Sausage and Cheese Turnovers

In my opinion, you can add sausage and cheese to anything and it becomes instantly ten times better. Sandwich, omelette, breakfast burrito, I could go on! And these delicious turnovers are no exception. Serve these sausage and cheese turnovers as a game day snack or holiday appetizer, and your guests will be very pleased indeed!

Sausage, onion, and two kinds of cheese are stuffed inside (store-bought!) biscuit dough and folded over to contain all that deliciousness. They are then sprinkled with more cheese and baked in the oven until golden brown.

These turnovers take a little time to assemble, so I put this in the “fun” category rather than the “easy” category. But, overall these are not challenging to make since you are using pre-made dough and only a handful of ingredients. And, you can make these ahead and keep them in the fridge or freezer, then heat them up when you are ready to serve!

Sausage and Cheese Turnovers Ingredients

There are only seven ingredients in this easy appetizer:

• Canned biscuit dough: The specific type I use is the 6 oz. can of Pillsbury Buttermilk Biscuits with “Flaky Layers.” This is the smaller sized can, not the “Grands” type. I included a picture at the bottom of this section so you can see a comparison of the two sizes. If you use a different size, you will need to adjust the amount of filling and bake time accordingly.
• Sausage: you need fresh, uncooked sausage. I used mild Italian sausage, but you can use any kind you prefer.
• Onion: you need 1/2 cup finely chopped onion, about half a medium sized onion.
• Shredded cheese: you can choose any kind, as long as it’s a cheese that melts (i.e. maybe not feta, although I bet that actually would still be delicious). I tried this recipe with Gouda, Gruyere, and muenster. I preferred the Gruyere, but they were all good! Cheddar, mozzarella, Swiss, and Fontina would all be good I bet.
• Cream cheese: this adds some extra moisture and creaminess to the filling
• Egg: mixed with a bit of water to make an egg wash. This is used to glue the turnover edges together and also to make the top of the turnovers shiny once they are baked.
• Flour: just a little bit to help the dough not stick when rolling. When crimping the edges of the turnover, you can also dip the fork in some flour if it’s starting to stick.

Helpful Tips

Here are a few tips to help you execute these delicious sausage and cheese appetizers the first time around:

• Make sure you roll the biscuit dough out thin enough. You want it to be about 1/8 inch thick. If you don’t roll the biscuits thin enough, there won’t be enough room to add as much filling!

• Similar to the above point, make sure you leave enough space around the filling so you can easily fold the dough over. You want at least 3/4 inch of space between the filling and the edge of the dough. Otherwise, the filling may ooze out during baking (this happened to me the first time I made these!). And be generous with the egg wash on the edge, this really helps to seal the edges!

• When you are adding the filling to the turnovers, compact it either in your hand or in a tablespoon. Because the cheese is shredded, there are a lot of air pockets in between. Compacting the filling will help to minimize those. This means each turnover will end up with more delicious filling inside!

• Be a little sparing with the cheese garnish on the outside. The first time I made these I piled the cheese on. (Because in my mind, more cheese is better than less cheese, of course!) But it kept the tops from showing that nice, shiny gloss that’s so inviting. So, just a few sprinkles will do.

• If you do have some of your turnovers leak in the oven, it’s not the end of the world! Just trim off the bits of oozy cheese once they’ve cooled down and they will still look nice. The silver lining here is that you can now eat all those toasty cheese bits.

Making Sausage and Cheese Turnovers Ahead of Time

These are a great appetizer or snack to make ahead of time! Let them cool down to room temperature and pack them inside a food storage container or a zip top gallon bag. Then keep them either in the fridge for 3 – 4 days, or in the freezer for up to three months.

Then when it’s time to serve, place the turnovers on a cookie sheet and bake at 250 degrees for 10 – 12 minutes if refrigerated or 20 – 22 minutes if frozen, or until heated through. The lower oven temperature allows the turnovers to heat more evenly without the outside getting too dry and crispy.

I hope these sausage and cheese turnovers bring some fun to your next party! If you need more cheesy appetizer ideas, check these crowd-pleasing recipes out:

• Cheesy Mini Corn Dog Muffins
• Goat Cheese and Dill Tarts

If you’ve tried this recipe for Sausage and Cheese Turnovers, please let me know what you thought about it in the comments down below, I would love to hear from you! You can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest to see more delicious recipes from Nibble and Dine!

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