Crumbed sausages are the elevated sibling of the good old sausage. Coated in golden, crunchy crumbs, the sausage inside stays juicy and tender. Bake, fry or air fry – you choose!

If you love anything coated in crumbs too, be sure to check out my how to make chicken schnitzel recipe.

Closeup of cut up crumbed sausages on top of mashed potato.

Why you’ll love it

Easy, fun, so so tasty yet economical – crumbed sausages make a fantastic family dinner, lunch or even snack.

Simply choose your favourite sausages – chicken, beef, pork all work great – then coat them in crumbs and bake or fry until crunchy and golden.

Try stuffing your sausages full of cheese too. Chipolatas or regular sausages chopped into smaller pieces is great if you want to make snacks or game day bites!

I’ve had a few of these in my time and I recently bought one because I was out shopping, ravenous and I hadn’t had one in years. It made me determined to work out how to make them at home

Ingredients you’ll need

Ingredients for crumbed sausages on a marble benchtop.

Detailed quantities and instructions in the recipe card below.

  • Sausages: I use beef sausages but chicken crumbed sausages are also very popular. Pork sausages work great too. Just choose your favourite and use the regular size for the timings in this recipe – that is roughly 2cm wide (almost an inch).
  • Breadcrumbs: I use panko bread crumbs most often for these, though my homemade breadcrumbs, as long as they are fairly fine are great too. You don’t want crumbs that are too chunky as they’ll have a hard time sticking to the sausages.
  • Seasoning: A little onion powder, sage powder and salt give these the perfect flavour. Feel free to add a little black pepper or dried chilli flakes (red pepper flakes) if you want to add a bit of spice.
  • Oil: A neutral flavoured oil like rice bran oil, vegetable oil or even a light flavoured extra virgin olive oil is perfect.
  • Plain flour: Plain flour, aka all purpose flour, starts the coating process.
  • Eggs: Large eggs are the second part of the coating process and help the crumbs stick.

If you want to garnish, just scatter over some chopped fresh parsley and serve with lemon wedges.

Tools you’ll need

How to make crumbed sausages

These crumbed beef sausages are easy to make and quite fun too.

A collage of 4 images showing how to make crumbed sausages from scratch.

Detailed quantities and instructions in the recipe card below.

  1. Toast the crumbs: If you’ve chosen to bake or air fry your crumbed sausages, take the time to toast the crumbs first. Mix them with oil and toast in a dry pan, stirring and turning often until golden. If frying your sausages, skip this step.
  2. Coat the sausages: Make a couple of pricks in the sausage skins, then roll them in the combined flour and salt, making sure to press it all on and use as much of it as possible. Now roll them in beaten egg, then transfer them carefully to the mixture of crumbs and seasonings. Roll them around in the crumbs. Now repeat the egg and crumbing steps.
  3. Cook: I have given options for baking, frying and air frying these crumbed sausages below.

How to cook crumbed sausages

  1. Oven bake: Place the raw crumbed sausages onto a wire rack that sits over a baking sheet. Bake for 22-24 minutes at 180C / 350F / 160C fan forced.
  2. Air fry: Crumbed sausages in the air fryer are just as easy. Place the sausages in the air fryer basket, not touching and cook at 180C / 350F for 10-12 minutes. Here’s the air fryer I use.
  3. Frying: Frying crumbed sausages in a pan or skillet may not be the healthiest option but it does give them an irresistible crunch and perfectly golden finish. Add a couple of tablespoons of oil to a pan and fry over low-medium heat, turning often, for 20-25 minutes.

Tips and tricks

  • Handle delicately: Because of the sausage skin being slippery, the crumbs can come off easily, so just be gentle when you handle them and try to handle them more with the palm of your hand than the tips of your fingers or with tongs. You’ll understand what I mean when you begin crumbing them.
  • Freezing: Once crumbed, the sausages can be frozen ready for another time making them a great meal to prep ahead. They are best thawed in the fridge overnight before cooking but you can bake them from frozen – just add an extra 8-10 minutes to the cooking time.
7 crumbed sausages on a tray with a small pot of tomato sauce.

