10 Sausage Brands That Use High Quality Ingredients (And 3 To Avoid)

High-quality ingredients are the foundation of a good sausage. No one wants to bring processed meat saddled with artificial flavors or an unpronounceable ingredient list to the dinner table. When shopping for superior sausages, you want to see a product devoid of unnecessary fillers and rich with prize-winning ingredients like premium pork, first-rate chicken, or top-shelf beef.

While judging the quality of sausages from local butcher shops might be as simple as searching for a few telltale factors, grocery store sausage brands make it a bit more challenging. Particular attention should be paid to the ingredient lists; you want to prioritize those with recognizable foods and spices rather than long lists of unfamiliar words, which often signal that an item is more processed.

Whether you're looking to grill up some brats or pick the perfect andouille for grandma's gumbo recipe, you want to select a link crafted with quality. Curious which sausage brands are top-of-the-line and which are bringing up the rear? We've got you covered.

Based in the Pacific Northwest and dedicated to premium quality charcuterie, Olympia Provisions' sausage lineup is quite impressive, showcasing a variety of sausages chock full of old world heritage. The brand's exceptional line of sausages pays homage to the traditional flavors of many European countries, from Greece, Italy, and Austria to Germany and Poland.

A family-run company, Olympia Provisions manages every stage of its sausage-making craft in Portland, Oregon. Within the walls of the meat plant, the staff sees through the entire process, from butchering to fermenting and curing, and then to the sausages' final step in the wood smokehouse. Still, it's the brand's ingredient standards that might be most notable.

Combining exceptional pork with fresh herbs and spices, these sausages outshine many larger companies in terms of quality. Take the brand's Greek Loukaniko sausage as a prime example. Made from oregano, garlic, citrus zest, and 100% vegetarian-fed pork, it's a richly flavored sausage perfect for pairing with traditional Greek dishes like souvlaki. The Käsekrainer is another delight for brat-lovers. Embellished with Emmenthaler cheese and smoked in-house over apple wood, this Austrian-style sausage bears a cheesy, garlicky flavor free of nitrates or nitrites, antibiotics, and added hormones.

Niman Ranch is a brand that insists that healthy livestock leads to a better product. As such, the company's sausages are forged from humanely-raised meat devoid of antibiotics and added hormones. The brand chooses independent family farmers and American ranchers that follow rigorous animal welfare practices and use 100% vegetarian feed, whether it's for beef, lamb, or pork.

Every sausage variety Niman Ranch makes, from its Lamb Merguez Sausage to the Fat Tire Beer Bratwurst, all reflect quality craftsmanship. The Hatch Green Chile Bratwurst delivers a pronounced Southwestern-style flavor by blending humanely-raised pork with Hatch green chilies to bring a pleasant heat. But best flavor might just be the Apple Gouda sausage, a product that the company claims to be the top-selling pork sausage in natural grocery stores across the country. A delectable link that uses all-natural pork made from whole-muscle cuts, the meat is combined with gouda cheese and dehydrated apples for a flavor built on solid ingredients.

Lovers of chicken sausage will immediately gravitate towards Bilinski's high-quality poultry sausages. The chickens sourced for Bilinski's organic sausages are raised according to GAP Step 2 standards, meaning they are free of antibiotics, added hormones, and animal by-products. As for its natural sausages, all chickens used are antibiotic-free.

Whether you opt for Bilinki's protein-packed power bites, all-natural chicken sausages, or organic chicken sausages, the first ingredient listed is going to be skinless chicken, followed by a short and simple list of other recognizable foods. Why skinless chicken? It turns out that labels that simply list chicken as an ingredient can include a whole lot of chicken skin as filler. Instead, Bilinski's opts for skinless chicken meat only, leading to a less fatty product.

The brand's All-Natural Tomato & Basil variety boasts less than 10 ingredients, all of which are non-GMO. Bilinksi's All-Natural Spinach & Garlic sausage lists a short and sweet seven ingredients, including antibiotic-free chicken, spinach, water, garlic, sea salt, fennel seed, and black pepper. Prefer organic ingredients? Consider Bilinkski's Organic Wild Mushroom with Italian Herbs made with organic porcini mushrooms and basil, or the Organic Classic Sage Breakfast links, forged with the fragrant flavors of organic thyme, nutmeg, marjoram, and sage.

