• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to footer navigation
  • Skip to header navigation
  • Skip to privacy navigation
  • Skip to recipes navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • About
  • My Cookbooks
  • Work With Me
  • Shop
  • Contact

The Flavor Bender

Master the Science of Delicious

  • Recipe Index
    • All Recipes
    • Desserts
      • Cakes & Cupcakes
      • Candy & Bite Sizes
      • Chocolate
      • Cookies, Brownies & Bars
      • Frozen Desserts
      • Fruit Desserts
      • Puddings & Custards
      • Dessert drinks
      • No Bake
      • Pastries & Breads
      • Sweet Syrups & Spreads
      • Tarts & Pies
      • Cheesecakes
      • Healthy sweets
    • Breakfasts
      • Tarts, Quiches, & Pies
      • Waffles, Pancakes & Crepes
      • Quick Breads, Scones & Muffins
      • Breakfast Sandwiches
      • Pastries & Breads
      • Eggs
      • Breakfast & Brunch Drinks
      • Make Ahead Breakfasts
      • Healthy Breakfasts
      • Coffee and Tea drinks
      • Breakfast Smoothies & Juices
      • Breakfast Sides
      • Casseroles
    • Courses
      • Main Meals
        • Bread, Sandwiches & Burgers
        • Curries
        • Salads
        • Roasts & BBQ
        • Soups & Stews
        • Casseroles
      • Bread
      • Lunch
      • Beverages
      • Appetizers & Tapas
      • Sides
      • Dips & Condiments
      • Tea Time & Snacks
      • Desserts
      • Meal Prep
      • Cocktails
    • Cuisines
      • American
      • European
      • Australasian
      • Sri Lankan
      • East Asian
      • Mexican
      • Middle Eastern
      • South Asian
    • Sri Lankan
      • Main Meals
      • Drinks
    • Skill Level
      • Easy
        • Easy Desserts
        • Easy Cooking
        • Easy Breads
        • Easy Breakfasts
        • Easy Dinners
      • Intermediate
        • Intermediate Desserts
        • Intermediate Cooking
        • Intermediate Breads
        • Intermediate Breakfasts
        • Intermediate Dinners
      • Advanced
        • Advanced Desserts
        • Advanced Cooking
  • New? Start Here
  • Measurement Conversions
  • How-To Posts
The Flavor Bender Recipes Courses Appetizers & Tapas Caramelized Apple and Fennel, Pork Sausage Rolls

Caramelized Apple and Fennel, Pork Sausage Rolls

2 hrs 15 mins
Appetizers & Tapas
Jump to Recipe Print Recipe
5.6K shares

Disclaimer: The Flavor Bender is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program. There are links on this site that can be defined as “affiliate links”. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases (at no cost to you) that will help support this website.

Author: Dini K.
Posted: 11/17/2015
Updated: 9/9/2020
Caramelized Apple and Fennel Pork Sausage Rolls - Homemade sausage rolls with a delicious gourmet flavour twist! Wow your guests with this fancy appetizer, that everyone will be addicted to.

Juicy, slightly sweet, slightly spicy and well seasoned ground pork filling mixed with deliciously caramelized apple and roasted fennel spice, wrapped in a golden brown, buttery, flaky puff pastry. Up your sausage roll game with these Caramelized Apple and Fennel, Pork Sausage Rolls. These will be THE BEST SAUSAGE ROLLS you ever make!

(Pin it for Later)

Caramelized Apple and Fennel Pork Sausage Rolls - Homemade sausage rolls with a delicious gourmet flavour twist! Wow your guests with this fancy appetizer, that everyone will be addicted to.

So I heard that the USA is unfamiliar with these things. What the hell? That’s unacceptable! Time to change that! 🙂

While that may not be true for all Americans, I feel like those who don’t know about it might be seriously missing out on some amazing comfort food magic! Wikipedia calls it as a British savoury pastry snack that’s popular in many commonwealth countries, which I can totally attest to. I present to you, the wickedly delicious, Sausage Roll!

