Sheet Pan Kielbasa Dinner
Sheet Pan Kielbasa Dinner
My family loves this and it's my favorite go to dinner when I'm short on time and energy! I can chop up the ingredients, pop it in the oven and it finishes up with minimal attention so I can finish up my next blog or get some watering done in the garden. I'm sure you have your own things you could be doing on those busy nights when cooking dinner kind of gets in the way.
I make this all year but I think we like it best now in the fall. This could be fabulous for an Oktoberfest themed gathering too, leaving you more time for your guests.
Sheet pan meals are so great. Quick to put together and they need very little attention. When I'm really busy I like to use a rope sausage for the protein because it's usually in my refrigerator unfrozen if I've forgotten to thaw something for dinner. Also because I can just quickly open the package and chop it up. Easiest prep ever! You can even leave it in large pieces if you want too. Win,Win!
I know you've seen plenty of sheet pan dinners, maybe even one with Kielbasa but have you tried turkey kielbasa? Most Kielbasa sausage is really fatty. When I'm hungry I want to eat more than a 2 ounce portion so I started comparing and found that my family is perfectly happy with Hillshire Farms Turkey Polska Kielbasa over the usual beef/pork variety and it has less than half the fat! They also make a smoked turkey sausage and a few flavors of chicken sausage now that are just as good.
So of course you can use any sausage you choose but if you want to save yourself some fat and calories, go with turkey or chicken in this dish it's a big game changer!
Start heating your oven to 375 degrees and have the top rack so it's comfortably close to the top of the oven. Now get out a sheet pan. Line it with foil or parchment and then add 2 tablespoons of oil. Chop your potatoes first and toss them around in the oil your sheet pan, season them with a little seasoned salt or Old Bay seasoning and some pepper then put the pan in the oven while you prep the rest of the ingredients.
Chop up some zucchini, red and green bell pepper. You can put these in one bowl to the side while you chop up 2-3 small tomatoes like the ones I get from my patio tomato plants, or roma tomatoes. I like something fleshy and compact for this recipe so they don't fall apart too much.
Set aside the tomatoes and then chop the kielbasa into segments as large as you would like. I cut mine on the bias about an inch thick.
Pull the sheet pan with the potatoes out of the oven now and add the chopped zucchini, red & green bell pepper and toss them around in the oil with the potatoes. Top with the chopped kielbasa and put the pan back in the oven.
Now you are free to do your own thing for about 40 minutes while your tasty dinner roasts.
After 40 minutes, come back and add the chopped tomatoes and sprinkle the sheet pan with the pine nuts then put it back in the oven for about 10 more minutes.
At this point your sheet pan dinner is delish and done and may be eaten as is but if you have a few more minutes to elevate this dish to the next level, read on....
Sometime while your sheet pan meal is roasting. Add 1 or 2 large sprigs of fresh rosemary straight onto the rack in the oven with the sheet pan and let it get charred a little bit, this takes about 5 minutes for me. Remove the rosemary to a cutting board and add one tablespoon of good Dijon mustard to a small bowl nearby. Remove the charred leaves from the stem of the rosemary and crush them with a mortar and pestle.
Add the crushed charred rosemary to the mustard.
Next add 3 tablespoons red wine, apple cider or rose hip vinegar and 1/4 cup of walnut or olive oil. Whisk them together briskly and season your vinaigrette with salt and pepper to taste.
Serve at the table to drizzle over the pan roast dinner. Delicious!
Don't be afraid to change out the veggies depending on what you have on hand and please let me know if you find another great combination to try.
Cheers!
~Melisa
Sheet Pan Kielbasa Dinner
Ingredients
1 1 pound rope sausage
4 medium potatoes (any kind with the skin on)
1 green bell pepper
1 red bell pepper
1 medium to large zucchini
2-3 small roma tomatoes
1/4 pine nuts
2 Tablespoons good cooking oil
Seasoned salt or Old Bay Seasoning to taste
Pepper to taste
Method
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees, then line a sheet pan with foil or parchment paper and add the cooking oil. Chop the potatoes into bite size pieces add them to the pan and season them with the seasoned salt and pepper. Toss them in the oil on the sheet pan and put the sheet pan into the oven.
Next chop up the rest of the ingredients. Cut the red and green bell peppers and the zucchini into bite size pieces and set them aside. Chop the tomatoes and set them aside. Cut the Kielbasa into the size you like, I cut them on the bias into 1 inch pieces.
Remove the sheet pan from the oven, top it with the chopped bell peppers and zucchini and toss everything around in the oil to coat. Now top that with the chopped Kielbasa and put the sheet pan back into the oven.
After 40 minutes, remove the pan from the oven and top with the chopped tomatoes and the pine nuts. Continue to bake for another 10 minutes or so until the top is browned the way you like it.
For the vinaigrette
1 or 2 large sprigs of fresh rosemary, Charred
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons vinegar, ( I use red wine, apple cider or rose hip vinegar)
1/4 cup Walnut or Olive oil
Add 1 or 2 large sprigs of fresh rosemary straight onto the rack in the oven with the sheet pan and let it get charred a little bit (about 5 minutes). Remove it to a cutting board. Add one tablespoon of good Dijon mustard to a small bowl. Remove the charred leaves from the stem of the rosemary, crush them with a mortar and pestle then add the crushed charred rosemary to the mustard.
Add 3 tablespoons of your chosen vinegar and 1/4 cup of walnut or olive oil. Whisk them together briskly and season with salt and pepper.
*Vinaigrette Recipe adapted from Food & Wine, Charred Rosemary Vinaigrette