While most known for its hot dogs, Bar S offers up a line of links as well, ranging from chorizo to kielbasa. Despite this, Bar S is one brand of sausage you'll want to leave off your shopping list once you see its lengthy list of ingredients (something it doesn't even list on the item's product page online), which often indicates that a food is more likely to be processed.

Bar S Polish Smoked Sausage names mechanically separated chicken as the first ingredient. A pasty substance made from driving meat-clung bones through a sieve to remove any lingering soft tissue that might be left after the prime cuts have been used, mechanically separated meat changes the texture and adds off-flavors to meat products. So while this sausage might boast no MSG or artificial colors or flavors on the label, its primary ingredient is nothing to brag about. 

Still hungry? In addition to mechanically separated chicken, Bar S Jalapeño & Cheddar Cheese Smoked Sausage tosses pasteurized processed cheddar cheese into the mix. And you're likely to find additives like dextrose, corn syrup, and modified corn starch in many of its meat products, as well.

It's safe to say that for those who prefer a short, recognizable list of ingredients in their food, these are unlikely to be the most appealing sausages in the meat section.

Whether you prefer breakfast links or dinner sausage, Applegate Naturals carries a high-grade products packed with only the good stuff. The company focuses on using clean, simple ingredients and sourcing meat free of antibiotics and added hormones — and it has banned around 700 nonessential ingredients like corn syrup and genetically modified ingredients.

The proof is in the pudding when it comes to Applegate's sausages. You'll feel instantly relieved when you turn over a sausage pack to see recognizable ingredients like organic chicken, turkey, or pork. Consider Applegate's Fire Roasted Red Pepper Sausage as one such frank. Made from organic red peppers, organic jalapeños, and organic spices, you know exactly what you're tasting when you pick up one of these superior chicken sausages.

The Sweet Italian Sausage is another sausage-y star stopper. Elevated by organic fennel and organic garlic, this organic chicken sausage is one link that poultry fans declare to be so flavorful it doesn't need condiments. Other compelling flavors include chicken and apple and spinach and feta, both sporting top-tier ingredients.

Another highly-rated sausage brand, sausage enthusiasts love Kiolbassa for its amazing texture and flavor, as well as its premium reserve of ingredients. Since 1949, this Texas-based company has placed a priority on culinary craftsmanship, fashioning its products from top-notch sources, whether it be for its hickory sausage made from grass-fed beef or its Roasted Garlic Smoked Sausage devoid of fillers and MSG.

Kiolbassa makes sausage the old-fashioned way. The company's links are made in small batches using choice cuts of meat, familiar-sounding ingredients, authentic hardwood smoke, and no fillers or artificial ingredients. The result? A sausage that supplies a surge of rich flavor to dishes.

Flavors range from smoky mesquite to jalapeño cheddar and hickory, providing buyers with a variety of fine sausages to stock their meat lockers. The brand also offers several organic links, such as the brand's Organic Beef Smoked Sausage and Organic Jalapeño Beef Smoked Sausage, each boasting a short and satisfying list of simple ingredients and free from pesky fillers, antibiotics, or added hormones.

You may want to pause before bringing Hillshire Farm sausages to your next backyard barbecue. Turn over a package of Hillshire Smoked Sausage and you'll see the first item named is meat ingredients (pork, beef) followed by mechanically separated turkey. But the list of undesirable ingredients doesn't end at mechanically separated meat (meat stripped from the bones after the best cuts of meat have already been butchered).This particular sausage goes on to name corn syrup, sodium nitrite, and monosodium glutamate (otherwise known as MSG) as additional ingredients. You'll find similar ingredients in the brand's Polska Kielbasa and Roasted Garlic Chicken Smoked Sausage.

