Labor Day was first observed in 1882 in New York City to recognize the achievements of American workers. Today, working Americans enjoy it as a day of rest and good eating with family and friends.
If you’re planning a family get-together during the long Labor Day weekend, you may assume your only options are the recipes you make every year. Instead, surprise your guests with delicious new sausage dishes they will rave about all day.
Here are a few of the best cooking and grilling sausage recipe ideas. Feel free to substitute some ingredients and seasonings to make them your own!
1. Grilled Barbecue Chicken Sausage and Vegetable in Foil
Aluminum foil can be your best friend, especially when creating perfect portions for a Labor Day meal. This recipe for grilled sausage in foil can be adapted for any type of sausage you like.
Mix it up by tossing in any veggies you have on hand, especially homegrown goodies from your garden. You can even try different veggies in different foil packets so every guest gets a one-of-a-kind serving.
2. Grilled Sausage & Potato Salad With Bacon Vinaigrette
Potato salad is an iconic American side dish. This grilled sausage and potato salad recipe adds a bacon vinaigrette for a unique twist.
Use sweet Italian sausage to complement the mild spice of the mustard and paprika in the potato salad and vinaigrette. Mustard, honey and diced bacon in the vinaigrette give this dish a truly memorable taste.
3. Grilled Corn & Sausage Extravaganza
What could be a healthier, more mouthwatering pairing than fresh sweet corn and premium sausage? This grilled corn and sausage extravaganza recipe lives up to its name and makes the most of your grill. You’ll also use your handy-dandy foil, so make sure you have a good supply of it in your pantry! This recipe is a great excuse to visit your local farmers market and pick up ears of corn grown in or near your community.
4. Chorizo Hoagies With Tangy Cabbage-Pepper Relish
This chorizo hoagie and relish recipe is a spicy, tangy take on an American grilling classic. Choose fresh chorizo sausage with full-bodied flavor as the centerpiece, and use a meat thermometer to ensure you cook the sausage to an internal temperature of at least 160 degrees Fahrenheit. That should take 15-20 minutes and give your chorizo sausages an attractive golden brown.
The tangy relish’s signature ingredients include cabbage, bell peppers, lime juice, mayo and beer. Feel free to skip the beer if you’re whipping this relish up for kids or nondrinkers. Bring it all together with the freshest Italian sub sandwich rolls to complete the experience.
5. Cheesy BBQ Sausage Bites
How about making your Labor Day barbecue a three-course meal? This recipe for cheesy BBQ sausage bites is the perfect grill-friendly appetizer to get everybody warmed up for the main course.
Choose a sweet Italian sausage as the foundation for this sticky snack. From there, you have plenty of room to make the flavor your own. You can pick your family’s favorite BBQ sauce and use any bacon flavor you like, whether peppered, maple or hickory. Then, top things off with mozzarella and any mild or sharp cheddar to suit your palate.
Serve each family member or guest a plate of three to five sausage bites, and add an extra drizzle of barbecue sauce for style.
6. Sausage & Cheesy Salsa Burger
Any good lineup of grilling sausage recipes for Labor Day needs at least one burger to be complete. Our sausage and salsa burgers provide a tasty, cheesy kick that will have all your guests begging for seconds. They’ll probably ask for the recipe, too.
A grilling secret to make these burgers even juicier is to put an ice cube in the center of your burger patty. The ice cube will melt during grilling and help the inside of the burger stay tender and moist. Just make sure to test your burger’s doneness — sausage should be cooked to at least 160-165 degrees Fahrenheit for safety.
7. Chicken Sausage, Mushroom & Fig Salad
If you’d like to see some more green on your Labor Day table, try preparing this lean chicken sausage salad. Choose a sweet Italian chicken sausage to mix in with the salad ingredients. Grill your chicken to perfection, saute your mushrooms, onion and walnuts, and add it all to the base of spinach, arugula and fig. Top things off with goat cheese and a sherry vinegar, basil and mustard dressing.
8. Sausage, Peppers and Onions Sheet Pan
Maybe your grill is already busy, or you’re just in the mood to use your oven this Labor Day. No problem! We have a sausage sheet pan recipe incorporating the season’s ripest produce into a fantastic palate-pleaser.
Sheet pan meals have taken off. Like casseroles, they’re pretty easy to whip up, leaving you more time to spend with your guests rather than on food prepping. Bonus convenience points if you use a disposable aluminum sheet pan to make cleanup a breeze. Of course, you could always just purchase a nonstick sheet pan so you can reuse it again and again for this and other great recipes.
Enjoy Premio Sausage This Labor Day
This year, plan a Labor Day meal that’s surprising, satisfying and superb. Check out all our grilling sausage recipes for inspiration.
When sourcing the sausage for these sumptuous recipes, choose Premio Foods. We have a family tradition of making authentic Italian-style sausage that dates back to Naples, Italy. We use only the freshest, finest cuts of meat, seasoned with a secret mix of mouthwatering spices. Our handmade sausages follow family recipes handed down through generations. Now, you can make our prize-winning recipes part of your family traditions.
Find a Premio Foods distributor near you to get delectable Italian sausage for Labor Day.
