Baked Italian Sausage

 

Baked Italian Sausage  is the best Italian sausage bake you can think of ! Loaded with vegetables of your choice, spicy or sweet sausages, potatoes or pasta, it makes an easy oven baked dinner for busy week day ! The whole family enjoys the flavours of this simple recipe. Davvero !

 

Since ancient times, colder days are meant for harvests, canning and preserving, pigs slaughter and holidays preparation.

Pig slaughter cannot be done during hot days. The reason to this is simple : if you intend to smoke and airdry prosciutto, pancetta and sausages, you don’t have the temperatures required to do so. Colder days bring proper dry woods smoke for chestnuts and meat products. Cold northern winds finish the work.

Of course, some of the pork meat is stored in freezers. Spicy Italian sausages as well. Later on, during the year, they serve their purpose : so many  baked sausage goodies ! Whatever you add, the result is amazing. Few years back I published simple comforting Sheet pan Roasted Sausage, Potatoes and Sauerkraut  so well accepted that I decided to make another bake with italian sausage.

I used bell peppers of three different colours , half of each, sliced to make the dish attractive by the look not only by the taste.

The best part of this simple Italian sausage bake is juices from meat that run off once the dish is almost over. After 45 minutes sausages are golden brown on the top, bell peppers are grilled, potatoes soft and tender, soaked with the sausage juices, crusty and your perfect week dinner is ready to be served.

Following the instructions below, it is not necessary to make any additional step; all ingredients ( olive oil, Italian sausages, potatoes, bell peppers ) are cooked and tasty, just transfer your baking dish to the table and enjoy !

Of course, you may prepare this dish with sweet Italian sausage, turkey, beef and chicken sausages. I suggest you do the same with vegetables: Brussel sprouts, tomatoes, cauliflower, carrots, onions, garlic, zucchinis, pumpkin, mushrooms, broccoli, eggplants, green beans …. The possibilities are endless !

Another beautiful option is to add preboiled pasta to your baked Italian sausages if you are out of potatoes ! That way you have Italian sausage pasta !

If you prefer cooking in skillet, this can be done on your stove top. No problem !

When in a hurry or you just simply forget to take the sausages out before going to work, you maybe ask yourself this question :

 

How do I cook frozen Italian sausage?

If you will stick to this recipe for Baked Italian Sausages, add 15 minutes of cooking time to cook them completely. If they are frozen together, rinse them with warm water to separate them easily.

 

What is the best way of cooking sausage in the oven ?

The process is easy; bake sausage at 180 C / 356 F for 45 minutes. You may use parchment paper but this is not necessary. This recipe you are reading is done without it. This process is not messy stove cooking and results with golden brown, tasty sausages.

 

What is the healthiest way to cook sausages ?

Let me start with the fact that homemade sausages are the best and the healthiest. As about cooking, boiling and baking are the best since they do not require much oil.

 

How long you keep sausages frozen ?

If you store fresh sausages, within 2 months their taste and quality are safe.

 

What herbs to use when cooking Italian sausage ?

Since Italian sausage links are made with plenty of Mediterranean herbs (  fennel, spicy cayenne, garlic, ground black pepper, oregano, basil, paprika, onion, marjoram, thyme, rosemary, sage, parsley, ground celery seed, smoked paprika ) it is not necessary to add anything more except salt to taste. But, the possibilities are endless and it is really completely up to you !

We do not add anything except some salt to potatoes.

What to do with Baked Italian Sausage leftovers ?

This does not happen often at our home. If any, I simply slice the sausage and add to omelette or stew. You may, also, make a sandwich with any cheese you have in the fridge. More In most of the cases, I add sausage slices to pasta and vegetables salad to have crazy good office lunch at work the other day.