Sausage Casserole – Oven And Slow Cooker Method

Sometimes all we want for dinner is something warm and comforting. One of my favourite things before going gluten free was Schwartz Sausage Casserole. Unfortunately the main ingredient in their packet mix is wheat. Because of this, I decided to recreate it in a way I could actually eat.

Of course, to make it gluten free, you need to make sure the sausages are safe. I highly recommend Aldi for their range of sausages that are all certified gluten free. And if you are a dieter then they also have a great range for you too! They do low fat pork chipolatas and really tasty chicken ones too! By the way, this is not an ad, I just really love Aldi.

But anyway, enough about Aldi. More about the recipe.

I initially wanted to do this in the slow cooker to add to the range of recipes here. Unfortunately, I wasn’t very prepared that morning so the slow cooker didn’t happen but it is easily transferable and I will give you the method for that too.

Ingredients (Serves 4)

• 12 Chipolatas
• 1 Onion
• 2 Medium Carrots
• 2 Tbsp Tomato Purée
• 300ml Water
• 1 Tsp Onion Powder
• 1 Tsp Garlic Powder
• 1 Tsp Mild Chilli Powder
• 1 Tsp Cumin
• Half Tsp Dried Oregano

Method

We’ll cover the oven method for my sausage casserole first.

I used my Samuel Groves casserole pan to make this but don’t worry if you don’t have a pan that can go from hob to oven. You can transfer from a frying pan to a casserole dish.

Start by browning your sausages. They don’t need to be cooked all the way through, just brown enough on the outside that they won’t disintegrate when they go in the oven.

Do this by warming your chosen pan over a medium/high heat and add a few sprays of cooking oil. Chuck the sausages in and keep turning them until they’re brown all over.

Add the onions and cook for around 5 minutes until softened. Next, add the carrots and give it all a mix. Give it a couple of minutes to soften the carrots slightly then add the water.

Next in is the tomato purée and all of the seasonings. Give it a good stir and bring to the boil.

Either cover the casserole pan with the lid, or transfer the mix into a casserole dish and pop the lid on. Then pop the sausage casserole into a preheated oven on 180° and let it do its thing for 45 minutes.

When it’s cooked serve with mashed potato for the ultimate comfort food.

Now, for the slow cooker version. It couldn’t actually be easier. You need to start by browning your sausages. Do this the night before if it makes it easier for the morning.

Add the sausages along with everything else to your slow cooker, give it a good stir and pop it on low for around 7 hours. Boom! Dinner basically ready for when you get in.

This sausage casserole tastes exactly like I remember the Schwartz mix tasting like. Let me know what you think of it in the comments below.