Best pork sausages: the cheap supermarket bangers that beat Heck and The Jolly Hog

If you're after some superior sausages to enhance a fry-up or boost your barbecue, our taste-test results reveal which ones pack the best porky punch.

Among the 10 premium-style supermarket sausages tested by our 78-strong consumer tasting panel were Aldi, Lidl, Sainsbury's and Tesco. Big brands Heck and The Jolly Hog were also in the mix.

Tesco came top overall, but great-value alternatives from Aldi and Lidl weren't far behind. And while one branded banger was a decent bet, the other proved disappointing.

Read on to discover which sausages are worth buying, and the ones that aren't worth splashing the cash on.

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Best pork sausages

Tesco's sausages triumphed with a top score of 74%, but Aldi, Lidl and Sainsbury's – all of which were cheaper – came a close second.

Best Buy: Tesco Finest British Pork Sausages – 74%

£3.25 for 400g (81p per 100g)

Tesco’s great-looking and succulent sausages came out top overall. 

They had an appetising colour, and three-quarters of testers said the texture and salt levels were just right. Two-thirds found the pork flavour perfect. 

While Tesco's sausages are a little pricier than the three runners-up below, they come in about average across all the sausages we tested.

Available from Tesco

Great Value: Aldi Specially Selected Pork Sausages – 73%

£2.49 for 400g (62p per 100g)

As well as being joint-cheapest on test, Aldi’s good-looking sausages came in joint-second place, so they're a savvy choice.

Their juiciness was rated highly and most of our testers found the strength of pork flavour and saltiness spot on.

Two-thirds loved the texture, but opinion was divided on herb and spice seasoning. A little over half said it was about right, but a quarter found it too strong.

Available from Aldi

Great Value: Lidl Deluxe Pork Sausages – 73%

£2.49 for 400g (62p per 100g)

Another set of bargain bangers, matching Aldi’s in both price and popularity.

They didn't look quite as appetising as our Best Buys but their meaty flavour, moist texture and just-right salt levels were all rated highly by our large group of tasters. 

The only quibble was around the herb and spice seasoning: around a third felt they needed a little more to pep things up.

Available from Lidl

Sainsbury's British Pork Sausages, Taste the Difference – 73%

£3 for 400g (75p per 100g)

Our testers relished the porky flavour and succulent bite to these Sainsbury’s sausages.

Most found the salt levels about right, but a third said the texture of these bangers was too coarse.

They're a tad cheaper than Tesco, but pricier than Aldi and Lidl. They're certainly worth picking up if you happen to be in Sainsbury's – especially as they are sometimes on offer for half the price.

Available from Sainsbury's

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How The Jolly Hog, Heck and the rest of the supermarket sausages fared

The Jolly Hog and M&S sausages also fared well in our test, while several supermarkets put in an acceptable showing.

Heck, however, scored lowest of all the sausages, while Iceland were the least liked of the supermarket options.

• The Jolly Hog Proper Porker Sausages – 72%. These succulent sausages looked appealing and had a good meaty flavour. Their coarser texture and strong seasoning meant they weren't up there with the highest scorers. £3.80 per 400g, 95p per 100g. Available from Ocado, Sainsbury's, Tesco and Waitrose
• M&S Collection Ultimate Pork Sausages – 72%. Most tasters liked the look of these sausages, but they didn’t match up to higher scorers when it came to texture. They're also the priciest on test. £4.75 for 480g, 99p per 100g. Available from M&S (in-store only) and Ocado
• Asda Extra Special 6 Pork Sausages – 70%. Paler than some tasters would have liked, but they had a good texture, saltiness and pork flavour. Nearly half felt they could do with a bit more herb and spice seasoning. £3.20 for 400g, 80p per 100g. Available from Asda
• Co-op Irresistible Classically Seasoned 6 Pork Sausages – 70%. These were juicy with a decent texture and good salt levels. Just over a third felt the herb and spice seasoning was lacking, though, and more than four in 10 said they were too pale. £3.70 for 400g, 93p per 100g. Available from Co-op
• Morrisons The Best Thick Pork Sausages – 69%.  Nice colour and a good porky flavour, but let down by lack of moistness, weak seasoning and an over-coarse texture. £3.25 for 400g, 81p per 100g. Available from Morrisons
• Waitrose No.1 Free Range 6 Pork Sausages – 67%. Most tasters found the texture of these sausages too coarse and the herb and spice seasoning too weak. £3.75 for 400g, 94p per 100g. Available from Waitrose
• Iceland 6 Luxury Pork Sausages – 64%. The texture and moistness were both rated well, but the sausages were pale and lacked flavour. £2.80 for 340g, 82p per 100g. Available from Iceland
• Heck 6 97% Pork Sausages – 54%. Failed to hit the spot. Three-quarters said the pork flavour was too weak, the seasoning lacklustre and the texture too coarse. More than half found them too dry. £3.09 for 400g, 78p per 100g. Available from Asda, Morrisons, Ocado, Sainsbury's, Tesco and Waitrose