Caramelized Apple and Fennel Pork Sausage Rolls - Homemade sausage rolls with a delicious gourmet flavour twist! Wow your guests with this fancy appetizer, that everyone will be addicted to.

What is a sausage roll you ask?

It’s ground/minced meat (pork, beef, veel, chicken, lamb – whatever!), seasoned and spiced as a filling. Then it is wrapped in pastry (puff pastry or short crust pastry sometimes). Finally it is glazed with some egg wash and then baked to a golden brown, buttery, flaky, all kinds of drool-worthy savoury treat! No, it’s not “rolled sausage” and it’s not pigs in a blanket, though it may look like a closely-related cousin. It’s so much better than pigs in a blanket. It’s hard to beat a flaky, buttery, well-seasoned sausage roll, warm out of the oven. Very hard. Maybe even impossible.

The best filling for homemade Sausage Rolls - Caramelized Apple and Fennel Pork Sausage Rolls - Homemade sausage rolls with a delicious gourmet flavour twist! Wow your guests with this fancy appetizer, that everyone will be addicted to.

Sausage filling – pork, salt, thyme, fennel, black pepper, caramelized apple mix, butter and garlic

Today I’m going to give these an even more flavourful twist by making Caramelized Apple, Fennel and Pork Sausage Rolls! Deliciously caramelized sweet apple and roasted fennel spice (with undertones of mint), mixed with pork. This gives you a well seasoned, sweet, juicy, slightly spicy and spiced pork filling that is wrapped in a buttery, flaky puff pastry.

If you haven’t had sausage rolls before, there’s really no time to waste. 🙂

Just like Wikipedia says, sausage rolls were a quintessential part of my childhood while growing up in New Zealand and later in Australia. As kids, this was one of our absolute favourite party snacks. And as adults, it was an easy to make, yet delicious meal when you were short on time and cash. These are widely popular in cafes, and available in supermarkets in frozen form, so all you got to do is bake ’em at home and serve fresh for lunch/dinner, for guests or at parties as a snack/appetizer. I can’t even recall the number of times I used a couple (or more, there may have been more) of these to substitute a full meal aaand…

supernatural

Something this good needs a bit of love. That is why I’m not going to just take some minced meat and then slap it on a pastry, bake it and be done. Nope, no can do.

The caramelized apple and fennel take these to a whole new gourmet level, so that a glass of wine would not be out of place next to a plateful of these.

Caramelized Apple and Fennel Pork Sausage Rolls - Homemade sausage rolls with a delicious gourmet flavour twist! Wow your guests with this fancy appetizer, that everyone will be addicted to.

Notes about the recipe –

Caramelizing apples adds another layer of flavour to the sausage rolls. Apple sauce was an option, but that would have integrated with the pork filling too much and not given me a distinct apple flavour. So I went with bits of caramelized apple that gave me bursts of delicious flavour, every time I bit into the roll.

The apple is cut into really small 1 cm thick batons and sliced thinly. These pieces, when caramelized, didn’t interfere with the integrity or the consistency of the pork filling, since you don’t want a separated or crumbly sausage filling either. You want it nice and smooth, juicy, without large pieces of anything. I achieved that with the really small pieces of caramelized apple, while adding a wonderful sweetness to the filling too.

Caramelized Apple and Fennel Pork Sausage Rolls - Homemade sausage rolls with a delicious gourmet flavour twist! Wow your guests with this fancy appetizer, that everyone will be addicted to.
Apple pieces to caramelize

And to balance that sweetness, I added roasted fennel. The fennel was ground to a powder (or you can use already ground fennel powder). This has undertones of mint, along with some chilli flakes for some heat.

Plus I added some breadcrumbs with some melted butter to keep the pork really nice and juicy. Since I used lean pork, the extra fat from the butter will help to keep it juicy. If you’re using pork that isn’t lean, then you can skip the butter.

