Emily Bites

Don’t Miss a Recipe!

Don’t Miss a Recipe! Sign up to receive new posts delivered directly to your inbox:

Subscribe Now »
Jan 11
49

Italian Sausage Bread

Italian Sausage Bread slices with sauce

This Italian Sausage Bread is literally stuffed with meaty, cheesy goodness, and perfect for lunch or dinner. Honestly, I want you to read what I’m saying here, but I won’t blame you at all if you stop to immediately add the ingredients to your grocery list. I’ll wait! I can’t get over how tasty this is. Back when we used to go to restaurants (ah, memories), a steakhouse near us served a similar cheesy sausage and spinach bread. I thought it might be difficult to mimic the flavors in a lighter way, but consider me wrong, because this is pretty spot on! I guess this dish is basically Stromboli, but I’ve always seen this particular combo of flavors called sausage bread, so that’s what I went with. Either way, it’s packed with flavorful sausage and gooey Mozzarella cheese. You can pick up each slice of Italian Sausage Bread and eat it like a sandwich, and I recommend serving it with pizza sauce or marinara for dipping!

Italian Sausage Bread dipped in sauce

Instead of buying pre-made sausage, I used lean ground turkey breast and added sausage seasonings to create my own turkey sausage. Please don’t be intimidated by that…it’s just dumping some spices on the ground turkey and mushing it together. You’ve got this. It’s full of flavor and much leaner than what they usually sell in stores. Using the ground turkey breast, each hearty slice of this Italian Sausage Bread is just 346 calories or 9  WW Points! To view your current WW Points for this recipe and track it in the WW app or site, click here!

Italian Sausage Bread filling

Looking for more tasty, lightened up Italian-inspired recipes like this Italian Sausage Bread? Check out my Ricotta Stuffed Chicken Bake, One-Pot Turkey and Veggie Spaghetti, Bruschetta Chicken Pasta, One-Pot Creamy Tomato Pasta with Chicken and Spinach, Tuscan Olive Chicken, Chicken Florentine Roulades, Italian Wedding Pasta Skillet, Pizza Lasagna Roll-Ups, Bruschetta Topped Balsamic Chicken, Sausage and Tortellini Tomato Soup, Chicken Parmesan Stuffed Shells, Sausage Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms, Beef and Sausage Manicotti, Zuppa Toscana, Eggplant Parmesan Casserole, and many more in the Italian category of my recipe index.

Italian Sausage Bread overhead

Italian Sausage Bread dipped in sauce
Print Recipe
4.94 from 30 votes
Rate this Recipe

Italian Sausage Bread

This Italian Sausage Bread is stuffed with meaty, cheesy goodness and eats like a sandwich!

Ingredients

  • 1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
  • 1 ¼ teaspoons Italian seasoning, divided
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper
  • ½ teaspoon garlic powder
  • ½ teaspoon dried minced onion
  • ¼ teaspoon fennel seed
  • ¼ teaspoon paprika
  • ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
  • 1 lb uncooked 99% lean ground turkey breast
  • 2 teaspoons olive oil
  • 1 cup chopped fresh spinach leaves
  • 13.8 oz can Pillsbury Classic Pizza Crust dough
  • 6 oz shredded 2% Mozzarella Cheese
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 2 teaspoons grated Parmesan cheese
  • ¼ teaspoon garlic salt

Instructions

  • In a mixing bowl, combine the parsley, 1 teaspoon of the Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, garlic powder, minced onion, fennel seed, paprika, and crushed red pepper flakes and stir to make an Italian sausage seasoning mix. Add the ground turkey and stir with a fork (or mush with clean hands) to blend the spices evenly into the ground turkey to make turkey sausage.
  • Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.
  • Drizzle the olive oil in a large skillet or saute pan and bring to med-high heat. Add the turkey sausage mixture from step 1 and cook, breaking up into small chunks, for 4-5 minutes until cooked through. Transfer the cooked sausage to a mixing bowl and stir in the chopped spinach. Let the sausage cool for 5 minutes while you complete the next step.
  • Open the can of pizza dough and unroll into a rectangle onto a piece of parchment paper. You’ll want your dough to be about 9”x14” (does not need to be exact), so you can lightly roll the edges out a bit with a rolling pin if necessary. Sprinkle 2 ounces of the shredded Mozzarella across the surface of the dough, leaving about an inch border all the way around.
  • Add the remaining 4 ounces of Mozzarella to the sausage and spinach in the mixing bowl and stir to combine. Spread this mixture across the surface of the dough, again leaving a one-inch border around the edges. Starting at the longer end, roll up the dough over the contents until entirely rolled (similar to stromboli or a cinnamon roll). Press the edges together and tuck under to seal the sides. Move the roll to the center of the parchment paper, making sure the seam side if down and transfer the parchment paper to a baking sheet.
  • Using a pastry brush, brush the outside of the roll with the beaten egg (you will not use the whole egg). In a small dish, stir together the Parmesan cheese, garlic salt, and remaining ¼ teaspoon of Italian seasoning. Sprinkle this mixture over the top of the roll while it is wet from the egg. Place the baking sheet into the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes. Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes before slicing into 6 pieces.

