Is it possible for a meatless sausage to be one of the best options available when it
comes to breakfast foods? There are plenty of links and patties in the frozen section,
and we're here to separate the delectable from the disgusting.
Banquet is a big name in the frozen food game, and when it comes to their sausage,
the company produces 14 different types of Brown 'N Serve breakfast varieties, which
come in link and patty form. They hit your plate in a range of flavors including Vermont Maple,
Country Recipe, Hot & Spicy, Beef, Turkey, Lite, and Original. Overall, the sausages taste fine,
but they do have their critics. As one review on Banquet's website declared,
"Taste was ok I guess but texture was horrible!"
Their patties are also notoriously small, with one reviewer bemoaning,
"They shrunk the patties to almost half the original size.
You now will need two or three just to put on a biscuit. Not worth the money anymore."
Banquet is certainly accessible and budget-friendly, but there
are plenty of other better frozen breakfast sausage options out there.
The Whole Foods 365 line of products aims to create a more affordable version of
consumers' favorite everyday items, even while shopping at a notoriously
pricey grocery store. Their classic pork breakfast sausage is convenient,
as it's fully cooked and ready to simply heat and serve. It's also available in a
pork and maple flavor for those who want a bit of sweetness with their breakfast.
Unfortunately, the sausage dries out during the cooking process, with one Amazon reviewer warning,
"It's a bit short on fat and I think that's why the flavor is just okay, not great."
Another Amazon reviewer was far harsher, with the declaration:
"Dry. Chewy. No flavor. This was like eating a dried out unseasoned burger.
Definitely not worth trying or substituting for your order."
When it comes to breakfast food, you can count on Jimmy Dean to offer plenty of options.
They make breakfast sandwiches, sausage and gravy bowls, sausage bites, omelet minis, and of course,
frozen breakfast sausages. Their Heat 'n Serve sausages are available either as links or patties,
and they also produce turkey links if you're looking for a lighter option.
Sausage isn't exactly the healthiest food around, but that didn't stop one Jimmy Dean customer from
being alarmed by what they read on the label, with a review of the original sau sage patty noting,
"Tastes good and easy to fix but they conveniently left off the nutrition
information included on the package. 200 calories 180 calories FROM FAT."
For those of you looking for healthy options, Jimmy Dean's certainly isn't the best choice,
though that's hardly surprising when it comes to cured breakfast meats. Still,
if you can look past the nutritional info, these sausages are easy to prepare and taste just fine.
"Jimmy Dean: you get what you pay for."
As a brand that specializes in natural and organic meats,
Applegate is committed to high standards. Its frozen
breakfast sausages are available as links and patties in flavors including chicken & maple,
chicken & apple, chicken & sage, savory turkey, classic pork, and a no-sugar original pork.
"How's your turkey?" "It's good."
A wide assortment is appreciated, but it contains its fair share of hits and misses. The chicken &
sage is a solid winner, while the chicken & apple is perhaps less so. As one reviewer complained,
"I love Applegate breakfast sausages, but these were disgusting!"
If you're looking for organic breakfast sausage, Applegate isn't a terrible pick.
But be aware that you may very well run into some serious consistency issues.
If you're worried about that possibility, consider cooking these in a skillet,
where some extra attention may help offset a rubbery texture.
MorningStar Farms' plant-based products have been a game-changer for vegans and vegetarians.
Their breakfast products include veggie sausage patties, veggie sausage links,
hot & spicy sausage patties, and even a maple-flavored sausage.
These plant-based sausages are made with a combination of wheat gluten and soy protein
to give them a somewhat realistic meat-like texture. While it's an appealing product,
the execution isn't quite as successful as you might hope for. As one reviewer described them,
"These tasted dry and unflavorful, no seasoning taste to them, very bland,
they had a bad breath kind of taste to them."
You might have better luck with the Hot & Spicy variety, with one reviewer announcing,
"The size is perfect for some morning breakfast sandwich. It is spicy,
but more on the mild side which is exactly what I like."
Depending on which bag you get, you may very well end up with a delicious vegetarian breakfast
sausage, but you should be on the lookout for the textural issues that could pop up.
Johnsonville sausages are another frozen, fully-cooked breakfast meat that's available
as either turkey or pork and patties or links. But as it turns out, the turkey
links might be a little questionable. As one disappointed reviewer put it,
"I have bought these a couple of times but this last bag was very hit or miss if it tasted good."
The original pork sausage patties, on the other hand, have a much more delicious reputation.
For one, the size is appealing. Because the patties are made to fit a breakfast sandwich,
they don't shrink down much. And the flavor gets high marks as well. As one reviewer declared,
"These are the greatest pork patties I've ever eaten. The spices, the meat,
and the size are perfect."
So when it comes to Johnsonville, go with the pork and avoid the turkey.
Smithfield Hometown original breakfast sausage links are skinless pork sausages that come frozen
and cook up pretty quickly. The consensus is that they're both convenient and delicious,
as they have overwhelmingly positive reviews. As one Walmart review gushed,
"I normally buy Banquet breakfast sausages but, the store I went to didn't have any. I
wasn't disappointed! I will continue to buy these! They are so good!!"
But keep an eye on those nutritional facts, especially if you're concerned
about your sodium intake. As one negative Walmart review pointed out,
"REALLY salty. I even had my husband taste it to see if I was being sensitive,
and he agreed that it was overly salty."
