The spectacular recipe for these Chai and Chili Paleo Sausage was born out of a season of MAJOR change in my life…
From sweet to savoury breakfasts.
Guys, I know. I know that it appears I’m being hugely dramatic. I know this probably doesn’t sound major to most of you, but for me this transition was huge. I had spent years fuelling my mornings with toast and nut butter, fruit-laden oatmeal bowls or smoothies full of sugar + whey protein. I looked forward to getting up each day because of what was waiting in my kitchen.
I loved my sweet breakfasts.
But at the start of 2018, I felt like something in my body was off. I was tired all of the time, taking naps almost every afternoon. My digestion was all over the place. My skin was terrible. I just felt really unwell.
And so, even though I had already been living gluten-free for 8 years, I chose to make some additional changes, to see if my diet really could affect my health.
To jump start this eating experiment, I enlisted the help of an elimination style diet, where you remove all of the most common food allergens – ie. soy, grains, gluten, alcohol, dairy, legumes and SUGAR!
Enter the Whole30. No more nut butter toast. No more protein bars. No more smoothies covered in granola. What the heck was I supposed to eat for the next 30 days!?
Traditional Breakfast or Meal One?
Since my breakfast game was so thrown off, I started approaching the beginning of my day as “Meal 1” rather than breakfast. Suddenly, I felt free to throw together whatever sounded good, even if it didn’t fall into the “breakfast food” category. I started eating cauliflower rice stir-frys and dinner leftovers with fried eggs on top. And do you know what? I freaking loved it! I felt full + satisfied for hours, unlike my days of sugar starters.
Because of the positive changes that I saw in my overall wellbeing, I continued on the savoury breakfast train long after I finished my Whole30 in August of 2018. In fact, I still notice that I feel my best when I choose to start my day with some sort of meat or eggs + veggie combination like a frittata or crustless quiche with chorizo and butternut squash or sausages with cinnamon roasted breakfast carrots.
And I have to say, my digestion is more normal. My skin is clearer. I’m sleeping through the night (and only at night). This chai and chili paleo sausage didn’t heal me, but its part of a diet shift that has positively impacted my quality of life.
Even if you’re unsure about having lots of veggies at breakfast, I can assure you that you’ll feel great about serving these Chai and Chili Paleo Sausages at your table. The combination of nutmeg, cinnamon + chili flakes makes for a well-rounded “spiced” sausage with just the right amount of kick.
They’re warm + savoury, juicy + satisfying. And they are SO simple to throw together, requiring just 7 ingredients including salt. You can mix them up in less than 5 minutes and fry them up nearly as quickly. Plus, this is a sausage with absolutely no starches or fillers, no nitrates or nitrites, no hidden ingredients.
You get to control the amount of sodium. You get to choose the quality of your pork. You can trust that this is real food.
Chai and Chili Paleo Sausage For Breakfast, Lunch or Dinner
I love to cook up a big batch at the beginning of the week to serve alongside of eggs + avocado or roasted sweet potatoes. They’re also AMAZING thrown into a breakfast sandwich (see above – wowza!). If you’ve got some left over and you’re unsure of what to do with them, I love to serve mine alongside of some mashed potatoes at dinner or chop + add them to gluten-free pasta (or zoodles) with roasted butternut squash + spinach. You really can’t go wrong!
Heck, if you were feeling lazy, you don’t even really need to form them into patties! Fry up the entire batch as crumbled sausage and add it to some spaghetti sauce for a yummy twist on a bolognese. You can really use this anywhere you would use sausage meat.
Honestly guys, these babies are worth your time. They’re great for meal prep, good enough for company + a filling (and nutritious) way to start your day off right.
If I’ve convinced you to give these Chai + Chili Paleo Sausages a try, I promise you won’t regret it. After you’ve tried them, I’d love to know if they’ve converted you to savoury breakfasts too. Let me know what you think in the comments below or tag me in your photos on Instagram! And remember, you can always pin this recipe too so that you can make homemade sausage any time!
Chai and Chili Paleo Sausage
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground pork (ground chicken or turkey works too!)
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp red chilli flakes
- 1 tsp garlic powder
Instructions
- In a small bowl, mix together all of the spices, including the salt.
- In a larger bowl, add both the meat and the spice mixture. Stir with a fork until thoroughly combined.*
- Divide the meat into 8 portions and shape into sausage patties.
- In a hot skillet, cook your patties for roughly 3-4 minutes per side or until the outside is golden brown and the inside is cooked through.
So easy to make and a great flavor! I usually throw it all in a pan and crumble it, then portion it out and freeze. It’s great to throw in a scramble for a flavor kick.