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Here’s a better-tasting breakfast sausage from scratch – with mushrooms! Not only do these savory sausages taste better, but they are richer in nutrition.

It’s Healthy Kitchen Hacks Wednesday – the day we share our favorite time-saving kitchen tricks and cooking shortcuts to help you make healthy and delicious meals.

You can see all our Healthy Kitchen Hacks here. To get exclusive healthy kitchen hacks – only available to our email subscribers – sign up HERE.

Now…onto today’s featured Healthy Kitchen Hack:

BETTER-TASTING BREAKFAST SAUSAGE [WITH MUSHROOMS!] VIDEO

“They’re really, really good.”

That’s what my 10-year old said when I asked her what I should write about these Mushroom Breakfast Sausages. She’s a girl of few words.

Pork sausage was not something that often made it onto this dietitian’s menu. (But, bacon? That’s another story altogether. See >> Maple Bacon Scones and Butternut Squash and Bacon One-Pot Pasta.)

Then, a farmer friend gave us some of his farm-raised ground pork. I had some mushrooms in the fridge – and these breakfast sausages were born.

Now we have these breakfast sausages often. And not just for breakfast.

The Mushroom folks call this #HealthyKitchenHack of replacing some of the meat with mushrooms, The Blend. Here’s the formula I use:

>> Add an 8-ounce package of mushrooms to each 1-pound of meat

Here are a few other tips I use for mushroom ‘Blend-ing’:

Mince finely with a knife. Or pulse mushrooms a few times in your food processor.
Saute 8-ounces of mushrooms in 1 tablespoon oil – or not. OR, for a shortcut, just add raw chopped mushrooms – you’ll get a bit less mushroom-y flavor. But you’ll still get all the nutrition and moisture in the meat patties. (And some kids like ‘less mushroom.’)
Mushrooms act as a binder, so no other binders are needed in meat patties. No breadcrumbs. No eggs. #easypeasy
Use spices:
- For pork, go Italian: fennel, oregano, garlic powder, black pepper
- For beef, go spicy: cumin, smoked paprika, red pepper flakes

Mushroom add the goodness of veggies to meat:

Lower fat – Mushrooms replace some of the saturated fat in meat by decreasing the amount of meat in 1 patty (see below.) But meat tastes just as ‘meaty,’ because mushrooms soak up flavorful meat juices.
More for your money – Normally a pound of meat yields 4 burgers, by adding (inexpensive) white mushrooms, you get at least 6-7 big meaty burgers.
Increased nutrients – Mushrooms contain potassium, selenium, vitamin D, and fiber, among other nutrients.

Plus, IMO, Mushroom Breakfast Sausage Patties taste waaaay better than plain sausage patties. Better-Tasting Breakfast Sausage (with Mushrooms!) #HealthyKitchenHack via @TspCurry Click To Tweet

EQUIPMENT: My favorite pan to saute mushrooms: All-Clad Saute Pan [affiliate link] Print