Spicy Italian Sausage Roll
This Spicy Italian Sausage Roll is the perfect appetizer for your next party!
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The other day, a couple of friends and I were sitting around, and someone tossed out, “What were you guys doing 10 years ago?” That led to a pretty funny conversation. (It also made me realize that I am the old man of our friend group up here in New York…but I digress.) As one of the guys was telling stories from his freshman year in college, I thought back to where I was 10 years ago.
I had just moved to Atlanta the summer before, and I had met Laura only a month or two earlier. The move to Atlanta came after grad school, and I took a job working at Georgia Tech. While the job itself left a lot to be desired, I did meet some pretty awesome coworkers. (In fact, one of those awesome coworkers ended up taking our wedding photos! She also played the bagpipes…although not at our wedding. *Trust me, I tried.*)
As with most jobs, we broke up the daily monotony with chats around the water cooler. Ok, so maybe we didn’t have an actual water cooler. But we did have occasional potluck lunches where everyone contributed their favorite recipe.
I truly have no idea what I took to those potluck lunches, but I do remember that a coworker made a mean sausage roll. (If I recall, he gave his wife the credit for those delicious sausage rolls. He was a smart man.) I’d never heard of a sausage roll before, but one bite and I was hooked! I decided to try my hand at something similar the other day, and this Spicy Italian Sausage Roll was the result.
Spicy Italian Sausage Roll
For this recipe, I started with a batch of my homemade pizza dough. (Feel free to use store-bought dough to speed the process up though!) Add in a generous amount of spicy Italian sausage, peppers, onions and mozzarella. Oh, and a little bit of cream cheese…don’t leave out the cream cheese! *Roll*Roll*Roll* *Bake*Bake*Bake* And now you’ve got one awesome Spicy Italian Sausage Roll!
This Spicy Italian Sausage Roll is something akin to a rolled-up pizza without the marinara sauce. Sure, you could serve marinara on the side for dipping…but it doesn’t need it. We devoured this sausage roll at about 11pm one night after a late-shift on the curling ice. And lemme tell ya–a cold beer and a hot Spicy Italian Sausage Roll never tasted so good! Enjoy!
Leftovers
Leftover slices of this sausage roll should be stored in an airtight container in the fridge. To reheat, cover with foil and bake for 10-15 minutes in a 350°F oven until heated through. A microwave isn’t a great reheating option as the pizza dough stays a bit soft.
Did you make this Spicy Italian Sausage Roll recipe at home? Leave a comment, or snap a photo and tag me on Instagram (@Spicedblog) – I’d love to see your version!
Spicy Italian Sausage Roll
Ingredients
For the Sausage Roll
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- ½ cup white onion diced
- 1 red bell pepper diced
- 1 green bell pepper diced
- 1 pound hot ground Italian sausage
- ½ tsp salt
- 1½ tsp Italian seasonings
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese grated
- 4 oz. cream cheese softened
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese shredded
- 24 oz. pizza dough homemade or store-bought
For Herbed Olive Oil (optional)
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp Italian seasonings
- ¼ tsp coarse salt
Instructions
For the Sausage Roll
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Using a medium skillet, add olive oil, onions and peppers; place over medium heat. Sauté for 6-8 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until peppers have begun to soften. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Meanwhile, cook ground Italian sausage in a separate skillet until fully cooked; drain excess grease from cooked sausage.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine onions, peppers, cooked sausage, salt, Italian seasonings, Parmesan cheese, cream cheese and Mozzarella cheese; stir until well combined.
- Working on a lightly floured cutting board or countertop, roll pizza dough into a 16” square. Spread sausage and cheese mixture evenly on top of dough, going all the way to the edge. Roll dough into a log and pinch seam closed.
- {Optional} Brush the top of the sausage roll with the Herbed Olive Oil.
- Place sausage roll on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Bake at 400°F for 24-26 minutes, or until top is golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool slightly before slicing. (Tip: If you have a pizza stone, place it in the oven while it is preheating. Then place sausage roll on a piece of parchment paper and bake it directly on the stone.)
