Mac, Veggie and Sausage Casserole
I call this a healthy Mac and Cheese. I love that this recipe can be made with whatever you have in your fridge, garden and pantry. Improvise with different vegetables, cheese and protein or keep it all veg. Use your favorite greens. Choose between Swiss Chard, kale, collards or spinach. You can go sparingly with the cheese or go for it with extra. What's also great about this recipe is you can do a few minutes of prep to get started and then prep the veggies as needed for the next steps. A great dish for sharing, make ahead for a party or a potluck even
Servings: 8
Calories: 482kcal
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon canola oil
- 1 large onion diced
- 1/2 cup fennel bulb small dice (optional)
- 1/2 pound mushrooms sliced
- 3 Italian sausages casings removed
- 3 large carrots peeled and diced
- 1 15- ounce can diced tomatoes or 2 cups fresh chopped tomatoes
- 1 6 oz. can tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon each assorted dried herbs - basil, oregano, fennel seed
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 pound Elbow Macaroni uncooked
- 4 cups fresh greens chopped (Swiss chard, collards, kale, spinach)
- 6 ounces + crumbled/shredded cheese ricotta, mozarella, queso fresca, cheddar
Instructions
- Bring pot of salted water to boil. Preheat oven to 375°.
- In a large pot, heat canola oil and add diced onion and fennel if using.
- Once the onion softens, add sliced mushrooms and sausage removed from the casing. Cook until the sausage browns.
- Next goes in the tomatoes, tomato paste and carrots. Season with salt, pepper, herbs. Cover and let all the flavors simmer together for 15 minutes or more.
- While the sauce is cooking, cook the macaroni in boiling water according to package directions. In the last few minutes of cooking, add the chopped greens to wilt. Cook until macaroni is al dente and drain.
- Assemble the Mac, Veggie and Sausage Casserole. Grease the bottom of a casserole dish or 9 x 13 pan with canola oil. Layer half the macaroni and greens. Ladle half the Veggie and Sausage Sauce over the macaroni. Top with half of cheese and repeat with another layer of macaroni, veggie sauce and cheese.
- Cover and bake in the oven for 20 minutes Remove cover and bake additional 10 minutes to brown the top a bit. Serve immediately.
- Oven Temperature 375°
- ENJOY THIS RECIPE FROM FreshFoodinaFlash.com
Nutrition
Calories: 482kcal