How to fill your Homemade Sausage Rolls using Puff Pastry
How to line your sausage filling on the puff pastry sheet. Please note that the sheet has not been cut into two yet.

I sprinkled some black sesame seeds on top but that was purely for aesthetics. You can use white sesame seeds, poppy seeds or just keep it plain. I also sprinkled some sea salt on top, but that too is optional.

(Pin it for Later)

How to make Sausage Rolls - Caramelized Apple and Fennel Pork Sausage Rolls - Homemade sausage rolls with a delicious gourmet flavour twist! Wow your guests with this fancy appetizer, that everyone will be addicted to.

You can make these Sausage Rolls with Homemade Rough Puff Pastry, instead of store bought too! Here’s my go to recipe to make my own Easy Puff Pastry! 🙂

Caramelized Apple and Fennel Pork Sausage Rolls - Homemade sausage rolls with a delicious gourmet flavour twist! Wow your guests with this fancy appetizer, that everyone will be addicted to.

Did I mention how great these taste? Well, I think it bears repeating. 🙂

You can serve these with some ketchup or tomato sauce on the side (I made some from scratch). Personally, I very much prefer eating them without any kind of dipping sauce. Too much ketchup or dipping sauce can hide the flavours of the apple, fennel and pork filling.

(Pin it for Later)

Caramelized Apple and Fennel Pork Sausage Rolls - Homemade sausage rolls with a delicious gourmet flavour twist! Wow your guests with this fancy appetizer, that everyone will be addicted to.

Adding finely sliced apple is much better than adding apple puree. This is because you can still taste the caramelized apple quite distinctly. They add a subtle sweetness that’s present throughout the pork filling. Rather than the apple disappearing into the filling, you can taste and feel the fruit sweetness in every bite. The fennel adds a nice spicy freshness too.

So if you’ve never had sausage rolls before, go ahead and give these a try. You too will regret nothing. Nothing!

Caramelized Apple and Fennel Pork Sausage Rolls - Homemade sausage rolls with a delicious gourmet flavour twist! Wow your guests with this fancy appetizer, that everyone will be addicted to.

Looking for more recipes?Sign up for my free recipe newsletter to get new recipes in your inbox each week! Find me sharing more inspiration on Pinterest and Instagram.

4.92 from 25 votes

Caramelized Apple and Fennel, Pork Sausage Rolls

Author: Dini K.
Yield: 16 sausage rolls
Cuisine: Australasian
These Caramelized Apple and Fennel, Pork Sausage Rolls will be the best sausage rolls you have ever had! Flaky, golden brown puff pastry filled with juicy, well seasoned pork mixed with sweet and spicy caramelized apple!
EASY – This recipe is easy to make. The filling has an extra step to caramelize onions and apple, but it adds so much flavor to the filling. Assembling and baking is easy as well.
US‌ ‌based‌ ‌cup,‌ ‌teaspoon,‌ ‌tablespoon‌ ‌measurements.‌ ‌‌Common‌ ‌Measurement‌ ‌Conversions‌.‌ ‌‌Weight‌ ‌measurements‌ ‌(when given) are‌ ‌recommended‌ ‌for‌ ‌accurate‌ ‌results.‌ ‌
Prep: 40 minutes minutes
Cook: 1 hour hour 35 minutes minutes
Total Time: 2 hours hours 15 minutes minutes
Servings: 16 sausage rolls
Print Rate

Ingredients:

Caramelized Apple

  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 7-8 oz Granny Smith apples cored and cut into 1 cm thick batons and sliced thinly (as seen in image above)
  • 5 oz finely diced sweet onion
  • 3 tbsp white sugar
  • 2 tbsp apple cider
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • ½ tsp chilli flakes

