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Bangers and Mash with Stout Onion Gravy is a traditional quick and easy dinner made from sausages, buttermilk mashed potatoes, and a savory gravy loaded with onions.

This recipe originated from the British Isles and can be made with any kind of sausage. The Irish Stout adds intense flavor to the sausage and the gravy.

Bangers and Mash with Stout Onion Gravy
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Why this recipe works:

The stout onion gravy take this meal over the top and is what ties everything together. Guinness was my stout beer of choice and the onions really added to the flavor of the gravy.

You don’t need to worry about the alcohol because it all gets cooked away, so this is a recipe that anyone can enjoy.

The sausages are crisp on the outside. The mashed potatoes are full of flavor and thick enough to hold the gravy. Make this recipe extra Irish by cooking up Colcannon.

I love making this recipe for St. Patrick’s Day, but it makes an outstanding dinner any time of year.

How to make it:

This is a three part recipe: sausages, gravy, mashed potatoes.

  1. Because the recipe starts with raw sausages, you have to ensure they get cooked through. I used a saute pan with a lid. I like to give them a good sear on the outside, but the lid helps steam the sausages and cook them all the way through.
  2. By adding Irish stout to the pan and then covering it, the stout evaporates into steam. This not only helps cook the sausage, but it infuses that intense dark flavor into the meat and makes it more tender.
  3. To cook the gravy, you’ll brown sliced onions in butter. Adding a little flour and allowing that to cook will help thicken it. Deglaze with more stout beer and then add beef broth.
  4. The mashed potatoes are made by boiling peeled potatoes. Once they’re soft, you’ll mash them with butter and buttermilk.

Cooking tips:

  • Sometimes it’s easier to find sausages that are pre-cooked. You can use these as well. Just ensure they get heated through.
  • You can use any kind of beer. Stout tastes great with the onions, but a nice wheat ale would also work.
  • The less frequently you stir the onions, the better they will brown.
How to make Bangers and Mash with Stout Onion Gravy

What does bangers and mash mean?

Bangers means sausage. Mash means mashed potatoes.

You might be wondering what vegetable goes well with bangers and mash? Peas. When in doubt, always throw on some peas. Especially if you have mashed potatoes and gravy for them to stick to.

Why is it called a banger?

I found an interesting article that discusses the origins of some popular foods.

I’ve known sausages have been referred to as bangers because they pop when they cook. Now, we all know that a good sausage or hot dog will split when it’s cooked, but does it really pop?

The article states that “The sausage, one of the oldest types of processed food in history, can be traced back to ancient times. British pork sausages have been mass produced since the 19th century.

After the outbreak of World War I, food shortages led to a dramatic reduction of meat, of any sort, in sausages.

Instead, producers packed them out with scraps, cereal and water, which caused them to pop and hiss when cooked on shovels over open fires in the trenches of northern Europe — hence ‘bangers’.”

Bangers and mash: English or Irish?

The answer is both.

It’s typical “Pub Grub” you might find anywhere in the British Isles including Great Britain and Ireland. It’s a relatively easy dinner to make either for a family or in large quantity if serving a crowd.

If you want to make this meal specifically Irish, use an Irish stout like Guinness to cook the sausage and gravy like I did for this recipe.

If you want to make this meal specifically British, just serve plain sausage with flavorless mashed potatoes. I kid! I kid! Well, sort of.

Bangers and Mash

Love recipes using stout beer?

You wouldn’t believe that I actually don’t enjoy drinking stout beer based on the number of recipes I’ve made using stout beer, but it is outstanding in both savory and sweet recipes!

Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave me a comment below to let me know what you think!

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Bangers and Mash with Stout Onion Gravy

Prep20 minutes
Cook30 minutes
Total50 minutes
Servings 4 servings
Bangers and Mash with Stout Onion Gravy is a traditional quick and easy dinner made from sausages, buttermilk mashed potatoes, and a savory gravy loaded with onions. This recipe originated from the British Isles and can be made with any kind of sausage. The Irish Stout adds intense flavor to the sausage and the gravy.

