Use it up · Meats and poultry

Sausage

Have extra sausage? Here’s how to choose, store and prep sausage, plus 12 family recipes to use it all up, best matches first.

🍽 See the recipes 🧺 Pick a few things you have

🛒 Choosing it

Fresh (raw) sausage must be cooked through; smoked sausage is already cooked and only needs heating. The label tells you which.

🧊 Storing it

Fridge: 1 to 2 days raw; 1 week fully cooked (smoked)
Freezer: 1 to 2 months for best quality

Keep the fridge at 40°F or below and the freezer at 0°F. Freezer times are for best quality; food kept frozen at 0°F stays safe. When in doubt, throw it out. Times from FoodSafety.gov.

🔪 Prepping it

Brown links in a skillet or bake them, or remove the casing and crumble. Cook raw pork or beef sausage to 160°F and poultry sausage to 165°F.

📊 Nutrition per 100 g

Italian sausage. 100 g is about 3 1/2 ounces.

Calories	290 kcal	14%
Protein	14 g	28%
Total fat	24 g	31%
Saturated fat	8.6 g	43%
Total carbohydrate	3.0 g	1%
Dietary fiber	0.0 g	0%
Total sugars	1.2 g
Sodium	563 mg	24%
Calcium	12 mg	1%
Iron	1.8 mg	10%
Potassium	211 mg	4%

% Daily Value for adults (FDA). From USDA FoodData Central 171631 (SR Legacy).

🍽 Recipes that use it up

12 recipes, the ones that use the most sausage first.

With a smaller amount

Cheesy Baked Ziti50 min · serves 8 · dinner 🧒 kid-friendly🥕 vegetarian

Plan them into your week in the meal planner, or find recipes for two or three things at once with the “What can I make?” picker.

More meats and poultry

Ground beef Beef steak Beef roast and stew meat Chicken Ground turkey and chicken Turkey breast Pork chops and tenderloin Pork roast and ribs Ground pork Bacon Ham Lamb All ingredients →

Storage times and buying tips are general guides from the sources below; follow any date or instructions on the package. Cook meat, poultry, fish and eggs to the USDA safe temperatures in each recipe.