This Texas sausage kolaches recipe makes the soft, pillowy, slightly sweet pastries Texans know from Czech bakeries. Each oblong klobasnek wraps tender enriched yeast dough around a medium-thin smoked picnic link, with American cheese and pickled jalapeños as optional extras.
They take time because the dough gets two rises before shaping and one final rise after filling, but the hands-on work is straightforward. The result is a golden breakfast or snack that freezes and reheats beautifully.
What Is a Texas Sausage Kolache?
A Texas sausage kolache is technically a klobasnek: a savory Czech-Texan pastry made by enclosing sausage in soft yeast dough. In everyday Texas bakery language, most people simply call it a sausage kolache.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Bakery-style texture: bread flour, whole milk, eggs, evaporated milk, and butter make the dough soft and rich.
- The right sausage-to-bread ratio: smaller picnic links keep the pastries oblong without overwhelming the dough.
- Easy to customize: keep them classic or add American cheese and pickled jalapeños.
- Make-ahead friendly: baked kolaches freeze well and reheat quickly for busy mornings.
Recipe At a Glance
- Flavor: buttery, lightly sweet dough with smoky sausage
- Texture: tender and pillowy with a thin golden crust
- Difficulty: intermediate, mostly because of the shaping and rise times
- Prep time: 2 hours
- Bake time: 30 to 35 minutes
- Yield: 3 dozen
- Best for: breakfast, brunch, road trips, game day, and freezer meals
Where This Texas Favorite Comes From
Czech immigrants brought kolache traditions to Central Texas. Fruit- or cheese-filled kolaches are open-faced and sweet, while the sausage-filled version is called a klobasnek (plural: klobasniky). Texas bakeries helped make the savory version a breakfast-counter staple.
Ingredients You'll Need
- Active dry yeast and warm water: use water between 105°F and 115°F so the yeast wakes up without overheating.
- Whole milk and evaporated milk: add richness and help create the tender crumb.
- Salted butter: goes into the dough and is brushed over the dough during shaping and after baking.
- Bread flour: gives the soft dough enough structure to hold the sausage.
- Sugar, kosher salt, eggs, and egg yolk: season and enrich the dough.
- Fully cooked smoked picnic links: choose links that are medium-thin-smaller in diameter than standard sausage but not as skinny as breakfast links-and cut them in half.
- American cheese and pickled jalapeños: optional, but classic for the jalapeño-cheese version.
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Ingredient Notes and Easy Swaps
I use Green's Smoked Beef and Pork Picnic Links from Green's Sausage House in East Bell County. Any good fully cooked smoked sausage works, but the diameter matters: a standard thick link throws off the bread-to-sausage balance.
Half-and-half can replace the whole milk. All-purpose flour can replace bread flour, although the finished crumb will be a little less structured. Cheddar or pepper Jack may replace American cheese when you want a stronger cheese flavor.
Tools That Make It Easier
I use a stand mixer with a dough hook, a rolling pin, a 2-inch round cutter, parchment paper, and rimmed baking sheets when I make sausage kolaches.
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Buy Now → How to Make Texas Sausage Kolaches
1. Wake up the yeast
Stir the active dry yeast into the 105°F to 115°F water and let it stand for 5 minutes. Melt the butter, then whisk the lukewarm whole milk with the foamy yeast mixture.
2. Mix and knead the soft dough
With the mixer whisk attached, combine 3 cups of sifted bread flour with the evaporated milk, sugar, salt, eggs, egg yolk, yeast mixture, and melted butter; beat for 1 minute. Switch to the dough hook, add the remaining flour, beat for 2 minutes, rest 5 minutes, then knead on medium-high for 10 minutes. The dough should be very soft and slightly sticky, not stiff.
3. Give the dough two rises
Brush the dough with 1 tablespoon melted butter, cover, and let it rise until doubled, about 1 hour. Punch it down, cover again, and let it rise until doubled a second time, about 30 minutes.
4. Roll, cut, and rest the rounds
Roll the dough on a floured surface into an 18-by-14-inch rectangle about 1 inch thick. Cut 2-inch rounds, place them on parchment about 1 inch apart, brush with 2 tablespoons melted butter, cover, and let rise for 20 minutes.
