Baked Italian Sausage

Name: Baked Italian Sausage Recipe
Prep time: 2 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 27 min
Ingredients: 5 Italian sausage links; 1 sheet aluminum foil (for pan for easy cleanup)

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Baked Italian sausage is the easiest way to cook Italian sausage and the results are so delicious. Baking sausages in the oven yields a beautiful crisp outside and a soft and tender inside. These baked sausages are great served on their own or with a side of fagioli all'uccelletto (Tuscan beans with tomatoes), Italian baked cannellini beans , white bean bruschetta, or an easy marinara sauce.

Keeping things simple is what we (and most Italians) are all about. There are many ways to cook Italian sausages but our favorite way is cooking them in the oven.

These baked sausages make a great quick meal since they cook up in about 20 minutes and cleanup is a breeze. We often make this as a side to go along with oven-roasted Italian beans but these would be great with so many other sides.

Different types of Italian Sausage

There are three main types of Italian sausage that are available in grocery stores. Sweet Italian sausage, mild Italian sausage, and hot Italian sausage.

If you have tried my pasta con salsiccia or sausage broccolini pasta, you know I love using mild and hot Italian sausage for my recipes. Mild Italian sausage will have a little heat but nothing that is spicy.

If you have young kids who you are serving this to, sweet and mild Italian sausage are great options for this recipe. If you like a little heat, hot Italian sausage is great.

How To Bake Italian Sausages in the Oven

When baking sausage in the oven, you will want to make sure your oven is preheated to 400 degrees. I like to preheat my oven for a good 10 minutes if I can to make sure the oven is evenly heated.

Once the oven is pre-heated, making these is as simple as prepping a baking sheet with aluminum foil and adding the Italian sausage links to the pan.

You will bake the Italian sausages for about 20-25 minutes depending on the thickness of the sausage. Make sure to flip the sausages about halfway through the baking.

This ensures that all sides of the sausage get nice and caramelized during cooking. Once done, you can serve them whole or slice them up and serve them that way.

Tips For Perfect Oven Baked Sausage

Here is what I learned over the years baking sausage in the oven. From the best baking temperatures to what sausage looks like when perfectly cooked.

Baking sausage at a lower or higher temperature: My recommendation is to bake the sausage in the oven at 400 degrees because the high heat cooks it faster and it produces a crisp outside and tender and juicy inside. I have tried baking them at 350 degrees and at 375 degrees and both temperatures tend to dry them out since they need longer in the oven. When I tried it at higher temps, it burned them. 400 degrees is the magic number for baking them.
What a perfectly cooked sausage looks like: When cooked at the right temperature (and with flipping) the baked sausages should look a little crisp on the outside with a touch of wrinkling on the skin and when you cut through them, very juicy and tender on the inside. You do not want to see pink when you cut into a cooked Italian sausage. If there is pink then the sausages need a little more time to cook. The U.S.D.A. classifies Italian sausage as a ground meat and as such recommends cooking sausage until the internal temperature reaches 160 degrees. You can use a meat thermometer or instant-read thermometer to test for this.

Storing And Reheating

Storing Leftovers: To store them, allow them to cool fully then place them in a container or wrapped in aluminum foil and refrigerate.
To reheat the Italian sausages: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place sausages in aluminum foil and wrap tightly. Place in the oven for 10-15 minutes or until the sausages are heated all the way through.

Faqs

Do you need to pierce sausage before baking?

No. This will allow the juices to escape during baking and dry out the sausages.

Can you cook sausage from frozen?

You can as long as you allow for a longer cooking time.

What is the best way to bake sausage in the oven?

The best way to cook them is to place them on a baking sheet on the middle rack of the oven. This allows the heat from the oven to evenly cook them.

What temperature should you cook sausage to?

Sausages should be cooked until their internal temperature which is read by an instant-read thermometer or meat thermometer reaches 160 degrees.

What To Serve With Baked Italian Sausages

I love serving these with a simple side of San Marzano marinara sauce. Here are some more easy dishes to pair with it: