Baked sausage recipes, especially with potatoes and a veggie are some of my go-to meals, especially when cooking for a crowd. This Baked Sausage, Sweet Potato, and Cauliflower is a favorite for family and friends, making it the perfect company dish or potluck meal.
There’s nothing like easy meals you can prep and assemble into a baking dish then walk away while it cooks for an hour. Dinner bakes are some of my go-to dishes for company and potlucks. All you need to do is assemble a few ingredients, pop it in the oven, and dinner is ready in an hour.
What kind of sausage should I use?
Sausage is a great affordable option when you have a lot of mouths to feed, and almost every one loves it. Start with fresh Italian pork or turkey sausage. I like to use a mix of sweet and spicy sausage. Just make sure you have a way of knowing which is which to make it easy when it’s time to serve.
If you’d prefer to make a smoked sausage and potatoes recipe, try my Smoked Sausage and Peppers Potato Bake or Andouille Sausage, Potato and Pepper Bake. I figure 1 sausage per kid and 2 sausages per adult when using the sausages that are about 3 inches.
Do I have to use sweet potatoes?
I use sweet potatoes in baked sausage recipes whenever possible because they are super healthy for us, colorful and add more flavor, but feel free to swap them out for white potatoes if you prefer them or want to save a little money. I find the meal stretches a little farther with sweet potatoes so generally I use 2 more pounds of white potatoes.
Why do you use cauliflower?
Cauliflower is perfect for this recipe because it is dense – a little goes a long way – which is important when you’re feeding a crowd of people. It’s also high in fiber and is a nutrient-packed vegetable so you know you’re getting a well-balanced meal. (It also was on sale. I usually try to stick with seasonal produce or sale items in dishes like this because it’s budget friendly.)
What seasonings do you use?
Finally, I add onions, garlic, and just a few common seasonings. These are what really pull all the flavors together into one dish. You can experiment with the seasonings you use. I kept it streamlined so it is easily doable for as many people as possible – salt, pepper, chili powder. Done. Some other seasonings that would go well with sausage, sweet potatoes, and cauliflower are crushed red pepper, cayenne, ground cumin, cinnamon, paprika, and smoked paprika (not all at once!!)
Can I prep this (or other) baked sausage recipes ahead of time?
You can prep this recipe ahead of time but I recommend prepping it and baking it if you do so because weet potatoes start to oxidize and turn black once they’re cut. Though they are still edible it doesn’t look so pretty. While they can still do this after they’re cooked, I find it doesn’t happen so fast. That being said, I only do this if I need to do the prepwork ahead of time since the dish takes almost as long to heat up as it did to cook the first time around.
PrintSausage, Sweet Potato, and Cauliflower Bake
This Baked Sausage, Sweet Potato, and Cauliflower is a favorite for family and friends, making it the perfect company dish or potluck meal.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 60 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 2 lb sweet potatoes
- 1 head cauliflower (1.5 – 2 lb)
- 2 medium onions
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 Tbsp. chili powder
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp. black pepper
- 12 sausages*
- 2 Tbsp. oil, divided
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Put grease 9×13 baking dish with one tablespoon oil.
- Cut sweet potatoes into 1 inch cubes. Cut cauliflower into 1 inch florets. Cut onion into 1/2 inch wedges then in half again. Mince garlic.
- Put all prepared vegetables into your baking dish, drizzle remaining tablespoon of oil over the vegetables and lightly toss. Sprinkle seasoning over top, and mix all together.
- Add sausages to the dish, gently pressing down into the veggies. Sprinkle lightly with more chili powder.
- Cover with foil and bake 45 minutes. Check for doneness – sausage should be 165°F when checked with an instant read thermometer and potatoes should be soft. If potatoes aren’t quite soft, bake for an additional 10 minutes. When potatoes are soft and sausage is cooked through, you can remove foil and bake an additional 5 minutes if you wish to dry the top out a bit.
Notes
- 12 sausages or approximately 2.25 pounds. This is is using 3 or 4 inch long sausages so can use less if using larger ones.
- You can also use less sausage by cutting them into smaller pieces before cooking as it gives the impression of more.
Keywords: casserole, one dish dinners