- Let sausage roll cool for several minutes before using a sharp knife to cut into slices for serving.
Notes
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I’m all in for this one. I make something similar to this but without cream cheese. sounds like a wonderful add, I’ll have to try it next time. Thanks!!
The cream cheese is totally a secret weapon here, Sam! You add just enough to make the filling creamy without becoming a ‘cream cheese roll.’ Give it a shot! And thank you so much for your comment and liking my posts on Google+! Have a great Thursday, my friend!
Haha – 10 years ago today? Dang – I wish my memory served me better – but I have no clue – other than the fact that Lil Shashi was 8 and it was the year I took her to Disney and Universal Studios and while we were there we ate at The Hard Rock cafe where she got to karaoke in front of Kenny Rogers! Haha – what a fun topic of conversation! And, what a delightfully fun and DEEELICIOUS sausage roll this is! Gosh – it’s a good thing I wasn’t there that night you brought this in cos I would have eaten it all – loving that pizza dough crust – it’s been too too long since I had Italian sausage – I have some old friends coming over this weekend and am wondering how I’d do sharing this with them if I made it…am thinking I just might tuck it in the back of the oven so they don’t smell it…hmmm… I need to work on being a better friend… oh well – maybe I’ll ponder that while I eat this whole sausage roll! 🙂 Happy Wednesday David!
Wait…how have I never heard about this story with Lil Shashi singing karaoke for Kenny Rogers!?! I mean that’s totally a claim to fame! And it would be a great item for that game “2 Truths and 1 Lie,” too. I mean no one would believe her! So this sausage roll is totally delicious. I mean it starts with pizza dough, so you know good things are happening. But then you put in that Italian sausage + cream cheese filling. Oh yeah, this one is a keeper…I don’t blame you for hiding this one from the friends! Haha! Thanks so much, Shashi. Hope you have a great Thursday! 🙂
Ten years ago I had just finished grad school and, oh my word, I’m pretty sure I was in the process of moving right around this time. Clearly I move too often :). Pizza dough is so much fun to make! I’d call myself an addict too, but you’re right–it’s a strong word. I’m an enthusiast. A connoisseur of dough. This sausage roll sounds great! I’ve never heard of sausage rolls but if it’s like pizza then I know its good. Happy Wednesday, David!
Hey, moving every 10 years isn’t too much at all! I’ve been here in upstate NY for about 7 years now, and I think that’s the longest I’ve been anywhere in a while. I do like the whole staying put thing, but I can’t help but thinking… Plus, I miss the south! Anyways, pizza dough. It’s seriously one of my favorite things ever. That and blueberry cake donuts. Sausage rolls are a unique creation. Google tells me that they are popular in Britain, but all I know is they are popular in my mouth. 🙂 Thanks so much, Kelsie! Oh, and what did you go to grad school for? Higher ed policy right here…and now I write a food blog. Go figure, right??
Public relations! Honestly, I don’t know why they give advanced degrees in something that’s just common sense but whatever. It was fun!
That makes perfect sense! I agree with ya, though. I thought grad school was fun…minus the seemingly endless number of papers I had to write! Hah. Have a great day, Kelsie!
I am from Syracuse NY and sausage roll was a staple for my family of 8 children!!!! Family favorite. Since I have moved to Alabama I haven’t made it until tonight. I hope these southerners like it!
Ohhhhh sausage roll David??? I’ve never had or made a sausage roll? To think about what I was doing 10 years ago… wow I’m a little too embarrassed to share that with you, but let’s just say I’m so happy I’m out of my 20s. I have noticed your affinity for pizza dough, I totally support it, especially when recipes like this comes out of it. Perfect meal for an easy night and a cold beer.
