The best sausage at the grocery store comes in a lot of different forms. You’ve got your little links of the best breakfast sausage, your fat ol’ bratwurst, and spicy andouille—and that’s not to mention Italian sausage, vegan sausage, and stuffed sausage. We looked back through all our rankings of the best sausages and rounded up all the best store bought sausage we’ve tried, now including the best chicken sausage and the best kielbasa, too. Welcome to the sausage party, people.
- Johnsonville Sweet Italian Sausage
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The best Italian sausage might come from an Italian butcher shop somewhere in New York or New Jersey, but Johnsonville is making the best Italian sausage you’ll find at the grocery store, no matter where you are. Sporked editor-in-chief Justine Sterling called it rich and fatty, adding that it has “a great, snappy casing and it’s packed with lots of tasty fennel seeds.” Put one of these bad boys on a hoagie roll with peppers and onions and you might as well be at Satriale’s.
Read the full ranking of the best Italian sausage
Credit: Merc / Target
- Fat Tire Beer Bratwurst
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There are many, many different types of bratwurst, but if you’re into beer brats (that you don’t have to actually soak in beer yourself), these Fat Tire brats absolutely rule. “It’s the perfect beer brat flavor,” Sporked managing editor Gwynedd Stuart wrote in her ranking of the best brats. “Unbelievably fresh and porky, but with that undertone of a refreshing, tasty Fat Tire ale.” If you happen to see these, pick up a pack. Your tailgate parties will never be the same.
Read the full ranking of the best bratwurst
Credit: Merc / Whole Foods
- Fra’mani Andouille
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When we returned to the tasting table for a second andouille sausage taste test, this Fra’mani andouille ousted our previous #1 pick (we still love you, Hillshire Farm, but you’ll have to settle for #2). Fra’mani takes andouille to a new level. It’s coarsely ground like butcher shop sausage and smoked over fruit wood for a lovely, complex flavor. Even if you’re making boxed jambalaya or dirty rice mix, this is the best sausage to elevate the whole dish.
Read the full ranking of the best andouille
Credit: Merc / Instacart
- Bar-S Cheddar Hot Links
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There’s something so pleasing about the phrase “stuffed sausage” and, likewise, there is something very pleasing about smoky hot links stuffed with cheddar cheese. Bar-S Cheddar Hot Links are plump, juicy, and have excellent snap. These are the best sausages at the grocery store if you want sausage with a little oomph.
Read the full ranking of the best stuffed sausages
Credit: Sarah Demonteverde / Walmart
- Beyond Sausage Brat Original
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Vegetarian/vegan sausage technology has come a long way in recent years. These Beyond Brats are proof. They taste so much like real sausage—if you fed these to unwitting guests at a backyard barbecue, we’d bet dollars to doughnuts they wouldn’t even know the difference. As Jordan put it, “If I was served one of these, I would think they accidentally served me a real pork sausage. That’s what makes it one of the best vegan sausage options on the market.” And some of the best sausage at the grocery store, period.
Read the full ranking of the best vegan sausage
Credit: Ryan Martin / Target
- Farmer John Maple Pork Sausages
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Is there anything more enticing than breakfast sausage cooking in a skillet first thing in the morning? Yes. There is. Maple breakfast sausage cooking in a skillet first thing in the morning. And these Farmer John sausages taste as good as they smell. “The flavor is out of this world,” Justine wrote in her ranking of the best breakfast sausage. “The maple coats your mouth. The fat is rich and decadent without feeling greasy. It’s filled with umami.” Grab these at the grocery store if you want to start your morning with some of the best sausage and really enjoy the a.m. hours.
Read the full ranking of the best breakfast sausage
Credit: Liv Averett / Target
- Kroger Polska Kielbasa
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If you buy kielbasa at the grocery store, you probably buy Hillshire Farm. It’s available everywhere and it certainly isn’t bad, but we’re here to inform you that Hillshire Farm does not make the best kielbasa. If you have a Kroger-owned grocery store near you, you have to try Kroger’s Polska kielbasa. It’s smoked, wonderfully spiced (you can taste clove and other pleasantly fruity spices), the texture is great, and there’s an excellent snap, too. Most of the kielbasa you’ll find at the grocery store has no snap! This is a pork-beef mix and it’s perfect—not hot doggy; it has a more textured nature than that. And the smoke will keep you coming back for bite after bite—mark our words.
Credit: Liv Averett / Ralphs
- Trader Joe’s Garlic Herb Chicken Sausage
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If you’re hooked on the fatty, coarsely ground quality of pork sausage, you might turn up your nose at chicken sausage. Not so fast! We found some damn good, very indulgent chicken sausage in our taste test, including this Trader Joe’s garlic sausage, which is one of the best sausages we’ve ever tasted, period. As our taste tester put it, if the package didn’t say “chicken” sausage, they might have confused these for pork sausages. They’re a little smoky, super savory, and have excellent snap from the natural pork casing. And you can really taste fresh herbs in the mix—no stale dried herbs here. If you’re chicken sausage curious, this is the best sausage to buy.
Read the full ranking of the best chicken sausage
Credit: Merc
- Trader Joe’s Natural Turkey Summer Sausage
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Summer sausage is a holiday tradition in many households, but this summer sausage from Trader Joe’s is so good you’ll want to stock up and eat it all year long. Yes, this summer sausage is made with turkey, but don’t click away. It’s a little bit leaner than other summer sausages we tried, but the flavor is so unique and delicious. It almost tastes like it was made with pickling sausage. Corned summer sausage? Don’t knock it ‘til you try it.
Read the full ranking of the best summer sausage
Credit: Merc
Best Italian Sausage
Rating:
10/10
Sporks
Best Brats
Rating:
10/10
Sporks
Best Andouille
Rating:
10/10
Sporks
Best Stuffed
Rating:
9/10
Sporks
Best Vegan
Rating:
10/10
Sporks
Best Breakfast
Rating:
10/10
Sporks
Best Kielbasa
Rating:
9/10
Sporks
Best Chicken Sausage
Rating:
10/10
Sporks
Best Summer Sausage
Rating:
10/10
Sporks