"How is that?"
"Salty."
Overall, Smithfield is a solid option, but compared to some of the other brands out there,
these aren't made quite as simply, with an ingredient list that's maybe a bit too long.
Jones Dairy Farm is a family-owned and operated business that's been making sausage since
1889 in the form of turkey, chicken, and pork varieties. The pork is available as
mild or maple-flavored, while the chicken comes in original or maple ginger glaze.
The ingredient list for the pork version consists of just pork, water, salt, spices,
and sugar. With this simple recipe comes a purer flavor. As one Target reviewer put it,
"I love these. So much so that I just bought 4 more packages!
So easy for breakfast! My only complaint is that they don't come in a bigger package."
"If you didn't like it 100 years ago, you're not gonna like it now,
because it's the same recipe. It's never changed."
The only downside to Jones Farm sausages is that they can be noticeably fatty.
As another Target reviewer bemoaned,
"I wish I had looked at the nutrition panel before buying [...] [For] every 80 calories of sausage,
70 is from fat. And the look and mouthfeel of the cooked sausages really does reveal that."
If you live in the United States, you'd be hard-pressed not to find
a Walmart somewhere nearby. This makes their Great Value store brand one of
the most accessible options on this list, both in terms of price and availability.
Their sausage patties are available in pork, turkey, and maple flavor,
and they're surprisingly good, according to customers who have given them a whirl.
However, your experience strongly depends on which variety you select. In general,
the maple flavor is viewed more favorably than the plain sausage pack.
Walmart reviewers have praised the versatility of this sausage,
as they've noted that it works well in a variety of meals. One particular positive take declared,
"The Great Value maple flavor has just that hint of maple.
Perfect if you're making English Muffin breakfast sandwiches."
Is there anything that Aldi can't do? This budget grocery chain is beloved across the world.
And in the United States in particular, Aldi customers are fans of their line
of house brand products. Their Breakfast Best pork sausage patties, for example,
are simply among the best frozen sausages on the market today. They're easy to cook, affordable,
and, oh yeah, they also taste excellent. They come in original or maple flavors, and they're
also available in link form. One particular review of the maple patties on AldiReviewer.com raved,
"Once cooked, they cut easily. The patties also go well with other things — a personal
favorite is creating a breakfast sandwich using the maple flavored patties, eggs,
and cheddar cheese on a toasted muffin, but they are a good asset to any breakfast plate."
These aren't the fanciest frozen breakfast sausages around, nor are they the most available
if you don't live near an Aldi. But when it comes to taste and affordability, they're hard to beat.
Based on its current lineup, it appears that Kroger only
has one variety of breakfast sausage waiting for you in the freezer case.
It contains the usual lineup of ingredients seen in many larger brands, including pork,
salt, spice, and additives like coloring and hard-to-pronounce compounds. These
sausages are loved for their layered, complex flavor, with the "Shop Smart" blog noting,
"These patties have that familiar breakfast sausage seasoning with plenty of black pepper.
The taste ends with a sweetly-caramelized finish."
What's more, the sausage isn't overly seasoned, which may make this an attractive option
for those with sensitive palates. These frozen patties are also sandwich-sized,
making them the perfect protein for a quick and filling breakfast.
Overall, these are breakfast sausages done right: not too seasoned and not too bland.
Some things are best kept simple, and that absolutely rings true in the case of Kroger.
Beyond Meat's classic plant-based sausage patties are a soy and gluten-free
version of a breakfast classic that are a fitting addition to vegan and vegetarian diets. The
texture is about as close as you can possibly get to meat without it being the real thing.
One Walmart reviewer was pretty effusive about these "faux-sage" patties, declaring,
"I love these patties. Can't get enough of them and I'm upset that I have to share with my hubby.
Would never buy another brand. Taste is great and texture is really good."
And another Walmart reviewer offered this wholesome take:
"Two of my 90-year-old friends had never tried any non-meat products, but when they stayed with
us overnight recently, I served the Beyond Meat sausage patties with eggs. They loved the flavor!"
Beyond gets bonus points for being delicious and meat-free while steering clear of allergens like
gluten and soy. But if we want to be a little nitpicky, we'll have to mention the size, or
lack thereof, as these patties are a little too small to fit into a standard breakfast sandwich.
However, if you don't mind a little extra bread or engineering a solution, they'll do just fine.
We've finally reached the summit of frozen breakfast meats!
Swaggerty's Farm breakfast sausages are available as hot,
mild, and all-natural. If you're curious about the difference between the all-natural
and regular varieties, then you should know that the former has only five ingredients:
pork, water, salt, spices, and sugar. There may not be much to these sausages,
but why mess with a good thing? In this case, less is definitely more. As one Walmart reviewer raved,
"Good sausage good taste good freshness just plain GOOD."
Another reviewer offered high marks for the reliability from package to package by noting,
"Excellent sausage – I've used this for over a year
and the flavor and meat is always consistent."
Sometimes all that you want for breakfast is just simple flavor with solid execution, and that's
exactly what you get with Swaggerty's Farm. They won't overpower your eggs,
and they'll add just the right amount of zing to your breakfast sandwich,
enough to land them in first place in the breakfast race.
"It's quite possibly the best tasting sausage in America."
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