I Asked 5 Experts To Name the Best Breakfast Sausage—They All Said the Same Thing

Whether it be a breakfast sandwich, breakfast plate, or breakfast burrito, there is no better addition to the morning meal than a good ol’ breakfast sausage. I love breakfast sausage because it’s easy and quick to prepare, is wildly versatile, and is a great way to add some extra protein to the first meal of the day. 

Like most store-bought goods, not all breakfast sausages are created equal. While there are a variety of options contingent upon flavor and meat preference, in chatting with a few of my favorite chefs, I found they all had the same favorite brand. And after collecting their insights, I’m utterly on board with the brand myself. Here's what they had to say.

The Experts I Asked

• Dennis Littley: Chef and recipe expert at Ask Chef Dennis
• Ashia Aubourg: Freelance food editor and writer
• Marcia W. Smart: Culinary instructor, founder of Smart in the Kitchen School and author of Dinner is Done
• Sally Cameron: Professionally-trained chef and certified health coach at A Food Centric Life
• Cesar Zapata: Owner and Chef of Phuc Yea and Pho Sho in Miami

The Best Breakfast Sausage According to Experts

All five chefs I spoke with championed Applegate breakfast sausage. They had different preferences regarding exactly which variety they liked, but, overall, Zapata summarizes: “Applegate Organics is organic, clean, and made with high quality, pasture-raised meat.” The experts recommend the brand for the superior flavor of its sausages and the quality of the ingredients. 

The chefs appreciate Applegate sausage for its well-balanced and interesting flavor profiles, whether the links be chicken or pork. Cameron says, “They are not greasy and overly fatty, yet they have great flavor.”

“They're seasoned well with herbs and spices,” says Aubourg (who prefers the Chicken and Sage links). “My favorite is made with sage, black pepper, white pepper, red pepper, and ginger!” Littley, who also likes chicken but opts for the Chicken and Apple, explains, “Natural sweetness from the apple complements the mild seasoning of thyme and sage, and the chicken stays moist.”

Zapata, who likes all the pork options, says he finds “Applegate’s pork sausage to be the perfect fat ratio for juicy, flavorful sausage.”

The simple ingredient list was also a commonly-loved feature of Applegate's sausage products. "If you read the ingredients labels,” says Cameron, “(and I read them like a hawk), Applegate breakfast sausage is made with simple, clean, understandable ingredients. Nothing weird. No fillers. No artificial stuff.”

Smart agrees, adding that along with the fact that there are “no antibiotics and no hormones given to the animals and no nitrates in the sausage, they’ve also got low to minimal sugar.” Plus, unlike a lot of widely available breakfast sausage brands, all of Applegate’s options are organic and have the perfect fat percentage (not too greasy and not too dry).

“You want a sausage that’s at least 20-30% fat, so it cooks up juicy and doesn’t dry out in the pan,” explains Littley. "This brand gets that balance just right."