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These Gluten-Free Sausage Rolls with Homemade 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 Flaky Pastry that doesn’t crack and needs no xanthan gum. Serve these up at a party or box them up for a picnic, they will always go down an absolute storm.
A great sausage roll will always be the hit of any buffet table. These Gluten-Free Sausage Rolls with Homemade Pastry are the real deal. They are great to serve a crowd and using this easy homemade pastry recipe makes these ultra special.
Table of contents
Why you’ll love this recipe
- Crisp flaky golden homemade pastry.
- Easy blend of 3 gluten-free flours with no xanthan gum.
- 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 provides lovely extra flavour and a satisfying crunch
- Fantastic recipe for a party or picnic.
READ MORE >>> Why I never bake with xanthan gum
Ingredients needed for pastry
I do not recommend substituting any flours in this blend for alternative flours.
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.
READ MORE >>> The Ultimate Guide to Sweet Rice Flour
Almond flour
The high protein content of almonds gives our pastry a robust structure. Don’t use ground almonds here as you need the ultra fine powdery quality of the almond flour.
BUY HERE >>> Almond Flour
READ MORE >>> The Ultimate Guide to Nut Flours
Note. If you have an allergy then you can substitute for Sunflower Seed Flour.
Tapioca starch
This starchy flour helps ensure our pastry gets lovely crisp and golden when baked.
READ MORE >>> The Ultimate Guide to Tapioca Starch
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 glaze 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.
- 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 the sausage rolls.
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 sausagemeat 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 second half of the pastry and sausage filling.
- Brush the sausage rolls with egg yolk, cut two incisions in each roll and sprinkle over sesame seeds.
- Bake for 25 minutes.
Pro 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 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.
Shop the recipe
Make in advance
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.
How to store
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.
How to freeze
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.
Serving suggestions
These Gluten-Free Sausage Rolls are delicious dipped in ketchup or mustard or you can try these other homemade sauces:
More gluten-free appetisers you’ll love!
- Crispy Salmon Nuggets
- Smoked Salmon on Potato Pancakes
- Honey Chipotle Nut Bowl
- Cumin Whipped Butternut Squash and Red Pepper Dip
- Mini Pancetta, Onion and Gruyere Tartlets
- Devils on Horseback
I urge you to give this Gluten-Free Sausage Rolls a try. If you do then please leave a comment below and give the recipe a rating which helps others find the recipe on Google. If you then go on to use this recipe as a launch pad for your own culinary creation then I’d also love it if you’d share it and tag me on Instagram. It is so lovely for me to see your versions and variations of my recipes.
Gluten-Free Sausage Rolls with Homemade Flaky Pastry
Ingredients
Gluten-Free Flaky Pastry
- 120 g sweet rice flour - (glutinous rice flour)
- 110 g almond flour - (not ground almonds)
- 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.
Notes
Baking 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✨