Notes

To view your current WW Points for this recipe and track it in the WW app or site, click here!
WW Points per slice: 9 (Points calculated using the recipe builder on weightwatchers.com)
Nutrition Information per slice:
346 calories, 34 g carbs, 4 g sugars, 9 g fat, 3 g saturated fat, 32 g protein, 1 g fiber, 742 mg sodium (from myfitnesspal.com)
MYWW SMARTPOINTS PER slice: (SP calculated using the recipe builder on weightwatchers.com)
Green: 9 SmartPoints/ Blue: 8 SmartPoints/ Purple: 8 SmartPoints
Weight Watchers Points Plus:
9 per slice (PP calculated using a Weight Watchers PointsPlus calculator and the nutrition info below)
Adapted from Love Bakes Good Cakes and Plain Chicken

49 comments on “Italian Sausage Bread”

  1. This looks delicious! I have a question about the directions: Starting at the longer end, roll up the dough over the contents until entirely rolled. Wouldn’t that make it more like stromboli?

    Thank you for all of the recipes you have posted. My family and I have enjoyed the ones I’ve made and many have become part of our regular rotation.

    • I actually mention that in the first paragraph of the post! 🙂

      I’m so glad you and your family are enjoying the recipes!

  2. This is Awesome!! Thanks for sharing..5 stars

    • I couldn’t find a way to comment so I’ve hijacked your comment LynnMaries, sorry.

      THIS WAS AMAZING! Being Italian I am a hard critic of anything “Italian” and I will say this would make my Grandma proud! Thanks so much for this, definitely a keeper! <35 stars

    • Can you roll like a yodel or is it best to fold over like a calzone/stromboli?

      Making for Christmas!!!5 stars

  3. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! My husband and I adore the sausage bread from Russell’s and this sounds like a fantastic healthier indulgence. Can’t wait to make it!

  4. I just put this in the oven. How in the world do you get that much filling wrapped in so little dough? Mine looks nothing like your pictures. There was way too much filling. I will reduce the meat to 1/2 pound next time, adjusting seasonings and cheese accordingly. The good news is this failure will be tasty and we”ll just need to drizzle on marinara and eat it with a fork. I do, however, really like the seasoning combo for the sausage and I’ll definitely use it again.

    • Hm, I didn’t have that issue at all, I just rolled the dough out slightly to the dimensions I noted in the instructions and as you can see from the pre-rolled photo it fit perfectly! I thought the ratio was spot on. Sorry to hear you had a bad experience.

  5. Might need to make this for the Bills game on Saturday!    Looks awesome.  

    • The picture doesn’t show a roll. It looks more like a calzone, which is how it is described. I’d love to know how to get a calzone effect using pizza dough. I have the Pillsbury brand.

    • It is a roll! I think the dough swirl just blends in with the filling in the photos.

  6. If you can’t get the Pillsbury dough, what would you suggest I use? It’s not remotely available where I live at all. 

  7. I made this last night and it was sooo good. I made it as written and I wouldn’t change anything. The seasoning for the ground turkey was amazing and I love the addition of chopped spinach. Seriously, it was delicious and I already can’t wait for leftovers today. 5 stars

  8. This is delicious. My teenage son said, “This is in your top three. It might be your top ONE!” I should note that most of the meals I cook are from Emily Bites. FYI, my store was out of Pillsbury dough and the store brand worked fine.5 stars

  9. Made this tonight. I didn’t have enough mozzarella on hand, so half was pepper Jack. I thought it was too much meat at first, but it all rolled in perfectly. This was absolutely incredible  5/7 nights a week we eat your recipes and they are all amazing, but this is a standout. Totally delicious. 

  10. This sounds DELICIOUS! Question — If we used Italian chicken sausage (which we love, rather than the turkey) 1. What seasonings would be omitted? and 2. Would the points still be the same? Can’t wait to try!

    • You can go ahead and omit all of the seasonings that are added to the ground Turkey! It will likely change the points because I used the leanest possible ground Turkey and most chicken sausage will use a mixture of chicken. To calculate the points with the sausage you’re using you’ll want to put the ingredients in the recipe builder on the WW site!