Why should these give you pause? MSG is an ingredient often added to make food taste better — something that's not needed when using high-quality ingredients. As for the sodium nitrite, nitrites and nitrates are often used in processed meats to lend them a saltier flavor and help the meat to look more red or pink. While they occur naturally in vegetables, it seems those added to food can have some negative impacts on health over time when consumed regularly.

Meanwhile, corn syrup, both high fructose and standard, continues to be one of the most commonly used food additives in the U.S., often used as a flavoring agent in meat products. At the end of the day, any product that needs the help of texture and flavor enhancers such as these is one that should be reconsidered if you're searching for top-quality ingredients.

With an extensive selection of sausages spanning from regional recipes to European ones, North Country Smokehouse offers a wide range of brats created with quality in mind. This tip top brand carefully selects only the most stellar ingredients, filling its savory sensations with lean proteins and seasonings wrapped in natural casings. The company offers several varieties from which to choose, reflecting the diversity of the cultures and communities that cherish these brats and links.

Amongst its offerings, you'll find organic Polish-style kielbasa, made from lean beef and pork, to Irish-style bangers, crafted from pork and rusk crackers. American flavors abound as well, from Vermont cheddar sausage to spicy Andouille Cajun-style sausage, both made from humanely-raised pork and without added nitrates, nitrites, dyes, and fillers. The company carries numerous organic and certified humane sausages as well, and an organic sugar-free smoked-sausage with no sweeteners, hormones, antibiotics, or GMOs.

Posted in Claremont, New Hampshire, with a heritage of over 100 years, North Country Smokehouse continues a tradition of artisanal-quality meat, smoked in small batches over locally-sourced hardwoods. Additionally, the company employs a vertically integrated network of family farms, guiding everything from feeding to transportation and processing.

Looking for a high-quality sausage made the Italian way? A New York-born company with an eye for excellence, Taverrites Make It Italian has a heritage of making top-quality sausages that dates back more than 70 years. Well known for its Calabrese-style Italian sausage, this brand has upheld a tradition of authentic ingredients, spreading its love for phenomenal franks across the nation.

Taverrites pays particular attention to its ingredients, ensuring its products are free from additives and fillers. Instead, these supreme sausages are fashioned from lean cuts of pork shoulder, never leftovers or meat trimmings, giving them a solid yet succulent texture. Sun-dried tomatoes stand as another key element, lending these meaty morsels a sweet and savory note that complements pork perfectly. Finally, the flavor is rounded out with the brand's characteristic medley of classic Italian spices — a mysterious ratio of five kitchen spices known only to Taverrites.

Whether you opt for its mild, spicy, or Sun-Dried Tomato Basil sausage, each and every link is rendered from fine cuts of meat, made in small batches, and packed with big flavors. All the while preservatives, artificial colors and flavors, MSG, and nitrates are left in the dust. Not only are these sausages hormone and antibiotic-free, they are also devoid of many common allergens such as soy, gluten, and dairy, in addition to being free from sugar and corn.

Some of Johnsonville's products are better than others when it comes to the brand's ingredients. Although this meat giant might tempt you with its roster of inviting links, such as the Summer Shandy Brat or Cheddar and Bacon Brats, many of this brand's grilling sausages contain BHA. Otherwise known as butylated hydroxyanisole, BHA is a chemical preservative that the FDA currently has under review. But this isn't where the questionable ingredients end.

While the brand's smoked rope sausage doesn't utilize mechanically separated meats or MSG, the same standards aren't held for all Johnsonville's products. Johnsonville Smoked Turkey Cheddar Sausage includes the flavor enhancer monosodium glutamate (MSG), as well as sodium nitrite — a color fixative that the World Health Organization called potentially cancer causing. Likewise, although the Original Summer Sausage boasts no corn syrup, corn syrup is listed in Johnsonville's Chicken and Apple Sausage as well as countless varieties of the company's grilling sausages, like the Dr Pepper Inspired Sausage and Irish O'Garlic Sausage Links.

If that doesn't steer you away, it's also worth mentioning that some of Johnsonville's sausages have been recalled in the past due to plastic contamination. As such, those yearning for franks made from superior ingredients may want to pass, or at the very least, read the label a little more closely.

