A butternut squash chicken sausage bake with apples similar to a gratin but made both gluten-free and dairy-free. A comforting and hearty bake with a nice added crunch from some gluten-free panko sprinkled on top.ย
I’ve been incorporating apples more and more into my savory cooking.
A few years ago you couldn’t have convinced me that apples would be a hit in a savory dinner meal. But after experimenting with a vegan red lentil apple soup, and a kale quinoa apple salad, I am hooked. Now I see what the fuss is really all about.
Green apples add in a perfect hint of juicy sweet tartness to a savory meal. They just add an element of surprise into the meal. A good element of surprise I mean!
I wanted to make a gratin style dish but without the cheese, and so a combination of chicken sausage, roasted squash, onions, garlic, rosemary and apples sounded like the perfect combination. And it was!
This butternut squash chicken sausage bake recipe requires a bit of prep work, in that you have to roast the squash first, before mixing it with the other ingredients. And yes before you roast it you have to peel and dice it.
Is it just me or is peeling squash just about the worst kitchen duty? It’s up there with dish washing and general clean up for me. Can I hire someone to come over and peel the squash for me? And yes I know I can buy it pre-peeled in stores, but that is always exorbitantly overprices, and who knows what kind of hands have been touching that squash? I mean, maybe it’s peeled by machine? What do you think?
Butternut squash is so annoyingly difficult to peel. Honestly, sometimes I just use a knife instead of the veggie peeler and deal with the reality that I am losing valuable usable squash when I am rapidly trying to slice that thick hard skin off. It’s just all I can do to keep my patience from running out.
But once you do have that squash peeled, then you have to cut it – which is no small feat ever. Is it the toughest vegetable to cut ever or what?Are you with me?
Well once the complaining is over and you’ve got that nice diced squash roasting and toasting in the oven you can get started browning the chicken sausage and tossing in the rest of the ingredients.
Once the squash is cooked you mix it all together, sprinkle with some gluten-free panko and then pop back into the oven.
With 20 minutes your hearty and comforting butternut squash chicken sausage bake is nicely browned and ready for sampling.
I love the combination of the flavors of this Butternut Squash Chicken Sausage Bake from the meaty sausage to the soft and smooth squash to the lightly sweet crunch of the apple. A perfect medley of flavors.
A chicken sausage bake similar to a gratin but made both gluten-free and dairy-free. A comforting and hearty bake with a nice added crunch from some gluten-free panko sprinkled on top.
- 5 cups diced butternut squash
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 teaspoon fresh chopped rosemary divided
- 2 tablespoons and 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil divided
- 2 green apples peeled and chopped (about 1 cup)
- 1 pound raw gluten-free dairy-free chicken sausage casings removed
- 1 onion diced (about 1 1/4 cup)
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 cup gluten-free panko
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Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
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In a large bowl combine squash, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon rosemary, 1 tablespoon olive oil. Toss to coat. Bake for 25-30 minutes on a parchment lined baking sheet in a single layer.
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Heat pan over medium heat and add 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add chicken sausage and cook, using spatula to break up the sausages into smaller pieces. Cook until cooked through and remove from pan.
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In same pan add 1 teaspoon olive oil and cook onion until translucent, add apple and garlic and continue to cook 5-10 minutes.
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Add chicken back to the pan, add 2 teaspoons fresh rosemary and mix.
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Add cooked squash and mix.
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Pour into baking pan and sprinkle with 1/2 cup panko. Bake for 20 minutes (broiling for the last few minutes if you would like to top to get a bit crunchy and browned)
Allison says
This looks delicious! Love it.