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Australian Curried Sausages

21/09/2023

These are the BEST EVER Curried Sausages – they’re seriously convenient comfort food. With this easy one pot recipe you’ll have dinner on the table in just 20 minutes, for an effortless family favourite that’s packed with flavour.

Curried sausages in a cast iron pan.

Why We Love This

Just like pumpkin soup and creamy chicken pasta bake, this is an all-time family favourite weeknight dinner recipe for both our families. Our childhood selves loved them for being filling and full of classic curry flavour. No doubt our mums loved them for being quick and easy to prepare AND budget friendly too.

This recipe is super convenient – cook the sausages, veggies and gravy in just one pan. No need to skin the sausages or roll them into meatballs first like some recipes do.

Serve them up with a dollop of creamy mashed potato for a totally satisfying meal the whole family will love.

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Related: Potato Bake / Cauliflower Cheese

Close up of curried sausages in a pan showing the peas, onions and glossy curry sauce.

What are Curried Sausages? 

This dish consists of beef sausages simmered down with onions and peas in a mouthwatering gravy infused with curry powder and beef stock. It’s a popular dinner recipe in Australia, New Zealand and the UK due to its mild savoury flavour (it’s definitely not a hot spicy curry!).

There are lots of variations to the recipe depending on the region and household. We like to think of all the different tweaks as family treasures passed down from parents to children – just like our version today!

While it is technically a curry sauce, it has a vastly different flavour to Indian or Asian style curry recipes.

In Australia we can actually buy the curried sausages gravy as a packet mix from the supermarket. But trust us, this recipe is so easy and tastes so much better than any store-bought pack ever could.

We’ve seen some versions of this recipe where the sausages are boiled first, but we recommend just frying them in the main pan instead like our mums always do. Cooking them this way adds way more flavour to your curry sauce and gives the sausages a much better texture too.

What You’ll Need

  • Sausages – You can use just about any kind of sausage you like (our mums probably used a different style every time – whatever was on special at the supermarket). But the most common style of sausage for this recipe is uncooked link sausages. They can be thick or thin, or even leftover sausages from a BBQ – all will taste amazing. You could even use Italian sausages for an extra spicy kick! These days we recommend high quality sausages – they taste much better than cheap bulk sausages that are usually full of fillers.
  • Beef Stock – We use store bought stock for convenience. You can buy it as a liquid stock or as a stock powder, which you’ll dissolve in hot water before adding to the recipe. Sub with chicken stock or vegetable stock if you prefer.
  • Curry Powder – For the most traditional flavour, we recommend Keen’s Curry Powder. You can get it in mild or hot versions depending on your preference. In truth, you can probably use any kind of curry powder that you have on hand, though there may be slight differences in flavour depending on the spices in your blend.
  • Veggies – Our families both kept it simple, just onions and peas and that’s it! To make it go further you could add carrots, green beans, broccoli, capsicum / bell pepper or mushrooms if you like.
  • Cornstarch / Cornflour – We mix this with cold water to make a slurry that will help thicken the curry sauce and give it that deliciously glossy look. Sub with mashed potato flakes if you have them (no need to pre-mix first).
Ingredients laid out for curried sausages.

How to Make Curried Sausages

First, gather your ingredients: See recipe card below for measurements.

  1. Heat the vegetable oil in a large frying pan or large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sausages and fry until browned, turning often to cook through evenly (around 10 minutes). Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly, then slice into 5 cm / 2 inch pieces.
  2. In the same frying pan or skillet add the onions and cook until translucent. Then add the curry powder, beef stock and return the cooked sausages to the pan. Bring to the boil then reduce to a simmer.
  1. Mix the cornstarch / cornflour with 2 tbsp cold water in a small bowl. Pour into the pan and gently stir through the curried. sausages. Add the peas, and continue cooking for another 5 minutes until the sauce has thickened nicely.
  2. Season with salt and pepper. Serve over mashed potato, cooked rice, pasta or noodles.

