Slow cooker sausage casserole
Browning the sausages and onion at the beginning doesn’t take long and will add lots of extra flavour to this simple slow cooker casserole. Serve with some green veg if you like – broccoli, cabbage, green beans or frozen peas work well.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp vegetable or sunflower oil
- 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
- 12 chipolata sausages
- 3–4 medium carrots, around 300g/10½oz, peeled and cut into 2cm/¾in slices
- 600g/1lb 5oz medium floury potatoes, preferably Maris Piper, peeled and cut into 3–4cm/1½in chunks
- 400g tin chopped tomatoes
- 200ml/7fl oz hot chicken or vegetable stock, made with 1 stock cube
- 3 tbsp tomato purée
- 1 tsp dried mixed herbs
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large non-stick frying pan and fry the onion over a high heat for 3–4 minutes, until lightly browned, stirring often. Tip into the slow cooker.
Add the remaining oil to the frying pan and fry the sausages over a medium-high heat for 4-5 minutes, or until browned on all sides.
While the sausages are frying, add the carrots, potatoes and chopped tomatoes to the slow cooker.
Mix the hot stock with the tomato purée and herbs. Pour into the slow cooker and season with salt and pepper; stir well. Place the sausages on the tomato and vegetable mixture without stirring in – this will help them retain their colour and texture.
Cover the slow cooker with its lid and cook on high for 5–6 hours, or low for 7–9 hours.
Recipe Tips
Chipolata sausages work well here, as they can be easily divided and served, but you can also use a larger sausage without affecting the cooking time at all.
It’s best to choose a floury variety of potato for this recipe, so a Maris Piper or King Edward is ideal. They will soften more quickly than a waxy variety. Serve with care so they don’t break up too much.
Try and pick a tin of good quality tomatoes for the best flavour, or if using a value tin add 1 tsp caster sugar to give the sauce some extra sweetness.