Bangers and mash are juicy pork sausages served over mashed potatoes and covered in an onion gravy. The gravy for this bangers and mash recipe is made with sweet apple cider and fresh thyme, for an extra flavorful twist on the classic. It's an easy, comforting, and family-friendly meal that's great for weeknights!
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British food is a hot topic in my family. For a little history lesson, after the second World War, food rationing continued in England for almost a decade.
The lack of availability of fresh ingredients meant culinary innovation took a backseat for a while. Compared with other European cuisines, British food has not had the best reputation.
But my step-father is English, and understandably loyal to the traditional pub food of his country. He and my mother insist that England has come a very long way gastronomically in recent years, and most everyone I talk to agrees!
Except for my birth dad, who spent many years working in the U.K. and passionately dislikes British food. Its supposed crumminess has pretty much become his favorite topic of conversation. It makes for a lively debate!
I haven't spent much time in England myself, but I will say that British pub classics like fish and chips and bubble and squeak are some of my very favorite meals.
And another thing I know is that I LOVE bangers and mash, and I don't know anyone who doesn't! Besides being one of the tastiest, most comforting dishes I know, it couldn't be more straightforward to make.
Bangers and mash is basically sausages served with mashed potatoes and gravy. The sausages used are usually some kind of mildly-spiced fresh pork sausage.
My grocery store actually carries some that are labeled "bangers", but you could really use any fresh pork sausage you like. I tried honey garlic sausages once and they were excellent in this.
I use my best friend, my cast iron skillet, to cook the sausages, and prepare the gravy.
For this bangers and mash recipe, I like to replace some of the stock with apple cider. Apples go so well with pork, and with some fresh thyme, the flavor is terrific.
No matter how you feel about British food, it's hard not to love this easy, family-friendly bangers and mash recipe!
Do you love bangers and mash too? If you make this recipe, I would love it if you would take a pic and tag me on Instagram @ourhappymess!
Or pin for later!
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Bangers and Mash Recipe with Sweet Apple Gravy
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 8 fresh pork sausages
- 2 tablespoons butter
- ½ large onion thinly sliced
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- pinch crushed red pepper flakes
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 cup apple cider (natural apple juice)* NOT apple cider VINEGAR
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 5 sprigs fresh thyme
- salt and pepper
For Serving
- mashed potatoes
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley chopped
Instructions
- In a cast iron pan over medium-high heat, heat the olive oil.
- Add the sausages and cook, turning now and then to brown all sides, until cooked through. Transfer to a plate.
- In the same pan, melt the butter. Add the onions, garlic, red pepper flakes and thyme and cook until onions begin to color, about 5-6 minutes.
- Whisk in the flour, and cook, whisking constantly for one minute.
- Whisk in the apple cider and bring to a boil. Add the chicken stock and bring it to a simmer. Lower heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring now and then, until gravy begins to thicken, about 10-15 minutes. Remove and discard the thyme stems. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Place the sausages back in the pan to warm through. Spoon some mashed potatoes onto a plate, place two sausages on top, and ladle gravy over the top. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.
Karen Leonard
I would love it if you would offer email as a method to sharing your recipes. I don't participate in social media and am attempting to cut back on paper for the environment.
Thank you!
Ann
Thank you so much for that feedback Karen! You're totally right, I need to work on my emails for sure. If you sign for my email list in the sidebar you'll be the first to know when I do 🙂
Florence M Steinmetz
I cant wait to try this recipe! But, will a different oil work as well in this recipe??
Ann
Yes, you can use vegetable, canola, or pretty much any oil instead of the olive oil! 🙂
Andrea Shine
This was a wonderful recipe in terms of being a twist on hearty, British fare however my family and I found the apple cider vinegar to be overpowering in the gravy despite splitting it 50/50 with some apple juice. I just used some coconut milk to balance the flavour which helped a bit, Perhaps only using apple juice would yield a better result?
Ann
The recipe actually calls for apple cider (natural apple juice), and not apple cider vinegar, though I know this is an easy mistake to make. Regular apple juice definitely works too. I have updated the recipe so hopefully it is clearer! Thank you for your comment :)!
Valentina
omg this looks SO tasty! and the sauce ingredients are such a great combination of flavors -- the icing on the cake!
Ann
Thank you so much Valentina 🙂
Sara
I happen to be a huge fan of British food and I love the idea of the apple gravy, making this soon!
Ann
Yay I hope you love it Sara!
Sues
My dad introduced me to bangers and mash way back in the day and I can't imagine how anyone couldn't think this is delicious! Also, your photos or gorgeous!!
Ann
Thanks so much!! 🙂
Danielle
I adore bangers and mash, and your twist with an apple gravy sounds delicious. Healthy-ish? 😀
Ann
Haha sure! Thanks Danielle 🙂
Dana
I'm pescetarian now, but totally remember just how delicious bangers and mash were. This is pretty much exactly how I'd make it, and I certainly miss it sometimes! I'm all heart eyes looking at these photos over here, haha.
Ann
Hmmm for the most part I think I could easily cut most meat from my diet, but this is one thing I would miss for sure!