Best pork sausages: Porky Whites, The Jolly Hog and supermarket bangers taste tested

Sizzling sausages on the barbecue spells the start of summer, so it's useful to be clued up on which bangers combine a flavoursome, meaty taste and juicy texture. 

We got together a panel of 60 people to blind-taste pork sausages from brands, The Jolly Hog and Porky Whites, plus 10 supermarket own labels, including Aldi, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s and Tesco.

We found three brilliant bangers that each win our Best Buy award. Two of these also snapped up a Great Value badge. 

Find out which are the most succulent sausages, how the brands measure up, and which bland sausages should be on the avoid list.

Best pork sausages

You’ll find superior sausages at Lidl. But its bangers only just pipped Aldi and Morrisons to the post, so we’ve made all three Best Buys. 

Lidl and Aldi are joint cheapest on test per pack, so make great choices if you’ve got a crowd to cater for.

All the sausages come in 400g packs (except Iceland at 300g) and contain six sausages.

Best Buy & Great Value: Lidl Deluxe Pork Sausages – 73% 

£2.49 for 400g (62p per 100g)

Although they were a lighter colour than many of our tasters thought ideal, Lidl’s sausages came out top when it came to overall eating pleasure.

Three quarters were impressed with the pork flavour and salt levels, and even more found the moist consistency perfect.

Texture was enjoyed by two thirds, and nearly as many felt the herb and spice seasoning was spot-on.

Lidl’s sausages are joint cheapest on test, as well as being the top scorers, so they’ve won both Best Buy and Great Value awards.

Available from Lidl.

Best Buy & Great Value: Aldi Specially Selected Pork Sausages – 72%

£2.49 for 400g (62p per 100g)

Aldi’s sausages were impressive all-rounders, scoring well on looks, aroma, flavour and texture.

Around three quarters of our large group of tasters said they looked great and praised their meaty flavour. Even more liked the succulent texture and just right salt levels.

They would have scored even better with a little more seasoning – more than a third wanted a stronger herb and spice kick.

These sausages are the same price as Lidl’s bangers and also make an excellent budget choice, hence another Great Value award.

Available from Aldi.

Best Buy: Morrisons The Best Thick Pork Sausages – 72%

£3.25 for 400g (81p per 100g)

Another all-round decent banger that matched Aldi on score, though they are a touch pricier.

While not quite up there with Aldi and Lidl on texture (more than a quarter of our tasters found them too coarse), most were happy with the looks, aroma and flavour of these sausages.

Around three-quarters liked the porky flavour, salt levels and juiciness.

Half were happy with the seasoning, though upwards of a third wanted a bit more to pep things up.

Available from Morrisons.

Exceptional by Asda Classic Pork Sausages – 71%

£3.17 for 400g (79p per 100g)

Well-liked sausages that are beaten on price only by Aldi and Lidl.

Most found the meaty flavour and salt levels just right. Their texture was also approved by around two thirds of our tasters.

Extra herb and spice seasoning would have upped the score of Asda’s bangers, as more than half found it lacking.

Available from Asda.

Co-op Irresistible Classically Seasoned Pork Sausages – 71%

£3.90 for 400g (98p per 100g)

One of the pricier sausages on test, but popular. More than two thirds relished the porky flavour and succulent texture.

Salt levels were right for most tasters, and more than half were happy with the herb and spice seasoning. Most of the remainder wanted a bit more flavour.

Available from Co-op. 

M&S Collection British Outdoor Bred Pork Sausages – 71%

£4.25 for 400g (£1.06 per 100g)

A decent sausage that hit the spot in terms of looks, flavour and aroma. Salt levels worked well, and most of our tasters also deemed the herbs and spices spot on.

Two thirds were happy with the texture and juiciness, though most of the remainder found these sausages a bit coarse and overly moist.

Available from M&S (in-store only) and Ocado.

Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference British Pork Sausages – 70%

£3.25 for 400g (81p per 100g)

These succulent sausages were pretty popular, with flavour, texture and aroma all finding favour.

Salt levels and texture were generally enjoyed, but more than half of our tasters thought these sausages were a bit pale, and nearly a third wanted extra herb and spice seasoning. 

Available from Sainsbury’s.

Tesco Finest Pork Sausages – 67%

£3.30 for 400g (83p per 100g)

A good meaty flavour and satisfying salt levels kept these light-coloured sausages up with the higher scorers.

Texture was largely enjoyed, but nearly a third found it too fine, and a significant minority wanted extra herb and spice seasoning.

Available from Tesco.

