Cheesy Butternut Squash and Sausage Bake
Who needs pasta when you can combine sausage, potatoes, pumpkin and cheese into a gooey, melty marvel?
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I love filling my casserole dish full of hearty ingredients that stick to my ribs, and ensures the whole family is filled up and satisfied when dinner’s over – I also like less dishes to clean up! I often cook pasta bakes for their simplicity and reliability, but every so often I like to create a dish that’s full of flavor and fun, but with less carbs than your average winter warmer. This deliciously Cheesy Butternut Sausage Bake is perfect for fall and winter meals, as it’s full of flavor yet uses tasty but nutrient dense low calorie squash.
The star of the recipe is butternut squash, a soft, sweet veg that you can mash roughly or puree before you pop it into the oven for baking. When combined with sweet (or spicy) Italian sausage, bacon and your favorite pantry herbs, you get a tremendously hearty bake that’s quick and easy for the dinner table or make-ahead meals. Butternut squash takes on the various flavors loaded into the meal, providing contrast and a lot of deliciousness to the salty/sweet combination of sausage, bacon and onions. You can use practically any type of pumpkin and make this dish a success, yet butternut provides such a beautiful texture and golden hue that it is hard to beat both to look at and to taste on your fork!
Cheesy Butternut Sausage Bake remains a rich and hearty dish without relying on pasta. Our version utilizes Yukon Gold potatoes to help add ballast and absorb the earthy flavor from herbs such as garlic, nutmeg, cinnamon and oregano. If you really want to bring the carb count down then you can definitely work without the spuds, but from my perspective they add a nice chunk of familiarity that accentuates the pumpkin’s sweetness.
You can opt for shredded cheddar cheese, or blend of cheeses melted over the top of this Butternut Sausage Bake, however the sharpness of parmesan helps to add a little bite and personality, while helping tie the other elements together with cheesy, gooey, richness. You only need a cup of parmesan cheese to make a massive impact on the final product!
Cheesy Butternut Sausage Bake has been a fantastic addition to my casserole collection, and you’ll find it comes in handy when you want something a little different to the usual, or when there’s an abundance of squash available!
Cheesy Butternut Sausage Bake
Allergens: Milk
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped finely
- 4 rashers middle bacon, chopped finely and rind removed
- 1 lb sweet Italian sausage, cut into chunks
- 3-4 Yukon gold potatoes, chopped into 1-inch cubes
- 1 lb butternut squash, seeded and chopped into roughly 1-inch cubes
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon oregano
- 1/4 cup half and half
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/2 cup shredded three-cheese blend
- Kosher salt and black pepper, to taste
- Garnish: fresh parsley
Preparation
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. While the oven is heating, bring a saucepan of water to boil on the stovetop.
- Heat olive oil in a large frying pan or skillet at medium-high temperature. Add garlic and onion and sauté until the onion is translucent. Add bacon, sausage, and potatoes, and cook for 10 minutes, or until the meat has browned and the potatoes have softened considerably.
- Remove the frying pan from the heat. Transfer the pan’s contents to a large casserole dish and set aside.
- Place chopped butternut squash in the boiling water and cook for 3-5 minutes, or until soft. Strain, then mash roughly. Add herbs, half and half, and butter, plus 1 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper. Mix thoroughly to combine ingredients.
- Place the butternut mixture into the casserole dish with the meat and potatoes, stir, then spread out in the casserole dish. Top evenly with Parmesan and three-cheese blend, and sprinkle with more salt and pepper. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes until the cheese has melted, and the potatoes are fully cooked.
- Remove from the oven. Garnish the Cheesy Butternut Sausage Bake with fresh parsley.
Recipe adapted from Jo Cooks