A quick and easy sausage casserole recipe with a smooth thick gravy. It's a warm and filling meal that the whole family will love, especially the kids!
You might also like my easy sausage hotpot recipe! Another tasty one-pot meal using sausages!
This simple sausage casserole is perfect cold-weather comfort food, easily adaptable, and delicious served with potatoes or rice, and seasonal vegetables like roasted Tenderstem broccoli and air fryer asparagus.
👩🍳 Love sausages? Try my easy slow cooker sausage casserole too!
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✔️ Why should you try it?
- It's a comfort food classic: Sausage casserole is a hearty and satisfying meal that's perfect for the colder months when you're craving something warm and comforting.
- It's easy to make: The recipe requires minimal prep and only uses one pot, which means less washing up for you!
- It's a crowd-pleaser: Loved by adults and kids alike. It's also a really versatile dish that can be served with a variety of sides, making it easy to please everyone.
- It's a budget-friendly meal: Sausages are an affordable and readily available ingredient, and the other ingredients used in this recipe are also affordable and easy to find at your local supermarket.
- It's great for batch cooking: Make a double batch and freeze some for another day.
🥘 Ingredients
Pork Sausages - chipolata sausages are smaller in size and are a good option if you want to make this casserole more kid-friendly. However, if you prefer a heartier texture, you can use thick sausages instead.
Olive oil - for frying the sausages and cooking the vegetables. You could also use vegetable oil or sunflower oil.
Red onion - added to the casserole for its natural sweetness and texture. It provides a good contrast to the savoury flavour of the sausages and helps to balance out the dish.
Garlic - fresh garlic cloves are added for flavour.
Carrots - for sweetness and extra nutrients. They also provide a nice texture to the dish.
Red Pepper - a great addition to this casserole as it adds a bright and colourful element to the dish. You can also use yellow or orange peppers if you prefer.
Flour - to thicken the sauce and create a rich and delicious gravy.
Thyme - a herb that's commonly used in casseroles and stews. It adds a distinct earthy flavour to the dish and pairs well with the other ingredients.
Smoked Paprika - adds a smokiness to the casserole. You can use normal paprika if you don't have smoked.
Tomato Puree - for a rich tomato flavour. It also helps to thicken the sauce and create a nice consistency.
Chicken stock - use a stockpot or stock cube, or even homemade chicken stock if you have it on hand.
🔪 Instructions
The recipe card with ingredient quantities and detailed instructions can be found at the bottom of the post
One: Heat the oil in a non-stick shallow casserole and brown the sausages. Remove from the pan and set aside.
Two: Add the onion and garlic and cook on a medium heat for 4-5 minutes until the onion becomes soft.
Three: Stir in the chopped carrot and sliced pepper and cook for a further 3-4 minutes.
Four: Add the flour, thyme and smoked paprika and stir for 1 minute on a medium heat.
Five: Pour in the stock and squeeze in the tomato puree. Bring everything to a boil then turn down the heat to low. Place the sausages back into the sauce.
Six: Simmer with a lid on for 30 minutes until the sauce has thickened. Stir occasionally to prevent the sausages from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
💭 Expert tips
- Brown the sausages well: Browning the sausages on all sides before adding them to the casserole dish will give them a nice crispy exterior and add more flavour to the dish.
- Use a heavy-bottomed pot or casserole dish: Using a heavy-bottomed pot or casserole dish will help to distribute heat evenly and prevent the sauce from burning.
- Make it ahead of time: Sausage casserole is a great make-ahead dish that you can prepare in advance and then reheat when you're ready to eat. This makes it a convenient and easy option for busy weeknights.
🍴 Serving suggestions
This easy sausage casserole recipe is delicious with sides such as cheesy mashed potato, roast potatoes, boulangere potatoes, sweet potato, carrot and swede mash, or turmeric rice. Crusty bread is good too!
I like to serve a portion of seasonal vegetables on the side. Something like roasted tenderstem broccoli, honey roasted carrots and parsnips, or slow cooker red cabbage are good options.
Leftovers can be served on a baked potato the next day for lunch, or stirred through pasta (just slice the leftover sausages up into bitesize pieces).
📖 Variations
- Swap the pork sausages for veggie sausages to make it vegetarian-friendly.
- Use different vegetables in the casserole such as sliced mushrooms, courgettes, spinach or leeks.
- Add diced apple for sausage and apple casserole. A tart apple like Granny Smith is best.
- Add a cooked and diced white potato at the end of cooking for a sausage and potato casserole!
- If your kids struggle with eating vegetables just use the ones you know they will eat, even if that means it's just carrots! A handful of frozen peas or sweetcorn could also be added for the last 10 minutes of cooking.
- Up the protein by adding a drained can of butter beans or cannellini beans to make a sausage and bean casserole. Lentils would also work in this dish.
- Make it spicy by adding 1 teaspoon of chilli powder at the same time as the smoked paprika.
- Use beef stock for a richer flavour, or vegetable stock if you're making this vegetarian-friendly.
- Use fresh thyme instead of dried if you have it to hand. Try different herbs such as rosemary or oregano.
