Sausage Brunch Salad
Add greens to breakfast and brunch with this hearty Sausage Brunch Salad. This salad, studded with homemade breakfast sausage patties, perfectly hardboiled eggs and caramelized apples and topped with a maple vinaigrette, can stand alone as a centerpiece or serve as a side for an at-home brunch.
Love savory breakfast dishes? Be sure to check out Thanksgiving Turkey Biscuits and Gravy and Southwestern Breakfast Burrito Bowls!
Y’all.
Y’ALL.
I realize you might be rolling your eyes at my excitement about a Sausage Brunch Salad for a holiday brunch. (You know How to Host a Holiday Brunch, yes?)
BUT this isn’t just any brunch salad.
Why I love this recipe:
Let’s discuss salad for breakfast: Would you serve this breakfast salad in place of breakfast baked goods? Or alongside them?
It should come as no surprise that I’m all for more fruits and veggies and leafy greens.
This combination of kale and apple and hardboiled egg and homemade breakfast sausage is exactly what I want as a part of my morning. You might even call it a healthy breakfast. (It’s definitely got a good balance!)
In addition to being an awesome part of breakfast, this is the kind of salad you could enjoy ALL DAY.
We definitely enjoyed it for dinner one night. And it’s going to start making an appearance on our breakfast table more often.
More brunch recipes to try soon: Homemade Buttermilk Pancakes | How to Bake Bacon | Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Brew | Mashed Potato Chorizo Breakfast Tacos | Hearty Holiday Quiche
Need more breakfast and brunch inspiration? Head over to my Breakfast and Brunch Recipe Index for more ideas!
What you need to make this recipe:
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In addition to these tools, you’re going to need some ingredients, too:
- Ground pork—I used a leaner ground pork, but you can use whatever you’ve got on hand.
- Pure maple syrup—this is going to add some sweetness to our homemade breakfast sausage patties, as well as the maple vinaigrette
- Spices—we’re going to be using ground sage, kosher salt, fennel seed, black pepper and poultry seasoning to add flavor to the ground pork breakfast sausage patties.
- Extra virgin olive oil—we’ll need a little of this for the breakfast sausage patties, as well as the vinaigrette.
- Kale—you’ll need a bunch of kale. You may use lactino or curly kale. Shred it with a sharp knife thinly into ribbons. (The thinner the kale, the easier it will be to coat it in the vinaigrette.)
- Unsalted butter—we just need a little bit of this to cook the apples.
- Apples—use your favorite variety. I’m partial to honeycrisps because I like how they taste raw and cooked, but you do you.
- Hard boiled eggs—go ahead and have them peeled and sliced into halves so you can easily arrange your breakfast salad
- Apple cider vinegar—this is the acid in our vinaigrette. I love how it tastes when paired with the maple. Please note that this is not the same thing as apple cider or apple juice.
- Dijon mustard—we just need a little for a pop of flavor in the dressing.
- Salt and pepper—we use a combination of fine grain kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper for the vinaigrette.
How to make Breakfast Salad with Sausage
This recipe can be made in increments since we have a lot of things that are a part of this salad.
A few elements that can be made in advance and kept in the fridge are:
- Sausage patties (uncooked and sealed in an airtight container)
- Maple vinaigrette
- Hard boiled eggs
Make the Homemade Maple Sausage Patties
Combine the ground pork with the maple syrup, sage, salt, fennel seed, pepper and poultry seasoning in a large bowl. Use your hands to knead the mixture until just combined.
Don’t feel like you need to work it too much, but please know that you want it to be combined so that the seasonings are spread throughout.
Use a 2-tablespoon cookie scoop to scoop and form the patties. (There will be 15 at this size.) Round them with your hands, and place them on a plate.
Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat, and place the patties in the skillet.
You can do this in two batches if your skillet is smaller because you do not want to crowd the skillet.
Cook on one side until crispy and browned. Flip with a spatula and cook the patties all the way through.
Repeat the process as many times necessary to cook all the sausage patties, then set aside.
Caramelize the Apples
Melt the butter in a nonstick skillet over high heat.
Add the sliced apples and cook until caramelized. This will take 3-5 minutes, depending on your stovetop.
Once one side is caramelized, flip and cook the other side.
When the apples are caramelized, remove from heat and place aside on a paper towel-covered plate.
Make the Maple Vinaigrette
Measure the olive oil, apple cider vinegar, Dijon mustard and maple syrup into a mason jar. Shake vigorously, then taste.
Add salt and pepper, if needed.
