See the full recipe card above for servings and a full list of ingredients.

How to make homemade Italian sausage

This recipe makes enough seasoning for 3 pounds of meat. If you want the flavor to be more mild, leave out the red pepper flakes.

Mix Sausage

In a large bowl, combine the ground meat with the seasonings and mix well.

Option 1: Store

Transfer the mixed sausage into freezer bags or vac seal bags. Remove all of the air and seal or close. Add the date. Frozen Italian sausage can be stored for up to a year.

You can also store uncooked sausage in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.

Option 2: Cook right away

To cook Italian sausage, heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add a drizzle of oil. Then, add the sausage mixture to the pan. Cook, stirring often until browned. Sausage is fully cooked when it reaches an internal temp of 160F degrees.

Use right away or store in the fridge or freezer.

The amount of grease in the skillet will depend on the fat content in your meat. If you end up with excess drippings, you can drain them from the meat.

How to use Italian sausage

Cooked Italian sausage is great in pasta dishes like spaghetti with meat sauce or lasagna. It’s also great on pizza, in stuffed peppers or in soups like zuppa toscana or Italian wedding soup.