There’s something wonderfully comforting about a good sausage casserole, especially when the sausages are cooked slowly in a rich, herby onion gravy and served with plenty of crispy roast potatoes.

This herby pork sausage casserole is an easy, hearty dinner that doesn’t need a long list of ingredients. I’ve used eight pork sausages, plenty of onions, thyme, sage and rosemary, with English mustard powder adding a little extra depth to the gravy.

The result is exactly the sort of dinner I want when the weather turns cooler: browned sausages, a glossy onion gravy and crisp, golden roast potatoes ready to soak up every last bit of sauce.

Herby Pork Sausage Casserole Recipe

Ingredients

For the sausage casserole:

• 8 pork sausages
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 large onions, finely sliced
• 2–3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp plain flour
• 500–600ml chicken stock
• 150ml cider, or use extra chicken stock
• 1 tsp English mustard powder
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp dried sage
• 1–2 sprigs fresh rosemary, finely chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tsp honey or brown sugar
• Salt and plenty of freshly ground black pepper

For the roast potatoes:

• Potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks
• Olive oil
• Salt
• Black pepper
• A little rosemary or thyme

How to make sausage casserole

Start by heating the olive oil in a large ovenproof casserole dish or heavy-based frying pan.

Add the eight pork sausages and brown them all over. You don’t need to cook them completely at this stage — you’re looking for plenty of colour on the outside. Once browned, remove them from the pan and set aside.

Add the sliced onions to the same pan. Cook them gently for around 8–10 minutes until soft and starting to caramelise. Add the chopped garlic and cook for another minute.

Stir through the thyme, sage and rosemary before adding the flour. Cook for another minute, stirring well.

Gradually pour in the cider, scraping the bottom of the pan as you go. Those browned bits left behind by the sausages are where a lot of the flavour comes from.

Add the chicken stock, English mustard powder, Worcestershire sauce and honey. Season generously with black pepper.

Return the sausages to the casserole and add the bay leaf. Bring everything to a gentle simmer.

Cover and cook in a 180°C fan oven for around 30 minutes.

Remove the lid and cook for a further 15–20 minutes, allowing the gravy to reduce and thicken around the sausages.

Crispy roast potatoes

While the casserole is cooking, prepare the potatoes.

Cut them into large chunks and parboil in salted water for around 7–8 minutes. Drain well, then give the potatoes a good shake in the pan. This roughens the edges and helps create that lovely crispy exterior.

Toss with olive oil, salt, pepper and a little rosemary or thyme.

Roast at 180°C fan for around 40–50 minutes, turning occasionally, until golden brown and crisp.

Serving the sausage casserole

Spoon the sausages and onion gravy onto a plate and pile the crispy roast potatoes alongside.

Don’t be shy with the gravy. The whole point of those roast potatoes is having plenty of herby onion gravy to soak into all those crispy edges.

I finished mine with a little fresh parsley, but fresh thyme or rosemary would work just as well.

Why I like this sausage casserole

This is one of those recipes that feels much more impressive than the amount of work involved.

The herbs, mustard and Worcestershire sauce give the gravy plenty of flavour without making it overly rich, while the pork sausages add plenty of savoury depth. The crispy roast potatoes are the perfect partner because they give you that contrast between crisp potatoes and silky gravy.

It’s also an easy recipe to adapt. You could add carrots, mushrooms or leeks to the casserole, or swap the cider for more chicken stock if that’s what you have in the cupboard.

For me, though, the simple version works brilliantly