Make Greggs Treats at Home

There are few things more British than popping into Greggs for “just a sausage roll” and somehow walking back out with a bake, a doughnut and something you absolutely did not intend to buy. Greggs has mastered the art of making flaky pastry dangerously convenient.

But what happens when the craving hits and there isn’t a Greggs nearby? Or maybe you’re living abroad and would have to board an actual plane to get your hands on a steak bake?

You make your own.

These homemade recipes aren’t Greggs’ official recipes or exact replicas. Instead, they’re Greggs-inspired versions you can whip up in your kitchen using ingredients you’ll find in most supermarkets.

From sausage rolls and cheese & onion bakes to yum yums and those glorious bacon and cheese wraps, preheat the oven. We’re bringing Greggs home.

1. Greggs-Style Sausage Rolls

We obviously have to start here.

The Greggs sausage roll is practically a British institution. Thankfully, making something very similar at home is ridiculously easy.

Ingredients

• 1 sheet of ready-rolled puff pastry, around 320 g
• 400g good-quality sausage meat
• 1 tsp dried sage
• ½ tsp onion powder
• ½ tsp ground white or black pepper
• Pinch of salt
• 1 egg, beaten

Method

Preheat your oven to 200°C / 180°C fan / Gas 6, then line a baking tray with baking paper.

Remove the sausage meat from the skins if you’re using regular sausages, then mix it with the sage, onion powder and pepper.

Unroll your puff pastry and cut it lengthways into two long rectangles.

Divide the sausage mixture into two portions and shape each into a long sausage down the middle of the pastry.

Brush one edge of the pastry lightly with beaten egg, then fold the pastry over the filling and press the edges together.

Turn the rolls seam-side down and cut each long roll into smaller sausage rolls.

Score the tops lightly with a knife, then brush generously with beaten egg.

Bake for approximately 20–25 minutes, until they are puffed, golden and cooked through.

Pop the assembled sausage rolls into the fridge for about 15 minutes before baking. Cold pastry hitting a hot oven helps create that gorgeous flaky finish.

2. Greggs-Style Steak Bake

The steak bake is basically beef stew wearing a pastry coat, and frankly, that’s excellent decision-making.

Ingredients

• 500g puff pastry
• 300g diced stewing beef
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 250 ml beef stock
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tbsp plain flour
• ½ tsp black pepper
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 egg, beaten

Method

Heat the oil in a frying pan and brown the beef over medium-high heat.

Add the onion and cook until softened.

Sprinkle over the flour and stir thoroughly before gradually adding the beef stock.

Add the Worcestershire sauce and black pepper.

Reduce the heat and simmer gently until the beef is tender and the sauce has reduced into a thick gravy. Depending on the beef you’re using, the process can take around 45–60 minutes.

Leave the mixture to cool completely.

Cut the puff pastry into equal rectangles.

Spoon the cold steak filling onto half of your rectangles, leaving a border around the edges.

Brush the borders with beaten egg, place another pastry rectangle on top and crimp the edges together using a fork.

Make a few diagonal cuts across the top, then brush with egg and bake at 200°C / 180°C fan for around 20–25 minutes.

The hardest part is waiting five minutes before biting into one and removing approximately three layers of skin from the roof of your mouth.

3. Greggs-Style Cheese & Onion Bake

Vegetarian comfort food doesn’t get much more comforting than potato, cheese and onion wrapped in pastry.

Ingredients

• 1 sheet of ready-rolled puff pastry
• 250g potatoes, peeled and chopped
• 100g mature cheddar, grated
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 20 g butter
• 2 tbsp milk
• ½ tsp mustard powder
• Salt and pepper
• 1 egg, beaten

Method

Boil the potatoes until tender, then drain thoroughly.

Mash them with the butter and milk.

Meanwhile, gently fry the onion until soft but not browned.

Mix the onion into the mashed potato, followed by the grated cheese and mustard powder.

Season to taste and leave the mixture to cool.

Cut the pastry into rectangles and divide the filling between half of them.

Brush the edges with egg, top with another piece of pastry and seal.

Score the tops and brush them with beaten egg.

Bake at 200°C / 180°C fan for about 20 minutes, or until beautifully golden.

For an extra cheesy version, add a little mozzarella to the filling.

Is it authentic? No.

Is there more cheese?

Precisely.

4. Greggs-Style Chicken Bake

The chicken bake is for people who looked at a perfectly respectable chicken pie and thought, “Could I carry this around town?”

Ingredients

• 1 sheet puff pastry
• 300g cooked chicken breast, chopped
• 25 g butter
• 25 g plain flour
• 200 ml chicken stock
• 100 ml double cream
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• ½ tsp black pepper
• Salt to taste
• 1 egg, beaten

Method

Melt the butter in a saucepan.

Add the flour and stir continuously for around one minute.

Slowly pour in the chicken stock while whisking to prevent lumps.

Add the cream, garlic powder and pepper.

Cook gently until you’ve got a thick, creamy sauce.