Wandercook’s Tips

  • Cooking Time – Will vary if you use thicker sausages, so allow a few extra minutes to make sure they’ve fully cooked through. Pre-cooked leftover BBQ sausages will just need to be heated through rather than cooked again.
  • Cutting Sausages – Laura’s mum usually serves this dish with whole sausages, while Sarah’s mum always cuts them into smaller lengths. Feel free to do it either way, or even chop them into bite-sized pieces!
  • Sides – Serve with buttery mashed potatoes (like amped up bangers and mash) or mix things up with fresh bread, rice, pasta or noodles instead.
  • Leftover Sausages? – Make it into a sausage and bean casserole.
  • Storage – Leftover curried sausages will last 2-3 days in the fridge in an airtight container.

FAQs

Can I freeze curried sausages?

Yes, this dish freezes really well for up to two months. We like to store leftovers in individual portions to make them easier to reheat for lunches. You can store curried sausages and mashed potatoes together in the same container.

Can I make this in a slow cooker?

Yes you can. We recommend cooking the sausages in a frypan first, then add all the ingredients (except the peas and cornstarch) to the slow cooker and cook on low for 6 hours. Around 30 minutes before serving, add the peas (this stops them from going too mushy and disappearing into the sauce), and the cornflour to thicken the sauce.

Is this the same as coconut sausage curry?

These recipes start out from a similar base, but end up with a very different flavour. Coconut sausage curry is infused with coconut milk, and can often have a can of diced tomatoes and/or red pepper flakes added for extra spicy heat.

Variations

  • Extra Flavour – Add freshly chopped garlic cloves when cooking the onions at the start of the recipe. Or stir in a splash of Worcestershire sauceHP sauce, or tomato sauce / ketchup or spicy fruit chutney through the gravy just before serving. You could also just have the bottles on the table for everyone to add to their liking.
  • Extra Thick Gravy – Swap the regular gravy powder for Japanese curry roux blocks. If you do, make sure they are fully dissolved in the sauce before serving.
  • Extra Sweetness – Add a half cup of sultana or raisins, or a small tin of pineapples, in with the broth.
  • Make it Vegetarian – Swap the sausages for vegetarian sausages, boiled egg, vegetarian paneer cheese, or firm tofu. Use vegetable stock in the gravy.
  • Make it Creamy – Add a swirl of thickened cream / heavy cream just before serving.
  • Use A Soffritto Base – This is an Italian style of slow cooking vegetables in a little oil to bring out extra flavour in the base gravy. We use this method in our Italian pasta bake and Italian ragu meat sauce. To do this, finely chop garlic, onion, carrot and celery. Fry them slowly and gently in olive oil until the onions are golden and become translucent (around 5-10 minutes when cooked slowly). Then continue with the recipe below.
Curried sausages in a white bowl served with mashed potatoes.

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★ Did you make this recipe? Please leave a comment and a star rating below!

Close up of curried sausages in a pan showing the glossy curry sauce and veggies.

Australian Curried Sausages

These are the BEST EVER Curried Sausages – they’re seriously convenient comfort food. With this easy one pot recipe you’ll have dinner on the table in just 20 minutes, for an effortless family favourite that’s packed with flavour.
4.99 from 51 votes
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Course: Dinner
Cuisine: Australian
Servings: 4 people
Calories: 481kcal
Author: Wandercooks
Cost: $10

Equipment

Ingredients

Optional

Instructions

  • Heat the vegetable oil in a large frying pan or large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sausages and fry until browned, turning often to cook through evenly (around 10 minutes). Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly, then slice into 5 cm / 2 inch pieces.
    1 tbsp vegetable oil, 6 beef sausages
  • In the same frying pan or skillet add the onions and cook until translucent. Then add the curry powder, beef stock and return the cooked sausages to the pan. Bring to the boil then reduce to a simmer.
    1 onion, 1 tbsp curry powder, 350 ml beef stock
  • Mix the cornstarch / cornflour with 2 tbsp cold water in a small bowl. Pour into the pan and gently stir through the curried. sausages. Add the peas, and continue cooking for another 5 minutes until the sauce has thickened nicely.
    1 tbsp cornstarch / cornflour, 2 tbsp water, 1 cup green peas
  • Optional: Add gravy powder, Worcestershire sauce, HP sauce or tomato sauce/ketchup and mix through for richer flavour.
    1 tsp gravy powder
  • Season with salt and pepper. Serve over mashed potato, cooked rice, pasta or noodles.
    Salt and pepper