- Add a tin of chopped tomatoes to stretch the meal out.
- Make a slow cooker sausage casserole instead!
🥡 Storage
Store - The sausage casserole can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days (in an airtight container) and reheated in the microwave until piping hot.
Freeze - The casserole can also be frozen for up to 3 months in a freezer-safe container.
❓ FAQS
Flour can be added to the casserole before you add the liquid, or alternatively, you can thicken the casserole at the end of cooking with a cornflour slurry, gravy granules or thickening granules.
Sausages are browned mainly for aesthetic reasons, so you don't have to brown the sausages beforehand if you don't want to. If you would prefer not to brown them first, just pop them into the pan after you have softened the onion and garlic and carry on with the recipe.
This recipe requires the sausages to be fresh or defrosted from frozen.
Yes, you can use different types of sausage in the casserole. Try using Italian-style sausage, chorizo, or even vegan sausages for a vegetarian option.
😋Related recipes
More family-friendly warming comfort food to try!
- Smoky Chorizo Bolognese
- Chicken Goulash
- Leftover Roast Beef Stroganoff
- Creamy Sausage Pasta
- Mild Chilli Con Carne for Kids
- Easy Sausage Curry
- Chicken and Mushroom Stroganoff
- Lamb Tagine with Apricots
- Chicken and Broccoli Pasta Bake
- Slow Cooker Pulled Beef
More easy dinner recipes from the Effortless Foodie kitchen!
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Recipe
Easy Sausage Casserole
Ingredients
- 12 Pork Chipolata Sausages or use 8 thick pork sausages
- 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
- 1 Red Onion peeled, halved and sliced
- 2 Garlic Cloves peeled and chopped
- 1 Carrot peeled and chopped
- 1 Red Pepper sliced
- 1 teaspoon Thyme
- 1 teaspoon Smoked Paprika
- 1 tablespoon Plain Flour
- 2 tablespoon Tomato Puree
- 600 ml Chicken Stock
- Salt and Pepper
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large shallow casserole with lid and brown the sausages on a medium heat. Remove to a plate and set aside.12 Pork Chipolata Sausages, 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
- Add the sliced red onion and garlic and cook on a medium heat until the onion has softened (about 4-5 minutes)1 Red Onion, 2 Garlic Cloves
- Add the chopped carrot and red pepper and cook for a further 3-4 minutes.1 Carrot, 1 Red Pepper
- Add the flour, thyme and smoked paprika and stir for 1 minute.1 teaspoon Thyme, 1 teaspoon Smoked Paprika, 1 tablespoon Plain Flour
- Pour in the stock and add the tomato puree. Bring to the boil then reduce the heat to low. Put the sausages back into the pan at this point.2 tablespoon Tomato Puree, 600 ml Chicken Stock
- Simmer with a lid on, for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper before serving.Salt and Pepper
Notes
- Brown the sausages well: Browning the sausages well on all sides before adding them to the casserole dish will give them a nice crispy exterior and add more flavour to the dish.
- Use a heavy-bottomed pot or casserole dish: Using a heavy-bottomed pot or casserole dish will help to distribute heat evenly and prevent the sauce from burning.
- Make it ahead of time: Sausage casserole is a great make-ahead dish that you can prepare in advance and then reheat when you're ready to eat. This makes it a convenient and easy option for busy weeknights.
- Swap the pork sausages for veggie sausages to make it vegetarian-friendly.
- Use different vegetables in the casserole such as mushrooms, courgettes, spinach or leeks.
- If your kids struggle with eating vegetables just use the ones you know they will eat, even if that means there's just carrot! A handful of frozen peas or sweetcorn could also be added for the last 10 minutes of cooking.
- Up the protein by adding a drained can of butter beans or cannellini beans for the last 10 minutes of cooking.
- Make it spicy by adding 1 teaspoon chili powder at the same time as the smoked paprika.
- Use beef stock for a richer flavour, or vegetable stock if you're making this vegetarian-friendly.
- Use fresh thyme instead of dried if you have it to hand.
- Make this in your slow cooker. Just chuck everything into your slow cooker basin and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Reduce the stock to 500ml.
Dannii
We love sausage casserole. We always add a can of beans to ours to bulk it out.
Anjali
I can see this being a totally kid-friendly recipes! Can't wait to make this for my family soon!
Jacqueline Meldrum
I make a lot of sausage bakes or casseroles and you are so right, kids love them.
Danielle Wolter
A casserole is the perfect winter food. Love how great this came out and how easy it was to make!
Gina
Such an easy dinner and everyone loves it! We serve with some mashed potatoes or cauliflower for a complete meal.
Marie-Charlotte Chatelain
Could this casserole look any prettier? Love your photography! Will try this with smoked turkey sausage!
Maria
Seems like a great simple recipe! It's good to have go-to family-friendly ideas.
Gail Montero Raines
We absolutely love sausage casserole and I am looking for a new one to try and this is totally perfect!
Jessie
We have a few more cold days on the way and this sounds like an amazing way to warm up. running to the store tonight to get everything.
Michelle Boule
This was a great meal and we are already planning on making it again next week. Your photos are gorgeous too!