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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
Keywords: sausage bake, kale and sweet potato sausage bake, white cheese sauce
I can definitely think of worse obsessions than cheese. Especially white cheese…I don’t know what it is about any cheese that is white, but it SO MUCH BETTER.
I had a really hard time reading the rest of your post after that first picture. That was cruel. BUT so glad you had a fab weekend and a nice date
Now, I’m gonna go drool over these pictures more. Pinned!
Thanks Taylor! 🙂 White cheese is always my favorite, and Gruyere is my extreme weakness right now.
This looks so good! I love, love, love all the cheese on it 🙂
This looks awesome. Dishes like this make me happy because they incorporate the deliciousness of sausage and cheese with some healthy things to balance it out. Yummy!
How great was that sunshine this weekend?!!! I am celebrating with you too! Love this dish Lindsay. I love that it toes the line of chilly air and sunshine and spring all at once. Yum is right!
Exactly! Thanks Katie!
Awww I love Kate! She’s the best! And this meal has my brain stuck on YUM mode too. Need to make this asap!!!
I know! Yay Kate!
Oh man, I really love gruyere cheese. Please pass the fork, no … the plate! Looks delicious and oh, so cheesy! Pinned.
Wow this looks great! We too in Delaware experienced the sun which has not come out in weeks it feels like. It was so nice to be outside and see our neighbors again too
This is a beautiful dish. I love kale and I am seriously addicted to cheese. So I think this is a great dish to surprise the wife with. Thanks so much and please keep these great ideas coming. You are my favorite!
What a great way to sneak in lots of good nutrition! Love these kind of meals =)
The white cheesy sauce is just the icing on the cake! This sounds like a kicking dinner! 😀
Oh yum. Sweet potatoes and sausage pair so well together. Add some creamy cheesy sauce and this gal is in foodie heaven. Great recipe, Lindsay!
Food karma! Love the expression 🙂
I still have not try Kale… I need to fix that! Very appetizing dish! I am going to sound like crazy an but you guys are my blog super heros!!
**spelling mistake… crazy fan I meant.
Thanks Melanie!
I’m totally addicted to cheese, especially in white sauce! Oh, Sweet potatoes and kale can come too? I’m in! Pinned. Thanks for sharing! PS- That movie sounds awesome.
Your weekend sounds as lovely as this bake looks! Mmmmm cheesy white sauce! Yummmy!
Can you please come and cook me this right now? Maybe with veggie sausages, sorry to be boring! I’ll give you lots of lovely Italian ingredients in exchange! Lots and lots of cheese! I just discovered Toma from Piedmont, it’s a mild yet farmy-tasting cheese and they served it with honey and hazelnuts!!! xxx
La Lingua : Food, Life, Love, Travel, Friends, Italy
If you need to go veg, swap the sausage for some white beans (but maybe add some more seasoning – Italian sausage has a lot of flavor and you might miss that). 🙂
Have tried making this with other types of cheese?
Shoot! I just went to the grocery store yesterday and bought all of the ingredients for your broccoli quinoa chicken casserole, and now I want to make this instead!! Life is hard!
This looks so yummmmmmy! I wish you lived close by so I can just come over and have this deliciousness in my plate!!
Kale is a standout player is so many ways! I have never thought of it with Gruyere, but that might have to go on the list…
Gosh this looks good! I might have to make it with white potatoes–Dustin has an aversion to sweet potatoes, even though I love them. Maybe in this savory application he’ll come around to them.
Abby
This recipe has all the things! Greens, protein, healthy carbs and CHEESE. Also, thanks for the happy image of the bilingual girl with the mariposa wings jumping in puddles. That’ll have me smiling all day. 🙂 Happy spring!
Oh, it was so precious. 😉
Yum, this does looks delicious! All this super-duper healthy stuff covered in that super decadent cheese sauce. Perfection! : )
This sounds great! Did you use raw sausage or pre-cooked? thx!
The one pictured was precooked, so I just sliced it, but I usually prefer the uncooked ground sausage.
What a beautiful looking dish. I am into sweet potatoes of late. In fact I bought more yesterday at the market. I agree with the comment that the guilt of eating cheese and sausage is offset with the healthy sweet potato and kale. Excuse systems are wonderful!
Sooo..funny thing, I saw the white cheese sauce and was afraid it was cauliflower sauce, which I still haven’t tried to make, and was like “okay, maybe I’ll finally do it” only to find that this sauce really is cheese sauce!
Hahah – nope! I think I have my fill on that for the next few years. 🙂
Actually, I DID make this last night, with the creamy cauliflower sauce! I saved two jars from the last time I made a big batch, and I’ve stirred it over pasta, into a mushroom risotto, and now this, in place of the gruyere sauce.
It was delicious, and now we’re stirring the (very few) leftovers into an egg scramble as we speak.
Happy Tuesday!
What a great idea Hilary! 🙂 Thanks for the comment!
Hey Lindsay! I can totally relate on the weather front. Today is the first day in a while that we have had warm weather in Calgary. I have so much more energy today.
I love kale, and melty cheese. How did you know??
What brand of sausage did you use? Find something local?
Trader Joe’s! But in the summer we have some great local sausage and bacon at our Farmer’s Market. Just a few more weeks till that’s open again!