Sausage Rolls

  • 1 lb pork
  • Caramelized apple
  • 2 large cloves of garlic chopped finely
  • 1 tsp thyme leaves
  • 2 tsp heaped fennel seeds dry roasted and ground to a powder (about 2 tsp of ground fennel)
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ¼ cup bread crumbs
  • 2 tbsp butter melted
  • pepper
  • generous pinch of cayenne pepper
  • 2 sheets of frozen puff pastry 9 x 9 inches

To finish

  • 1 egg – for egg wash
  • Sea salt flakes
  • Sesame seeds black or white / poppy seeds

Instructions:

  • Heat 2 tbsp of butter in a nonstick pan. When melted, add the onions & sugar and saute over medium heat until the onions start to turn golden brown, about 15 minutes.
  • Add the apple, apple cider and salt and cook for another 20-30 minutes until the liquid is reduced and the apples have caramelized. Add the chilli flakes and cook for a few more minutes. Set aside to cool slightly.
  • Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking tray with parchment paper.
  • In a bowl, place the ground pork, breadcrumbs and pour the melted butter over the bread crumbs, and then add the cooled caramelized apple, chopped garlic, thyme leaves, ground fennel, salt pepper and cayenne pepper. Mix with your hands or a spoon, until everything is mixed through well. Divide the mix into four portions.
  • Lightly flour your work-space with some AP flour. Place one puff pastry sheet on your bench and cut it in half, so you have two 9 x 4.5 inch rectangles. Take a single portion of the sausage filling and while leaving a 1 cm margin, place the filling along one long edge of the puff pastry rectangle, evenly. Brush both long edges with some egg wash, and carefully roll up the pastry sheet with the sausage filling, until the ends overlap by about 1 cm. Gently pinch the two ends together to create a seal. Place the seam side down, and cut this roll into 4 equal parts (with a back and forth motion using a serrated knife so that you cut evenly and smoothly). Place the 4 sausage rolls on the baking tray, slightly apart.
  • Repeat with the remaining puff pastry sheet to make 16 sausage rolls in total.
  • Using a small sharp knife, make two slits on the top of each sausage roll. Brush the tops generously with egg wash (highly recommended) and sprinkle some salt and sesame seeds (optional).
  • Bake in the oven for 15 minutes, and then increase the heat to 375°F and bake for a further 30 minutes or until they are golden brown.
  • Take out of the oven, allow them to rest for a few minutes, and serve while warm.

Tips & Tricks

FREEZING –
You can make these sausage rolls ahead of time and freeze them, covered with plastic wrap (before brushing the tops with egg wash and baking) on a sheet pan, and then once they are frozen, store in a box with parchment paper between separate layers. Then a few hours before you need to serve, set them out on a baking tray (covered) and defrost, brush with egg wash and bake as per the recipe. If you bake them from frozen, they will take a longer to bake.

Nutrition Information:

Serving: 1rollCalories: 295kcal (15%)Carbohydrates: 20g (7%)Protein: 7g (14%)Fat: 21g (32%)Saturated Fat: 7g (44%)Cholesterol: 28mg (9%)Sodium: 241mg (10%)Potassium: 127mg (4%)Fiber: 1g (4%)Sugar: 4g (4%)Vitamin A: 120IU (2%)Vitamin C: 1mg (1%)Calcium: 13mg (1%)Iron: 1mg (6%)

“This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.”

Course:Appetizer, Party Food, Pastry, Snacks, Tapas
Cuisine:Australasian
Keyword:Appetizers, Pork Sausage Rolls, Puff Pastry, Sausage Rolls,
Did you make this?Tag me on Instagram!I love seeing what you’ve made! Tag me on Instagram at @TheFlavorBender or leave me a comment & rating below.

More Recipes You'll Love...

