BEST Irish Bangers and Mash! (Irish Sausage Recipe) (2024)

Fire up your skillets, because it's time to make traditional Irish bangers and mash for your Ireland-inspired dinner. We are starting with authentic Irish bangers sausages made with an onion stout gravy, and serving it all up on a mountain of homemade mashed potatoes. Not only is this the best traditional Irish bangers and mash recipe you will find, but it's also guaranteed to be a WHOLE LOTTA YUM!

Irish Sausage Recipe

My first taste of bangers and mash was at an English pub in Victoria, BC a few years ago. I have to say it was one of the finest combos I've ever tasted and when you're craving comfort food, nothing can beat it! We take the classic bangers and mash with caramelized onion gravy and give it an Irish spin with a touch of stout beer like Guinness. And I'm not sure I'll ever make corned beef and cabbage for St Patrick's Day now that we've perfected the PERFECT Irish bangers and mash recipe!

Now did the Irish or the English invent bangers and mash, that's the real question of the day!

If you are loving the looks of this authentic Irish sausage recipe be sure to try our other Irish-inspired dishes including this Instant Pot Guinness Beef Stew and our Instant Pot Cabbage and Bacon recipe.

Take your Irish bangers and mash recipe up a notch when you serve it with our authentic Instant Pot colcannon recipe or our Irish soda bread.

No matter how you choose to serve your Irish bangers and mash, just know that you are going to love this homemade Irish recipe.

Why You'll Love This!

• Make an authentic Irish recipe right in your own home with restaurant gourmet flavors with our homemade Irish bangers and mash, served with an onion stout gravy.
• Just what is an onion stout gravy? How about a delicious brown gravy made with onions and stout beer like Guinness you'll secretly want to eat from a spoon.
• Full of delicious flavors, Irish bangers and mashed potatoes make the ultimate Irish comfort food.

Ingredient Notes

While our Irish bangers and mash recipe does have quite a few ingredients, they are all going to come together to create a delicious pork sausage dinner that your whole family is going to love.

• Irish Bangers
• olive oil

MASHED POTATOES

• Russet potatoes
• butter
• whole milk or half & half
• salt and pepper to taste

ONION GRAVY

• butter
• large sweet onions - thinly sliced
• all purpose flour
• beef broth
• Guinness stout beer (optional, see note below)
• brown sugar (optional-add it if you add the Guinness)
• Worchestershire sauce
• salt
• ground black pepper

** Please see the recipe card at the bottom of the post for the exact quantities **

Variations

• If you can't find bangers sausage, bratwurst is the closest substitute. Brats are larger, have a higher fat content, and have a slightly richer flavor than bangers. If you're using brats in place of bangers, serve one sausage per person.
• Adding stout beer like Guinness is a fantastic addition to the gravy! Stout beers do have a slightly bitter taste so if you're adding it to the gravy, also add 1 tablespoon of brown sugar to balance out the flavors. You can also skip the Guinness entirely.
• Serve over simple mashed potatoes or make Irish colcannon with cabbage or Irish champ mashed potatoes with green onions.

How to Make Bangers and Mash

To make Irish bangers and mash you first sear the pork sausages on the stovetop. From there, you caramelize the onions and prepare the gravy while also working on the mashed potatoes. And then, combine and serve this authentic Irish bangers and mash recipe.

Cook the Bangers Sausage

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil to a skillet and sear the banger's sausages over medium heat on both sides to brown the sausage.

Set the sausages aside but leave 1 tablespoon of grease in the skillet for making the gravy.

Make the Onion Gravy

Add 3 tablespoon of butter and stir until melted.

Add the sliced onions and cook them for 10 minutes or until very soft.

Turn the heat down to low and put the lid on the pan, continue cooking for 10 more minutes.

***NOTE: Start on the mashed potatoes while the onions are simmering.

Add the flour, combine with the onions, and cook for 1 minute.

Add the beef broth, Guinness stout beer (and brown sugar if adding the stout), and Worchestershire sauce to the pan.

Cook over medium-high heat until the gravy starts to bubble.

Add the bangers Irish sausage back to the skillet.

Turn the sauce down to medium-low and simmer for 15 minutes until the gravy is reduced, starts to thicken, and the sausages are cooked through. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Make Mashed Potatoes

Add water to a pot for the mashed potatoes and bring the water to a boil over high heat.

Add the potato cubes and cook the potatoes for 12-15 minutes or until fork-tender.

Drain the potatoes and put them in a medium-sized bowl.

Mash the potatoes with a potato masher or a fork.

Add the butter and stir the potatoes until the butter is melted.

Microwave the milk or cream for 30 seconds so you aren't adding cold milk to the potatoes, which will cool them down.