If you're hunting for some seriously tasty linguiça, Silva Sausage may be the brand for you. Its flavor is smoky, savory, and just a little sweet in addition to being a sausage that is well-textured and deliciously juicy. But this is not the only remarkable frank this brand has to show.

Based in California, Silva Sausages may have started by creating some of the best linguiça that Bay Area residents had ever tasted, but it has since expanded its offerings tremendously. With sausage varieties ranging from Spanish Shorizo to beer brats infused with Stone Brewery Delicious IPA, its range of top-drawer sausages stand out with its catalogue of mouthwatering ingredients, all made by hand using antibiotic-free meat.

While the foundational varieties of Silva Sausage are sensational, the company also offers more unique flavors like the Kentucky-inspired Bourbon Bacon and Black Pepper sausage, crafted from 100% vegetarian-fed, antibiotic-free pork and smoked over apple wood chips. The ingredients in the Hawaiian Style Uncured Bacon & Pineapple Chicken Sausage are equally intriguing, featuring antibiotic-free chicken, savory bacon, and tropical pineapple, all blended with the heat of red chili flakes. Even better, both declare zero added nitrates, nitrites, or hormones, in addition to being MSG-free.

Searching for a top-notch plant-based sausage made from high-quality ingredients? Look no further. A Seattle-based brand that spotlights plant-based meats and cheeses, Field Roast uses an intriguing fusion of Eurpean and Asian cooking practices to spawn its plant-fueled product line. Built from fresh-cut vegetables, herbs, spices, and grains, its line of links is sure to impress vegetarians and vegans alike.

The brand first introduced its line of spectacular sausages in 2005, launching its Smoked Apple Sage, Mexican Chipotle, and Italian sausages. More than twenty years later, the company is still going strong, crafting sausages made from some seriously impressive ingredients. Made from wheat gluten that gives the brand's links a pleasurable chew akin to meat-based sausages, each carries a roster of ingredients inviting enough to tempt even the most staunch meat lover to take a bite.

For a classic frank, consider Field Roast's Classic Smoked Frankfurters, featuring tomatoes and onions. The smoky and spicy Andouille sausage carries another compelling cache of ingredients, including bell peppers, onions, and red kidney beans. Those searching for spice may feel inclined to try the Spicy Mexican Chipotle, which has sweet onions, garlic, and chili de árbol peppers in the mix. Hungry for something sweet and savory? Try Field Roast's Smoked Apple & Sage sausage, bursting with Yukon Gold potatoes, dried apples, and rubbed sage. 

Hunting for a vegetarian sausage that's also gluten-free? Beyond Sausage's savory meat-free links are made from pea protein and avocado oil, making for a plant-powered sausage that is soy-free, gluten-free, and devoid of GMOs. Even better, these unbelievable brats boast no cholesterol, no antibiotics, and no hormones as well.

Whether you opt for the original brat, Italian varieties, or any other flavor, the brand is one that is dedicated to premium ingredients. Plant proteins like yellow peas and brown rice merge to make a filling fare with plenty of protein. Likewise, avocado oil lends fat to the frank, granting it a flawless sizzle in the pan. Available in many delectable flavors, Beyond Sausages contain a casing made from alginate (an ingredient derived from algae) that gives these links the same snap as regular meat-based sausages.

Beyond's line of meatless links include flavors like Beyond Sun Sausage Pesto, enriched with yellow pea protein, avocado oil, brown rice protein, and spinach. The Beyond Sun Sausage Pineapple Jalapeño is bedecked with dried pineapple and diced jalapeños, and the fiery Beyond Sun Sausage has Cajun flavors. Both are American Heart Association certified in addition to being kosher and halal.

To pick which sausages were of the best quality and which were lowest, we assessed a number of popular sausage brands offered in grocery stores across the U.S. To decide on the top contenders, we looked for companies that focused on premium ingredients such as high-quality proteins, herbs, spices, and vegetables, as well as those that left out unnecessary ingredients, like fillers, preservatives, and artificial additives. Both meat-based and plant-based sausages were considered for this article.