Ploughman’s Sausage Rolls (Cheese and Pickle Sausage Rolls)

These Ploughman’s sausage rolls with a simple pork sausage, cheese and pickle filling that is encased in golden flaky puff pastry, are a fun variation of the classic sausage roll. If you are a fan of the classic sandwich filling, cheese and pickle, they are a must-try!

This easy mini sausage roll recipe with puff pastry, cheese, pickle (or use your favourite chutney!) and sausage meat is a fun kid-friendly recipe, perfect for parties and picnics!

If there is one things guaranteed to raise a smile in our house it is homemade sausage rolls. From pork and apple sausage rolls to honey mustard sausage rolls, as well as meat free ricotta and leek rolls, and the bakery classic cheese and onion rolls, there is something universally popular about a soft savoury filling encased with flaky puff pastry.

What is a ‘Ploughman’s’

A Ploughman’s is a classic English cold lunch based around bread, cheese and pickled – or fresh – onions. Traditionally it was often served with beer, and for many years featured heavily on menus of British pubs. From this base, variations sprung up to include slices of ham, apple, eggs and salad.

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Ingredient notes and substitutions

Please scroll down to the recipe card at the end of the post for ingredient quantities.

• Puff pastry –  To take these photos, I used a sheet of Careme all butter puff pastry. However I have made these sausage rolls with Pampas puff pastry sheets, available in the freezer in Australian supermarkets. Each sheet is approx 160g, which is equivalent to half a Jus-roll puff pastry sheet or just over a quarter of a 500g puff pastry block if you are in the UK.
• Sausages – use the best quality pork sausages that you can. You can buy 400g sausage meat rather than sausages to save squeezing the sausage meat out from the cases.
• Cheese – cheddar cheese, a vintage cheddar would add a lovely tangy flavour, or you can use tasty cheese.
• Pickle – this recipe uses Branston pickle, a classic British sweet pickle. It can be found in supermarkets in Australia, but you can substitute with your favourite chutney. A caramelised onion chutney would be especially delicious.
• Breadcrumbs – you can use panko breadcrumbs or homemade breadcrumbs whizzing up a slice of bread in a mini blender, but you can use bought breadcrumbs too. I find using panko crumbs gives a lighter filling.
• Black pepper – the sausage meat and cheese tend to be salty enough, but a sprinkling of freshly ground black pepper is recommended.

How to make these sausage rolls with cheese and pickle from scratch

These homemade sausage rolls could not be easier to make, once you try you will never go back to bought sausage rolls!

Please scroll down to the recipe card at the end of the post for the full recipe.

1. Squeeze the sausage meat from the casings in to a large bowl.
2. Add the grated cheese, Branston pickle, breadcrumbs and black pepper and stir well to combine. The best way to mix the sausage filling thoroughly is to use your hands, it can get pretty sticky though!
3. Slice your puff pastry sheet in half. Take half of the sausage filling and place in a log shape down the middle of one rectangle of puff pastry.
4. Brush one of the long sides with egg (or milk or water), and then roll over to encase the filling, leaving the seam side facing down. Repeat with the rest of the filling and other rectangle of pastry.
5. Place the long sausage rolls in the fridge for 30 minutes, if you have the time. This extra step is purely optional, but will help you slice the pastry neatly.
6. Using a sharp knife, gently cut into smaller rolls and place them on a lined baking sheet.
7. Brush with beaten egg, if using, then place in the preheated oven and bake until the pastry is a deep golden brown colour.

FAQ

My recipe tips

• Press the log of sausage meat together firmly on the pastry, making sure it is compact.
• Chilling the pastry – once you have encased the sausage meat in the pastry, place in the fridge for 30 minutes. This helps chill the pasty making it easier to cut neatly. You don’t have to do this step, and often when making homemade sausage rolls for the family I just cut the sausage rolls straight away, however the rolls are sometimes a little flatter than had I chilled them.
• Egg free sausage rolls – the egg wash is purely optional so you can leave it out. Use milk or water to seal the pastry. The egg wash makes the sausage rolls lovely and shiny and a beautiful golden brown, so keep this in mind if you leave out this step. 

Serving Ideas

Whilst these cheese sausage rolls are delicious served on their own, they are also perfect for:

• picnics – alongside courgette quiche, silverbeet feta pie and Bakewell blondies.
• afternoon tea – with chicken mayo sandwiches, cheese scones, and lemon drizzle cake.
• lunch boxes – with pizza scrolls, ham and cheese pastries and muesli bars.

Make ahead/storage

• Fridge – Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. The pastry won’t be as crisp, but they are still delicious!
• Freezer –
  • If you used fresh puff pastry (as apposed to frozen), you can make the sausage rolls and freeze them before baking, then cook from frozen, adding an extra 10 minutes to the cooking time. Make sure they are piping hot throughout before serving.
  • You can also freeze baked sausage rolls – place in a freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 3 months.

Why not try…

You may also like these other kid -friendly puff pastry recipes: