Sausage Casserole with Cider and Bacon

This Sausage Casserole is slowly braised with Cider and Bacon for the most delicious sauce and the ultimate in comfort food.

You’ll love this Sausage Casserole recipe because:

✅ It makes it’s own delicious gravy as it cooks.

✅ Just add crusty bread or mash for a complete meal.

✅ The ultimate in comfort food.

 FAQs about making Sausage Casserole

Do you really have to brown the sausages at the start?

The short answer is no, they will still be edible if you don’t BUT the skins can be a bit chewy 😬 and also they look SO much nicer if you do. It’s worth the time in this case.

If you don’t want to stand over the hob, your other option is to pop them into the oven for 15 minutes before you add the vegetables. I’m not normally organised enough for this as the oven is preheating whilst I’m browning them on the hob!

Can this sausage casserole be made vegetarian?

Yes. Just replace the sausages with vegetarian sausages and leave out the bacon. You can add 1 tsp of Sweet Smoked Paprika to give a little of that smoky flavour if you’d like.

Can I make this sausage casserole in advance?

You can make this in advance. If I know I’m going to prepare this and then heat it up later, I’ll just stop cooking before I add the apples.

Then, when I want to serve, I’ll add the apples and heat through. 

Be sure to check it’s piping hot.

Can I freeze leftovers?

Sure. Just pack it up into portions, label it and freeze when it’s cooled.

When defrosted, just be sure to heat through fully before serving.

How can I make this gluten free?

Just be sure to use gluten free sausages and use a gluten free plain flour.

Can I cook this recipe on the hob/stovetop rather than in the oven?

Yes you can, just keep it on a low heat so that the bottom doesn’t stick. Stir it occasionally and keep the lid on. You may need to add a little more stock as more will evaporate if cooked this way.

Fancy more easy comfort food recipes?

• Slow Cooker Chicken Casserole with Crispy Bacon – Always a winner.
• Easy Chicken Pie – Warming and delicious comfort food.
• Oven Baked Risotto with Bacon – Sooo good!

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5 from 46 votes

Sausage Casserole with Cider and Bacon

By Sarah Rossi

This Sausage Casserole is slowly braised with Cider and Bacon for the most delicious sauce and the ultimate in comfort food.

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour hour

Total Time: 1 hour hour 10 minutes minutes

Servings: 4 People

Ingredients 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 1 tbsp Olive oil
• ▢ 800 g Sausages, About 12. See Note 1.
• ▢ 200 g Smoked bacon , Chopped into small pieces.
• ▢ 2 Onions, Peeled and sliced into wedges. See Note 2.
• ▢ 3 Garlic cloves, Peeled and chopped. See Note 2.
• ▢ 2 Parsnips, Peeled and chopped into small chunks
• ▢ 3 Sticks Celery, Chopped into small chunks.
• ▢ 3 tbsp Plain flour
• ▢ 3 tbsp Tomato puree
• ▢ 3 tbsp Fresh sage, Finely chopped. See Note 3.
• ▢ 500 ml Cider, Note 4.
• ▢ 150 ml Chicken stock, Note 5.
• ▢ Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• ▢ 3 Apples, Note 6.

Metric - Imperial

Instructions 

• Preheat the oven to 180C.
• In a large, lidded, ovenproof pan, heat the oil and brown the sausages over a medium heat until the have some colour all over. (About 10 minutes.)
• Remove the sausages from the pan and put in the bacon pieces, let them brown lightly (about 2 - 3 minutes).
• Add in the onions, garlic, parsnips and celery and brown for a further 5 minutes.
• Stir in the flour until everything is coated. Add the tomato puree, sage, cider, chicken stock and salt and pepper. Stir well and sit the sausages on top.
• Put the lid on and put into the oven for 40 minutes.
• Add the apples and cook for a further 5 minutes.
• Stir well and serve.

Notes

Note 1 - Sausages

Use whichever sausages your family like. You could also use Chipolata (thin sausages) if you prefer. You could also reduce the amount of sausages if your pack is smaller.

Note 2 - Onions and Garlic

This is one of the rare times I don't use the shortcut of frozen onions! I just think that the onions work very well in this recipe as big chunky wedges. Frozen are fine if you need the shortcut, but the texture of the sauce will just be a little different.

I do use the pre-chopped frozen garlic in this recipe.

Note 3 - Sage

If you have fresh, it works really well in this. Just finely chop it. Otherwise replace with 2 tsp of dried Sage.

Note 4 - Cider

I used a fairly standard dry cider. Don't use anything too super sweet. If your cider is in a different sized bottle (say 330ml) just replace the remaining amount with extra stock, no need to open another whole bottle. The total amount of liquid should be 650ml.

Note 5 - Stock

Made with a cube is fine. I still use one cube for this small amount as it adds extra flavour.

Note 6 - Apples

Regular eating apples (not cooking) are fine here as they hold their shape. I like to peel mine before adding as I'm not keen on the cooked skin texture. It's up to you though.

Nutrition

Calories: 821kcalCarbohydrates: 51gProtein: 37gFat: 48gSaturated Fat: 15gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 134mgSodium: 1504mgPotassium: 1265mgFiber: 9gSugar: 25gVitamin A: 385IUVitamin C: 28mgCalcium: 116mgIron: 4mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Family Food

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