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Thank you so much for this recipe! I made it last night for a family get-together. Everyone loved it, even some of the kids had second helpings! It’s delicious!!
Etta
I look at this picture and my mind goes yumyumyumyumyumyum.
I’m frozen. Stuck. Can’t stop the yum track in my head. IT’S SO LOUD. And my eyes are starting to glaze over. It’s like what the blue screen of death does to computers but it’s just, like, in my brain.
yummmmm
This weekend was phe-nom. Anyone else feel that way? I got a lot of work done but also took some time off for a date with Bjork and a nice long-for-me run. Picture proof on Insty. Also – I got to meet Cookie and Kate, er, Kate, which was so fun, because her blog is amazing and she’s adorable and next time I’m going to make her bring Cookie, too.
Something weird happened this weekend: the sun came out. And it was actually so so nice out, after the most brutal winter, it people were actually spending time outside, I mean like in the out-of-doors, in Minnesota. What.
We saw kids riding their bikes up and down our block. There were people walking dogs of all shapes and sizes, including pugs which, yes, I do always stop and request a quick petting. We stood in the sun and talked with our neighbors on our front steps while their little three-year-old, who is both adorable and ingeniously bilingual, ran up and down the block, wearing glittery mariposa wings and waving her arms and gently stomping in puddles with her green plastic rainboots. It was basically the movies.
Movie titled: Life After Winter.
Life After Winter also features good food that is still really comforting but starts to hint at getting ready for shorts season. Like this sausage bake recipe with roasted sweet potatoes, fresh green kale, spicy Italian chicken sausage, and… the white cheese sauce, salty and creamy with melty strings of Gruyere. Er, wait. Shorts.
But kale, okay?
I was not expecting kale to be such a superstar in this recipe, but it was really the crown jewel of the whole thing. I think that’s food karma – include good healthy things and more good things will come back to you, and it will probably be covered with cheese. Honestly, though, the just slightly wilted taste and texture with the salty bite and melted softness of the Gruyere was like heaven to me. And roasted sweet potatoes and Italian sausage are my bread and butter, so the combo altogether was obvi comforting and delicious.
And cheesy.
I swear, food blogging has made me obsessed with cheese.
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Sweet Potato, Kale, and Sausage Bake with White Cheese Sauce
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 4-6 1x
Description
Sweet Potato, Kale, and Sausage Bake with White Cheese Sauce – comfort food featuring a handful of pantry staples and a few super healthy ingredients.
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed (3–4 cups)
- 16 ounces Italian pork or chicken sausage, cut into small rounds
- 2 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 3/4 cup milk
- 1/4 cup flour
- 3/4 cup shredded Gruyere cheese
- 2 cups finely chopped kale
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large pan over high heat. Add the sweet potatoes and Italian sausage. Shake to coat in oil, let sit for a few minutes to brown, and shake the pan gently again to move everything around. Repeat until the sweet potatoes and sausage both have golden brown exteriors. Toss with the kale and transfer to a greased 9-inch square baking dish.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bring the broth and 1/2 cup milk to a low boil, then turn the heat to keep it at a low simmer. Whisk the flour and remaining 1/4 cup milk to form a thick paste. Add this to the broth, whisking to keep the sauce smooth. Add 1/4 cup Gruyere and stir until melted.
- Pour the sauce over the sweet potatoes, kale, and sausage in the baking dish. Top with remaining 1/2 cup cheese and bake for 10 minutes or until the sauce is bubbly and the cheese is melted.
Notes
This makes quite a bit of sauce – you might not need all of it depending on how sau-say you like things.
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 40 mins
- Category: Dinner
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition Facts
- Daily value: 39% Total Fat 30.5g
- Daily value: 25% Cholesterol 73.8mg
- Daily value: 31% Sodium 711.7mg
- Daily value: 6% Total Carbohydrate 16.2g
- Daily value: 6% Dietary Fiber 1.6g
- Sugars 3.7g
- Daily value: 38% Protein 18.9g
- Daily value: 42% Vitamin A 374.8µg
- Daily value: 10% Vitamin C 9mg
- Daily value: 9% Iron 1.7mg
- Daily value: 11% Potassium 494.3mg
- Daily value: 22% Phosphorus 272.8mg
Keywords: sausage bake, kale and sweet potato sausage bake, white cheese sauce
Hey Lindsay!
Thank you for this amazing recipe, I made a big batch of it for a friend who just popped out a baby, how would you suggest reheating? Just pop back in oven for a quickie? One day I’ll make it for myself, thank you again!
Yes! Or individual servings can be reheated in microwave.
I made this with butternut squash instead of sweet potato because I wasn’t paying attention when I picked up the cut veggie. Still turned out great!!
This Dish Is Amazing!
Made this dish with chicken and kale sausages. The cheese sauce i doubled and added Borsin shallot and chive cheese, white and yellow sharp cheddar. I also had to bake it for 30 minutes, but that could be my oven’s fault. Delicious!