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How healthy are pork sausages?

Pork sausages are low-carb and high in protein, but just how much protein varies between brands. For example, a couple of Asda sausages contain around 15g of protein, but two Waitrose bangers pack in 26g – about half of an average person's recommended daily intake.

They are, however, high in saturated fat – though a couple in our test were borderline. Again, it varies more than you might expect by brand.

Co-op's bangers were the lowest, with just 5g per 100g, while Aldi's were the highest with 9.5g. NHS guidelines suggest women should eat no more than 20g of saturated fat per day and men 30g.

Salt content can be high, too. Heck had the most salt of all the sausages we tested, and three times as much as The Jolly Hog, which had the lowest.

What are sausages made of?

The main ingredient is, as you'd hope, pork. But more pork doesn't always equate to a tastier sausage, and other ingredients can play an important role in getting the right balance of texture and juiciness.

As a proportion, Waitrose and Heck sausages contain the most pork – 97% – but our tasters were less impressed by them overall. Higher scorers – such as Tesco, Aldi and Lidl – have 90%, while The Jolly Hog contains just 84% pork.

Breadcrumbs were traditionally added to balance texture, but as many sausages are now gluten-free by default, you may find some surprising alternatives. We spotted bamboo fibre, roasted mushrooms and caramelised sugar syrup in some ingredients lists. 

Casings vary too. Many brands now use a derivative of seaweed (calcium alginate) to make the sausage casings. Others, such as The Jolly Hog, M&S and Waitrose, use pork-derived material, but Heck uses beef collagen. Morrisons states their casings are made of either beef collagen or pork.

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Pork sausages: labels and animal welfare

All the sausages we tested came from British-raised pigs. You'll see certain welfare logos crop up, the most common being Red Tractor and RSPCA-assured. 

Red Tractor guarantees certain minimum standards – though not always any higher than the legal minimum. 

RSPCA-assured demands higher standards in certain areas. If 'outdoor bred' is stated on the packaging, it means that pigs are born outside. Piglets are usually brought indoors shortly after weaning.

Free-range pigs spend their entire lives with permanent access to the outdoors. According to Red Tractor, two-thirds of British-raised sows remain indoors for their whole lives.

For the highest animal welfare standards, look for the Organic Association or Organic Farmers & Growers logos on packaging.

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How to cook pork sausages

There are plenty of ways to cook a sausage, but grilling is the most common option recommended on the packaging. 

From chilled, most sausages take between 15 and 20 minutes. Cook until the juices run clear and there is no pink meat.

If you have the oven on anyway, you can pop the bangers in along with other food. Pan frying, barbecuing and air frying are all options, too.

How we tested pork sausages

The sausages were assessed in April 2023 by a large panel of consumers who regularly buy and consume pork sausages. The make-up of the panel broadly represents the demographic profile of adults in the UK. Each sausage was assessed by 78 people.

Panellists rated the taste, texture, aroma and appearance of each brand of sausage and told us what they liked and disliked about each one. 

The taste test was blind, so the panellists didn’t know which brand they were trying. The order in which they sampled the sausages was fully rotated to avoid any bias. Each panellist had a private booth so they couldn’t discuss what they were tasting or be influenced by others.

The overall score is based on:

• 50% taste
• 20% appearance
• 15% texture
• 15% aroma

These weightings are based on consumer rankings of the importance of different attributes of sausages. 

*prices correct as of 27 April 2023