Best Gluten-Free Sausage Rolls (with homemade pastry)
This post contains affiliate links. Please read my disclosures.
These Gluten-Free Sausage Rolls with Homemade Flaky Pastry are filled with juicy sausage meat sweet with caramelised onions, thyme and a touch of apricot jam. Encased in an easy-to-handle Homemade Gluten-Free Pastry that doesn’t crack and needs no xanthan gum. They are the ideal party food and these small sausage rolls also pack up well for a picnic. they will always go down an absolute storm.
This gluten-free sausage roll recipe has exactly the same juicy herby meaty filling and crisp flaky buttery pastry which you might remember from your wheat flour eating days.
You can bring these mini sausage rolls out to any buffet table, serve to any crowd and there will be no complaints from anyone at the party and are perfect finger foods. They are simply delicious!
I'll show you how to make pastry for sausage rolls with this absolutely foolproof easy gluten-free pastry which is just as quick and straightforward to make as any homemade pastry. You'll learn how to roll it out with ease so it can wrap around your meat mixture with no problems.
These are traditional sausage rolls but you'll love the sausage roll mixture which is packed with umami flavour thanks to the caramelised onions, dijon mustard, fresh herbs and apricot jam which adds a lovely sweetness. These small bites will have everybody coming back for more.
Jump to:
Watch the video to see how to make them
Why you’ll love this recipe
- Crisp flaky golden homemade pastry.
- Easy blend of 3 gluten-free flours which requires no xanthan gum. No binding agent is needed here as the ratio of gluten-free flours provides the right structure for the pastry.
- Great tasting sausage filling made with sweet caramelised onions, fresh thyme.
- Apricot Sausage Rolls. Apricot jam is our secret ingredient which gives a gorgeous depth of fruity flavour.
- The sprinkle of sesame seeds on top of the rolls provides lovely extra flavour and a satisfying crunch.
- Fantastic recipe for a party or picnic.
Ingredients needed for pastry
You need only 3 gluten-free flours to create the perfect flour mix for this recipe. I do not recommend substituting this flour blend for an all purpose gluten-free flour as the ratios of the flours will be different and the pastry won't hold together.
Sweet rice flour (glutinous rice flour). A delicate and light starchy flour that will give the pastry its stretchy quality and helps ensure there is no cracking.
Defatted almond flour. The high protein content of the defatted almond flour gives our pastry a robust structure. Don’t use regular almond flour (ground almonds) here as you need the ultra fine powdery quality and protein boost of the defatted flour. Note. If you can't find defatted almond flour or you have a nut allergy then you can substitute for chickpea flour (gram flour) which has a similar protein content.
Tapioca flour (tapioca starch). This starchy flour helps ensure our pastry gets lovely crisp and golden when baked.
Unsalted butter. The key to the best flaky pastry is placing the block of butter in the freezer for 45 minutes to harden so that it can easily grate (an excellent tip from Delia’s Flaky Pastry recipe). The little grated pieces of butter which are kept nice and cold melt in the oven and create steam, creating little air pockets in the dough which result in beautifully flaky pastry.
Eggs. We use medium sized eggs here which are about 60g each. The eggs are separated; the whites are used in the pastry to bind the ingredients together and add stretch. The yolks are used to seal the final sausage rolls and as a egg wash over the top.
Ingredients needed for sausage filling
- Unsalted butter. To cook the deliciously buttery caramelised onions.
- White onion. You can sub for a red onion for an even sweeter result.
- Sausage meat. You can use unseasoned sausage meat from the butcher or 8 of your favourite thick pork sausages removed from their casing. Make sure to choose gluten-free sausage meat.
- Fresh thyme. For a lovely herby flavour.
- Dijon mustard. For depth of flavour. Also try a Honey Dijon which is glorious.
- Apricot jam. It adds a lovely level of sweetness. You must use a good quality conserve though for the best flavour.
- Salt and pepper. If you are using sausages rather than sausage meat then you can omit the salt.
- Sesame seeds. Used for scattering over the top of each sausage roll.
Step-by-step instructions
For full recipe instructions for these Gluten-Free Sausage Rolls go to the recipe card at the end of this post.
Make the pastry
- Whisk the flours up, add the frozen grated butter and lightly mix so the butter is dispersed evenly.
- Add the egg whites and bring together to form a soft pliable dough.
- Split into 2, wrap and chill for 30 minutes.
