Italian Sausage Casserole
This Italian Sausage Casserole is delicious and loaded with flavors from meat, herbs, and vegetables! A healthy and yummy option for those on a gluten-free and low-carb diet, too! Perfect winter comfort food.
Last November we went to England because of a family emergency. While we were there we met up with some of our friends. We only get to see them when we come to the UK for a visit so when we are over we make sure we meet at least once.
One of the Sundays we were in London we attended worship service at St. Helen’s, part of the Church of England denomination. Our friend attends this church regularly and we all decided to have dinner together after the evening service.
After our souls were fed, we wondered where to get some physical nourishment. Thankfully, we didn’t have to go too far to find a restaurant as St. Helen’s, on Sunday nights, offers a dining service in one of its buildings for a very reasonable price. And the food was really good!
You’re probably thinking, where am I going with this narrative? Well, the food was so delicious – I decided I have to replicate it at home!
So you are looking at the sausage casserole inspired by the dish we had at St. Helen’s. Perhaps it was those tasty British sausages that made the casserole so yummy!
I loved that it was a pretty healthy casserole, too – no cream, no cheese but loaded with spinach and perfectly seasoned tomato sauce!
Too bad we don’t have access to delicious British sausages where we are but, thankfully, we do get really good Italian sausages so while both dishes may vary a little in taste because of this – I believe I copied the essence of that yummy dish which to this day I haven’t forgotten!
And, it’s so easy to make as well! While this calls for cooking the casserole in the oven, you can simply simmer the sauce on the stovetop, too.
Just make sure to check that the sauce doesn’t dry up so cook it on the lowest setting and make sure it’s covered as well.
The first time I made this, I didn’t have spinach but only some basil but the next time I added some spinach for more bulk, flavor and extra nutrients, too.
The photos reflect the first time I made this. This hearty dish is great with rice, pasta or with roasted or mashed potatoes!
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FOR FULL RECIPE & INSTRUCTIONS and to PRINT, SEE RECIPE CARD BELOW.
WHAT INGREDIENTS TO USE FOR Italian Sausage Casserole?
- Good quality Italian Sausages, left whole or sliced into bite-sized pieces if preferred
- Olive Oil
- Onion, chopped
- Garlic, sliced
- Mushrooms, sliced
- Dry red wine (use gluten-free or wheat-free version if on that diet)
- Spinach, fresh or frozen (if frozen, defrost and drain well)
- Unsalted crushed Tomatoes (can use canned Tomatoes)
- Fresh Sprigs of Rosemary (or 1 teaspoon dried or to taste)
- Bay leaves
- Fresh Basil (optional but encouraged!)
- Salt, pepper and a little sugar (latter is optional and maybe left-out if doing low-carb), to taste
HOW DO I MAKE Italian Sausage Casserole?
- Preheat the oven to 350 F. Heat the olive oil in an oven-safe casserole (like a cast iron or Dutch oven) and brown the sausages (whole or sliced). Transfer the sausages to a plate.
- In the same pan, saute the onions and garlic for a couple of minutes. Pour in the red wine and deglaze the pan, scraping the brown bits on the bottom of the casserole dish. Add the fresh or frozen spinach and cook until wilted. Turn off the heat.
- Add the mushrooms, crushed tomatoes, rosemary and bay leaves. Season with a little salt and pepper, to taste. Transfer the sausages back to the casserole dish. Give a quick stir. Bake in the preheated oven for 30-40 minutes.
- If using fresh Basil, stir them into the casserole and cook for another 3-5 minutes in the oven. To enhance the flavor some more stir in a teaspoon or 2 of sugar. The last step is optional, especially if doing a low-carb diet. Enjoy over some pasta or rice!