5. Fill and shape the kolaches
Flatten each round to roughly twice its original size. Center a half sausage on the dough, add one thick strip of American cheese and 3 to 4 pickled jalapeño slices if using, then bring the sides up and pinch firmly. Stretch the top and bottom dough around the sausage so the pastry is oblong, then place seam-side down on a greased sheet pan.
6. Proof and bake until deeply golden
Brush the shaped kolaches with melted butter, cover, and let them rise for 30 minutes. Bake at 350°F for 30 to 35 minutes, until puffed, deeply golden, and heated through; brush with the remaining butter and cool for 10 minutes.
Helpful Tips Before You Start
- Watch the temperature: milk and water that feel hot can damage the yeast; use an instant-read thermometer.
- Keep the dough soft: add only enough bench flour to prevent sticking. Too much flour makes dense kolaches.
- Seal with intention: pinch the seam firmly and bake seam-side down so the filling stays enclosed.
- Use fully cooked sausage: the bake time is for heating the filling while the dough cooks, not for cooking raw sausage safely.
A Few Easy Mistakes to Avoid
Dense bread usually means too much flour. This dough is supposed to be very soft and slightly sticky after kneading. Flour your work surface lightly instead of trying to make the dough dry.
A split seam usually means it was not pinched enough. Keep more dough over the top than underneath, seal the edges well, and put the seam against the pan.
Oversized sausage makes a heavy kolache. Look for medium-thin picnic links with roughly the diameter shown in the cut-open pastry, then cut each link in half.
A Few Things That Make This Recipe Better
The short rest before the 10-minute knead lets the flour hydrate, so the dough strengthens without becoming dry. Brushing butter between stages keeps the surface supple during the rises and gives the baked kolaches their soft, glossy finish.
Keeping Leftovers Fresh
Refrigerate cooled sausage kolaches in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Reheat one in the microwave for 20 to 30 seconds, or warm several in a 300°F oven until the centers are hot.
Can You Make Them Ahead?
Yes. Bake the kolaches completely, cool them, and freeze them in an airtight freezer bag for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator or reheat gently from frozen, adding time as needed until the sausage center is hot.
What to Serve with Sausage Kolaches
Serve them with coffee, fresh fruit, scrambled eggs, or a simple breakfast casserole. For brunch, add a crisp green salad and a bowl of fruit so the rich pastry has something fresh alongside it.
FAQs
Are sausage kolaches really kolaches?
Technically, a sausage-filled pastry is a klobasnek, while a traditional kolache has an open fruit or cheese center. In Texas, "sausage kolache" is the familiar everyday name.
Why is my kolache dough sticky?
The enriched dough should be very soft and slightly sticky. Let the mixer complete the full kneading time, then use a light dusting of flour on the work surface instead of working extra flour into the dough.
What sausage is best for Texas kolaches?
Use fully cooked smoked picnic links that are smaller in diameter than ordinary sausage but a little thicker than thin breakfast links. That size gives you a balanced ring of bread around the sausage.
Can I leave out the cheese and jalapeños?
Absolutely. Plain smoked-sausage klobasniky are classic. The cheese and pickled jalapeños are optional variations.
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Recipe
PrintTexas Sausage Kolaches
Soft, buttery Texas sausage kolaches made with sweet yeast dough and savory breakfast sausage. A classic Czech-Texan pastry that freezes beautifully.
If you make this recipe, I'd love for you to leave a rating below. It helps other readers and lets me know what you're enjoying.
- Prep Time: 2 hours
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours 20 minutes
- Yield: 36 1x
- Category: Breakfast
- Cuisine: Czech
Ingredients
For the Dough
- 1 ½ tablespoons active dry yeast (from 2 [¼-oz.] envelopes)
- ½ cup warm water (105°F to 115°F)
- ½ cup salted butter
- 1 ½ cups whole milk (lukewarm, about 100°F to 105°F)
- 6 cups Bread Flour (divided, plus more for work surface)
- ¾ cup evaporated milk
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoons kosher salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1 large egg yolk
- 5 tablespoons salted butter (melted, divided)
For the Filling
- 36 fully cooked smoked sausages (picnic links, cut in half* (about 1 pound))
- 36 pieces American cheese (cut into thick strips (optional), (about ½ pound))
- 144 slices Sliced pickled jalapeños (optional)
Instructions
Activate the Yeast
- In a small bowl, sprinkle the yeast over warm water and stir to combine. Let sit until foamy, about 5 minutes.