Video

YouTube video

Recipe Notes

  • Sausages – You can use just about any kind of sausage you like (our mums probably used a different style every time – whatever was on special at the supermarket). But the most common style of sausage for this recipe is uncooked link sausages. They can be thick or thin, or even leftover sausages from a BBQ – all will taste amazing. Will vary if you use thicker sausages, so allow a few extra minutes to make sure they’ve fully cooked through. Pre-cooked leftover BBQ sausages will just need to be heated through rather than cooked again.
  • Curry Powder – For the most traditional flavour, we recommend Keen’s Curry Powder. You can get it in mild or hot versions depending on your preference. In truth, you can probably use any kind of curry powder that you have on hand, though there may be slight differences in flavour depending on the spices in your blend.
  • Veggies – Our families both kept it simple, just onions and peas and that’s it! To make it go further you could add carrots, green beans, broccoli, capsicum / bell pepper or mushrooms if you like.
  • Extra Flavour – Add freshly chopped garlic cloves when cooking the onions at the start of the recipe. Or stir in a splash of Worcestershire sauceHP sauce, or tomato sauce / ketchup or spicy fruit chutney through the gravy just before serving. You could also just have the bottles on the table for everyone to add to their liking.
  • Extra Thick Gravy – Swap the regular gravy powder for Japanese curry roux blocks. If you do, make sure they are fully dissolved in the sauce before serving.
  • Extra Sweetness – Add a half cup of sultana or raisins, or a small tin of pineapples, in with the broth.
  • Make it Vegetarian – Swap the sausages for vegetarian sausages, boiled egg, vegetarian paneer cheese, or firm tofu. Use vegetable stock in the gravy.
  • Make it Creamy – Add a swirl of thickened cream / heavy cream just before serving.
  • Use A Soffritto Base – This is an Italian style of slow cooking vegetables in a little oil to bring out extra flavour in the base gravy. We use this method in our Italian pasta bake and Italian ragu meat sauce. To do this, finely chop garlic, onion, carrot and celery. Fry them slowly and gently in olive oil until the onions are golden and become translucent (around 5-10 minutes when cooked slowly). Then continue with the recipe below.

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts
Australian Curried Sausages
Amount per Serving
Calories
481
% Daily Value*
Fat
 
38
g
58
%
Saturated Fat
 
14
g
88
%
Cholesterol
 
92
mg
31
%
Sodium
 
988
mg
43
%
Potassium
 
631
mg
18
%
Carbohydrates
 
12
g
4
%
Fiber
 
3
g
13
%
Sugar
 
4
g
4
%
Protein
 
23
g
46
%
Vitamin A
 
388
IU
8
%
Vitamin C
 
17
mg
21
%
Calcium
 
41
mg
4
%
Iron
 
3
mg
17
%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
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Australian Curried Sausages
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75 Comments

  • Reply
    Lorraine Norrie
    07/02/2024 at 4:09 pm

    Try a squeese of lemonjuice Makes a diference.

    • Reply
      Wandercooks
      08/02/2024 at 3:21 pm

      Oh we haven’t ever come across this tip before! Cheers Lorraine, we’ll give it a go with our next batch. 🙂

  • Reply
    Sarah
    12/10/2023 at 8:16 am

    5 stars
    I love how many of you are here because of Bluey! My kids just watched “phones” and now they want curried sausages for dinner ! Thanks Granddad! We’re American so it should be interesting to see what my kids think.

    • Reply
      Wandercooks
      12/10/2023 at 8:19 am

      Hopefully not – “Curried sausages?! Ewww yuck!” haha. If it’s anything like us – we loved it as kids! You’ll have to report back on what they think.

  • Reply
    Leah
    03/07/2023 at 4:48 am

    So I’m American and I heard about curried sausages from watching Bluey with my son 😄. I was wondering what that dish was and found your recipe. These sound awesome and I think I’m going to have to try them!

    • Reply
      Wandercooks
      03/07/2023 at 9:03 am

      Oh that’s awesome Leah! It’s such a popular dinner here, we make it all the time. The best part is, it’s super easy for a weeknight meal with kids and freezes well too. 😀

    • Reply
      Christina
      30/08/2023 at 12:30 pm

      🤣 same reason why I am here. I am going to try this recipe this weekend.

