It seems like humankind has figured out how to makenutritious sausagesfrom every conceivable kind of proteinboth animal-based and not.
Chicken sausages have been popular for decades because they tend to behealthier than traditional pork sausages.
Every sausage I tested came fully cooked and either frozen or refrigerated.
Photos: The brands. Design: Eat This, Not That!
The 13-ounce package cost me $6.99 at my local Stop & Shop.
The look:This sausage is curved into a U-shape and has a very thin, almost imperceptible casing.
It has a slightly pinkish hue that darkened into a reddish-brown in the skillet.
Photo: Lizzy Briskin/Eat This, Not That!
The inside stayed pink with just the tiniest green flecks of seasoning.
The taste:This chicken sausage tasted like a basic hot dog.
The flavor was fake tasting and lunchmeat-like.
Photo: Lizzy Briskin, Eat This, Not That!
The 12-ounce package cost me $6.64 at Whole Foods Market.
The look:The Applegate sausages were orange-brown and heavily flecked with seasonings.
The flavor of these sausages is bordering on breakfast sausage sweetness.
Photo: Lizzy Briskin, Eat This, Not That!
Their intense flavor profile makes them hard to pair with other dishes or sauces.
It has a higher protein content than most sausages I tested and a moderate amount of sodium.
I picked up the 11-ounce package for $7.99 at Stop & Shop.
Photo: Lizzy Briskin, Eat This, Not That!
The taste:This sausage is light tasting but sweeter than the competition.
It didn’t have any detectable spices or seasonings, so sweetness was the dominant flavor.
It also had a slightly more bouncy, rubbery texture than others.
Photo: Lizzy Briskin, Eat This, Not That!
The 12-ounce package cost me $7.99 at Stop & Shop.
They’re flecked with tiny green bits and have a tight casing.
It’s well-seasoned and tastes like real chicken with added fennel and paprika.
Photo: Lizzy Briskin, Eat This, Not That!
They’re lightly seasoned with pepper, fennel, sugar, and vinegar.
A 10-ounce package cost me $6.99 at Stop & Shop.
The look:These sausages are a bit shorter than some of the others I tested.
Photo: Lizzy Briskin, Eat This, Not That!
They have a grayish-brown color with visible red and green flecks just under the surface of the casing.
However, the seasonings weren’t as visible on the interior of the sausages after slicing.
The taste:These chicken sausages had the strongest fennel flavor in the test.
They tasted the most similar to a pork-based Italian sausage and have a moist, tender texture.
The casing also blistered and crisped up nicely in the skillet, adding some caramelized flavor.
Whole Foods Organic Italian Chicken Sausage
Whole Foodsmakes a line of chicken sausages with various flavor profiles.
They were deeply flavorful and well seasoned with a strong basil flavor that would be delicious on a pizza.
The 12-ounce package cost me $5.99 at Whole Foods.
The umami-rich flavor of roasted garlic comes through, and the chicken is moist and tender.
