A cheesy and delicious Italian Sausage Bread appetizer that the family will love. It's so addicting that you won't even have to think about leftovers, you'll just be thinking about how you have to make 2 loaves next time!
If you think you'll love sausage bread, then you'll love Pepperoni Bread (Stromboli), EASY Ricotta Bruschetta, and Eggplant Parmigiana
A Quick Look at The Recipe
- ✅Recipe Name: Italian Sausage Bread
- ⏲️Ready in: 45 minutes
- 👪Makes: 1 bread is about 8 slices
- 📋Main ingredients: Pizza dough, mozzarella, provolone, sausage.
- ⭐Why You'll Love This Recipe: This is the easiest appetizer to make, and it is guaranteed to impress. It's so cheesy and delicious, and everyone always loves it.
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Why This Recipe
This is a family favorite from my childhood. The whole family will love this recipe, and it's something the whole family can get involved in. I roll out the dough, and I let my son spread out the cheese and ground sausage, just like my Dad used to do for me!
It's these types of family recipes, like Italian Sausage Bread or 15-Minute Spaghetti with Garlic and Oil, that have a very nostalgic place in my home because they're something that we all loved growing up, and I hope my kids (and your kids) love them too!
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- Sausage. I usually make my homemade ground sausage mix using a homemade mixture or my Sweet Italian Sausage Seasoning if I'm in a rush. I try to avoid using big brands like Johnsonville or Premio, mainly because I just don't enjoy their sausages. A lot of good butchers will have decent sausage, too. Every sausage is different, though, because you can stuff it with whatever flavors you want.
I make homemade sausage and freeze it every year. I also make an Italian Ring Sausage that has a good mixture of flavors that you can use for this sausage, too!
- Dough. I use the pizza dough from Sip and Feast, but instead of splitting it into 4 doughs, I split it into two. You're going to want a pretty big pizza dough for 1 lb of sausage. When I lived in New York, I would just buy the dough directly from a pizzeria, which was very convenient.
You can get your dough from anywhere. Trader Joe's sells doughs, but they're a little smaller, so keep that in mind. Usually, my dough is about 2 lbs. I think Trader Joe's sells a 1lb dough, so adjust accordingly.
Ways to switch up the recipe!
- One of our favorite additions to the recipe is olives. We love to add black olives to the recipe for extra flavor, but not everyone loves olives. Usually, we have one olive loaf and one regular loaf.
- You could also add broccoli rabe to the loaf by replacing about half of the sausage with cooked and chopped broccoli rabe.
- My dad loves to make bread with Swiss cheese and garlic-sautéed broccoli without any meat!
- You could also use cold cuts instead of sausage, like in our pepperoni stromboli! Or try it with broccoli and spinach, like in our Veggie Stromboli.
- I also love to switch up the sauce that we use for dipping. Try dipping in a creamy red pepper sauce or a pink sauce for more flavor!
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How to Make Italian Sausage Bread
Step 1: In a large pan, on medium-high heat. Brown the sausage until no pink remains. Set it aside and let the sausage cool slightly. Don't worry about cooking the sausage completely through because it's going to get cooked again.
Preheat oven to 375℉.
Step 2: Roll out your pizza dough on a heavily floured surface until it is about ¼ inch thick in the shape of a pizza.
Step 3: Layer your slices of mozzarella and provolone across the pizza so that they cover as much of the dough as possible. Then sprinkle the parmesan across the dough.
Step 4: Add your cooled crumbled sausage and spread evenly across the dough.
Step 5: Pull the edges of the dough so there is some space between the cheese/meat and the edge of the dough. Pull the dough edges and start rolling the dough. Fold the edges of the dough in as you roll to make sure everything stays contained.
Step 6: Brush the bread with the egg. Season the top of the bread with paprika, garlic powder, salt, and pepper, and place it on an oiled baking pan.
Step 7: Bake in the oven for 30 minutes or until the bread is golden brown. Let the bread cool for 5-10 minutes. Slice and serve with your favorite marinara sauce!
Pro-Tips
- Rolling: When rolling the dough out, avoid letting it become too thin. The thinner the dough is, the more likely it is to fall apart and break during the cooking process while the bread is expanding.
- Transferring: When transferring the bread from one surface to another, make sure you hold it underneath the bread so that it doesn't crack open under the weight of the sausage. The bread can become pretty heavy with ½ a pound of cheese and a pound of sausage.
FAQs about Italian Sausage Bread
Bignolati is the name for Sicilian-style sausage bread. It's usually served on holidays like Christmas and New Year's Eve.
Hot or sweet Italian sausage works really well, depending on everyone's preference.
Yes, after you roll out the dough, slice it into 8 equal pieces and place them on a pan to bake. You will still need to do an egg wash and season. You can follow the instructions for the pepperoni stromboli and just substitute sausage.
Storage and Reheating
I like to only cut what we are going to eat. Albeit, we usually eat the entire loaf at most family functions. But in some cases, I slice up half the bread and once the other half is cooled, I wrap the entire thing in aluminum foil and store it in the fridge or freezer. It will stay fresh in the fridge for 4-5 days and in the freezer for 3 months.
For reheating, I place individual slices on a baking tray lined with aluminum foil and bake in the oven at 350 degrees. If you're removing it from the freezer, allow it to defrost in the fridge overnight for best results.
Eating these as leftovers is sort of like reheating pizza. It's just as good on day two. I highly recommend not putting this in the microwave, as it will just get moist and gooey.
More Italian Sausage Recipes
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Sausage Bread
Equipment
- 1 sheet pan
Ingredients
- 1 large bread dough
- 1 lb sweet Italian Sausage
- ¼ lb sliced mozzarella
- ¼ lb sliced provolone
- ½ cup parmesan cheese
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- In a large pan on medium-high heat. Brown the sausage until no pink remains. Set it aside and let the sausage cool slightly.
- Preheat oven to 375℉. Roll out your pizza dough on a heavily floured surface until it is about ¼ inch thick in the shape of a pizza. Layer your slices of cheese across the pizza so that they cover as much of the dough as possible. Then sprinkle the parmesan across the dough. Add your cooled crumbled sausage across the dough.
- Pull the edges of the dough so there is some space between the cheese/meat and the edge of the dough. Roll the dough into a log or loaf of bread with the seam placed at the bottom so it doesn't unroll. Brush the bread with the egg. Season the top of the bread with salt, pepper, paprika, and garlic powder and place on an oiled baking pan.
- Bake in the oven for 30 minutes or until the bread is golden brown. Slice and serve!
Video
Notes
- Rolling: When rolling the dough out, avoid letting it become too thin. The thinner the dough is, the more likely it is to fall apart and break during the cooking process while the bread is expanding.
- Transferring: When transferring the bread from one surface to another, make sure you hold it underneath the bread so that it doesn't crack open under the weight of the sausage. The bread can become pretty heavy with ½ a pound of cheese and a pound of sausage.
Carey Branson says
I assume that you cook the spices with the sausage.
Vinny says
No, season the top of the bread.
Gabriel says
What is the serving size for the nutritional facts?
Vinny says
1 slice or 1/8th of the bread.
Nello Palermo says
Where's the recipe for the bread dough?
Vinny says
Typically, I buy a pizza dough or make one using some recipes I've found that work well. I'm still working on a recipe that works perfect for these breads though. I used to live in NY and would just buy a pizza dough right from the pizzeria.
Vinny says
This is on repeat in our house for the holidays. It's a cheesy and delicious bread that is so appetizing and addicting. Guarantee this will be your new favorite appetizer.