  11. Omg! Everyone RUN, don’t walk to make this recipe. I just made it and it is A-MAZ-ING. I followed the recipe EXACTLY, except I added 1tsp crushed red pepper because I like things spicy. I struggled a little to roll it all up, but in my defense, it was my first time ever rolling up dough. I will be making it at least once a week, if not, MORE. 5 stars

  12. Absolutely awesome!! Couldn’t find pillsbury pizza dough anywhere because of short supplies  
    (Re Covid ) so I substituted fresh pizza dough and it was perfect! 5 stars

  13. I very VERY rarely find recipes that my two picky will eat with us, but everyone loved this one. We just finished eating the leftovers for lunch and it’s already been requested again. Thanks so much for a yummy family favorite! 5 stars

  14. This is the bomb!!! So easy yet so tasty! I will be making this a lot for my kids and hubby. Thank you @emilybites!!!!!!!!!
    Recipe was perfect!! 5 stars

  15. This was so delicious! One serving was very filling and between my husband and I, we only ate half of it! As some comments have stated, there is a LOT of filling and I had my doubts about rolling it–but just trust it! I followed the directions exactly (including rolling out the dough a little to get 9×14) and it rolled over (with some effort) and it baked to perfection! Will definitely be making this again!!5 stars

  16. Just made this tonight. I couldn’t find the 99% lean turkey so I know my version wasn’t a bit higher in points but otherwise I followed the recipe exactly (which is actually rare for me) and we both loved it. So many possibilities for this concept as well. Loved the seasoning which brought the ground turkey alive!! Thanks!!5 stars

    • Sorry couldn’t figure out how to edit my post. I meant my version “was” a bit higher in points. Lol. Delish regardless 

  17. How much is one serving?

  18. We love this and make it almost weekly!!!! We swapped out the spinach for peppers and onions since we had those on hand the second time we made it. We have so many friends making this now. The fennel really makes a difference.5 stars

  19. Emily I just discovered you and we love so many of your recipes!  This one is an absolute winner in our home.  It comes out perfect every time and there is never any leftovers!5 stars

  20. My sister told me about this recipe. Tried it tonight and it’s delicious!!! I added some turkey pepperoni on top of the sausage mixture before I rolled it up. We loved it and also had some marinara sauce for dipping. Definitely a keeper!!!5 stars

  21. This is definitely 5 star! I have made it several times now, and love, love, love!5 stars

  22. OMG!!! I use Emily’s recipes regularly and have for years, but this is one of my all time favorites ❤️❤️❤️! It tastes incredibly indulgent and is also incredibly filling!!! You did it again Emily!!! Thank you so much for making eating healthy so easy and delicious!!!5 stars

  23. Deeeelish!!!5 stars

  24. This is absolutely delicious!  My sister sent me this recipe and I made it the next day.  My husband and I loved it!  I added a few pieces of turkey pepperoni before I rolled up the pizza dough crust.  It browned up in the oven and looked great.  I made my own marinara sauce for dipping.  This will be a staple in our meal times now!  5 stars

  25. this was amazing! I was looking for something different from my regular emily bites favorites. This will definitely be a football favorite.

  26. Yum!!! Super Yum!!!5 stars

  27. It’s a keeper! Very very good. Just toss a side salad at it and it’s a great meal. Thank you!5 stars

  28. Made this today using fresh pizza dough and country sausage. Everything else the same. Big hit!!  4 stars

  29. This was so delicious.  My kids devoured it.  It was great for leftovers- I have the entire lunch room asking what smelled so good!  Only change I made was I used Wewalka classic pizza dough instead. 

    My 11 yo pretty much made it herself!  

  30. Forgot to star it 5 stars

  31. Love this recipe!! My daughter, whom is very picky and usually stays away from anything green, loves it. We make it at least once a week.

    Thanks so much for all the great recipes!!5 stars

  32. This was so good! In attempt to make it lower in points I used reduced fat crescent roll dough, everything else the same. Amazing!!5 stars

  33. Girl!! Your recipes are the total bomb and I love trying something different from your website. Just goes to show you CAN have flavorful dishes and yet keep it light! Just so you know, I share your recipes with my ww workshop, we love YOU! Just keep it coming please…5 stars

  34. This was such a tasty treat! I tried to make it lower in points by using crescent roll dough with less fat, but other than that, I left everything else the same.5 stars

  35. I will sure to try this try recipe for my dragons, thanks5 stars

  36. Absolutely delicious! I added a chopped up bell pepper to the sausage mix, which I highly recommend. This recipe is great the next day as well. I will definitely be making this again!5 stars

  37. It tastes incredibly delicious and healthy, thanks for this having this article.

  38. It tastes incredibly delicious and healthy, thanks for this having this article.5 stars

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.