Some dinners are about elegance. This one is about getting a proper, hearty meal onto the table with minimal fuss and even less washing up. This Autumnal Sausage and Vegetable Traybake takes good sausages and a tray full of seasonal vegetables, and lets the oven do all of the work. Enhancing the flavours we’re adding in maple syrup and wholegrain mustard alongside the earthy notes of sage. We’re also adding in a can of beans or lentils to up our protein and fibre.
Seasonal vegetables at their best
Butternut squash, mushrooms, red onion and leek all roast together until they start to caramelise at the edges, picking up flavour from the sausages cooking alongside them. The stock whisked with maple syrup and wholegrain mustard, together with the flavours of the sausage and vegetables, turns into tasty pan juices by the time it comes out of the oven. Kale or cavolo nero and a tin of lentils or beans go in towards the end. They both soak up all that flavour while adding a proper dose of greens and fibre to the dish. The finishing touch is entirely optional but genuinely worth the extra five minutes. Whole sage leaves, fried until crisp, scattered over the top for a bit of crunch against all that soft, roasted veg.
It’s a proper one-tray dinner – hearty enough to need nothing else, though a hunk of crusty bread for mopping up the juices is never a bad idea.
Other traybake recipes
Looking for similar one-pot/traybake recipe for the family, here are some more on the site:
- Spicy chicken coconut and lentil traybake
- Simple baked risotto with courgette and tomato
- Turkey and black bean chilli
- Moroccan chickpea and vegetable tagine
Yes, this recipe works well with any good-quality sausage. Venison, wild boar, or a leaner variety all work nicely alongside the vegetables.
Twisting and cutting each sausage into two makes for more even cooking and means everyone gets a good share of sausage in each portion.
Absolutely – turnip, celeriac, and sweet potato are all good seasonal swaps. Just cut them to a size that roughly matches their cooking time, so everything finishes together.
No, this step is optional, but the crispy sage adds a lovely crunchy contrast to the soft roasted vegetables. If you’re short on time, it’s fine to skip.
Yes, the cooked traybake (without the crispy sage) freezes reasonably well. Defrost fully and reheat thoroughly in the oven before serving, adding freshly fried sage leaves on top.
Yes, simply swap the sausages for a good-quality vegetarian or plant-based sausage, and use vegetable stock in place of chicken stock.
Autumnal Sausage and Vegetable Traybake
Equipment
- Large high-sided baking tray or casserole
Ingredients
- 500 g good-quality pork sausages
- 500 g butternut squash cut into chunks
- 400 g mushrooms quartered – you could use chestnut or white mushrooms, or a mix
- 2 red onions cut into wedges through the root
- 1 large leek cut into 3cm/1" slices
- 1 tbsp fresh sage finely chopped
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 2 tbsp wholegrain mustard
- 400 ml chicken stock
- 200 g kale/cavolo nero
- 400 g tin of lentils or beans Borlotti beans work well
- 12 whole sage leaves
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200 °C.
- Make mini sausages by pressing the skin of the sausages and twisting and cut the sausages with scissors. You’ve turned 6 sausages into 12 smaller ones – more to go around!
- Peel, deseed, and dice the butternut squash into 2cm cubes and quarter the mushrooms.
- Slice the red onions into wedges, trying to keep a section of the core so they stay in shape, and slice the leek into roughly 3cm/1" rounds.
- Tip all the vegetables into a high-sided baking tray or large casserole dish, then toss with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of chopped fresh sage. Put the tray in the top half of the preheated oven for 30 minutes.
- Add the stock to a mixing jug and whisk in the two tablespoons of both maple syrup and wholegrain mustard.
- After 30 minutes, remove the baking tray/casserole from the oven and pour over the stock mixture. Stir to coat everything and try to sit as many pieces of the sausage on top as possible. Return to the oven for 20 minutes.
- Roughly chop the kale or cavolo nero, removing any tough stems, and mix it into the traybake along with the drained and rinsed can of lentils or beans. Taste for seasoning. Ensure the greens are in the liquid or underneath the vegetables as much as possible, and the sausages are sat on top
- Return the tray/casserole to the oven for a final 10 minutes.
- This step is optional, but it's a lovely crunchy contrast to the soft vegetables. Heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil in a frying pan, then add the whole sage leaves and fry until crisp. Remove and drain on kitchen paper.
- Serve up the traybake in large bowls, topping with the crispy sage leaves. This dish has everything you need, but if you wish to serve alongside some crusty bread to mop up the juices, that is totally allowed!
Notes
- I’ve used good-quality pork sausages, but there is a wealth of flavours at the butchers. Venison would be great, and low-fat, or wild boar for example. Really, any good sausage will work here.
- Feel free to use whatever seasonal vegetables you have in the fridge – such as turnip, celeriac, sweet potato. Simply cut them according to roughly how long they will take to cook.