Add the milk (or cream) to the potatoes and combine well. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve

Serve the Irish bangers sausages with stout onion gravy over the top of the mashed potatoes. Enjoy!

Bangers and Mash Recipe Tips

• Keep your Irish sausage bangers warm while they are waiting by covering them with foil.
• Be sure to reserve 1 tablespoon of grease from the Irish style pork sausage to season the gravy with. If you forget this step, simply add 1 tablespoon of butter to the gravy.
• While the onions are cooking, start working on your mashed potatoes so you can serve your Irish bangers and mash as soon as possible.
• For best results, be sure to check your Irish bangers for doneness with a digital meat thermometer. The internal temperature should be at least 165 F up to 180 F.

Common Questions

More Irish Recipes

• Colcannon Instant Pot Recipe
• Instant Pot Irish Guinness stew
• Irish soda bread no buttermilk
• Slow cooker cabbage with bacon
• Onion gravy for bangers and mash

More Sausage Recipes

Looking for more sausage recipes?

• Stuffed Italian Sausage
• Kielbasa and Sauerkraut
• Baked Chicken Sausage in the Oven
• Cooking Brats in the Oven

Irish Bangers and Mash Sausage Recipe with Onion Gravy

Yield: 6 servings

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

Traditional Irish bangers sausage with mashed potatoes and an onion stout gravy. Bangers and mash makes for the ultimate comfort food! Serve with a green vegetable on the side.

Ingredients

• 1 lb Irish Bangers (6 sausages)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• MASHED POTATOES
• 3 lb Russet potatoes
• 4 tablespoon butter
• ⅔-3/4 cup whole milk or half & half
• salt and pepper to taste
• ONION GRAVY
• 3 tablespoon butter
• 1 ½ large sweet onions, thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon all purpose flour
• 2 cups beef broth
• ½ cup Guinness stout beer (optional, see note below)
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar (optional-add it if you add the Guinness)
• 1 teaspoon Worchestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1`/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Instructions

To make bangers and mash you first sear the sausages, and then while you're caramelizing the onions for the gravy, you'll start making the mashed potatoes. The sausage gets added to the gravy to finish cooking, and they get served over the mashed potatoes.

Bangers

1. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil to a skillet and sear the banger's sausages over medium heat on both sides to brown the sausage. Set the sausages aside but leave 1 tablespoon of grease in the skillet for making the gravy.

Onion Gravy

1. Add 3 tablespoon of butter and stir until melted. Add the sliced onions and cook them for 10 minutes or until very soft. Turn the heat down to low and put the lid on the pan, continue cooking 10 more minutes. Add the flour, combine with the onions, and cook for 1 minute. Start on the mashed potatoes while the onions are simmering.
2. Add the beef broth, Guinness stout beer (and brown sugar if adding the stout), and Worchestershire sauce to the pan. Cook over medium-high heat until the gravy starts to bubble. Add the bangers Irish sausage back to the skillet. Turn the sauce down to medium-low and simmer for 15 minutes until the gravy is reduced, starts to thicken, and the sausages are cooked through. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Mashed Potatoes

1. Add water to a pot for the mashed potatoes and bring the water to a boil over high heat.
2. Add the potato cubes and cook the potatoes 12-15 minutes or until fork-tender.
3. Drain the potatoes and put them in a medium-sized bowl. Mash the potatoes with a potato masher or a fork. Add the butter and stir the potatoes until the butter is melted. Microwave the milk or cream for 30 seconds so you aren't adding cold milk to the potatoes, which will cool them down. Add the milk (or cream) to the potatoes and combine well. Add salt and pepper to taste.
4. Serve the Irish bangers sausages with stout onion gravy over the top of the mashed potatoes. Enjoy!

Notes

To make air fryer bangers, preheat an air fryer at 360 F for 5 minutes. Cook the Irish sausage for 10 minutes until the internal temperature reaches 160 F, there's no need to turn them during cooking. The sausages won't be as brown compared to pan-frying them, but they'll be smothered in onion gravy anyways.

If you can't find bangers sausage, bratwurst is the closest substitute. Brats are larger, have a higher fat content, and have a slightly richer flavor than bangers. If you're using brats in place of bangers, serve one sausage per person.

Adding stout beer like Guinness is a fantastic addition to the gravy! Stout beers do have a slightly bitter taste so if you're adding it to the gravy, also add 1 tablespoon of brown sugar to balance out the flavors. You can also skip the Guinness entirely.

Serve over simple mashed potatoes or make Irish colcannon with cabbage or Irish champ mashed potatoes with green onions.

Did you make this recipe?

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