Stir through the cooked chicken and taste for seasoning.

Allow the filling to cool completely before assembling your bakes.

Cut the pastry into rectangles, add your filling and top with another piece of pastry.

Seal the edges, score the top and brush with beaten egg.

Bake for 20–25 minutes at 200°C or 180°C in a fan oven.

5. Greggs-Style Vegan Sausage Rolls

When Greggs launched its vegan sausage roll, Britain reacted with the level of calm and rational discussion normally reserved for general elections.

Whatever side of the Great Vegan Sausage Roll Debate you landed on, they’re surprisingly easy to recreate.

Ingredients

• 1 sheet of vegan-friendly puff pastry
• 400g vegan sausages
• 1 tsp dried sage
• ½ tsp onion powder
• Black pepper
• 2 tbsp plant milk

Method

Remove the vegan sausage filling from its casings if necessary.

Mix with the sage, onion powder and pepper.

Cut the pastry lengthways and arrange the filling in long strips.

Roll the pastry around the filling, then seal the edges with a little plant milk.

Cut into individual sausage rolls.

Brush the tops with more plant milk, then bake at 200°C / 180°C fan for around 20–25 minutes.

Check the packaging on your pastry because many supermarket puff pastries happen to be vegan, even when they aren’t marketed specifically as vegan products.

6. Greggs-Style Bacon & Cheese Wraps

This might be the easiest recipe in the entire article.

It also has an extremely high reward-to-effort ratio.

Ingredients

• 1 sheet of ready-rolled puff pastry
• 6 rashers bacon
• 120g cheddar cheese, grated or sliced
• 1 egg, beaten

Method

Preheat your oven to 200°C / 180°C fan.

Cut your pastry into six squares.

Place a rasher of bacon diagonally across each square.

Add a generous amount of cheese.

Fold two opposite corners of the pastry over the bacon and cheese so they overlap slightly in the middle.

Brush with beaten egg.

Bake for approximately 15–20 minutes until the pastry is golden and the bacon is cooked.

That’s genuinely it.

Breakfast has entered easy mode.

7. Greggs-Style Yum Yums

Now we’re entering dangerous territory.

Yum yums are essentially twisted doughnuts covered in sticky icing, so eating one neatly is a fantasy.

Ingredients

For the dough

• 500 g strong white bread flour
• 7g fast-action dried yeast
• 50g caster sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 250 ml warm milk
• 2 eggs
• 50g softened butter

For the glaze

• 150 g icing sugar
• 2–3 tbsp water
• ½ tsp vanilla extract

You’ll also need vegetable oil for frying.

Method

Combine the flour, yeast, sugar and salt in a large bowl.

Add the milk and eggs and mix into a dough.

Knead for around 8–10 minutes, gradually incorporating the butter.

Cover and leave somewhere warm for around an hour, or until doubled in size.

Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface.

Cut the dough into strips and twist each strip several times.

Leave them to rise again for around 30 minutes.

Heat your oil to approximately 170°C.

Carefully fry the yum yums in batches until they are golden on both sides.

Drain on kitchen paper.

Mix the icing sugar, vanilla and enough water to create a runny glaze.

Drizzle or brush it generously over the warm yum yums.

Then just accept that your fingers will be sticky for a while.

8. Greggs-Style Jam Doughnuts

There is something wonderfully nostalgic about a proper jam doughnut.

No salted caramel. No pistachio crème. No edible flowers arranged by someone with tweezers.

Just dough. Jam. Sugar.

Perfect.

Ingredients

• 500 g strong white bread flour
• 7g dried yeast
• 50g caster sugar
• 250 ml warm milk
• 2 eggs
• 50g softened butter
• Strawberry or raspberry jam
• Extra caster sugar for coating
• Vegetable oil for frying

Method

Make the dough using the same method as the yum yums above.

After the first rise, divide it into approximately 10 equal balls.

Place them onto baking paper and leave to rise again for around 30–45 minutes.

Heat the oil to 170°C and fry the doughnuts until golden, turning halfway.

Drain briefly before rolling them in caster sugar while still warm.

Once cool enough to handle, use a piping bag fitted with a narrow nozzle to inject jam into the centre.

Don’t be stingy with the jam.

Nobody has ever bitten into a doughnut and complained that it was too adequately filled.

9. Greggs-Style Belgian Buns

Belgian buns are magnificently old-school.

Soft dough, fruity filling, icing and that essential cherry sitting proudly on top.

Ingredients

Dough

• 500 g strong white flour
• 7g dried yeast
• 50g caster sugar
• 250 ml warm milk
• 50 g butter
• 1 egg

Filling

• 50g softened butter
• 75g mixed dried fruit
• Zest of ½ lemon
• 2 tbsp caster sugar

Topping

• 150 g icing sugar
• 2–3 tbsp water
• Glacé cherries

Method

Mix the flour, yeast and sugar.

Add the milk, butter and egg, then knead until you have a smooth dough.

