This recipe for Irish Bangers and Mash is coated in a wonderful rich onion gravy and served over the best mashed potatoes. It’s so easy to make and is a perfect weeknight meal for the entire family. Great on Saint Patrick’s Day or all year round!
5 STAR REVIEW
Once I spot those corned beef packets at the market around early February, I get all excited, and then spend the next two months making my slow cooker corned beef and cabbage, corned beef hash, and this bangers and mash recipe…unit we’re all tired of them. (Just kidding…we never get tired of them.)
What is Bangers and Mash?
Bangers are sausages and Mash refers to mashed potatoes. The name came about during World War I when there were meat shortages, so the sausages were made with a lot of water or dried bread, causing them to burst (with a bang!) while cooking. Bangers and Mash is a widely popular pub dish in Ireland and also the UK, but it’s so easy to recreate at home with a rich onion gravy. True comfort food that is so satisfying.
Helpful Tips
- Use the best quality sausages for Bangers and Mash. If you’re lucky enough to find some Irish sausage, grab them! They have am herbal, peppery flavor to them that is awesome. If not, use a good quality pork sausage. Even bratwurst would be ok.
- The onion gravy is key and the secret behind a great Bangers and Mash recipe. Homemade onion gravy is a must here.
- Beef broth, Guinness beer, and wine. I typically just use beef broth, but it can be replaced with beer and a bit of added white or red wine, which makes the onion gravy more robust.
- Mashed potatoes are the “mash” and a must for this dish. This mashed potatoes recipe is the best and the only way I ever make them!
Bangers and Mash
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 8 pork sausage links
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 large sweet onion , halved and thinly sliced
- 2 cloves garlic , minced
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 cups beef broth
- salt and pepper , to taste
- mashed potatoes , for serving
- sweet baby peas , for serving
Instructions
- Warm a tablespoon of olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add 8 pork sausage links.
- Cook the sausage links, until browned all over and cooked through (rolling frequently to prevent burning), about 10-12 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate and pour off all but 1 tablespoon fat from the skillet.
- Add 2 tablespoons unsalted butter to the skillet. Once bubbly, add in the sliced onion and stir to coat.
- Continue to cook the onions for about 10 minutes until they're translucent, golden, and begin to caramelize.
- Add in 2 cloves minced garlic and cook until fragrant, about 20 seconds.
- Add 3 tablespoons flour and mix through until completely combined and no white patches remain.
- Add about 3/4 cup of beef broth and mix into the onion so it becomes a sludge. Then add remaining 1 & 1/4 cups beef broth and mix until combined. Simmer, stirring, until the gravy thickens but is slightly thinner than you want – it will thicken more as it sits. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Transfer the cooked sausages back to the pan just to warm through.
- To serve, mound some mashed potatoes on a plate, top with 2 sausages, drizzle with gravy, and some sweet baby peas on the side. Yum!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Other Notes
What to Serve with Bangers and Mash
Mashed potatoes are the “mash” and an absolute must for serving with these pork sausages. We’re partial to our homemade mashed potatoes (seriously, the best.) I also always serve this dish with a side of sweet baby peas (slathered in butter and a bit of salt.) It compliments the dish perfectly. Creamed spinach is also great.
For a low carb alternative, try our mashed cauliflower. If you don’t mind carbs on carbs, you can’t go wrong with some Irish soda bread as an additional side and for dessert a slice of pistachio cake!
Storing Leftovers
- Fridge. Store leftovers in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
- Freezer. Cooled bangers and gravy freeze well in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge.
- Reheat. You can reheat leftovers in the microwave until warmed through or a low and slow simmer on the stovetop.
More Irish Recipes:
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Delish nice change from cabbage and corn beef
This was great. I like to use Better Than Bouillion Beef for recipes like this. I use rounded teaspoon with it for added flavor and then just add less salt. I also cooked the onions until they were close to caramelized so that was a good 45-50 minutes. Other than that I made the recipe as written and it was excellent. It’s a keeper for sure. Thank you.
Excellent recipe!
Very yummy! This is a go-to recipe for us. Such comfort food that’s really easy to make with pretty modest inexpensive ingredients. And it’s just so delicious. Even my little kids love it.
Perfect every time!
I have made this recipe 2x for my family in 2 weeks and we all LOVE it! The gravy is truly amazing and the part that makes the entire dish so DELISH!!!
This hit all the notes – easy, delicious, and my husband said I’m a rock star. Added to my permanent recipe book.
Fantastic recipe – my entire family loved it, even the little ones!