Italian Chicken And Sausage Casserole
I love casseroles and this one is one of my all time favourites. The kids love it, the husband thinks Im awesome and whenever friends come over its a crowd pleaser. Its tasty and healthy and the combination of capsicum/bell pepper, tomatoes and olives is so good. This is delicious nourishing food in one pot and its so easy to make.
The chicken in this casserole is a mixture of bone-in chicken pieces (such as legs, drums and thighs though breast works too). So work with your budget and preferences. Chicken legs are so much cheaper than breast and use any sausages of your choice. I chose gluten and preservative free beef sausages from my local organic butcher.
This gives you the flexibility to adjust the meat to whatever your family prefers – kids will only eat the sausages? Then throw in extra sausages, but make sure you still use some bone-in chicken pieces as well, because the bones and cartilage will impart gelatin, minerals and other good stuff to the sauce. If you’d like to make your own chicken broth (stock), its so easy and so good for you and will take your dish truly to the next level in taste and health. Here is a recipe.
Italian Chicken And Sausage Casserole
20 minutes
1 hour and 30 minutes
4 people
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil or ghee
- 4 - 6 pieces chicken legs or thighs with skin and bone
- 4 uncooked sausages casing removed and chopped
- 1 onion diced
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 2 celery stalks chopped
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano and dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt and black pepper
- 4 fresh tomatoes diced or 1 can diced tomatoes
- 4 tablespoons tomate paste
- 1 cup chicken stock preferably homemade
- 1/2 teaspoon raw sugar optional
- 1 green capsicum seeded and chopped
- 10-12 black or kalmata olives pitted
Instructions
- Heat oil in a heavy-bottom pot/dutch oven.
- Add chicken pieces, sprinkle with the salt and pepper, and brown on all sides. Add the chunks of sausage to brown at the same time if you have space or cook in batches.
- 3. Add onion, garlic, celery and the herbs and stir in with the meat.
- Stir in the tomatoes, tomato paste and chicken stock and bring to a simmer.
- With the lid on (I always leave it open a crack), turn down to low and let it simmer gently for about an hour.
- After an hour, add the green capsicum and olives, thrown in whole.
- Remove the lid and simmer (with the lid off) for another half hour to reduce and thicken the sauce.
- Taste and adjust seasonings as needed, adding the sugar if the sauce needs mellowing.
Recipe Notes
Recipe adapted from Easy Natural Food.
Allergy Information: Dairy Free, Wheat Free, Gluten Free, Egg Free, Tree Nut Free, Soy Free.
10 Comments
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instead of using sugar, i typically add carrots, which negates the acidity of the tomatoes and is a natural sugar and if the kiddos eat it, extra fiber and an additional veggie theyll try!
Thanks Melinda for the recommendation. Definitely a great option. xx
great recipe, but could not print out….
Hi Lauren, thanks for your feedback. We dont offer a print function at the moment in our small attempt to reduce waste. Ill look into this though. Sharon xx
Thank you for letting me know. Ill check this out so you can. Sharon xx
Hi Sharon
Thanks for all these recipes, really keen to give some a go. Do you squeeze the sausage chunks out of the skin or leave the skin on?
Thanks
Can I do this in a slow cooker after browning the chicken then thicken it back in the pot? It would be great if I could leave it cooking while going out.
Yes it would be delicious xx
If I was to slow cooker how long would I leave it on for?
Going to swap olives for carrots too as none of us like olives and no raw sugar so thinking maple syrup would these be OK additions
Many thanks
Yes maple syrup is a good alternative. As for the slow cooker I dont have one so cant be sure. Id imagine it would be a pretty standard set up. xx