Leave covered for approximately one hour until doubled in size.

Roll the dough into a rectangle.

Spread with softened butter and scatter over the sugar, dried fruit and lemon zest.

Roll it up tightly from the long side, creating one giant fruity sausage.

Slice into individual buns.

Arrange them on a lined baking tray and leave to rise for another 30 minutes.

Bake at 190°C / 170°C fan for about 18–22 minutes.

Once completely cool, mix the icing sugar with enough water to make thick icing.

Spread it over each bun and finish with a glacé cherry.

And yes, the cherry is compulsory.

I don’t make the rules for Belgian buns.

10. Greggs-Style Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Finally, we need cookies.

The goal here is a cookie that’s slightly crisp around the outside but still soft and chewy in the middle.

Ingredients

• 125g unsalted butter, softened
• 100 g light brown sugar
• 75g caster sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 200g plain flour
• ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
• Pinch of salt
• 150g milk or dark chocolate chunks

Method

Beat the butter and both sugars until creamy.

Add the egg and vanilla and mix again.

Fold in the flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt.

Finally, stir through the chocolate chunks.

Chill the dough for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat your oven to 180°C / 160°C fan.

Roll the mixture into balls and place them well apart on a lined baking tray.

Bake for approximately 10–12 minutes.

They might still look slightly underdone in the middle when you remove them.

That’s what you want.

Leave them on the baking tray for five minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.

You’ll get that gorgeous soft centre instead of accidentally producing chocolate-studded hockey pucks.

Which Greggs treat is the easiest to make at home?

If you’re a complete beginner, start with the bacon and cheese wraps.

They’re almost suspiciously simple.

Ready-made puff pastry does most of the work, and there’s very little that can go disastrously wrong when your ingredient list is essentially pastry + bacon + cheese.

The sausage rolls are another excellent beginner option.

Once you’re feeling more adventurous, graduate to the steak and chicken bakes before you enter your final form and deep-fry homemade yum yums.

How Do You Get That Bakery-Style Puff Pastry?

There is absolutely no shame in using ready-rolled puff pastry.

In fact, unless spending half a day repeatedly folding butter into dough is your idea of a relaxing Saturday, I’d actively encourage it.

Keep your pastry cold until you’re ready to bake it and make sure your fillings have cooled before assembling your bakes.

Putting piping-hot filling onto puff pastry can soften the butter layers before they reach the oven, which can affect how beautifully the pastry rises.

And we want layers.

So. Many. Layers.

Can You Make These in an Air Fryer?

Many of the savoury recipes can be adapted for an air fryer.

Sausage rolls, bacon and cheese wraps and smaller bakes work particularly well.

Because air fryers vary considerably, start at around 180°C and check your pastries regularly. Smaller items may only need around 12–18 minutes.

Most importantly, make sure meat fillings are completely cooked before serving.

Nobody wants their homemade Greggs night ending with an unexpected relationship with the bathroom.

Can You Freeze Homemade Greggs-Style Bakes?

Absolutely.

Sausage rolls and savoury bakes are great freezer fodder.

Assemble them, place them individually on a tray and freeze until solid. Once frozen, transfer them into freezer bags or airtight containers.

That way they won’t freeze together into one enormous pastry brick.

You can then bake individual portions when the craving strikes.

Follow food-safety guidance for your particular filling, especially when storing, freezing and reheating meat.

The Ultimate Homemade Greggs Night

If you’re going to do this, you might as well commit.

Select sausage rolls and bakes, throw some potato wedges in the oven and finish everything with yum yums or cookies.

You could even turn it into a blind taste test.

Homemade vs Greggs.

Will your lovingly handcrafted sausage roll defeat the high-street original?

Possibly.

Will you still buy one next time you’re walking past Greggs?

Obviously.

Some relationships are bigger than logic.

FAQs

Are these the official Greggs recipes?

No. These are homemade recipes inspired by popular Greggs products. Greggs hasn’t handed me the keys to its pastry kingdom, unfortunately.

What pastry should I use for homemade Greggs bakes?

Ready-rolled puff pastry is the easiest option and gives you the flaky layers that are associated with bakery-style sausage rolls and savoury bakes.

Can I prepare the bakes in advance?

Yes. Most of the savoury fillings can be prepared beforehand and refrigerated. Assemble the pastries when you’re ready to bake them, or prepare and freeze them for later.

Why should the filling be cold before adding it to puff pastry?

Hot filling can soften the pastry before it reaches the oven. Cooling your filling first helps keep the pastry in better condition and encourages a crisp, flaky finish.

What’s the easiest Greggs-inspired recipe to try?

Bacon and cheese wraps are probably the easiest, followed closely by sausage rolls. Both use ready-made puff pastry and require very little preparation.

Can I make mini versions for parties?

Definitely. Cut your pastry and fillings into smaller portions and reduce the cooking time accordingly. Mini sausage rolls and bite-sized cheese and onion bakes would be especially ideal for parties.