  • Slow Braised Pork Roast with Spiced Pear and Apple Sauce - a moist, tender and an incredibly flavorful dinner, with less than 30 minutes of prep time!
    Slow Braised Pork Roast with Spiced Pear and Apple Sauce
  • Easy Sausage Rolls with just 3 ingredients - You can customize these sausage rolls easily with your favorite flavor pairings, and they can be made ahead of time and frozen for later too. Easy pork sausage rolls that are perfect for holiday entertaining, as an appetizer or as a brunch or lunch snack!
    Easy Sausage Rolls (just 3 ingredients!)
  • Strawberry Apple Lemonade Cocktail

Reader Interactions

Leave a Review Cancel reply

I love hearing from you! Submit your question or recipe review here.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Made this? Rate this recipe:




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

  1. Rikelle says

    August 17, 2023 at 12:02

    This recipe is delicious! It has become a family favorite. We make these for our annual Hobbiton dinner. The first time, I made 1 batch. The next year I made two. Still people couldn’t get enough. Now I make four batches for the party. Everyone always asks if I will be bringing these.I follow the recipe to a T and can’t think of anything to improve them. Thanks for making me a hero!

    Reply
    • Dini says

      August 17, 2023 at 12:19

      Haha, not all heroes wear capes, sometimes they wear aprons! 😀 I’m so glad you enjoy the recipe Rikelle, thanks so much for letting me know!

      Reply
  2. Jeff Van Pelt says

    December 28, 2022 at 17:28

    Sugar candied the apples.. I had a hunch it would. And it did.

    Reply
    • Dini says

      December 29, 2022 at 09:53

      Hi Jeff
      If the sugar candied the apples when you cooked them, then it’s because
      1. the apples were cooked too long
      2. not enough apples
      3. too much sugar

      With the recipe as is, and also the cook time, there is too much moisture in the apples for them to become candied.
      I hope that helps

      Reply
  3. Jane Wilcox says

    December 9, 2022 at 16:31

    5 stars
    I haven’t made this yet, but I know I will love it after I figure a few things out. lost in translation here. Could I use a mandolin to slice them thinly and then square them off? I would like to see how you cut them that way.I would grate them on a box grater but they may not carmelize. Now the fennel, I have not seen ground fennel, just whirl the seeds in my mini processor. And now for the top, If you are in Canada, you may know “Everything but the Bagel” topping. I think that might be interesting!

    Reply
    • Dini says

      December 21, 2022 at 20:55

      Hi Jane
      I just cut the apple sides off leaving the core, and the cut each piece into thick “batons”, and finally slice them thin.
      You can use a mandolin too!
      I usually have whole spices at my house and grind them as needed for cooking as they stay fresh for longer that way. And Everything bagel seasoning will go well with this as well!
      I hope that helps!

      Reply
  4. Riot says

    October 20, 2022 at 15:37

    Easy and impressive looking. They were tasty enough, but way too sweet for us. Next time I would use a regular yellow onion, no sugar, less apple, and would simmer the apple in white wine instead of cider. Might use rosemary with the fennel to cut the sweet.

    Reply
    • Jane Wilcox says

      December 9, 2022 at 16:32

      What about simmering in cider vinegar?

      Reply
  5. Ali P says

    June 6, 2022 at 10:09

    Hi, can you advise whether the breadcrumbs are fresh or dried? I know there’s a big difference in weight between the two!
    Thank you

    Reply
    • Dini says

      June 7, 2022 at 12:47

      Hi Ali P
      The breadcrumbs are regular breadcrumbs used for crumbing and frying food.
      I hope that helps!

      Reply
      • Jane Wilcox says

        December 9, 2022 at 16:36

        I think the question means “out of a can, like progress, or Japanese style (Panko( or homemade. One is dried, one is fresh, and whirled in a food processor. The dried will be lighter and soak up moisture, while the fresh will have moisture in them.

        Reply
  6. Cyd says

    June 1, 2022 at 11:40

    I want to try these! Could I make them, leave off the egg wash, refrigerate them overnight then bake them the next day? I’ve never used puff pastry before!

