A hearty Sausage Casserole recipe is always a family favourite and total comfort food. A great way to add some extra vegetables to your family's diet and easy to make a vegetarian version too. This Slow Cooker Sausage Casserole is quick and simple to prepare and the slow cooker does all the work. It's great for batch cooking and freezing too.
This is the ultimate rainy day dish. Just add your favourite sausages to the slow cooker with some crunchy vegetables, tomatoes, beans and seasoning and let it cook away. We put it on before we head out for a walk on a Sunday walk and it's the perfect dish to come home to.
So easy to adapt with your favourite sausages and vegetables and so many different ways to serve it. We would go as far to say that sausage casserole in the slow cooker is the ultimate comfort food.
Looking for more sausage recipes? Why not try our easy Air Fryer Sausages, cheesy Sausage Pasta Bake, our simple Air Fryer Sausage Rolls or for some comfort food, our Toad in the Hole?
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Ingredients needed
- Sausages - We used 97% pork sausages as they have a high meat content and low sodium. Any sausages will work though and you can also use vegetarian sausages.
- Chopped tomatoes - Try to use a good quality chopped tomato as cheaper ones can be a bit watery.
- Baked beans - Either use a tin of baked beans for convenience or use some of our Slow Cooker Baked Beans.
- Vegetables - We used shallots, leek, celery, carrot and bell pepper.
- Worcestershire sauce - This can be left out but it really does add a nice depth of flavour.
- Stock - Beef, chicken or vegetable stock can be used.
- Tomato puree - Used to thicken the sauce.
A full ingredients list with measurements is in the recipe card below.
How to make slow cooker sausage casserole - Step by step
One: Heat the oil in a frying pan and add the sausages. Brown them for 2-3 minutes, turning often. Once cooked add to the slow cooker.
Two: Add the carrot, shallot, celery, leek and bell pepper to the pan and cook for 2 minutes.
Three: Add the cooked vegetables to the slow cooker.
Four: Deglaze the pan with 100 ml boiling water then the beef stock and tomato puree. Heat and stir. Add to the slow cooker with the chopped tomatoes, beans and Worcestershire sauce. Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours.
Variations
Sausages - Whether they are pork, chicken or vegetarian/vegan, you want to go with the best quality you can get as they really are the star of the dish here. We used 97% pork sausages as they are nice and lean, but you can use whatever your favourite sausages are.
If you are using meat sausages, go with a high meat percentage and look out for the sodium levels. You could also add some diced cooked bacon or chorizo to it too.
Vegetables - The beauty of this slow cooker sausage casserole recipe is that you can use any vegetables you have in your fridge. It's a great way to reduce food waste and use vegetables that are starting to look a bit sorry for themselves.
Dishes like this are a great opportunity to add loads of extra vegetables. We kept it classic with some carrot, celery, onion and leeks, but this is really easy to adapt. You want to stick with chunky vegetables, so peppers, courgette and aubergine would all work well.
Make sure you chop the vegetables fairly small to make sure that they are cooked through. If you want to give this dish a green veggie boost, then stir in some spinach or frozen peas about 30 minutes before it is ready.
Beans - This is a slow cooker sausage and bean casserole, so the beans are important. You could swap the tin of baked beans for another canned bean like pinto or cannellini, or even chickpeas.
Serving suggestions
There are a few options here when it comes to side dishes. Mashed potatoes and sausage casserole are a match made in heaven, so why not try The Best Creamy Mashed Potatoes? If you want even more veggies in this meal, then pair it with our Vegetable Mash.
Fancy something a little less traditional? Our Baked Polenta Fries, Easy Cauliflower Cheese, and The Best Air Fryer Fries are all delicious side dishes.
You could also serve this on top of pasta, rice or a baked potato. It's a really versatile dish.
Storage
Store: This is a great batch cook meal and we always make extra so that we can portion it out to keep in the fridge/freezer for an easy week night meal. You can keep this in an air tight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Freeze: Make sure to let the casserole cool completely and then portion it out into freezer safe containers and put in the freezer (with some mashed potato too). It will keep in there for about 3 months.
Defrost: Let it defrost fully in the fridge overnight.
Reheat: Pop it in the microwave for a couple of minutes to reheat.
FAQs
If it is looking a little bit watery just before you are ready to serve it, then take the lid off and then stir in a couple of teaspoons of gravy granules. Try to use the best quality that you can, and it will add lots of flavour. You could add a spoonful of Marmite too.
If you use really good quality tinned tomatoes, then you shouldn't have to thicken it as there is not much liquid added to this dish. However, cheap tinned tomatoes are really watery and might mean this needs thickening at the end.
I love an easy slow cooker meal, and not browning the meat does make it quicker and easier, but I do think it is worth browning the sausages first. If you have a slow cooker that you can put the bowl directly on a hob, then you can cook them in that first.
Not only does it lock in the flavour (this is true for browning all meat before slow cooking), but with sausages I think that it really helps with the texture. Frying them a little first helps them to get nice and crispy and you can also drain off the excess fat that comes out of them why frying first. If you just put them in the slow cooker, they get a little mushy.
