Super Easy Sausage, Broccoli and Potato Sheet Pan Dinner
One key to learning to love cooking at home is finding easy ways to create meals. Sheet Pan dinners are just about as easy as it gets. One pan plus a few ingredients and you’ve got dinner. Only five ingredients are required for this Italian-inspired Sausage, Broccoli and Potato Sheet Pan Dinner and it comes together in under 30 minutes. Plus it’s Whole30 and Paleo-friendly to boot.
How to Make InstaWorthy Sheet Pan Dinners
Sheet pan dinners aren’t new, but many I see look pale and, I can only imagine, are flavorless. To make sure your super easy dinner is also delicious, there are two basic things you need: texture and color. The flavor comes from the ingredients, but these two come from technique.
With only a couple of extra steps, you still have a one-pan dinner that is mostly hands off but is both a treat for the eyes and the mouth. (I’m sorry, but this phrase makes me think of Monica’s shell braids in Barbados! If you know…you know!)
Creating Texture
Create texture in your sheet pan dinner, by timing when you add ingredients. You can’t just throw everything on at once.
- Harder veggies like potatoes and winter squash need a few minutes extra as do chicken breasts, uncooked sausages and small steaks.
- This gives the veggies a head start and the protein a little extra time to brown.
- Make sure the veggies and protein have a good coating of oil. This aids texture and color.
- Pretty much every other veggie will go on in the last 10 minutes of cooking since you want them to retain a little crunch.
- Fish will also only take about 10 minutes so if you’re using fish for your protein, add it with veggies.
For this recipe, I started with the potatoes and sausage with a good coating of oil. I added the broccoli and garlic after about 15 minutes. Total cook time for all was 25 minutes.
Creating Colorful Sheet Pan Dinners
Color comes about in two ways: Starting with a mix of colorful ingredients and making sure the oven is hot enough to create a golden brown color on ingredients.
- Use a mix of veggies or consider a colorful sauce to drizzle over at the end..
- Start with a hot oven set to 425 degrees.
- Heat your pan with the oven.
- Season the protein well before adding to the hot pan to create a crust on the meat or fish.
- Broil for 2-3 minutes (watching carefully) for a little extra char on the edges of ingredients.
Once I added thr broccoli, I roasted for another 10 minutes then broiled on high to make the edges nice and golden brown. Notice the color on the potatoes and the sausages before adding the broccoli. This is the Magic!!
Ways to Amp Up Your Sheet Pan Dinner
You can always serve it as is since it is meant to be simple. But if you loooove flavor and sauces like I do, it never hurts to have a few ready to go. I like to use chimichurri, salsa, guacamole, or flavored mayonnaise as drizzles or dipping sauces. This is also a way to turn a very EASY meal into a guest-worthy dinner. For this meal, I marinated tomatoes with a lot of olive oil, salt and pepper. They mingled with the olive oil and made a delicious and easy finishing sauce. You can even just drizzle a little vinegar or lemon juice over the whole pan to punch up the flavor.
The Best Pan for Sheet Pan Dinners
I have used several different types of sheet pans over the years, but my favorite kind is the stainless steel set on Amazon. They do pop and warp when cooking, (be careful if there is a lot of oil) but they don’t leach aluminum into your food like most other sheet pans do. (Aluminum has been associated with Alzheimer’s.) 1
What Sausage to Use for Sausage, Broccoli and Potato Sheet Pan Dinner
For this recipe, you will want to use uncooked sausage. It can be chicken, turkey or pork based. I used Italian sausage, but really any type will work. If by chance you have everything to make this but only have fully cooked sausages, simply add the sausages when you add the broccoli instead of cooking with the
I always recommend finding a source for meat that sources organic and pasture raised meats. Greensbury Market is my preferred provider and brand partner. Use code GETHHR to get 10% off your first order with them. potatoes.
Super Easy Sausage, Broccoli and Potato Sheet Pan Dinner
Ingredients
1 lb uncooked pork, chicken or turkey sausage links
2 lbs broccoli florets
1 lb red potatoes, cut into thin wedges
Magic Salt
6 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
Red pepper flakes, optional
Avocado Oil
- Tomatoes
extra virgin olive oil
1 lb very ripe in-season tomatoes
Sea Salt
Pepper
Directions
- Heat oven and sheet to 425 degrees.
- Remove pan and drizzle with a litte avocado oil. Quickly add red potatoes and some Magic Salt. Use a spatula to toss potatoes around in the seasoning. Add sausages and place pan back in oven. Set timer for 15 minutes.
- Remove pan and turn sausages to coat in oil and make sure the underside is now facing up. Flip potatoes and move to the end of the pan with the sausage. Add broccoli and garlic, drizzle with oil and Magic salt and toss to coat.
- Return pan to oven and roast for 10 minutes.
- Turn broiler up to high and let everything cook on broil for 2-3 minutes until the sausage, potatoes and edges of broccoli are deeply browned.
- Remove and serve with the Tomatoes if using. Otherwise, drizzle with a bunch of extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with a bit of red wine vinegar, balsamic or lemon juice.
- Tomatoes
- Cut larger tomatoes into bite-sized pieces and cherry tomatoes into halves or quarters depending on size and add to a bowl. Cover about halfway with EVOO and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Mix and let stand for at least 15 minutes.