OMGosh!! Im in love! In LOVE! This is SOOOOO incredible! Super healthy, and I love sweet potato and kale. Husband loved it too. We only had one serving left,and I told him he can’t have it. 😂 I never deny him leftovers for lunch, but this one is mine. God Bless You for this recipe!
I prepped the sweet potato and kale in the morning, which made it even easier to toss together that night. I can’t wait to make this again! 10 Stars
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I’m a little confused about the cook time. It says 40 minutes at the top of the recipe, but the directions say to cook for just 10 minutes. Do I cook for 30 minutes on the stove? Cook while the cheese sauce is being made and then just pop it in for 10 more minutes?
Combined with steps 1 and 2, we found that this takes about 40 minutes of total cook time. The dish just needs to be in the oven for 10 minutes though.
I made this and used basil instead of kale then put it over bowtie pasta.
Sounds delicious, James!
Hello! I am really looking forward to making this dish. Just one question though: do you think that leftovers would freeze well? I am feeling a bit dubious about freezing the cheese sauce, but was wondering what your thoughts are on it or if you have tried to freeze it. Thanks!
Hi Michele! We haven’t tried freezing this yet, so we’re not totally sure how it’d turn out. We think it would hold up okay. We’d just recommend freezing the cheese sauce separately.
Hi, I am looking to make some freeze ahead meals and I love this recipe and have made several times. Have you ever froze it or have tips on how to freeze it? Thanks!
Such a great combination of ingredients, however why the stock in the white sauce ? Made it so watery ? Also the sweet potatoes were still raw
I’m making this tonight! But do I need to bake the sweet potatoes beforehand? Or are they raw? I’m just worried about them bring soft enough….
You can do this in one pan if you have one that is oven-safe. Just use a measuring cup for the broth and milk part of the sauce and stir the cheese in before putting it in the oven. I hate dishes!
It was delicious.
How long does the kale stay for? I like to make meal preps for the week and want to make this as a meal prep and was wondering if it will be good still if I make it on a sunday and keep for the week?
It should last for 1-2 weeks – it’s pretty sturdy. 🙂
Hello! This looks amazing, and is now on the meal list for next week! Thanks for sharing, and for the inspiration!
My sauce kinda turned out a bit chunky. Any ideas?
Hmmm it might be from not whisking enough as ingredients are added – you need to really keep this one moving! 🙂 If the chunkiness is from the cheese, it’s possible that it just didn’t melt in. Hard to know without seeing it!
This looks delicious-planning on making it tonight. Just a quick question though-are the potatoes soft by the end, or do they still have some crunch to them? I’ve got toddlers who are texture picky and was thinking I might need to cook this a bit longer to make sure the sweet potatoes are totally soft!
They’re pretty soft! You can always saute them for a little longer if they don’t seem soft enough. 🙂
Hi Lindsay,
I just made your recipe and Im drooling! I made it with gf flour and added onions (sauteed with the other ingredients) and a pinch of thyne. I doubled the recipe and I wonder if I could freeze the second casserole? Perhaps without the cheese sauce? Let me know what do you think.
Thanks,
Marcela
Hi Marcela! We haven’t frozen this one so can’t really say, but we’d agree on freezing it without the cheese sauce!
On my list of favorites! Thank you for this awesome recipe! I add mushrooms if I have them and change up the cheese depending on my mood
This was delicious. I followed the recipe exactly except I used Monterey Jack instead of Gruyere because it was pricey. My mom and I both loved it. I happened to just see this recipe on another site, guess it was originally in albumin foil, I prefer the cast iron pan.
This was delicious! After reading other reviews, I started with sweet potatoes only in the pan, added 1/4 cup of water and boiled it off to soften them, then continued along. I also used around half of the sauce and saved the rest. I used a chicken sausage and my sauce color was a creamy brown, maybe it depends on the type of sausage. The flavors were so great together, I’ve already shared the recipe with friends! This will become a craving for sure, thank you!
This was amazing. Simple and such a gorgeous dish. In the words of my son, “good stuff”. My family is looking forward to this being on our rotation.
I just made this and it is phenomenal. The sweet potatoes are perfect, the sausage adds a nice kick, and the cheese sauce brings it all together. I don’t normally write comments on these recipes but was compelled to! Thanks for this one- it will be a new regular at our house! (Note: I only had mozzarella and cheddar on hand so I did those instead and I did a 1/2 cup less chicken broth).
So glad you enjoyed it, Iskra! 🙂
Oh my cow!! This is one of my new favorite recipes! I especially love the cheese sauce, and it’s kind of healthy.
Made this with a couple of already cooked boneless pork chops, that were left over, cubed them and used a shredded Italian 4 cheese blend since that was what I had and it was divine. It’ll probably be chicken next time as we’re not sausage eaters.
such a wonderful recipe – thank you! i enjoy all things spicy and added 1 tsp. of harissa paste to the cheese sauce once it was done cooking, which turned out great. thanks again for the delicious recipe.
Love that idea, Jacqueline!