These Peachy Sweet and Sour Sausages are a flavor-filled way to eat breakfast sausages in a non-breakfasty meal. They're gluten and dairy-free.
I'm back today with another retro recipe that my mom used to feed me when I was a kid - Peachy Sweet and Sour Sausages. My mom used to make these tangy sausages fairly often. I'm not sure where the recipe originally came from (like most of the recipes she used to make), but I ended up changing it quite a bit to get up to modern standards.
When I looked at the original recipe, my mind was blown a little bit when I saw how much sugar was in the sauce - ¾ cup! I don't even put that much sugar in most of my desserts - can you imagine how sweet they must have been? Definitely more sweet than sour!
So needless to say, I cut that WAY down. I also omitted the use of chili sauce, because I didn't want to buy a bottle, use part of it, and have the rest hanging out in my fridge until it went bad. Plus, I know from previous experience that it can be difficult to find sometimes. Instead, I used plain tomato sauce and added extra seasoning to basically make my own chili sauce.
The result is a delicious sweet and sour dish that's made from basic, affordable ingredients. Though the dish does take awhile to cook, it's pretty hands off so you can get other things done while you're waiting for it to cook.
How to Make Sweet and Sour Sausages
To make these saucy sausages, you'll want to start by cooking the sausages. Note that if you buy pre-c0oked sausages, you can skip this step. You will however, need to thaw them (if frozen) before cutting them up.
I like to cook my breakfast sausages in the oven (actually, I use my toaster oven) because I find it to be the easiest, most hands-off way, and I get evenly browned sausages. However, you can cook them in a skillet if you prefer.
Once the sausages are cooked, cool them until they're comfortable to handle. Cut them into bite-sized pieces (I cut mine into thirds, lengthwise).
While the sausages are cooking, you can get a head start on making the sauce. First, drain the peaches and cut them into bite-sized pieces (you can skip the cutting step by using diced peach cups). Next, mix up the sauce. This simply involves stirring the sauce ingredients together and can be done right in the casserole dish that you'll be cooking the sausages in.
Stir the cut-up sausages and peaches into the sauce. Cover the casserole dish (if you don't have a lid that fits, you can use aluminum foil) and cook for about 20 minutes. Stir and cook for another 10-15 minutes, the sausages and sauce are very hot and bubbling.
My mom always served these sausages with rice, so that's how I do it too. You could also use quinoa or another grain of your choice.
Sweet and Sour Sausages Ingredients
- Breakfast sausages - You can buy raw ones and cook them yourself, or you can buy pre-cooked ones if you're looking to save time. I used pork breakfast sausages, but you could also use turkey sausages if available.
- Canned sliced peaches or diced peach cups - Note that canned peaches come in various sizes. See the note below the recipe for more details.
- Tomato puree or tomato sauce - you'll want to make sure it's plain with no spices added to it.
- Ketchup
- Granulated sugar - or you can substitute light brown sugar
- Apple cider vinegar - or in a pinch you can substitute regular white vinegar.
- Onion powder - or you can used dried onion flakes (increase the amount to 1 ½ teaspoons in this case).
- Curry powder
- Chili powder
- Garlic powder or dried granulated garlic
- Kosher salt - or use MSG-salt to enhance the savory flavors in this recipe.
Want more retro recipes?
Sweet and Sour Sausages Nutrition Notes
The nutrition information in the recipe below is for ⅙th of the recipe and does not include rice or anything else that you might serve with the sausages. If your portion is larger (or smaller) than this, the nutrition information will change accordingly.
The nutrition information calculations were performed using pork sausage. Using turkey or chicken breakfast sausage instead will be slightly lower in fat (total and saturated) and calories.
This recipe is dairy-free and gluten-free as written. If you plan on serving this dish to someone who requires a gluten-free diet, make sure you confirm that the sausages that you're using are gluten-free, though most should be.
Serve with rice or another grain and a green salad or cooked vegetable dish to make a complete meal.
Peachy Sweet and Sour Sausages
Equipment
- 2.5L Casserole dish or other casserole or baking dish of a similar size
Ingredients
- 24 ounces breakfast sausages see note
- 15 ounces canned sliced peaches drained (see note)
- ¾ cup tomato puree or tomato sauce
- ⅓ cup ketchup
- 3 Tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 ½ Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon curry powder
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt or MSG-salt
Instructions
- Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper. Heat the oven to 400°F.
- Spread out 24 ounces (750 g) breakfast sausages on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes, then flip the sausages, and cook for an additional 5-10 minutes until they are well-browned. Allow the sausages to cool until you are able to handle them comfortably.
- While the sausages are cooking, go ahead and start preparing the sauce. Drain 15 ounces (450 mL) canned sliced peaches, and cut them into bite-sized pieces (if using peach slices, cut each slice into halves or thirds, lengthwise). Set the peaches aside for now.
- Mix up the sauce (you can either do this in a medium bowl, or right in a casserole dish in which you will bake the sausages in the sauce). Stir together ¾ cup (262 g) tomato puree, ⅓ cup (120 g) ketchup, 3 Tablespoons (50 g) granulated sugar, 1 ½ Tablespoons (30 ml) apple cider vinegar, 1 teaspoon onion powder, 1 teaspoon curry powder, ½ teaspoon chili powder, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, and ½ teaspoon kosher salt.
- Cut the sausages into bite-sized pieces (cut in half or thirds, lengthwise, depending on the size of the sausages). Add the sausages and the peaches to a casserole dish. Pour the sauce over them (if you didn't already mix the sauce in the dish) and stir.
- Cover the casserole dish with a lid or aluminum foil and bake for 20 minutes, then stir, and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes until very hot. Serve over rice.
Notes
Nutrition
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