Go Back
a closed whole-wheat bagel breakfast sandwich cut in half, with one thick browned homemade chicken sausage patty containing tiny apple and sage flecks and a thin melted maple-butter sheen on the cut bread, without egg or cheese
Rachel Kim

Chicken Sausage Breakfast Bagels

Mix the sausage gently and shape it wider than you think you’ll need, since the patties draw inward as they cook. Grated apple helps the chicken stay tender, but squeeze it first so the sausage mixture holds together in the skillet. Sage and a little fennel give the patties a breakfast-sausage flavor without relying on a store-bought link sliced into awkward rounds. The maple butter is a thin spread on the toasted bagel, not a sauce poured over the meat. This one doesn’t need an egg to feel like breakfast.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Servings: 4
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 1 1/4 lb ground chicken preferably thigh meat
  • 1 small apple peeled and grated, squeezed to yield 1/3 cup
  • 1 tsp finely chopped fresh sage
  • 1/4 tsp ground fennel seed
  • 1/2 tsp fine salt
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
  • 1 tbsp neutral oil
  • 4 whole-wheat bagels split
  • 2 tbsp unsalted butter softened
  • 2 tsp maple syrup

Method
 

  1. Gently mix ground chicken, squeezed grated apple, sage, fennel, salt and pepper in a bowl. Divide into four equal portions and shape into patties about 4 1/2 inches wide and 1/2 inch thick.
  2. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add patties without crowding and cook for 5 to 6 minutes per side until browned and 165°F in the center, lowering heat if the outsides darken too quickly.
  3. Meanwhile, stir softened butter and maple syrup together until smooth. Toast only the cut bagel faces under the broiler for 1 to 2 minutes.
  4. Spread the maple butter evenly over both cut faces of the warm bagels. Put one cooked chicken sausage patty on each bottom.
  5. Close with the tops, rest for 1 minute and cut in half. Keep the patties intact so their juices stay in the meat rather than soaking straight into the bread.