Video

Ingredients 

bangers:

  • 1 pound sausage uncooked bratwurst recommended
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 3 ounces stout beer I used Guinness

mashed potatoes:

  • 3-4 russet potatoes peeled and sliced
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1/2 cup buttermilk

stout onion gravy

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Instructions 

sausages:

  • Heat oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Add sausages and stout. Cover with lid and crack just to allow enough steam to escape. Cook covered for about 10 minutes, turning half way through.
  • After they've cooked for 10 minutes, remove lid and allow the liquid to reduce a bit and coat the sausages. When the liquid is almost gone, lower heat to medium low and continue cooking with the lid on, rotating occasionally, until evenly browned and cooked through, about another 10 minutes.

gravy:

  • In a separate pot, heat butter over medium high heat. Add sliced onions and cook until slightly brown and fragrant, 5-10 minutes. Sprinkle with flour and allow to cook 2-3 minutes.
  • Add stout and scrape bottom of pan to deglaze. Add beef broth and allow to simmer until no longer foamy, 10-15 minutes.

potatoes:

  • In large pot cover potatoes with water and bring to a boil. Cook until soft. Drain and add butter and buttermilk. Mash to your preferred consistency.
  • To serve, top potatoes with sausage(s) and top with as much gravy as your heart desires.

Notes

Cooking tips:

  • Sometimes it’s easier to find sausages that are pre-cooked. You can use these as well. Just ensure they get heated through.
  • You can use any kind of beer. Stout tastes great with the onions, but a nice wheat ale would also work.
  • The less frequently you stir the onions, the better they will brown.

Nutrition

Calories: 903kcal, Carbohydrates: 50g, Protein: 30g, Fat: 61g, Saturated Fat: 24g, Cholesterol: 153mg, Sodium: 1446mg, Potassium: 1413mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 4g, Vitamin A: 645IU, Vitamin C: 15.9mg, Calcium: 101mg, Iron: 4mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Did you make this? Leave me a comment below

This recipe was originally published in March 2015 and has been updated with information and cooking tips. Don’t worry – I would never change the recipe!

Hi! Iโ€™m Krissy.

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42 Comments

  1. The well known ideal accompaniment to go with the Bangers and mash is Heinz Maple baked beans. To the gravy I made mine with a chicken stock cube to 250ml water and added one teaspoon each of Dijon mustard and Worcestershire sauce and mashed the onions as much as possible. Fabulous!

  2. 5 stars
    We had this dish several times while in Ireland. This recipe perfectly recreates those wonderful pub meals. It is easy to make and the gravy takes it over the top! I found Irish Bangers at Trader Joes and they were so good that I went back and bought more for the freezer for future meals.

  3. I’ve made this several times, My local giant a goal sells Irish bangers during certain times which I’ve used but recently they haven’t had them and I noticed Johnsonville has put out an Irish garlic sausage that I haven’t tried yet my recipe is the same as yours but I put some Irish white cheddar and my mashed potatoes also yum yum

  4. 5 stars
    Used spicy brats, and Guinness in the gravy. This meal tasted great and was incredibly simple. Will definately make it again. โ˜˜๏ธ๐Ÿบ๐Ÿ’š๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿผ

  5. 5 stars
    Made this tonight, amazing!!! I made the bangers and gravy in the same pan and I added mushrooms to the gravy. I also added irish cheddar cheese to the potatoes and served it all with peas and carrots. 10/10 would make again

  6. Bangers and Mash came out great – not so the Gravy. Followed the recipe – with the exception of adding more onion since we like onion flavor -,but pretty tasteless. I think the proportion of beer is too high. I used a Yengling Black + Tan which given the previous posts of Guinness being too bitter, it should have worked. I will try again, but this time add in the beer a tablespoon at a time.

    1. Hi Leslie, Thanks for the comment and sorry the gravy wasn’t awesome. Hopefully it’s just a matter of preference and you’ll like it better next time.

  7. I want to make this but I am worry about the beer part. Both my son and I are disabled and we take many different kinds of pills. Should I still use the beer even tho we take lots of medication?

    1. Hi Juanita, I don’t want to give any advice because I don’t know what medications you are on, but when I cook with beer, it generally cooks long enough to burn off all the alcohol. Hope that helps, Krissy