      • Reply
        Wandercooks
        30/08/2023 at 2:40 pm

        Haha, thanks Bluey’s Grandad! So keen to see what you think. It’s such a childhood favourite here!

  • Reply
    Georgia
    09/05/2023 at 8:09 pm

    5 stars
    Delicious! My whole family loved it, and it’s easy to cook. I would certainly recommend it! As a fellow Australian, this is possibly one of the best Aussie Curried Sausages I have ever tasted!!!

    • Reply
      Wandercooks
      10/05/2023 at 9:50 am

      Aww thanks Georgia, that’s great to hear. You’ve made our day! 😀

  • Reply
    Craig
    27/04/2023 at 6:00 pm

    5 stars
    I toast the curry powder in the pan with the onions(after cooking the onions a little) to get them fragrant. Other than that. i love this recipe

    • Reply
      Wandercooks
      28/04/2023 at 9:32 am

      Oh that’s a cool idea toasting the curry powder, we’ll have to try it next time we cook it. Glad you’re enjoying the recipe too! 🙂

  • Reply
    Margaret LeGuier
    16/03/2023 at 6:13 pm

    Have made this twice now and it’s just as my Mother used to make it. I haven’t tasted a sausage dish as good as this one for as long as I can remember. The only thing I did differently was I added a dollop of sour cream at the end of the cooking. Mainly because I love the flavour the cream adds. Absolutely wonderful. Thank you for this great recipe and trip down memory lane (tastewise).

    • Reply
      Wandercooks
      19/03/2023 at 9:16 pm

      Oh wow, that’s amazing feedback. Love the idea of adding a dollop of sour cream. We’ll definitely give this a try – cooking it for Laura’s family tomorrow night, so great timing with your comment!

  • Reply
    Andrew Armstrong
    16/02/2023 at 5:51 pm

    I made this to your recipe and it is almost exactly the way my mother made curried sausages, though she added a couple of tablespoons of dried sultanas or raisins with the stock for some sweetness. I know longer have as sweet at tooth as I did as a child but for nostalgia’s sake I will stick with the sultanas or raisins’

    • Reply
      Wandercooks
      21/02/2023 at 10:30 am

      That’s awesome Andrew. Laura won’t let me put sultanas in ours! She hates them because they’re in everything haha. So glad you could recreate the nostalgic dish though. Enjoy!

      • Reply
        Cate
        03/03/2024 at 12:31 am

        5 stars
        Aussie in the U.K. here. We were discussing food from our childhood and I tried to explain mums curried sausages to my British partner who wasn’t convinced! Made this recipe, reminded me so much of my childhood. He loves it, any time I ask for dinner suggestions this comes up. Quick easy and tasty thanks for the reminder!

        • Reply
          Wandercooks
          04/03/2024 at 8:31 am

          Oh that is so awesome Cate. Nice to know there’s another curried sausages convert out there haha!

  • Reply
    Scott Wolf
    06/02/2023 at 11:39 am

    5 stars
    Another American here. Made it for the first time tonight, using authentic Keen’s curry power, served over mashed potatoes.

    I don’t even cook that much, but this was a really easy recipe! Thank you so much!

    • Reply
      Wandercooks
      06/02/2023 at 1:21 pm

      That’s so awesome Scott! Thanks for letting us know, so glad you enjoyed. 😀

  • Reply
    John Fraraccio
    30/01/2023 at 3:59 am

    5 stars
    Bluey’s granddad sent me (no kidding). I’m Stateside but have Keen’s handy. Kosher beef ‘franks’ served for beef sausages. Added peas, carrots and sliced mushrooms. In place of cornstarch add a tablespoon of mashed potato flakes for each cup of liquid (no need to ‘pre-mix’). Will next attempt the Italian sausages and soffrito base but might not add curry to that.

    • Reply
      Wandercooks
      30/01/2023 at 11:17 am

      Hey John, haha! That’s fantastic. Glad you enjoyed. Such a good idea doing the potato flakes as a thickener too. Laura’s Dad makes camp stew like that! Enjoy your next cooking adventure!

