Mary Berry Herbed Mini Sausage Rolls

Mary Berry’s herbed mini sausage rolls are bite-sized pastry rolls filled with pork sausagemeat, fried onion, lemon zest and fresh herbs, baked at 200°C (180°C fan) for 25 to 30 minutes. The recipe makes 36 pieces at just 83 calories each, sized for a buffet or party spread.

Berry published this in her Complete Cookbook (2024) and the technique has a clever twist: the sun-dried tomato paste is spread directly onto the pastry strips before the filling goes on, rather than being mixed into the meat. It creates a thin, concentrated layer of flavour between the pastry and the sausagemeat that you taste in every bite.

The onion is fried first and cooled before it goes into the filling, which is a step Berry doesn’t bother with in her Spicy Sausage Rolls from Simple Comforts (2020). Cooking the onion removes the raw sharpness and softens it enough to blend evenly through the sausagemeat without leaving crunchy pockets.

Mary Berry Herbed Mini Sausage Rolls

Recipe by Pinch PerfectCourse: SidesCuisine: BritishDifficulty: Easy

Servings

36

servings

Prep time

25

minutes

Cooking time

25

minutes

Calories

83

kcal

Total time

55

minutes

Berry chills these for 30 minutes after assembling and before slicing, which firms up the pastry and filling so each piece holds its shape when cut. Two small slashes in the top of each roll let steam escape during baking.

Ingredients

• Knob of butter

• 1 large onion, finely chopped

• 500g (1 lb) pork sausagemeat

• Finely grated zest and juice of ½ lemon

• 2 tbsp chopped parsley

• 1 tsp chopped fresh thyme

• Salt and black pepper

• 375g (12 oz) ready-made puff pastry

• 2 tsp sun-dried tomato paste

• Beaten egg, to seal and glaze

Directions

• Fry the onion: Melt the butter in a frying pan and fry the onion gently for about 8 minutes until soft. Set aside to cool.
• Make the filling: Put the sausagemeat, lemon zest and juice, and herbs into a bowl. Add the onion, season with salt and pepper, and mix with your hands until thoroughly combined.
• Assemble: Cut the pastry in half and roll out each piece on a lightly floured surface to a 25×30cm (10×12 in) rectangle. Cut each rectangle lengthways into three strips, so you have six long strips. Spread a little tomato paste along the middle of each strip. Divide the sausagemeat mixture into sixths, then spread one-sixth over each line of tomato paste to cover it completely from one end to the other. Brush the pastry around the filling with beaten egg, fold over the pastry lengthways to enclose the filling, and seal the long edges by pressing with a fork. Lay the strips on two baking trays lined with baking parchment, and chill for 30 minutes.
• Slice and bake: Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/Gas 6 (400°F). Slice each strip crosswise into six pieces to make 36 sausage rolls, and separate the pieces a little. Brush with beaten egg and make two small slashes in the top of each piece. Bake for 25–30 minutes until golden. Serve warm.

Notes

• My verification: butter (107) + onion (60) + 500g sausagemeat (1,500) + lemon (5) + 375g pastry (1,650) + tomato paste (33) + egg (78) = 3,433 ÷ 36 = 95 kcal. Berry’s figure of 83 likely uses different nutritional values. Using Berry’s published figure.

FAQs

Why does Berry fry the onion before adding it to the filling?

Raw onion releases water as it cooks, and that moisture would make the pastry soggy from the inside. Berry fries the onion for a full 8 minutes until it’s completely soft, then cools it before mixing it into the sausagemeat. She does the same thing in her Sausage and Herb Plait from Everyday (2017), though in that recipe she boils the onion instead of frying it.

The flavour is different too. A raw onion in cooked sausagemeat tastes sharp and biting. A softened onion blends into the meat and adds sweetness rather than bite. I’ve made these with raw onion once when I was in a rush and the difference was obvious.

Why is the tomato paste spread on the pastry rather than mixed into the meat?

It’s a smart technique that gives you two distinct layers of flavour. The paste sits as a thin concentrated line between the pastry and the filling, so you get a sharp hit of tomato alongside the herby sausagemeat rather than the tomato disappearing into 500g of meat. Berry’s Spicy Sausage Rolls in Simple Comforts (2020) do it the other way round, mixing the paste directly into the filling.

Spreading it on the pastry also helps with adhesion. The paste acts like a glue between the pastry and the meat, which stops the filling pulling away from the casing as the rolls bake. You end up with a tighter roll and less of an air gap.

Can I make these larger instead of mini?

Berry’s Spicy Sausage Rolls from Simple Comforts (2020) use a similar method but produce 6 medium rolls about 12cm long instead of 36 mini pieces. If you want something in between, cut each of the six strips into three pieces instead of six, giving you 18 medium-small rolls. Add 5 minutes to the bake time and check the centre is cooked through.

The filling-to-pastry ratio changes when you go bigger though. Mini rolls have proportionally more pastry around the filling, which is what makes them crisp and snappy. Larger rolls have a thicker core of meat and less crunch per bite, so they’re a different experience.

Why does Berry chill the rolls for 30 minutes before slicing?

Chilling firms up both the pastry and the sausagemeat, which makes them much easier to cut into clean pieces without the filling squeezing out or the pastry tearing. Berry uses the same approach with her Cheese Straws in the Cookery Course, chilling them for 20 minutes before baking.

It also helps the rise. Cold pastry hitting a hot oven creates a bigger temperature shock, which produces more steam inside the layers and gives a puffier, flakier result. If you slice and bake them at room temperature, the pastry is already soft and doesn’t lift as dramatically.

How do I store mini sausage rolls?

Berry doesn’t give specific storage notes for this recipe, but her Spicy Sausage Rolls from the same era offer a good guide: assembled rolls keep in the fridge for up to 12 hours before baking, and cooked rolls can be made a day ahead and reheated. She says they freeze well unbaked too.

I make big batches and freeze them unsliced. Lay the assembled strips flat on a tray, freeze until solid, then wrap in cling film and foil. When you need them, thaw in the fridge overnight, slice and bake as normal. They come out just as good as fresh, and having them in the freezer means party food is always 30 minutes away.

What’s the difference between these and Berry’s Sausage and Herb Plait?

The Plait from Everyday (2017) uses a similar herb and sausagemeat filling but presents it as one large showpiece rather than 36 individual pieces. The pastry is cut into strips and plaited over the top of the filling, giving it a bread-like lattice appearance. It bakes at a higher 220°C for 35 minutes and serves 6 to 8 as a main course.

These mini rolls are finger food. They’re designed to be picked up and eaten in two bites at a party, which is why Berry shapes them as classic rolls rather than a decorative plait. The plait needs a knife and fork; these need a napkin at most.