Sausage Onion Goat Cheese Puff Pastry Appetizer
When it comes to entertaining and the holiday season, I love to make appetizers! They let me get creative and allow me to make a variety of different types of food allowing everyone to try something new. These small pieces of buttery puff pastry and tangy goat cheese are easy appetizers for a busy time of year. They are full of bold flavors while only using four simple ingredients. Full recipe card below.
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What is Puff Pastry?
Puff pastry dough is a light and flaky dough with a sweet taste most similar to phyllo dough. While puff pastry dough is often used to make pastries, it is also an excellent base for easy appetizers. Because this flaky pastry dough has a sweet and buttery flavor, it accommodates desserts as well as the savory twist of most hors d’oeuvres.
Why I Love This Recipe
Aside from being the perfect fall appetizer, these little bites are an easy party food in the savory territory. With only four ingredients, this combination of comfort food and bold flavor is a delicious appetizer.
Ingredients
This easy puff pastry appetizer only uses four simple ingredients. I will walk you through what I used and where you can make substitutions.
Puff Pastry Sheets –Â For this recipe I used store-bought puff pastry dough because it is a great way to keep things simple. You can buy a box of puff pastry dough (usually Pepperidge Farm) in the freezer section at the grocery store but it needs to be thawed before use. I prefer to use the non-frozen version found near the crescent rolls and biscuit dough.
Ground Sausage – For the sausage component you can really use any kind of ground sausage you would like, but my personal favorite is hot Italian sausage. If spicy isn’t for you, mild sausage works too. You can even use turkey sausage, but it will not have as much flavor and may become dry due to the lack of fat.
Goat Cheese – I know this sounds like an odd pairing, but trust me, the rich and tangy flavor is just what this recipe needs! It is a great compliment to fatty foods like the sausage and buttery puff pastry due to its acidic nature. I used plain goat cheese, but if the holiday cranberry version is available, that would be really good as well! I can find this at my local grocery stores in the specialty cheese section. The closest substitute here would be feta cheese but I have not tested that. Because it gets combined with the sausage, you want it to become a melty cheese and I am not sure if it would yield the same results especially if using crumbles.
Onion – I chose to use a sweet Vidalia onion here to offset some of the spice in the sausage. Because the onion gets cooked down in this recipe you could also use a white or a yellow onion, they just won’t be as sweet. I do not recommend using a red onion because they are really best for raw dishes or for pickling.
Mike’s Hot Honey – Mike’s Hot Honey is definitely one of my favorite condiments and I use it on all kinds of dishes like salmon fillets, homemade pizza crust, and peanut butter sandwiches! If you haven’t had it, you are definitely missing out. It is the perfect combination of sweet and spicy in my opinion. And a little drizzle of honey on these flaky puff pastry appetizers takes them to a whole new level! If you are not into spicy things you can use regular honey or even maple syrup for a similar taste.
Additional Ingredients – I tested this recipe a few different ways but each time I came back to the basics. You can definitely add herbs like fresh thyme and parsley, but if you use a flavorful sausage as suggested, I don’t think additional ingredients are necessary.
How to Make the Cups
Making the cups is actually really simple! First you will need a mini cupcake/muffin pan. Then you need to spray it generously with nonstick cooking spray so each piece of puff pastry doesn’t stick to the pan. If you do not have a mini muffin pan you can use a full size cupcake pan, you will just need more filling because the base of appetizer cup will be larger.
To make the cups as even as possible I cut squares out of the sheet of puff pastry with a 2 inch square scalloped cookie cutter. Then I placed each of the pastry squares into the cups and poked the bottom multiple times with a fork to prevent the middle of the puff pastry crust from rising too much during baking.
Cooking Options
I baked my puff pastry bites in the oven in a mini muffin tin. You could also air fry them, however you would not be able to make the same cup shape unless you have a small pan that fits in your air fryer. You would need to fold them into triangles or into a pocket.
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Sausage Onion Goat Cheese Puff Pastry Appetizer
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 40 pieces 1x
Description
Take your appetizers to a whole new level this holiday season! This easy puff pastry appetizer is a simple combination of spicy sausage, sweet onions, and tangy goat cheese. The perfect handheld bite for your next party or gathering. No game day or holiday party will ever be the same without them and everyone will want the recipe.
Ingredients
- 1 sheet of Puff Pastry Dough
- 1 lb Hot Italian Sausage
- 1/2 Sweet Vidalia Onion
- 8 oz Goat Cheese
- Mike’s Hot Honey (optional)
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 400.
- In a large skillet over medium heat sauté 1/2 a sweet yellow onion until translucent. Remove from heat and set aside on a plate.
- In the same large skillet, brown the sausage over medium heat until cooked through. Drain liquid.
- Cut up the goat cheese into cubes and add to the sausage and the onions in the skillet.
- Reduce heat to low and cover, stirring occasionally until the cheese is completely melted.
- Spray mini muffin pan generously with non stick cooking spray.
- Unroll thawed puff pastry dough and use a square cookie cutter to cut individual squares out. Take the scraps and re-roll to create additional pieces.
- Place the center of each square over the center of each cup and gently press into pan forming a cup.
- Using a fork, poke holes in the bottom of the puff pastry dough.
- Spoon the sausage and goat cheese mixture into the middle of each cup. I used a 1/2 tbsp per cup.
- Bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes or until puff pastry is golden brown.
- Top with a drizzle of honey.
Notes
I do not recommend freezing these. If you are running short on time, make the sausage and cheese filling a day or two in advance and store in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 2 days. Fill and bake the cups 30 minutes before your guests arrive.
- Prep Time: 25
- Cook Time: 15
- Category: Appetizers
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Storage
You can store leftover sausage goat cheese appetizers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
When to Make Sausage Puff Pastry Appetizers
Looking for a great appetizer for your next party? These crispy puff pastry sausage appetizers are the perfect appetizer for large or small gatherings like holiday parties, happy hour, a Super Bowl party, or special occasions. Add a little bit of fresh herbs and garnish on a pretty platter and they make an elegant appetizer for Thanksgiving and Christmas as well! No matter when you make them they are always a crowd pleaser.
Looking for more easy holiday appetizers? Check out my old fashioned Polish mistakes, crab appetizers on English muffins, cranberry goat cheese crostini, pepperoni appetizer cups, or buffalo chicken bites.
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This post, Sausage Onion Goat Cheese Puff Pastry Appetizer, appeared first on Garrison Street Eats.
