YOU would be hard pressed to find anyone who isn’t partial to a savoury or sweet snack from Greggs.
It’s the go-to chain for bakes, sandwiches and doughnuts, but my personal favourite is a sausage roll.
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The price of the tasty snack has steadily risen over the past few years though.
The cost for one sausage roll is currently £1.20, up from £1.15 earlier this year and from just £1 in 2021.
With that in mind, when I saw that B&M had come out with its own sausage roll maker, I was eager to try making my favourite snack at home.
Shoppers have been raving about the appliance on social media calling it a “must-have” and “brilliant”.
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The gadget costs £20 and works like a sandwich press with an automatic temperature control – sounds pretty simple right?
Well I was keen to find out just how easy it is and how much money I could save, and if it’s all it’s hyped up to be.
I put the appliance to the test, here are the results.
The test
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The first thing I noticed after pulling out the maker was how easy it looked to use.
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Being able to make sausage rolls with very few steps is definitely a plus.
I knew I wanted to keep the recipe as basic as possible, which meant I ended up with just three ingredients: pork sausages, ready rolled puff pastry and fry light.
Following the instructions in the manual I opened up the press and laid out my puff pastry sheet across it, covering the bottom section.
I then took the casings off four sausages and placed them in the perfectly sized slots and popped the pastry over the top.
Next I, as carefully as possible, snipped off the excess pastry and closed the lid.
The maker has a clip to seal the lid once it’s closed, it also has a little red and green light which flicks on and off to indicate if it’s the right temperature for baking.
The instructions said to leave the rolls to cook for between 10 to 15 minutes so I set a timer on my phone and sat back and waited for the big reveal.
I was shocked at how easy the entire process was, not being much of a chef myself, but it was really simple.
The taste
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As my timer beeped, the machine was just starting to sizzle, indicating the 15 minutes was the perfect length of time.
I lifted the lid to see four golden brown sausage rolls which, if I do say so myself, looked very appetising.
I did then shave off more of the excess pastry as I’d left more than I needed too around the outside.
They were just the right size too, not too long but not too short, and pretty thick as well.
As I tucked in, I noticed how crispy the outside was, there was a real crunch to each bite.
The sausage was perfectly cooked and warm on the inside.
The combination of the pastry and the sausage tasted near on identical to a real deal Greggs sausage roll.
My only slight complaint is that despite the crisp texture, I didn’t find it to be especially flaky – which Greggs is well known for. But that did mean less mess.
This may have been due to the specific pastry I used so I may play around with different brands next time.
I’ll also squish down the sausages so they fill the pastry casing a more fully.
Overall the roll was delicious, other than the flakiness I really wouldn’t have been able to tell the difference.
The cost
Of course the main goal of this test was to see if we could actually save cash but for the same tasty product.
The maker itself comes with a £20 price tag but with the cost of ingredients being so low, I’d say it’s good value for money.
All you need is a pack of sausages or sausage meat, mine worked out as £1.15 for four, and a pack of puff pastry – I got Asda‘s own for £1.50.
That’s a combined total of £2.65, as well as the upfront cost.
When comparing this to the cost of four sausage rolls fresh from Greggs – £4.80 – you’re saving £2.15 every time you use it.
Plus if you were just after one roll with the DIY ingredients it work out at 66p a roll, compared to £1.20 at Greggs – that’s half the price.
If you were to buy just one sausage roll a week from Greggs you’d save £28 a year just by using the maker instead.
Of course this is without the £20 for the gadget itself but if you’re a regular sausage roll muncher then you’d quickly make your money back in savings.
The verdict
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Overall, I was really impressed with B&M’s sausage roll maker.
It was quick and easy to use with very little clean up afterwards too.
I think the initial price is outweighed by the tastiness of the end product, and the low cost of ingredients.
Plus, you can do so much more with it too, B&M also recommends sweet fillings for McDonald’s style apple pies too.
The possibilities are endless.
If you’re a Greggs regular it’s definitely worth the investment, but if you have a sausage roll every once in a blue moon then maybe stick to your local bakery.
As a kitchen novice myself, I would 100% have no idea where to even start with making my own, and would see this as a worthwhile purchase.
But it may not be for those who know their way around the kitchen, it’s likely cheaper than putting the oven on as well.
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Meanwhile, we tried Aldi’s McDonald’s dupes including the Big Mac and McNuggets – one item tastes just like the real thing.
Plus, we also gave a Guinness gadget to help you pour the perfect pint at home.
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