Yeah, I’m right there with ya, Mary. I remember when my former boss brought these to the potluck, and I was like, “huh? Sausage in a roll?” But trust me…they are super tasty! So now you’re killing me…what were you doing 10 years ago?? I bet you were doing something cool like being an undercover spy or something! Haha! You know, it’s sad that my affinity for pizza dough is so obvious. But what can I say? I love it! (Laura and I also spent several months perfecting what we consider the ideal pizza dough…so I’m never hesitant to whip up.) Now I want pizza and a cold beer tonight. Mmmm… 🙂
.Hi David. I would gladly devour this, along with a nice cold beer! I don’t really like hot Italian sausage, but I have sweet in my freezer. Ten years ago we bought our house in TN and we began our journey to a new life. 🙂
So you could totally use sweet Italian sausage here! And a pizza (or pizza-esque recipe) + a cold beer is how I like to roll on the weekends, too. And for the record, the weekend ‘officially’ starts on Thursdays…so that means I get a beer tonight! Haha! I didn’t realize you guys have lived down in TN for 10 years. I’d love to get back to the South! 🙂 Hope you guys are having a great week so far!
I bet this tasted SO good at 11pm at night with beer after working up an appetite from playing curling! Pinning. This is good Friday night eats in my books 🙂 10 years ago? Whoa. Hubby and I were married for a few years and there were a couple other fur babies in our lives that have since passed. Amazing how fast the time flies; it’s actually scary. My mother in law says the older you get, the faster it goes too. I can totally see what she means. Makes you think to appreciate every single day, right? Have great weekend, my friend!
Oh my gosh, we destroyed that sausage roll, Dawn! I wasn’t sure if folks would be hungry that last at night, but I figured I’d take the roll in just in case. Yeah, there weren’t any leftovers. In fact, I’m surprised I made it out of the club with the baking tray! 🙂 It truly is scary how fast time flies. I mean I feel like I was just celebrating my 30th birthday…but that was wayyy back in my Atlanta days. Each year just gets faster and faster! But you are totally right. Enjoy each and every day! Thanks, Dawn!!
Wow, David, this looks delicious. It’s an entire meal in a roll. I have some kind of “date blindness,” and I can almost never remember what I was doing, when. I always have to look back at my picture gallery, to see what pictures I took that year. So, from the pictorial evidence, it looks like I was fixing up an old (late 1800’s) farmhouse in PA Dutch country, and spent my first Christmas in that sweet little cabin in Northern MI. I had been cooking for a few years, but it was in that huge farmhouse kitchen that I really started flexing my culinary muscle. All of that eventually led me to today, where I’m loving this sausage roll, especially because I love hor d’oeovres that don’t have to be micro-constructed one at a time!
Hah! I love that you looked back at your photos to figure out what was going on 10 years ago. Although now that I think about it, that’s pretty much an ingenious way of tracking your past adventures! I am totally digging the idea of learning to cook in a huge farmhouse kitchen. That sounds like my kind of life right there! Add in a sausage roll for dinner, and I’d be a happy camper…or cabiner…or whatever someone who lives in a farmhouse is called. 🙂
These sausage rolls look fantastic, David. In my childhood, some kind of sausage rolls were a common thing. They weren’t any fancy or compound like this recipe – basically they were sausages or wieners hiden inside of the dough and then baked. Kind of Soviet hot dogs:) But I disagree on you saying you don’t have an addiction to pizza dough (Not complaining though – we all benefit from this addition cause you create tons of good stuff). It’s obvious. You’ve got to accept that. Like I accepted one day my lavender thing. Trust me, you’ll feel relieved once you’ve acknowledged this fact;)
Hmmm…those Soviet hot dogs that you describe sound pretty darned awesome. Kinda like a corndog! Hmm. I guess I should finally just accept my addiction to pizza dough. But isn’t acceptance the first step to curing a problem? And I don’t really want to cure my addiction to pizza dough! 🙂
Yummm this sounds delicious. I love that question and will bring it up at my next get-together with friends. 10 years ago I was working in advertising (same), dating aimlessly (so glad that’s over) but more importantly 10 years ago hardly knew how to cook! So I’m pretty proud of where I am today 🙂
Yeah, that ’10 years ago’ question always leads to fun conversations and stories! And it’s way, way, way better than ‘what will you be doing 10 years from now?’ I couldn’t agree with you more about the random dating, too. Glad that’s over! And I shudder to think how I cooked 10 years ago. I was just getting into cooking for reals. I’ve learned quite a bit over these years, and that’s been the fun part! Thanks so much, Bianca. Happy Monday, my friend!