      • Reply
        John Fraraccio
        02/02/2023 at 3:58 am

        Will do. And if the eaters are especially youthful serve ‘paternoster lisci’ as the pasta and announce a challenge to roll each pea into a cooked noodle.

        • Reply
          Wandercooks
          02/02/2023 at 10:08 am

          Haha, that would be very entertaining to watch. Thanks for the extra tip!

    • Reply
      Amanda
      05/06/2023 at 5:48 am

      Honestly, I’m here because of Bluey’s granddad too! Ha! 🙂

      • Reply
        Wandercooks
        11/06/2023 at 6:47 am

        Haha love it Amanda! Hope you try them and see what you think. 😁

  • Reply
    Ann
    04/10/2022 at 9:44 pm

    5 stars
    This was very tasty. I made exactly to recipe and added a dollop of spicy tomato chutney at the end.
    I like the way that the ingredients are at the end of each step, so you don’t have to scroll back up the the ingredients list. I would like to try it with one of the alternate suggestions of boiled eggs.

    • Reply
      Wandercooks
      06/10/2022 at 9:26 am

      Oh so glad you like the new method layout with the ingredients. Thanks for the feedback! Have fun experiments with the variations too. 🙂

  • Reply
    Huff
    13/08/2022 at 5:32 pm

    5 stars
    Really tasty! I used vegetarian sausages not beef and it was still yum. A taste of childhood

    • Reply
      Wandercooks
      15/08/2022 at 10:51 am

      Oh great, glad you were able to replicate the taste and keep it vegetarian too!

  • Reply
    Tameka
    30/04/2022 at 6:49 pm

    This is the basic awesome curried sausage recipe I remember from my childhood. With a dash of Worcestershire and tomato sauce it’s now a regular thing for my family and my children. I do boil my sausages in the same pot as my potatoes so it’s still only a 2 pot meal since my 2 year old daughter likes them better boiled and it’s easier than arguing 🤦‍♀️🤣

    • Reply
      Wandercooks
      02/05/2022 at 11:09 am

      Oh nice work, so cool you were able to adapt it for your 2yr old by boiling the sausages. Great idea to pop them in with the potatoes too!

  • Reply
    Linda
    18/04/2022 at 8:57 pm

    5 stars
    I didn’t have any Keen’s curry powder so used an Indian mild curry powder and it was still so yummy. Also, cut the sausages into bite sizes because I have a son who wouldn’t bite them into smaller pieces.

    • Reply
      Wandercooks
      19/04/2022 at 1:49 pm

      That’s great to hear Linda, and good tips too thanks. Hope you and your son enjoyed the recipe!

    • Reply
      Garry
      14/06/2022 at 1:23 pm

      5 stars
      Great recipe. I think the cheap snags give a much better result.😋

      • Reply
        Wandercooks
        15/06/2022 at 12:23 pm

        Haha awesome work Garry!

        • Reply
          Bethany
          29/11/2022 at 1:58 pm

          5 stars
          As an American, this was my first attempt at an Australian dish. We don’t have Keens brand, soni had to use a different curry powder, but wow it was so yummy! I made it with mixed veggies and eyeballed the rest of the ingredients. We will definitely be making this again!

          • Wandercooks
            29/11/2022 at 5:23 pm

            Great work Bethany! I do love that this recipe is super adaptable, so you really can just throw in whatever and it’ll taste awesome. Hehe!

  • Reply
    Kassandra Coates
    10/04/2022 at 2:46 pm

    How would you go about getting more sauce? When I cooked it there just wasn’t enough sauce

    • Reply
      Wandercooks
      11/04/2022 at 4:06 pm

      Hey Kassandra, if you would like it extra saucy I’d 1.5x the liquid amounts – so maybe bump it up to 2 cups of beef stock for example. 🙂

  • Reply
    Cath Dama
    07/04/2022 at 5:55 pm

    This was so good that I added to my family recipe cards. Thank you. Easy, delicious and 1 pan, just how I like em

    • Reply
      Wandercooks
      11/04/2022 at 4:01 pm

      That’s great Cath, so glad you enjoyed it!

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