To me breakfast is missing something without sausage, I mean come on it’s hard enough not having bacon right? So I just had to create a homemade low sodium Italian sausage to go with my eggs and toast. Sausage can be made much more heart-healthy by eliminating the salt. It also lowers the saturated fat by over half from the recipe using better meat. As a bonus, it can be cheaper and free of preservatives than what comes from the store.
LOW SODIUM ITALIAN SAUSAGE PATTIES OR LINKS
Sodium Total 232 mg – Sodium / Serving 29 mg – Calories / Serving 119
The best advantage to homemade sausage making is that you can use ingredients that match your tastes and health requirements. With store bought sausage hitting almost 400 mg of sodium for one 2 oz. patty, it’s enough to ruin your breakfast. The reduced sodium is overcome by using a bit more hot peppers and fresh ground fennel than usual. And when the fennel and leafy spices are fresh ground, that flavor is really going to do a savory hit job on your taste buds!
YOU CONTROL THE INGREDIENTS
By making your own low sodium sausage you have complete control over the ingredients you put into your mix. One of the biggest reasons salt has always been used in sausage making is because of its preservation value for storage. Fortunately this requirement is not nearly as important these days. Sausage can now obviously be kept by freezing or refrigerating it, and the salt in most recipes is there simply to (overly?) enhance the flavor.
You might not like it, but no sausage is without fat. If even this is too much for you, you might want to avoid it all together. While even though homemade Italian sausage is mostly prepared using pork, it is not bound to it. You can also use ground turkey if you’d like. Just make sure to use cooking spray on the skillet first because turkey has such a low fat content it will really stick to the pan otherwise.
Ingredients 
Leafy spices separated 
Grinding leafy spices 
Leafy spices ground up 
Ready to mix 
Mixed sausage wrapped 
2 oz. patties 
Form sausage patties 
Cooking sausage patties
Besides making just breakfast patties you can also use it crumbled in the ubiquitous sausage gravy. Or Italian sausage meatballs with pasta by mixing in another pound of ground chicken or turkey and roll them into meatballs. Cook and chop into crumbles and spread over a homemade low sodium pizza. Use where you would have used a pre-made processed sausage before.
UPDATE: HOW TO MAKE SAUSAGE PATTIES
To make a perfect sausage patty use a mason jar lid. It holds about 1.5 oz. of meat when even with the lid rim. Just smush it in till even with the rim and then push the center of the lid out from the back. Perfect looking and a great size for cooking!
Use mason jar lid for perfect patty 
Smush in pop out 
Perfect sausage patties
When mixing the sausage and spices be sure to really get in there and smush things together. I got lazy the last time I made them and end up with a couple pockets of spice that didn’t get mixed in. Not entirely pleasant when it is concentrated like that when chewing!
While you need to get everything well mixed with your hands try to keep the sausage as cold as possible at all times. From what I understand if the existing fat “melts” it results in a dry sausage patty. Mix it cold and after you’ve made the patties it’s probable best to refrigerate till ready to cook.
This is why I add a bit of olive oil into the mix so it has a bit more fat content. I also put a heavy spritz of olive oil cooking spray in the pan before putting a new group of patties in.
GOOD THINGS COME IN THE END
After all that and you mouth now watering, you will probably be disappointed that you can’t cook and eat it right away. The sausages need to be stored in the refrigerator overnight or for at least 8 hours before cooking to let the seasoning mingle. However, it’s well worth the wait. This is another recipe that is good to make in a large batch. Form and freeze the uncooked patties to be thawed and cooked when needed.
Preparing this great spicy Italian sausage recipe is really easy. I like it just as well as its saltier store bought counterparts. You won’t miss the salt and you’ll have a healthy lowered sodium and fat sausage you’ll want again and again.
Low Sodium Italian Sausage
Ingredients
- 1 lb lean ground pork
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1/2 tsp fennel seed (ground)
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (add more if you like spicy)
- 1/2 tsp oregano
- 1/2 tsp ground sage
- 1/2 tsp dried basil
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 1/8 teaspoon mace
- 1-2 slices dried or toasted no salt added bread (optional)
- 1 egg beaten (optional)
Preparation
- Crush the "leafy" basil, sage, oregano, pepper flakes and fennel seed in a spice grinder or mortar and pestle until ground or they are lightly powdered.
- Mix the ground spice in with all the other spices in a small bowl and whisk well to remove any clumps.
- Sprinkle the spice mixture and remaining ingredients over the ground meat and knead well until the spices are evenly distributed throughout the meat.
- Refrigerate overnight to let the spice flavors infuse into the meat. If you try to cook the meat immediately, it will have very little flavor as the spices need time to develop.
- You can also add an (1) egg and (1) slice dried breadcrumbs to bulk up regular sausage patties.
- Form into patties, links or crumbles
- Cook over medium heat to an internal temperature of 160°F or until outside surface is light to medium brown. About 8 to 9 minutes total and there is no pink remaining. Since it is lean do not overcook or the meat will turn out very dry. Usually fat gives it a “moistness” that helps carry the flavor.