    Reply
    • Dini says

      June 1, 2022 at 12:31

      Hi Cyd
      Yes you can leave the sausage rolls in the fridge overnight without the egg wash and bake them the next day! The egg wash is best brushed on before baking.
      I hope that helps!

      Reply
Older Comments

Primary Sidebar

Hey there!

Hi! I’m Dini, a third culture kid by upbringing and a food-geek by nature. I was born in Sri Lanka, grew up in New Zealand and lived in Australia, and then the US, before moving to Canada in 2019! My food is a reflection of those amazing experiences!

Read More
Secret Layer Cakes Cookbook
The flavor bender
cookbook
Buy now on Amazon!

Recipe Basics

Learn how to make Perfect Choux Pastry (Or Pate a Choux!) - The only recipe guide you will ever need to make choux pastry, with perfect results every time. Plus a troubleshooting guide for your choux pastry recipe.  Fool proof choux pastry to make profiteroles, eclairs, cream puffs and more.  #ChouxPastry #Profiteroles #Eclairs #Pastry #CreamPuffs

How to make Perfect Choux Pastry

Classic Chocolate Eclairs - A foolproof recipe for making perfect eclairs that are crisp and puffy and filled with chocolate or vanilla pastry cream. 

Perfect Classic Chocolate Eclairs (Foolproof Recipe)

How to make Marshmallows - Learn the art of making fluffy, soft homemade marshmallows with or without corn syrup! With tips and information to make the perfect Marshmallows in many flavors. 

How to make Marshmallows (tips and tricks for homemade marshmallows)

How to make the best Homemade White Bread that is soft and delicious. An easy to follow recipe for perfect homemade bread with step by step instructions.

The Best Homemade Bread (White Bread Recipe)

Homemade French Croissants (step by step recipe)

Classic Pound Cake - A complete guide on how to make perfect, delicious and moist Pound Cake even if you're a baking novice! Tips + Tricks and Troubleshooting guide. 

The Best Classic Pound Cake Recipe

Chocolate
Cakes
Bread
Sri Lankan
Breakfast
Drinks
Candy
Pastries
All Recipes
Featured On
taste of the World
Free recipe ebook

Get my curated collection of the Top 10 Flavor Bender recipes!

  • 10 delicious chocolate recipes
  • Creative ways to use chocolate
  • Desserts and savory recipes
Download now!

Reader Faves

How to make Instant Pot Short Ribs - This easy recipe makes delicious, tender and succulent short ribs with classic flavors!

How to make the Best Instant Pot Short Ribs

Buttery Lemon Slow Roasted Salmon with Lemon Butter Sauce - Perfectly cooked, juicy slow roasted Salmon with a buttery tangy sauce! Delicious and versatile for any meal and occasion. 

Slow Roasted Salmon with Lemon Butter Sauce

Unbelievably easy Rough Puff pastry - Quick and easy to make and tasted infinitely better than store bought (30 -45 minutes only)! No long waiting times, to make this amazing pastry and NOONE will know you took a shortcut!

Perfect Quick and Easy Rough Puff Pastry

Spicy Sweet Chilli Sauce Easy to make, absolutely delicious, with an extra kick of spice this is the BEST Sweet chilli sauce you will EVER have!

The Best Spicy Sweet Chili Sauce (Easy Recipe!)

The flavor bender

I love baking, and I love cooking. I experiment with flavors, textures and ingredients, and I love passing on all my tips and tricks to you!

Read More
  • About
    • Meet Dini
    • My Book
    • Work With Me
    • Contact
  • Browse
    • Recipes
    • Measurement Guide
    • Baking How-To’s
    • Shop My Faves
© The Flavor Bender
  • Privacy
  • Disclosure
  • Terms
Site Credits Designed by Melissa Rose Design Developed by Once Coupled

Join the flavor bender tribe!

Join my FREE recipe challenge to receive new recipes and dinner ideas straight to your inbox!
5592 shares