Sausage filling
Mix the sausage meat with caramelised onions, Dijon mustard, apricot jam, thyme, seasoning.
Assembly
- Roll one half of the pastry in between two sheets of parchment. Roll a rectangle 30cm x 18cm.
- Take half of the sausage filling and roll into a long 30cm sausage.
- Transfer the sausage to the centre of the pastry rectangle. Brush the right side of the pastry with egg yolk. Use the baking parchment underneath the pastry to lift and roll the pastry over the sausage towards the right and over the brushed egg yolk to seal. Keep the seam underneath.
- Trim the edges and cut the sausage roll into 8 equal pieces. Place on a baking tray lined with baking parchment. Chill for 30 minutes whilst you repeat the process with the remaining pastry and sausage filling.
- Brush the sausage rolls with egg yolk, cut two incisions in each roll and sprinkle sesame seeds on the top of the rolls.
- Bake for 25 minutes.
Expert tips
- Grating the butter. If you can, use an electric grater or the grating attachment of your food processor for the butter. This will help the butter grate quickly so it doesn’t start to get warm in your hands. Dip the butter in flour so it doesn’t stick to the grater.
- Don’t skip any of the chilling. It helps keep the butter cold and means you’ll get beautifully flaky pastry.
- Seasoning. If you are using sausages removed from their casing rather than sausage meat then it is likely that your sausages will already be quite well seasoned. Bear this in mind as you can omit the salt and even the pepper if that is the case.
- Onions. Cook the onions until they are translucent, just beginning to catch and colouring a beautiful caramel. They take about 20 minutes.
- Rolling the sausage filling. The filling is quite loose so roll it on a dusting of tapioca flour to help keep it together.
- Rolling out the pastry. Rolling the homemade flaky pastry out in between the baking parchment means you don’t have to add any extra dusting flour to the pastry. Keep the baking parchment underneath the pastry as it helps when rolling up your sausage roll.
- Making the incisions in the pastry is important to help the steam escape during the bake.
- Glazing the sausage rolls. Make sure you brush the rolls evenly with the beaten egg and all over so they achieve their lovely golden colour.
- Remove the gluten-free sausage rolls from the baking tray and allow to cool on a wire rack immediately after removing them from the oven.
FAQs
You can assemble the sausage rolls, place on a baking tray and chill for up to 24 hours before baking. Make sure you add the glaze only right before baking.
The baked Gluten-Free Sausage Rolls will keep for up to 3 days if stored in the fridge in an airtight container. Bring up to room temperature before serving. Or you can re-heat in the oven for 5-10 minutes.
Allow the sausage rolls to cool completely then store in the freezer in an airtight container for up to 2 months.
Defrost at room temperature. You can re-heat in the oven for 5-10 minutes after they have defrosted.
This recipe uses a homemade flaky pastry which is rich and buttery and melts in the mouth but you can use a gluten-free puff pastry if you prefer.
Serving suggestions
These Gluten-Free Sausage Rolls are delicious dipped in a fresh tomato sauce, chilli jam, ketchup, hot mustard or even seasoned sour cream. But to really push the boat out you can try with these other homemade sauces:
More gluten-free appetisers you’ll love!
✨Have you tried this Gluten-Free Sausage Rolls recipe? Please leave a 5-star ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ rating on the recipe card and consider leaving a comment as well! I would love to hear about how your recipe turned out and your feedback also helps other readers✨
Enter your email below to get this recipe sent to your inbox plus get new recipes, baking tips, and updates.
Best Gluten-Free Sausage Rolls (with homemade pastry)
Ingredients
Gluten-Free Flaky Pastry
- 120 g sweet rice flour - (glutinous rice flour)
- 110 g defatted almond flour*
- 60 g tapioca flour - + 20-30g extra
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 200 g unsalted butter - frozen for 45 minutes in the freezer
- 3 eggs - medium sized, 60g
Sausage Filling
- 20 g unsalted butter
- 1 large white onion - 175g
- 500 g sausage meat - or 8 thick pork sausages
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
- ½ teaspoon salt - optional if using sausages removed from casing
- ¼ teaspoon pepper - optional if using sausages removed from casing
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon apricot jam - heaped serving
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
Instructions
Gluten-Free Flaky Pastry
- In a large mixing bowl whisk together the sweet rice flour, almond flour, tapioca flour and salt.