What to serve with crumbed sausages

There are loads of ways to serve crumbed sausage.

  • Cosy family dinner style: mashed potato and steamed beans (like in these pics).
  • Weekend casual dinner: Coleslaw and chips or wedges.
  • Game day: Serve chopped into smaller pieces with tomato sauce for dipping.
  • Friday night: Serve them in buns with sauce and mustard.
  • Chop them up and serve over spaghetti and sauce.
  • A vegetable tray bake with cabbage, carrot or any other vegetables you love.
  • Pickled red cabbage is lovely as are these quick pink pickled onions. The pickle is a nice tangy contrast to the rich flavour.

Storing leftovers

Leftover crumbed sausages keep well in the fridge in an airtight container.

Reheating them in the microwave works but the crumbs will soften. You can reheat them in the oven at 180C / 350F / 160C fan forced for 10 minutes or in the air fryer at 180C / 350F for 6-7 minutes.

Crumbed sausages cut into pieces on a pile of mashed potato with beans to the side.

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Closeup of whole crumbed sausages on a tray.
4.7 from 9 ratings
Crumbed sausages are a classic at Aussie lunch bars and they’re easy to make at home. Tasty, juicy beef sausage covered in a satisfying crunchy crumb, these are a tasty, economical dinner treat.

Ingredients

  • 1 ½ cups panko breadcrumbs
  • 3 teaspoons oil
  • 1 ½ teaspoons onion powder
  • 1 teaspoon ground sage, optional
  • 1 tablespoon plain flour (notes 1)
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2-3 large eggs
  • 8 regular beef sausages (or your favourite)

For best results, always weigh ingredients where a weight is provided

Instructions
 

  • Mix together the breadcrumbs and oil in a pan then place over medium heat. Cook, stirring regularly, until golden brown all over take off the heat.
  • Place in a high sided dish, large enough to fit a sausage flat, and add the onion powder and sage powder. Mix well.
  • In another dish combine the flour and salt. In a third dish, beat 2 of the eggs (only add the 3rd later if you need it).
  • Prick the skins of the sausages with a sharp knife a couple of times.
  • Add all the sausages to the flour mixture and keep turning and moving about until fully coated and you’ve used all the flour mix.
  • Dip the sausages, one at a time, in the beaten egg, covering all over, then allow the excess to drip off.
  • Now add the sausage to the breadcrumb mixture and use the palm of your hand to gently roll until coated all over. Repeat with remaining sausages, and handle them gently so the crumbs stay on.
  • Repeat the egg and crumb step a second time on each sausage. Again, if you’re gentle with them, the crumbs will stay in place, no problem.
  • FRY, OVEN OR AIR FRY: Whichever method you choose below, the sausages are done when they reach an internal temperature of 74C / 165F.
  • IN THE OVEN: Place the sausage on a wire rack over a baking tray. Bake at 180C / 350F for around 20-25 minutes, turning at the halfway point.
  • TO FRY: Heat a couple of tablespoons of oil in a pan over low-medium heat. Saute the sausages, turning often, until browned all over and cooked through (about 25-30 minutes).
  • IN THE AIR FRYER: Place the sausages in the air fryer basket and cook at 350F / 180C for around 10-14 minutes.
  • Please take a moment to leave a rating and comment below. It helps other readers and helps me to keep creating more.

Notes

  1. I use a standard Australian 20ml tablespoon (equal to 4 teaspoons).
  2. Be gentle when crumbing the sausages as the coating can easily come off due to the slippery sausage skin. Hold them in your palm when possible instead of between your fingers and roll them in the crumbs as opposed to pressing the crumbs on with your hands.
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Have you tried this recipe?Don’t forget to leave a rating and comment below and let me know how it was! I love hearing from you. Nutrition information is approximate and derived from an online calculator. The brands you use may cause variations.