Honey Garlic Sausages Baked with Sticky Onions

These honey garlic sausages are what you make when the fridge holds a pack of plain links and not much else. Eight pork or beef sausages bake on a bed of sliced onion while honey, soy sauce and garlic cook down into a sticky, glossy coat. It feeds four, takes about 35 minutes, and the oven does nearly all of the work.

Save this recipe for later:

It suits weeknights, beginner cooks, and anyone who wants a hot dinner without standing over a skillet dodging spatters.

What goes into honey garlic sausages

• 8 pork or beef sausage links
• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup honey
• 3 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1 tbsp chopped parsley

The list is short, so each item pulls its weight. Honey brings the sweetness and the stickiness. Soy sauce adds salt and a deep brown color, which is why there is no separate salt in the recipe. Olive oil loosens the glaze so it spreads over the sausages instead of sitting in a thick puddle, and the garlic and black pepper keep the whole thing from tasting like dessert.

Why the onion goes underneath

The onion layer does two jobs. It lifts the sausages slightly off the bottom of the dish, so they sit in the glaze without stewing flat against the hot surface. As it bakes, the onion also softens and soaks up the honey and soy that drip down, turning into a sweet, jammy layer of its own.

Slice it thin. Thick wedges stay firm while the sausages finish, and you end up with crunchy onion next to cooked meat. Thin slices collapse into the sauce in the same 25 to 30 minutes.

Getting a shiny glaze instead of a thin puddle

The most common letdown with a baked glaze is a pool of runny sauce and pale sausages. Two habits from the recipe fix it. First, turn the sausages and baste them halfway through the bake, so both sides get coated and both sides brown. Second, follow the recipe’s tip and baste twice more in the last 10 minutes. Each layer of glaze cooks onto the one before it, and that stacking is what gives you the lacquered look.

Keep an eye on the dish near the end. Honey browns fast once the liquid reduces, and the edges of the pan will darken first. Sticky and browned is the goal you are watching for.

How to bake them

• Heat the oven to 400°F.
• Spread the sliced onion in a baking dish and lay the 8 sausages on top in a single layer.
• Whisk the honey, soy sauce, olive oil, garlic and black pepper together, then pour it over the sausages and onion.
• Bake 25 to 30 minutes. Halfway through, turn the sausages and baste them with the glaze from the dish. For the shiniest finish, baste twice more in the last 10 minutes. They are ready when they look sticky and browned.
• Spoon the glaze from the dish over the sausages once more and scatter the chopped parsley on top.

The Foodie Yummy Cookbook

12 reader-favorite recipes in one printable PDF. Enter your email and download it instantly.

Bringing it to the table

Carry the baking dish straight to the table, or plate it in the kitchen. Either way, spoon a little of the sauce from the bottom of the dish over each plate; that is where most of the flavor ends up. With 8 sausages and a serving count of 4, plan on two links per person, plus a share of the soft onions underneath.

Do not leave the onions behind in the dish. After 25 to 30 minutes in the honey and soy, they are as much a part of the meal as the sausages, sweet and jammy with browned edges where the glaze caught. Lift them out with a wide spoon so some of the sauce stays clinging to them.

The parsley matters too, so do not skip it at the end. That bit of fresh green cuts through the honey and gives the dark, glossy sausages some color. Scatter it right before serving so it stays bright instead of wilting into the hot glaze.

If this sweet and savory glaze is your kind of dinner, try our crispy honey garlic chicken thighs or the hands-off slow cooker honey garlic chicken . For something quicker, our honey garlic shrimp rice bowls use the same flavors, and our cinnamon honey roasted carrots bring honey to the vegetable side of the table.

Questions about this recipe

Should I use pork or beef sausages?

Either works. The recipe calls for pork or beef sausage links, so pick the kind you like best. The glaze, the onion and the baking time stay the same whichever you choose.

Do I need to brown the sausages in a pan first?

No. The sausages go into the dish raw and brown in the oven. Turning them halfway and basting is what gives both sides color, so there is no extra pan to wash.

Why did my glaze stay thin?

Usually the sausages came out at the early end of the 25 to 30 minute window, before the liquid had time to reduce. Give them the full time and use the extra bastes in the last 10 minutes. The glaze thickens as the liquid cooks off and the honey caramelizes.

Can I add the garlic straight onto the sausages instead of whisking it in?

Whisking it into the honey mixture spreads the minced garlic evenly through the glaze, so each sausage gets some. Loose garlic sitting on top in clumps is more likely to scorch at 400°F.

Made it or loved it? Share this recipe

Written and edited by The Foodie Yummy Kitchen Team

The Foodie Yummy Kitchen Team writes and edits the recipes on Foodie Yummy: classic American potluck salads, holiday sides and easy comfort food, with a few low-carb options. Every recipe lists exact quantities, numbered steps and a printable recipe card, plus notes on swaps, storage and make-ahead timing. Spot a problem with a recipe? Tell us through the contact page and we will correct it. About us