Set aside.
How to assemble the Brunch Salad recipe
Add the shredded kale to a large bowl. Drizzle with the dressing, and toss until the greens are coated.
Layer on the breakfast sausage, hardboiled eggs and caramelized apples.
Serve within 30 minutes, and enjoy!
Erin’s Easy Entertaining Tips
I love a good breakfast salad like this one because it’s hearty and delicious. This recipe also combines the best savory-sweetness around without it being too much in either direction, and it leads to a really satisfying salad.
It would make an excellent centerpiece at a hosted breakfast or brunch at your home!
Here are some ways you can serve this salad at brunch:
- Make the dressing a few days in advance, and keep it cool in the fridge. Remove it from the fridge 30-45 minutes before serving time.
- Hard boil the eggs early, too.
- Dress the kale early and be sure the kale is sliced thin! The thinner the kale, the easier it will be for it to soak in the dressing. Tossing the kale with the dressing earlier will help this, too.
- Fry the sausage to order… but make the patties early. You can keep these in the fridge and cook them to order.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you love a more savory breakfast, yes, salads are great for breakfast and brunch!
Of course you can! If you’re looking for permission: here it is!
A good breakfast salad is a good salad. You want elements of sweet-salty-savory all combined in it and for the balance of these ingredients to sing.
Now who’s ready for a BRUNCH SALAD?
Scroll on down to learn how to make this goodness.
Also, if you’re making Thanksgiving brunch, be sure to check out my Thanksgiving Biscuits and Gravy, Cranberry Cinnamon Rolls and Southwestern Breakfast Burrito Bowls to pair along with this salad!
Thanksgiving Brunch Salad
Ingredients
Breakfast Sausage (Makes 15 two tablespoon patties)
- 1 lb. 90/10 ground pork
- 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon ground sage
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon fennel seed
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon poultry seasoning
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
Salad
- 1 bunch kale shredded
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 2 apples sliced
- 5 hardboiled eggs peeled and cut into halves
Dressing
- 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 4 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- Salt and pepper to taste
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Instructions
Make the Sausage
- In a nonstick skillet, heat the olive oil over medium high heat.
- In a large glass bowl, combine the ground pork with the maple syrup, sage, salt, fennel seed, pepper and poultry seasoning.
- Using your hands, knead the mixture until it is combined.
- Using a 2-tablespoon cookie scoop, create the patties. (There will be 15 at this size.) Round them with your hands.
- Once the patties have been created, carefully place them into the skillet. (This can be done in two batches if you’ve got a smaller skillet, as you do not want to crowd the pan.)
- Cook on one side until crispy and browned, then flip with a spatula and cook through.
- Repeat the process as many times necessary to cook all the sausage patties, then set aside.
Caramelize the Apples
- In a nonstick skillet over high heat, melt the butter.
- Add the sliced apples and cook until caramelized. (This will take 3-5 minutes, depending on your stovetop.)
- Once one side is caramelized, flip and cook the other side.
- When the apples are beautifully browned, remove from heat and set aside on a paper towel-covered plate.
Make the Dressing
- In a mason jar, measure out the olive oil, apple cider vinegar, Dijon mustard and maple syrup.
- Shake vigorously, then taste.
- Add salt and pepper, if needed.
Make the Salad
- In a large bowl, add the shredded kale.
- Drizzle the dressing on top of the kale, and toss until the greens are coated.
- Layer on the breakfast sausage, hardboiled eggs, caramelized apples.
- Serve within 30 minutes, and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
About the Author:
Erin Parker is a Southern gal living in Texas with her husband and two daughters. She started The Speckled Palate to share what she was cooking as a newlywed… and over the years, it’s evolved to capture her love for hosting. Specifically, the EASIEST, lowest key entertaining because everyone deserves to see their people and connect over good food. Learn more about her…
I can honestly say I NEVER would have thought of this but I would be totally down for having it on our brunch table! The vinaigrette seriously looks perfect and I could drink it by the milk glass full. Bravo, friend!
I love the idea of hosting brunch for Thanksgiving, then you can dinner hop to all your relatives later Ha!
What a delicious salad!
This is such a fantastic idea! Great flavors 😀
Now this is super creative!! Love all the flavors!
I love the idea of hosting brunch for Thanksgiving, then you can dinner hop to all your relatives later Ha!
Not only does this look so tasty, but it looks GORGEOUS! I can’t wait to try this dressing!
Oh I would totally dive right into this yummy salad! I love the idea of salad for breakfast!