Looking for more food and drink recommendations? See our pick of the best chocolate hazelnut spread, the best instant coffee and the best baked beans

How other pork sausages compare

• The Jolly Hog Proper Porkers Sausages – 65%. While they looked and smelt good, these sausages struggled to attain universal approval when it came to actually eating them. The meat flavour was too weak and the texture too coarse for a third of our tasters. £3.80 per 400g (95p per 100g). Available from Amazon, Asda, Co-op, Morrisons, Ocado, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose. 
• Porky Whites Premium Surrey Pork Sausages – 65%. Excellent looks, but somewhat bland flavour-wise. Opinions were mixed around texture, which less than half were happy with. £3.50 for 400g (88p per 100g). Available from Asda, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s and Tesco. 
• Iceland Luxury Pork Sausages – 56%. Unappealing pale colour, an overly coarse texture and weak seasoning did nothing to boost the popularity of these sausages. £3 for 300g (£1 per 100g). Available from Iceland. 
• Waitrose No.1 British Free Range Pork Sausages – 53%. Pricey and off-puttingly pale, with a texture that only a quarter approved of. More than three quarters wanted an extra dose of seasoning. £5.25 for 400g (£1.31 per 100g). Available from Waitrose.

Best cheap supermarket food and drink – find out which cheaper own labels have beaten the big brands in our blind taste tests

Full results from our pork sausages taste test

How we tested pork sausages

All the sausages were blind-tasted and rated by a panel of 60 people in April 2026 at our specialist test lab.

We recruited a panel of people who buy and eat sausages, and who broadly represent the demographic profile of adults in the UK (age range, gender split and more). 

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

The tasters rated the flavour, aroma, appearance and texture of each brand of sausage and told us what they liked and disliked. 

The overall score was based on:

• 50% flavour
• 20% appearance
• 15% aroma
• 15% texture.

These weightings are based on what people ranked as the most important attributes when tasting pork sausages. All our results are checked and analysed by our in-house statistical team.

Find out more about our editorial independence policy and see behind the scenes of our taste tests to understand more about how we work

Are pork sausages healthy?

While sausages provide protein, iron, zinc, and B12, this comes at the cost of high levels of saturated fat and salt.

A couple of deluxe sausages weighing around 130g can contain about 11g of saturated fat and 1.7g of salt. This gives the average person around half of the maximum recommended daily intake of saturated fat and approaching a third of the maximum recommended daily intake of salt.

However, it varies between brands. For example, Porky Whites have half the amount of saturated fat per 100g compared with Tesco sausages. And protein content ranges from 13g to 21g per 100g across the brands. See the table above for details on all the sausages on test.

Since sausages are processed meat, they fall into the category of a group 1 carcinogen. All in all, sausages are a product to consume in moderation.

What’s in a sausage?

Pork tops the ingredients list, with the sausages on test containing, on average, 90%, though this varies from a high of 98% (Waitrose) to 82% (Porky Whites). 

Getting the right balance of flavour and texture isn’t just about the meat content, however, and other ingredients play their part. Instead of breadcrumbs (traditionally used to improve texture), you’ll see replacements, such as cornflour, chickpea flour or potato starch, so most are gluten-free. Porky Whites contain wheat, however, so aren't suitable for those avoiding gluten.

All the sausages include herbs and spices, such as sage, ginger, thyme, cayenne pepper, paprika and nutmeg. Other ingredients include stabilisers, preservatives and flavourings.

 Pork sausages: animal welfare and labels

Red Tractor and RSPCA-assured are the two most common animal welfare logos you’ll see on sausages.

Red Tractor guarantees the origins for its meat, which is traceable to the farm where the animals were kept. However, it rarely goes beyond the legal minimum and allows the use of farrowing crates, where sows are confined to small crates before, during and after giving birth.

The RSPCA-assured scheme doesn’t permit farrowing crates, and while it encourages outdoor grazing, it’s not mandatory. In 2024, the scheme lost support from high-profile figures, including presidents Chris Packham and Caroline Lucas, and Vice President Brian May, after undercover filming revealed that welfare standards were not being adhered to. RSPCA’s subsequent review concluded that the scheme is operating effectively.

Waitrose states that its sausages come from pigs that spend their entire life outdoors. Waitrose and M&S are also the only retailers to feature in Tier 2 (the second highest) in Compassion in World Farming’s business rankings for farm animal welfare.

Porky Whites states on the label that its meat comes from both UK and non-UK sources.

For more on sustainability, welfare and food safety, head to our guide on decoding food labels.

Veggie sausages

If you’re interested in eating less processed meat, there’s an array of veggie sausages to choose from in both the chilled and frozen sections of supermarkets.

Some aim to mimic meat sausages. These tend to be highly processed and usually include pea protein or soya-based textured vegetable protein. Other veggie sausages are less processed, made with mashed-up vegetables and more recognisably plant-based.

Veggie sausages typically contain far less saturated fat than their meaty counterparts, but are often similarly salty. Soya-based sausages generally have comparable amounts of protein per 100g, but those based on veggies will be lower.

Price and availability correct as of 23 April 2026