Yes, if you are going to put it on in the morning before you head out for the day, then you can do some prep work the night before. Simply brown the sausages and precook the vegetables the night before and mix it all together in your slow cooker bowl, put the lid on and then keep it in the fridge. Then, in the morning you can just take it out of the fridge and put it on.
Extra tips
• You don't have to brown the sausages first, but it really does make a big difference to the texture and it locks in the flavour.
• You can add some small chopped up potatoes, rather than serving it on mash to make the slow cooked sausage casserole a whole meal.
• If you like spicy food, add a little chopped red chilli for a kick or heat and play around with the dried herbs and swap oregano for thyme.
• To make this gluten free, make sure you use gluten free sausages and Worcestershire sauce.
• Make this a more indulgent dish by cooking some chopped bacon with the sausages and adding that to the slow cooker too.
• If it is too watery once it has finished cooking, then add a couple of tablespoons of gravy granules to thicken up until the desired consistency.
More slow cooker recipes
If you’ve tried this slow cooker sausage casserole, let us know how you got on in the comments below.
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Recipe
Slow Cooker Sausage Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon Olive oil
- 6 Pork sausages
- 4 Shallots - diced
- 2 Carrot - peeled and diced
- 1 Celery rib - diced
- 1 Leek - finely sliced
- 1 Red bell pepper
- 400 g (14 oz) Chopped tomatoes - canned
- 410 g (14.5 oz) Baked beans
- 100 ml (0.75 cups) Beef stock
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon Tomato puree
- 100 ml Boiling water
Instructions
- Heat 1 tablespoon Olive oil in a frying pan and add 6 Pork sausages. Brown them for 2-3 minutes, turning often. Add them to the slow cooker.
- Add 2 Carrot, 4 Shallots, 1 Leek, 1 Red bell pepper and 1 Celery rib to the pan and cook for 2 minutes.
- Put the vegetables into the slow cooker.
- Deglaze the pan with 100 ml Boiling water then add 100 ml Beef stock and 1 tablespoon Tomato puree. Heat and stir. Add to the slow cooker.
- Add 400 g Chopped tomatoes and 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce. Cook on high for 3 hours or low for 6 hours.
- Add 410 g Baked beans, mix well and cook for a further 1 hour on high or 2 hours on low.
Recipe tips
- You don't have to brown the sausages first, but it really does make a big difference to the texture and it locks in the flavour.
- You can add some small chopped up potatoes, rather than serving it on mash to make the slow cooked sausage casserole a whole meal.
- If you like spicy food, add a little chopped red chilli for a kick or heat and play around with the dried herbs and swap oregano for thyme.
- To make this gluten free, make sure you use gluten free sausages and Worcestershire sauce.
- Make this a more indulgent dish by cooking some chopped bacon with the sausages and adding that to the slow cooker too.
- If it is too watery once it has finished cooking, then add a couple of tablespoons of gravy granules to thicken up until the desired consistency.
Nutritional Information
The nutritional information provided is approximate and is calculated using online tools. Information can vary depending on various factors, but we have endeavoured to be as accurate as possible.
Sarah Holt
I love slow cooker meals. Sounds so flavorful!
Alisa Infanti
This is such a great dinner for the cooler months. I can't wait to try!
Toni Dash
I love how easy this is! Perfect for any night of the week!
Helen
This looks great! Just the sort of dinner my family will enjoy now the weather is turning colder.
sherry brubaker
Hearty, delicious, and exactly what this chilly Florida day calls for!
Laura
It is Sunday, the fireplace is on and I have some borlotti beans. I am making this
Tawnie
Love easy slow cooker meals like this. They really come in handy! Thank you!
Maria
Love the idea! Perfect combo <3 love this!!
Toni
I love that this delicious recipe can be made in a slow cooker! It’s perfect for Thanksgiving and gives more room for oven and stove top cooking.
Chris Collins
This is such delicious comfort food and so perfect for this time of year!
Kushigalu
What a flavorful and delicious casserole dish to try. Thanks for sharing this amazing recipe.
Neli Howard
This sounds delicious! A sausage casserole I would eat everyday if I could. THANK YOU!!!!
Jess
I'm all about that slow cooker life. I love how all the flavors come together in this recipe.
Katie
Looks good, can't wait to try this one!
Beth
I love easy slow cooker recipes that I can make a huge batch of and freeze for later! Perfect for my lazy days!
Jessie
This Sausage Recipe sounds so hearty and filling! Perfect for all this rainy and cold weather we've been having. I can't wait to make it tomorrow night for dinner!
Jenn
This is my kind of comfort food! I've got this on my list for making next week and I can't wait!
Alison
This looks super delicious and comforting! A great dish for the winter season!
Ellen
This really is total comfort food. I bet the house smells amazing as this slow cooks throughout the day.
Sarah James
Your sausage casserole looks delicious and I love how you can cook it in the slow cooker. Perfect for this time of year, thanks for sharing.
Kathryn Donangelo
This casserole sounds so perfect for the holidays! I love how it's made in the slow cooker to make it even easier. Adding this on my list of recipes to make next week!