The other night Ryan and I were talking about the meals we used to make when we lived on our own for the first time… You know, aside from frozen pizzas, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, Lean Pockets (I loved those things!) and boxed macaroni and cheese. We chatted about the meals we made when we actually decided to try a little bit in the kitchen for the first time.
Ryan instantly thought of red beans and rice with chicken. He’d prepare one of those big bags of red beans and rice, cook up a pound of chicken and dig in! I was all about quesadillas with black beans, onions and chicken. Heck yes!
Chicken Sausage Sweet Potato Bake
Another meal I began making regularly is one I continue to regularly make and enjoy. Chicken sausage with peppers and onions! I love this dish because I can throw everything into a baking dish and let it do its thing and have dinner ready in no time at all. (We typically then put the chicken sausage on a whole wheat hot dog roll with the peppers, onions and our favorite condiments. Easy and tasty!)
The recipe I’m sharing with you guys today is inspired by my old school favorite but revamped a bit so it’s more filling. My beloved chicken sausage is still center stage in this dish. But it’s paired with sweet potatoes, thinly sliced apples and red onions for a sweet and savory dinner that’s easy to make and very satisfying.
With the exception of a giving the chicken sausage and veggie/apple mix a quick flip halfway through cooking, it’s a set-it-and-forget-it meal you can let do its thang in the oven while you prep breakfast for the next day, straighten up around the kitchen or check something small off your to-do list. There’s no hovering over a pan on the stovetop with this recipe!
Ingredients
So what do you need to make it?
- Apples: A perfect way to use up any apples you might pick during an apple picking adventure this fall!
- Sweet Potatoes: The bites that include melt-in-your-mouth sweet potato wedges in this recipe are my favorite!
- Red Onion: The sharpness of the red onion cooks away in this bake to release an earthy, subtly savory sweetness I absolutely adore.
- Chicken Sausage: An easy and delicious source of protein. I love this recipe with apple chicken sausage or hot Italian chicken sausage. Smoked sausage also works well.
- Rosemary, Sage, Thyme: The most comforting spices on the planet.
- Olive Oil: To keep everything deliciously moist. This recipe is also fantastic with avocado oil if you’d prefer to make a swap.
Instructions
Step 1
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a large baking dish with cooking spray or coat the bottom of the dish with olive oil or butter. (Though you make make this recipe a sheet pan dinner, I recommend using a baking dish with higher sides as opposed to make it a slimmer pan meal to make flipping the veggies and apples a little easier.)
Step 2
Layer sweet potatoes, apples and onions in the dish. Drizzle with 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil. Sprinkle with rosemary, sage, thyme, salt and pepper. Toss to coat.
Step 3
Place chicken sausage links on top of the vegetables. Drizzle with remaining olive oil and season with additional salt and pepper.
Step 4
Place in the oven for approximately 50-60 minutes (flipping the chicken sausage and tossing the veggies and apple slices once half-way through cooking), or until chicken sausage is cooked through and sweet potatoes are soft. You may need to remove the chicken sausage and put the sweet potato apple mixture back into the oven for an additional 10-15 minutes, depending on how big your chunks of sweet potato are and how fast they cook. They should be fork-tender when done.
Step 5
Slice chicken sausage, mix with sweet potato mixture and enjoy!
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Chicken Sausage Sweet Potato Bake Recipe
PrintChicken Sausage Sweet Potato Bake
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 60 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: dinner, recipes
Description
If you’re looking for an easy and nutritious weeknight dinner idea that will come together in a flash and only dirty one dish, this Chicken Sausage Sweet Potato Bake is the perfect recipe! Packed with sweet potatoes, sweet sliced apples and tangy red onion, it’s a dish that will leave you feeling satisfied in a healthy way.
Ingredients
- 1 pound apple chicken sausage (about 5 links)
- 2 medium apples, sliced thin
- 2 medium sweet potatoes, sliced into chunks
- 1 red onion, sliced thin
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 teaspoons rosemary
- 1 teaspoon sage
- 1/2 teaspoon thyme
- salt, to taste
- pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a large baking dish with cooking spray.
- Layer sweet potatoes, apples and onions in the dish. Drizzle with 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil. Sprinkle with rosemary, sage, thyme, salt and pepper. Toss to coat.
- Place chicken sausage links on top of the vegetables. Drizzle with remaining olive oil and season with additional salt and pepper.
- Place in the oven for approximately 50-60 minutes (flipping the chicken sausage and tossing the veggies and apple slices once half-way through cooking), or until chicken sausage is cooked through and sweet potatoes are soft. You may need to remove the chicken sausage to prevent overcooking and put the sweet potato apple mixture back into the oven for an additional 10-15 minutes, depending on how big your chunks of sweet potato are and how fast they cook. They should be fork-tender when done.
- Slice chicken sausage, mix with apple and sweet potato mixture and enjoy!
Notes
If you are using pre-cooked chicken sausage, the cooking time for the sausage will be shorter. I recommend adding pre-cooked chicken sausage on top of the veggies and apples about halfway through cooking (at about 25 minutes) to prevent the chicken sausage from over-cooking and the casing becoming too chewy.
White or yellow potatoes or butternut squash may also be used in place of the sweet potatoes and sliced peaches taste great in place of the apples as well.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 367 calories
- Sugar: 23g
- Sodium: 710mg
- Fat: 16g
- Carbohydrates: 39g
- Fiber: 5g
- Protein: 19g
Jo says
Awesome recipe. I make this weekly. The husband loves it too.
CarolB says
Really good! My husband has a sweet tooth, so I also sprinkled with Cinnamon & Maple Syrup
delish!
Jamie says
I make this every other week! Soooo good! We love using the leftovers with eggs in the morning too 🙂 Thanks for an awesome one, Julie!
Elise says
I have made this twice. I don’t have rosemary and thyme and such, but even with just the salt and pepper, it’s delicious. Good with bratwursts too 🙂
Akash says
made it last night and the whole family loved!
Audrey says
I’m making this today! I’m going to use fresh peaches in place of the apples just because I have them and they are smelling so nice and ripe!!! Can’t wait to dive into this tonight! Thank you 🙂
Allen Ferguson says
I did try this recipe. I was looking for a healthy sheet pan meal. I just happened to have three frozen aidells chicken & apple sausages, a huge sweet potato left over from thanksgiving and plenty of apples. The only thing I changed was that I like the combination of sweet potatoes and black beans. So I followed the recipe for half of the time. At that point I opened a can of Goya Black Bean Soup. Using a slotted spoon, I spooned beans only onto the mixture and stirred. I continues to follow the recipe for the full time. At that point I sliced the sausages and returned to the dish and poured the liquid part of the soup into the mixture, stirred again and cooked for an additional ten minutes. Heating a French baguette in the oven while the dish finished. The results was a tasty, hearty, healthy meal that was both filling and comforting. A glass of red wine accompanied the meal well!
Arielle says
Are these measurements meant for fresh or dried herbs? It sounds amazing, can’t wait to try!
KimS says
My husband and I really liked this recipe! I only made it because I had some chicken sausage (pre-cooked), a sweet potato, apples and a sweet onion all on hand! Thanks.
Julie says
I’m so glad you all enjoyed it! Thank you for taking the time to leave a rating and let me know, Kim!!
Grace says
I made this to use up some bratwurst, and the flavors were just perfect for it! I doubled the veggies/apples, and we had it over rice with a honey mustard vinaigrette. Simply delightful.
Tips: If you use a sheet pan, tongs make tossing the mixture easy without making a mess.
Kitchen sheers are great for cutting up the cooked sausage if you want a rice bowl application.