- In a large microwave-safe bowl, melt the butter (about 1 minute on HIGH). Stir to combine.
- Whisk in the lukewarm whole milk and yeast mixture.
Make the Dough
- Transfer the yeast mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.
- Sift in 3 cups of bread flour, then add evaporated milk, sugar, salt, eggs, and egg yolk.
- Beat on medium speed until smooth, about 1 minute.
- Switch to the dough hook attachment and gradually add the remaining 3 cups of flour.
- Beat on medium speed until the dough is smooth, about 2 minutes.
- Let the dough rest at room temperature for 5 minutes, then continue kneading on medium-high speed until elastic and very smooth, about 10 minutes. The dough will be very soft and slightly sticky.
First and Second Rise
- Brush the top of the dough with 1 tablespoon of melted butter.
- Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
- Punch the dough down, re-cover, and let rise again until doubled, about 30 minutes.
Shape the Dough
- Lightly flour a work surface and roll the dough into an 18x14-inch rectangle, about 1 inch thick.
- Use a 2-inch round cutter to cut circles from the dough. Place them 1 inch apart on parchment-lined baking sheets.
- Brush the tops with 2 tablespoons of melted butter.
- Let rise in a warm place until almost doubled, about 20 minutes.
Fill and Assemble the Kolaches
- Using your fingers and the palm of your hand, flatten each dough circle to about twice its original size.
- Place a sausage in the center of each piece of dough. Flatten the dough slightly more if needed.
- Bring the sides of the dough around the sausage and pinch them together in the center to form a seam. The top should have more dough coverage than the bottom.
- Pull and stretch the top and bottom edges of the dough around the sausage, pinching to seal at the center seam.
- Place the filled kolaches seam-side down on a lightly greased baking sheet, spacing them 1-2 inches apart.
- Brush liberally with melted butter, cover, and let rise for 30 minutes.
Bake the Kolaches
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown and the sausage is heated through.
- Remove from the oven and brush with additional melted butter.
- Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.
For Sausage, Jalapeño, and Cheese Kolaches
- Place 1 thick strip of American cheese, 3 slices of pickled jalapeño, and half a sausage link in the center of the dough before sealing and shaping. Place 1 slice of pickled jalapeño on top of the shaped dough in the pan to see the difference between regular sausage kolaches and jalapeño.
Notes
• Sausage: Our favorite sausage comes from Green's Sausage House in Zabcikville, Texas, a small Czech community in East Bell County (though the Google address lists it as Temple, TX). We prefer Green's Smoked Beef and Pork Picnic Links for our kolaches. If unavailable, use any high-quality smoked sausage.
•Cheese: American cheese is traditional for jalapeño-cheese kolaches, but sharp cheddar or pepper jack can be used for a bolder flavor.
•Milk: If whole milk isn't available, half-and-half can be substituted.
•Flour: While bread flour yields a softer dough, all-purpose flour can be used in a pinch, though the texture may be slightly different.
Nutrition
- Calories: 315
- Sugar: 13
- Sodium: 7404
- Fat: 15
- Saturated Fat: 6
- Carbohydrates: 39
- Fiber: 11
- Protein: 10
- Cholesterol: 44
Cynthia K Herring says
I absolutely love these Kolaches! Your family will think you were up all night baking. They are so quick and easy to make. The time involved is waiting for them to rise. The best thing is how versatile the dough is. I can make sweet fruit kolaches or savory kolaches. Or both! I also love that I can set aside some dough for dinner. You can literally stuff them with anything! Leftover brisket, chicken, hamburger meat or pork. The chicken is good with cream cheese and green chillies. The hamburger meat I add cheese, a slice of bacon and jalepenos. This should be in your go-to cookbook or Pinterest. Thanks, Jennifer Cooks!
Jennifer Locklin says
This made me smile, Cynthia! I love hearing all the different ways people use this dough.
Your brisket, chicken, and bacon-jalapeño versions sound fantastic, and now you've got me wanting to clean out my refrigerator just to see what else I can wrap in kolache dough! The chicken with cream cheese and green chiles especially sounds like something I'd love.
Thank you so much for taking the time to share this. Comments like yours are exactly why I love passing these family recipes along. I'm thrilled the recipe has become such a versatile favorite in your kitchen!