- Take the butter out of the freezer and dip in a little extra tapioca flour to protect from the grater and grate the butter directly into the flours.
- Gently mix the grated butter into the flour until the butter has evenly dispersed and has been completed coated in flour.
- Separate the eggs into separate bowls. Reserve the egg yolks for later and pour the egg whites into the centre of the pastry mixture.
- Bring the dough together using your hands.
- Turn the pastry out on to a work surface and knead for about two minutes until the dough comes together into a smooth ball which is no longer sticky.
- Cut the pastry into two equal halves.
- Roll each half into 2 balls and flatten and shape slightly to make two thick square discs. Wrap each in baking parchment.
- Place in the fridge for 30 minutes to chill before rolling out.
- Whilst your pastry is chilling you can prepare the sausage filling.
Sausage Filling
- Melt the butter on a low heat in a medium sized saucepan. Once melted add the chopped onions and cook gently for 15-20 minutes until the onions are translucent and have started to caramelise. Allow to cool for 10 minutes.
- Mix the sausage meat with all the other ingredients for the filling, including the onions until well combined.
- Dust a work surface with tapioca flour.
- Split the sausage filling into 2 halves and roll each into 30cm long sausages on the work surface, using the tapioca flour dusting to help with the stickiness of the sausage filling.
Assembly
- Cut two large pieces of baking parchment, larger than the size you need to roll the pastry out to. Place one of your chilled pastry squares between the parchment.
- Using a long rolling pin roll the pastry out into a rectangle measuring 30cm x 18cm. The parchment helps to protect the pastry so you won’t need to add extra flour.
- Peel off the top layer of the parchment from the pastry then transfer one of the sausages to the centre of the pastry rectangle.
- Brush the right side of the pastry with egg yolk. Use the baking parchment underneath the pastry to lift and roll the pastry over the sausage towards the right and over the brushed egg yolk to seal. Keep the seam underneath.
- Trim the top and bottom edges and cut the sausage roll into 8 equal pieces.
- Place on a baking tray lined with baking parchment. Chill for 30 minutes whilst you repeat the process with the second half of the pastry and sausage filling.
- Pre-heat the oven to 190°C / 170°C fan assisted oven / gas mark 6
- Brush the sausage rolls with egg yolk, cut two incisions in each roll and sprinkle sesame seeds over the top.
- Bake for 25 minutes.
- Remove from the oven then transfer the sausage rolls from the baking tray onto a cooling rack.
- Serve warm.
Video
Notes
Expert Tips
- Butter. The less you handle the butter the better.
- Grating the butter. You can grate by hand but I particularly recommend using an electric grater or the grating attachment of your food processor for the butter to avoid your hands warming the butter.
- Don’t skip any of the chilling. It helps keep the butter cold and means you’ll get beautifully flaky pastry.
- Seasoning. If you are using sausages removed from their casing rather than sausage meat then it is likely that your sausages will already be quite well seasoned. Bear this in mind as you can omit the salt and even the pepper if that is the case.
- Rolling the sausage filling. The filling is quite loose so roll it on a dusting of tapioca flour to help keep it together.
- Making the incisions in the pastry is important to help the steam escape during the bake.
- Glazing the sausage rolls. Make sure you brush the rolls evenly and all over so they achieve their lovely golden colour.
- Remove the rolls from the baking tray and allow to cool on a wire rack immediately after removing them from the oven.
As promised I now use this pastry all the time. I make it dairy free with vegan block butter. All my family are really impressed with the crisp pastry. Thanks to you my gluten free baking skills are getting better.
Thank you Liz, I'm so happy to hear that!
Hoping to try this for my son's birthday in a months time. We live in America and it's one of those things we would have for birthdays back in New Zealand. Would like to introduce my American family to sausage rolls without hurting my gut.
Let me know if you do try it Ruth - I hope it's a grand success!
I made the sausage rolls and they were delicious! Everyone loved them. I imagine they thought I was crazy baking a big cake as well as sausage rolls when 9 months pregnant but you can't compromise on health and quality.
That's great to hear and well done for doing it so late in your pregnancy!! How exciting for you!
Soooo good missed these thank you so much for sharing!
That's a pleasure!!
These are the best sausage rolls. The pastry is amazing. They warm up really well in the microwave for 30 seconds. I will definitely use this pastry recipe for everything in the future.
Hi Liz, that's wonderful to hear - I'm so happy you liked them!
So good✨