Notes ______________________________________________
I use, own and recommend these products and ingredients used in this recipe and I may earn commissions from qualifying purchases.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. Please understand that not everyone’s sodium and dietary requirements are the same, therefore some recipes may be higher than you’re allowed.
https://tastyhealthyheartrecipes.com/main-dishes/breakfast/low-sodium-italian-sausage-homemade/© 2024 Tasty Healthy Heart Recipes
Nutrition Information – The information shown is provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be substituted for a doctor’s or nutritionist’s advice. Please understand that not everyone’s sodium requirements are the same, therefore some recipes may be higher than you’re allowed. Always consult with your doctor for your recommended daily sodium allowance.
OTHER RECIPES YOU MIGHT LIKE
As always, please let me know how you like this recipe in the comments! I get motivated when I hear from you and am interested to learn about how you liked and served your low sodium Italian sausage. And please share any tips you might have.
Hi Bill,
My husband absolutely loved these sausages! He had a major stroke in July 2023 and found out he had congestive heart failure. We had to make a complete 180 in our diets. He is down over 75 pounds but so misses some of his old favorites. This truly hit the spot for him!
Thank you so much for sharing.
We love this recipe, albeit with double the spices! I also a little add No Salt (KCl) , as my husband’s potassium runs low. It’s great on homemade pizza!
My husband had heart failure last February and is now on a very low sodium diet. I’ve joined it and, as recently retired, have turned into a low sodium cook. I just made a double recipe of this sausage and put it in the fridge for tomorrow. I used a pound of regular ground pork (no low fat available at my grocery store) and a pound of ground turkey. I’ll let you know. We made a pizza last night with crust and sause from Heart Healthy Mart with a little pepperoni and lots of veggies. I missed sausage SOO much I started looking for something online. I’ll let you know!!
Eggs and pancakes just isn’t the same without sausage. Right?? Let Me know how it turns out, should be awesome. Bill
While I have had good results with other recipes this does not taste even remotely like Italian sausage.
I’m sorry to hear that. I have had good results with it myself trying to match the Bob Evan’s package roll. Though, it does have difference in taste/texture due to much lower fat and sodium, I thought the flavor was there. I would interested to hear what you found lacking. Thanks, Bill
Hi Bill…..I just tried this recipe today, but I too, like one of the comments used lean ground turkey. I used a little less olive oil and more olive oil spray to the pan and they cooked up great! I made patties from some of the meat ( I really like the mason jar lid and ring trick) and crumbled the rest for a pizza or sauce. I had to try one and it is very good. I will certainly do again and have not tried one of your recipes yet that my husband or I didn’t like. Thanks for sharing them all!
Thanks Cheryl
My wife wants me to make these in the oven — what temperature? and for how long? thank you much
I have not done this but this is what I would start with. I would use a sheet pan with foil. Cook at 425°F in a conventional oven. Cooking should be about 18-20 minutes. Minimum safe internal temperature is 165°F use a meat thermometer to tell.
I am using this recipe to make my Italian sausage for my low sodium spaghetti sauce I am making and then making extra patties for sausage,
Enjoy your site very much and printed off several recipies
Thanks Lynette!
5 stars to the website and all you do Bill!!
I am in the process to make this, but can’t find Mace anywhere locally. I ordered some but will not get it for more than a week. In the mean time is it an important ingredient? should I leave it out for now or substitute with something else?
Brother I am so grateful to have found your site.
Hi Dennis,
Thank you for your comment!
Mace is more of a nuance flavor and can be left out without affecting overall taste. But you could try nutmeg or allspice as a substitute. Maybe a touch more in the amount. I can find mace in both my main grocery store Kroger and Meijers, but it usually comes in a little 0.9oz jar. Sometimes it is easy to miss.
Have a great Holidays
Bill
Bill, I’m still looking for ground pork that doesn’t contain salt. (The Hormel brand 1lb. tubes of ground pork sold around here have 300 mg per 1/4 lb.!)
I substituted ground turkey and it was dry, but tasty. Great with eggs & toast.
Will grind my own meat in a food processor sometime. Thanks for the recipes
Hi Terry, I use the plain grocery butcher ground pork that is wrapped on a styrofoam tray. I thought I had the specs or a pic of the label. But I will have to verify the specs next time I get to the grocery. Even that pork is kind of dry, which is why I add the olive oil.
But yeah anything in a tube is loaded with sodium, except for hamburger it seems. I am looking into a meat grinder soon myself. Of all places Harbor Freight carries a decent looking one, at least for a starter. Haha
Thanks for your feedback.
Bill
Hello, the ingredients list calls for red wine vinegar but the recipe does not include where it’s added. How do you incorporate the red wine vinegar into the recipe and what’s it’s purpose? Thank you.
Hi Caroline, The red wine vinegar would be added in step 3 when mixing everything together. I updated the recipe to show to add all remaining ingredients to the bowl and then mix. The red wine vinegar is simply there as a flavor component. To give a little zing that store bought sausage has.
Thanks
Bill