Italian Sausage Casserole
Ingredients
- 3 pounds about 10-12 pieces good quality Italian Sausages, left whole or sliced into bite-sized pieces if preferred
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large onion, peeled and chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
- 10 oz mushrooms sliced
- 1/2 cup dry red wine, use gluten-free or wheat-free wine if on that diet
- 8 oz cooking spinach fresh or frozen (if frozen, defrost and drain well)
- 2 cups unsalted crushed tomatoes, fresh or canned
- 3 fresh sprigs of rosemary, (or 1-2 teaspoons dried or to taste)
- 2 dried bay leaves
- handful of fresh basil, (optional but encouraged!
- salt and pepper (to taste), and a little (about 1 tsp) brown sugar, for seasoning (sugar is optional and maybe left-out if doing low-carb)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F. Heat the olive oil in an oven-safe casserole (like a cast iron or Dutch oven) and brown the sausages (whole or sliced). Transfer the sausages to a plate.
- In the same pan, saute the onions and garlic for a couple of minutes. Pour in the red wine and deglaze the pan, scraping the brown bits on the bottom of the casserole dish. Add the fresh or frozen spinach and cook until wilted. Turn off the heat.
- Add the mushrooms, crushed tomatoes, rosemary and bay leaves. Season with a little salt and pepper, to taste. Transfer the sausages back to the casserole dish. Give a quick stir. Bake in the preheated oven for 30-40 minutes.
- If using fresh basil, simply stir them into the casserole. To enhance the flavor some more stir in a teaspoon or 2 of sugar. The last step is optional, especially if doing a low-carb diet. Enjoy over pasta or rice!
Last updated on February 5th, 2024 at 09:10 pm
We loved this. Simple but tasty. I sliced up some baby potatoes and put them in but other than that I didn’t change anything. My husband said I can make this anytime.
So glad you both enjoyed this and thanks for letting us know.
This Italian Sausage Casserole sounds so delicious and healthy! Will be making it for dinner very soon.
This Italian Sausage Casserole is so incredible! Full of flavor and so easy! I had it with cauliflower rice to keep it low carb and it was amazing.
What a delicious meal! I don’t blame you for wanting to recreate it. I love Italian sausage and every other ingredient you’ve used. Can’t wait to try it.
This Italian Sausage Casserole looks incredible and it also looks simple to put together! Thanks for sharing!!
This Italian Sausage Casserole looks so tempting. Perfect blend of flavors, healthy veggies and spices. My comfort meal is ready for sure.
Such a hearty and bold recipe that was not only easy but impressive to boot! Easily, a new favorite dish in my home!
I made this recipe and it is great .. was so pleased cause i lot of new recipes i made come out really bad . this is delicious and it’s part of my recipes now
i mwill make it on reg basis love sausages
Yay! So glad to know that Letizia! Thank you for stopping by and letting us know.
I enjoyed the dish and it was easy to make but felt it lacked something
I love different takes on ingredients and dishes I cook regularly. This did not disappoint. I didn’t have mushrooms but they would be amazing in this. Definitely use basil it have such a great flavor. It’s just me and my fiancée so instead of using 12 sausages I used 6 (cut in half) and added 8 oz of small diced pancetta that I browned with the sausage: Didn’t have red wine so I used Pinot Grigio- I’ve learned that red vs white doesn’t matter much when you are using tomatoes/sauce. We like some spice so I used hot Italian sausage and added red pepper flake. Served over a small bed of orzo with crostini. Sausage was juicy and tender and dish was amazingly flavorful and satisfying. Will be making again!!
So glad you enjoyed the dish and that you managed to adjust it to your needs! Thank you so much for the feedback and for letting us know.
Do you drain the tomatoes?
No. That’s not necessary.
I normally don’t trust recipes where most of the comments are from people who say, “looks good,” but didn’t actually make it. But, I had all the ingredients in the recipe on hand, which is rare, so I tried it. Didn’t disappoint. I don’t normally eat pork sausage so might try it again with turkey or chicken sausages. Thank you for a winning recipe!
Yay! So glad you tried and enjoyed it!