Wow 10 years ago that is a long time ago. I know that I wasn’t blogging 10 years ago. This spicy Italian sausage roll looks amazing. I wish I could have a slice right now.
Yeah, it’s amazing how much stuff happens in 10 years! But I’m quite happy with the current state of things as I get to write a food blog and think about food all day! 🙂 Thanks so much for your kind words, Dawn!
10 years ago I was at a big agency and left for the smaller more boutique feel and loved running an art department, but hated working for others. Now it’s a different story! Wish I had this to fee the crowd here in Utah this week. It’s a meal in itself!
I couldn’t agree with you more, Kevin! I love being my own boss. Sure, you’ve got to handle everything and stay motivated in the process, but it’s way better than working for people you hate. Plus, we get to talk about food all day long! Hope you’re enjoying Utah, my friend!
I love how you’ve used your home made pizza dough to make these delicious looking sausage rolls David. Sausage rolls are quite a staple here in Scotland, but not the tasty filling and healthier kind you’ve got here. Basically it’s just a pastry dough rolled around some sausage meat here and they’re quite greasy too. Yours isn’t and I’d far rather have those. Thank you! Did I read correctly that you had just come off the curling ice when you had there? I used to do curling 10 years ago, that was one of my things then. When I was single and had the time! 😀
So I totally realized the popularity of sausage rolls over there in your part of the world as I was googling the idea. They need to be more popular over here! I’m not entirely sure this one could be called healthy, but it isn’t greasy at all…so that’s a bonus, right? 🙂
WAIT! You used to curl, too? You did indeed read that one correctly, Neil. I’ve been curling for 3 years now, and I love it! But you are so right that it takes a lot of time. The end of the curling season is always bittersweet. I love having time back again, but I miss the game. Cheers to a fellow (former) curler!
Deeply in love with Italian food, David! I am also slightly addicted to pizza dough so this is right up my alley 🙂 It is so nice to reminisce sometimes and it made me think what I did ten years ago which is such a long time. I have moved to London a little over a decade, made new friends, changed jobs – they certainly were good and happy ten years! Have a fantastic weekend!
See, this is why we are friends, Miriam! We’re both addicted to pizza dough. 🙂 But, yes, I do love Italian food! Believe it or not, though, Italian food here in the States is often very different from Italian food over in Europe. Both are similar, of course, but you guys have access to more authentic Italian ingredients than we do. That’s why I always get Italian at least once whenever we travel to Europe! (And way more than once if we’re in Italy, of course. Haha!)
This is so creative, David. Perfect for a party – it would definitely be the first thing to go! It would be a fun way to throw a ‘pizza party’ – a few different classic topping varieties.
I’m totally with ya, Marissa! Heck, I’m always down to throw a pizza party…and you’re right that this would be a fun way to mix it up a bit. This sausage roll is definitely on the short list of favorite pizza-type meals in our house now! 🙂
This sounds delicious, it would make a great lunch!
It would indeed make a great lunch…or a late night snack! Thanks so much, Caroline! 🙂
Hi David,
I can taste this before I make it! Would it be good for a Christmas party..can it be at room temp & still hold together nicely & taste fresh?
Hey Jean! Oh man, are these sausage rolls good! I think these would actually be great for a Christmas party appetizer. You might consider making them a bit smaller (2 smaller rolls) if they are meant to be finger-food, though. Of course, if folks have small plates, then the normal size would work perfectly. Enjoy!! (And thanks for reminding me about these…I need to make a batch soon!) 🙂