This sausage muffin recipe with apples is going to be your new favorite sweet and savory breakfast. A fabulous combination for your next breakfast or brunch, freeze the leftovers and warm up for breakfast on the go.

Apple muffins with sausage are great for breakfast on the go but also perfect for lazy weekends. Before Taylor went back to school, she found this cookbook with Abbie from NCIS on the cover. I told her to look through it and find something that sounded good to try and she found a recipe for what were called apple sausage muffins.
We tried them, and loved the idea of mixing apples with sausage like in apple sausage pie. These turned out similar to a biscuit made in a muffin tin. I wanted to change the apple to sausage ratio so we kept making batch after batch until we came up with a savory muffin with just a hint of sweetness from the apples, but enough sausage to make them a meal.
Taylor froze the leftovers and took them back to school with her. Now she just takes one out of the freezer and microwaves it for a great breakfast on the run.
The apples keep these moist and the sausage gives them flavor. They’re great to serve with a quiche or try them with scrambled eggs. If you want a more traditional sausage flavor, you can substitute breakfast sausage.
Why you’ll love this sausage muffin recipe with apples
- These muffins are a filling breakfast option on the go and reheat easily.
- The buttermilk and greek yogurt do their job of keeping the muffins from being dry.
- You’ll love how the apples compliment the sausage
- These are great if you’re a biscuit lover and want a heartier meal than a traditional breakfast muffin.
- While we call these muffins, they are similar to a biscuit and there’s nothing better for breakfast than a biscuit!
What you’ll need
- Italian sausage – this is less greasy than breakfast sausage and to mix it up, you can use both hot and mild sausage
- Apples – use a firm texture and not too sweet apple like fuji
- Butter – this is one of those times you don’t want to take out your butter ahead of time, instead you want it cold and cubed
- Buttermilk – if you don’t have buttermilk on hand, you can still make this recipe. See below to learn how to make buttermilk with 2 ingredients
- Greek yogurt – combining the high protein yogurt with buttermilk keeps these moist
- Pantry Items – Sugar, salt, baking soda, baking powder, flour
How do you make sausage biscuits with apples
Step 1
Remove casing from Italian sausage and cook in a skillet.
Step 2
Peel and chop the apples, some small and some large.
Step 3
Add cold cubed butter to the dry ingredients and pinch with your fingers or use a pastry cutter to combine. Add the apples and sausage.
Step 4
Combine the buttermilk and yogurt and add to the flour mixture, mixing until just barely combined. Add to a muffin tin and bake until golden brown.
Pro Tip: Italian sausage is less greasy than breakfast sausage and works great with apples. Next time you grill Italian sausages, cook extra and freeze it. Thaw when ready to make these biscuits and save yourself some time.
What to serve with sausage muffins
You would think that these might need cheese, or even butter, but I promise you, they are great just the way they are. Savory and flaky. But I know some people like a bigger breakfast, so here’s some great ideas.
- A side of scrambled eggs
- Fruit salad with honey lime dressing
- Yogurt with chili coconut lime granola
How to make buttermilk at home
To make a half cup buttermilk, for this recipe, you will add two teaspoons of lemon juice to a measuring cup then add milk up to the half cup mark. Let it sit for at least 5 minutes to allow the milk to curdle.
If you don’t have a non-stick muffin pan, you will probably want to use muffin liners. We liked them best in the non-stick pan. While they may not look gorgeous, these muffins/biscuits – whatever name you settle on, are pretty fabulous.
FAQs and tips
Muffins have a specific shape, are soft and light in texture and are generally sweet. Fruit and nuts are frequently added to muffins. Biscuits on the other hand are mostly butter and flour and are savory rather than sweet.
To reheat a sausage biscuit, wrap a damp paper towel around it and set it in the microwave for 30 seconds. If it’s not completely heated through, add it back in for 20 seconds. All microwaves are different, so check it in less time to make sure you don’t over heat it.
You can place these in an air tight container and refrigerate them for 3-5 days.
Yes you can freeze all types of muffins. ! Freeze them up to 3 months in an airtight container.
Breakfast on the go ideas
Need more breakfast ideas, enjoy one of these
Adapted from Donna Bell’s Bake Shop
Sausage Muffin Recipe with Apples
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups Italian sausage
- 2 cups fuji apple peeled and chopped
- 2 cups flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- ¾ cup butter cold and cubed
- ½ cup buttermilk
- ¼ cup greek yogurt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350º. Spray or line 12-18 cup muffin tins
- Remove casing and cook Italian sausage, crumbling into small pieces as it cooks. Remove to paper towel lined plate.
- Peel and chop apples into both small and larger pieces
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar. Add cold butter and mix together with fingers until it resembles very coarse crumbs. Add apples and sausage and combine.
- In a small bowl, whisk together yogurt and buttermilk and pour into the dry mixture, gently folding until just combined. Do not over mix, it will be very lumpy.
- Using a large ice cream scoop, fill muffin cups over the brim.
- Bake for 17-20 minutes until lightly browned. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes and transfer to a wire rack.
Barbara’s Tips + Notes
- If you don’t have a non-stick muffin pan, you will probably want to use muffin liners.
- Try a mixture of sweet and hot Italian sausage.
- You can use any type of apple, choose one that you like to eat.
- You can substitute breakfast sausage for Italian sausage.
- Let these cool completely before freezing.
Leave a Reply