Our family has a lifelong tradition of making Swedish Potato Sausage for our Christmas Eve dinner. We always make it sometime between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
This post isn’t about pretty pictures; it’s about family, making memories, and the holiday things we do in this small house.
Potato sausage is a delightful variety of sausage that contains a generous amount of creamy mashed potatoes mixed right into the meat. This adds wonderful flavor along with a unique, tender texture. If you’ve picked up some potato sausage at the store or from your local butcher, baking it in the oven is one of the easiest, most foolproof cooking methods.
In this simple guide, you’ll learn how long to bake potato sausage, what temperature to use, prep tips, seasoning suggestions, and more With just 5 easy steps, you’ll be able to enjoy incredibly moist, delicious homemade potato sausage anytime
Benefits of Oven Cooking
There are a few major advantages to baking potato sausage in the oven rather than pan frying:
- Requires less frequent monitoring and attention.
- Allows batches of sausage to be cooked at once.
- Produces evenly heated sausage without burnt spots.
- Infuses sausage with flavors from seasoning in the pan.
Equipment You’ll Need
Cooking potato sausage in the oven only requires a few kitchen staples:
- Rimmed baking sheet or casserole dish
- Aluminum foil
- Meat thermometer (optional)
Ingredients
- Potato sausage links or patties
- Olive oil or vegetable oil
- Seasonings like garlic powder, onion powder, herbs
- Water or beer (optional)
Step 1: Prep the Sausage
Before baking, prep your potato sausage:
- If using links, separate into individual sausages using a knife.
- Pat dry thoroughly with paper towels to remove excess moisture.
- Use a fork to prick holes all over sausages. This prevents bursting.
- Brush lightly with oil to help promote browning.
Step 2: Line the Pan
Line your baking pan or casserole dish with aluminum foil for easy cleanup Lightly grease the foil with oil or cooking spray
Step 3: Add Sausage to the Pan
Arrange the potato sausage in a single layer on the prepared pan without overcrowding. Even spacing allows for maximum airflow and direct heat exposure.
For extra moisture, add 1/4 cup water or beer to the bottom of the pan. The moisture will gently steam the links as they bake.
Step 4: Season the Sausage
This is your chance to add complementary flavors. Season the potato sausage generously on all sides with salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika, onion powder, Italian seasoning, etc.
Step 5: Bake at 350°F for 60-75 Minutes
Place pan on the center oven rack and bake at 350°F for 60-75 minutes. Rotate and flip sausages halfway through.
Test doneness by cutting into a sausage. They should be cooked through without any raw-looking, pink meat. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part should read 160°F.
Handy Potato Sausage Baking Tips
- Use a meat thermometer for perfect doneness every time.
- Add 5-10 minutes bake time for thicker sausages or larger batches.
- Prevent drying by tenting foil over top if browning too quickly.
- Transfer sausage to a cutting board to rest for 5-10 minutes before serving.
Flavoring Ideas
Jazz up your oven-baked potato sausage with mixes of:
- Smoked paprika, thyme, sage
- Chili powder, cumin, oregano
- Brown sugar, ginger, nutmeg
- Caraway seeds, coriander, mustard powder
Serving Suggestions
Enjoy piping hot potato sausage with:
- Buttery mashed potatoes
- Sauerkraut and mustard
- Macaroni and cheese
- Roasted vegetables like Brussels sprouts
- Bacon fried cabbage
Storage and Reheating
Leftover baked potato sausage will keep refrigerated for 3-4 days. Reheat in a skillet or bake in a 350°F oven until heated through. For longer storage, freeze sausages for 2-3 months.
Oven-Baked Potato Sausage Made Simple
With this easy 5-step oven method, you can now enjoy incredible homemade potato sausage any night of the week. The key is using a moderate 350°F temperature to gently cook the sausage until fork-tender and piping hot throughout.
Feel free to get creative with seasonings and side dishes to complement the wonderfully unique potato-infused flavor. Enjoy this tasty sausage variety baked to absolute perfection!
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The Potato Sausage Story
I have only missed a few potato sausage events in my whole life. Two times: once when “Handy” was in the hospital and once when a snowstorm kept us from seeing my parents. Also, in 2020 and 2021, we didn’t make sausage because of Covid. It’s a process and most of the fun is being with my family. The pandemic made it too risky to gather and make food, in close quarters with even my family.
There are a lot of pictures of us having fun with potato sausages, but we weren’t thinking about taking good pictures. If you look closely, you can see how my style has changed over time in some of the pictures. Can you see my sage green and cranberry walls? We’ve had potato sausage parties at my house, my brother’s house, and once at the home of our dear friends Barb and Dennis. They are like family to us! Prior to that, it was always at my Mom and Dad’s house. My brother Scott lives in NY and my sister Laurie lives in TN. They both make potato sausage at their own homes. It’s just not Christmas Eve without potato sausage!.
Värmlandskorv, sometimes called Potatis korv, is a Swedish potato sausage made with potatoes, onions, ground pork and beef, and some basic spices. This traditional sausage is typically served to celebrate different holidays, like Christmas!.
It is sometimes referred to as Norwegian Sausage.
The earliest picture I could find is of my mom, me, and my two younger brothers. It was taken when I was a teenager. I’m guessing my Dad was taking the picture.
Swedish Potato Sausage Recipe
- potato peeler
- sharp knife
- Colander
- Large Bowl We use several
- meat grinder
- sausage stuffer
- large roasting pan
- We cover the table with a cheap plastic tablecloth to mix, and then we throw it away.
- 10 pounds of ground chuck: Have the chuck and pork ground together by the butcher.
- 5 lbs ground pork
- 30 lbs potatoes peeled and quartered
- 5 lb. sweet onions, cut in half and peeled; a white onion will also work.
- pork sausage casings
- Peel and quarter potatoes and onions
- Grind potatoes and onions together
- Use colanders to drain the potato mixture, and press on it with your hands to get rid of the water and potato starch.
- Thoroughly mix the potato mixture and meat together
- Season with kosher salt and black pepper
- Use sausage stuffer to put meat/potato mixture into casings
- For one hour and thirty minutes, bake at 350°. Put some water in the bottom of the pan. Add more if it bakes out of the pan. When the meat is fully cooked and the skins are beginning to split a little, it’s done.
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It was such a nostalgic post to write. I filtered through hundreds of pictures. Years and years of family memories!.
On the computer, I even found a picture of my sister the first year she lived in California instead of Illinois. We were zooming before Zoom!.