Sausage Sizzle

Name: Sausage Sizzle
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Cuisine: Australia
Ingredients: 8 thick beef or pork sausages (about 2 lb / 900 g total); 2 tbsp (30 ml) vegetable oil; 2 large brown onions (about 1 lb / 450 g), thinly sliced; 8 slices soft white sandwich bread; 1/2 cup (120 ml) tomato ketchup or Australian tomato sauce

Sausage Sizzle Say it: SAW-sij SIZ-ul

By the Passport Plate editors. Published November 10, 2026.

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A sausage sizzle is Australia’s beloved outdoor barbecue snack: a thick beef or pork sausage grilled until browned, laid on a slice of soft white bread, then topped with sweet grilled onions and a squeeze of tomato sauce. It appears at school fundraisers, hardware-store car parks, community fairs and polling-day stalls. The combination is simple, juicy and smoky, with the bread soaking up the savoury juices. Its appeal lies in its no-fuss assembly and the way it brings people together around a hot plate.

Sausage Sizzle

Pronounced SAW-sij SIZ-ul

Serves: 4
Prep: 10 min
Cook: 20 min
Total: 30 min
Level: Easy

Dairy-free

Also nut-free and egg-free.

Allergens: contains gluten. Check labels on packaged ingredients.

Ingredients

4 servings

For the barbecue

8 thick beef or pork sausages (about 2 lb / 900 g total)
2 tbsp (30 ml)30 ml (2 tbsp) vegetable oil
2 large brown onions (about 1 lb / 450 g), thinly sliced

To serve

8 slices soft white sandwich bread
1/2 cup (120 ml)120 ml (1/2 cup) tomato ketchup or Australian tomato sauce

Method

Heat a barbecue flatplate or grill to medium-high, or set a large heavy frying pan over medium-high heat. Brush the cooking surface with 1 tbsp (15 ml) of the oil.
Add the sausages and cook, turning every few minutes, for 10–12 minutes, until deeply browned all over and cooked through (160°F/71°C in the centre). Do not prick them, so they stay juicy.
While the sausages cook, heat the remaining 1 tbsp (15 ml) oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the onions and cook for 8–10 minutes, stirring often, until soft, golden and lightly crisp at the edges.
Warm the bread slices briefly on the cooler edge of the barbecue or in a dry pan for 20–30 seconds each side, just until soft and warm but not toasted. Keep them covered.
To serve, lay a sausage diagonally across a slice of bread. Spoon over a generous pile of onions and drizzle with tomato sauce. Fold the bread around the sausage and eat immediately, with extra sauce on the side.

Regional variants

At polling-day fundraisers it is often called a “democracy sausage”; some stalls add mustard or cheese, and home cooks sometimes use a long bread roll instead of sliced white bread.

Cook's notes

Use thick, good-quality sausages and avoid piercing them; the juices keep the bread moist.
Cook the onions slowly over medium heat rather than scorching them, so they turn sweet and jammy.
Assemble just before eating so the bread stays soft rather than soggy.

Serve with

Extra tomato sauce, cold soft drinks or beer, and plenty of paper napkins.

Make ahead and storage

Cook sausages and onions up to 1 day ahead; refrigerate separately and reheat gently. Assemble with fresh bread just before serving.

Sausage Sizzle