With just 15 minutes prep time, this slow cooker sausage and baked bean casserole is an easy midweek meal and pure comfort food for those cold, dark nights.
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I love my slow cooker! (or crockpot as it's known in the US). When the winter comes the slow cooker comes out at least a couple of times a week. It’s so versatile, you can cook almost anything in it, stews, casseroles like this slow cooker sausage and baked bean casserole, curries, desserts and even slow cooker roast potatoes. (You need to try these, trust me!)
You just prep everything in the morning and then when you get home at the end of a long day, dinner is ready and waiting for you!
I have adapted this dish from an old Weight Watchers recipe for Hubble Bubble casserole that was given to me by a friend. It quickly became the kids favourite dish and over time I have tweaked a few ingredients and cooked it in the slow cooker instead of on the hob, so on busy evenings after school there would be a comforting dinner ready for them.
This is a great dish that the whole family can enjoy, from toddlers to Grandma! The gluten free Worcestershire sauce and brown sugar add a sweet and sharp tang to the casserole. You can also adapt it and add different vegetables. I hope this becomes a staple dinner in your house like it has mine.
If you are looking more more comforting dinner ideas take a look at my Gluten Free Ikea Meatballs, Creamy Chicken & Leek Risotto, Lemon & Garlic Chicken Traybake and Easy Vegan Mixed Bean Chilli.
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🍅 Ingredients Needed
- Sausages - Try and buy the best quality sausages you can. Some cheaper brands use wheat to pad the sausages out, so always check the packaging. I love using Tesco Finest pork sausages or Heck 97% pork sausages as neither contain gluten.
- Bacon - Use smoked or unsmoked, dependant on your preference. I love smoked as I find this gives a more intense flavour.
- Baked Beans - The store cupboard staple!
- Chopped Tomatoes - I love Napolina chopped tomatoes, try and buy the best quality you can, you will notice the difference.
- Carrots
- Potatoes - any kind of white potato will work well.
- Onion
- Garlic
- Vegetable Stock - Used to give a little more sauce to the casserole and add flavour. I use the Knorr stock pots as they are gluten free. The vegetable stock does contain celery.
- Brown Sugar - Balances out the acidity of the tomatoes.
- Gluten Free Worcestershire sauce - Check the ingredients as Lea & Perrins contains Barley. The Biona Organics one is gluten free but does contain soya. Amazon also sell this one by Chippa which is also gluten free.
Scroll to the recipe card for quantities.
✋ Be sure to double check all packaging for allergens. ✋
✏️ How To Make This Recipe
Start by chopping each sausage into three parts and chop the bacon into small squares. Fry these in a frying pan until browned on the outside.
You can skip this bit, but personally I love the colour you get from frying them first as they won’t change colour in the slow cooker.
Whilst the sausages and bacon are browning, peel and chop the potatoes into large chunks. (About the size you would chop for a roast potato). Then finely chop the onion and garlic.
Scrub the outside of the carrots (don’t peel as the skin is where the goodness is!) and either dice into small squares or chop into rounds, whichever is your preference.
Next, make up the stock. You will only need 100ml so why not use the rest to make my creamy, gluten free tomato soup?
Add the sausages and bacon to the slow cooker along with the vegetables and all of the rest of the ingredients and give it a good stir.
Thats it! Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours and you will have a delicious dinner waiting for you when you get in.
💡 TOP TIP! - Don’t keep opening the slow cooker! Every time you take the lid off, it can add another 15-30 minutes of cooking time! Stir once half way through if you must, but try to just leave it to cook on its own.
💬 Can I Cook This Recipe In The Oven?
Yes!
Fry off the sausage and bacon in a frying pan or oven proof casserole dish that will work on your hob. Add the rest of the ingredients to the dish, pop the lid on and bake in the oven at 180˚C for 45 minutes to an hour.
⚡ Variations & Substitutions
- Veg! - Add some button mushrooms chopped in half or chunks of red pepper to help to reach your 5 a day!
- Meat Free! - You can substitute the sausages for vegan sausages to make this recipe vegan. Just make sure you use a different brand of Worcester sauce than Lea & Perrins as it contains anchovies.
- Sausages - Experiment with different flavour sausages, why not try a Cumberland, Lincolnshire or a pork and leek? Just be sure to double check the packaging for allergens.
- Beans - Baked beans are haricot beans in tomato sauce, but you can throw in a tin of cannellini beans or butter beans for a nice variation.
- Make Into A Cowboy Pie! - After 3 hours, remove the mixture from the slow cooker, put into a casserole dish and top with mashed potato. Bake in the oven at 180˚C for 40 minutes to an hour, until the mash potato starts to crisp up.
🔪 Equipment
I have a Russell Hobbs slow cooker that I bought years ago. It was really reasonably priced and has never let me down. I have cooked hundreds of meals in it.
You can find a similar one here.
🥡 Storage
The casserole will keep really well in the fridge in an airtight container for 2-3 days. Re-heat in the microwave for 3-4 minutes until piping hot, stirring halfway through.
Freeze for up to 3 months in a freezer safe container. Defrost in the fridge overnight and re-heat as above.
🍴 What To Serve With Sausage & Baked Bean Casserole?
You almost have a full, well rounded meal just in the casserole but I love serving it with some freshly steamed broccoli or green beans.
A big chunk of gluten free bread to mop up the juices is also delicious.
💬 Recipe FAQ's
Yes you can. I like to fry the sausages off in a frying pan before putting them in the slow cooker as this gives them that lovely crispy, brown skin as the slow cooker won’t colour the outside of the sausage.
Just be sure that the sausages reach an internal temperature of 160˚F. The easiest way to check this is with a meat thermometer.
Although the slow cooker will be switched on for a much longer time than the oven, slow cookers are really energy efficient and use less energy than a standard lightbulb, so it's cheaper to use the slow cooker than a standard electric oven.
According to Conserve Energy Future, they estimate the average electricity usage of an electric oven at between 2 and 2.2 kWh, while a microwave uses between 0.6 and 1.5 kWh. The electric oven is the most expensive appliance to use in the home, as using it for an hour each day will cost £2.46, which is $2.76 a week, or £127.92 ($143.30) over a year. As such, with regards to your electric bill, the slow cooker will be cheaper to run than the oven. (currency exchange correct as of Oct 2022)
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Slow Cooker Sausage & Baked Bean Casserole
Equipment
Ingredients
- 8 sausages check packaging to ensure they are gluten free.
- 2 rashers back bacon smoked or un-smoked.
- 400 g baked beans tin of
- 400 g tinned chopped tomatoes one tin of
- 300 g white potatoes peeled and chopped into large chunks.
- 1 medium onion diced.
- 2 medium carrots diced.
- 1 clove garlic crushed.
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon gluten free Worcestershire sauce
- 100 ml Knorr vegetable stock pot
Instructions
- Chop each sausage into three parts and chop the bacon into small squares. Fry these in a frying pan until browned on the outside. (see notes)
- Whilst the sausages and bacon are browning, peel and chop the potatoes into large chunks. (About the size you would chop for a roast potato). Then finely chop the onion and garlic.
- Scrub the outside of the carrots and either dice into small squares or chop into rounds, whichever is your preference.
- Make up the stock.
- Add the sausages and bacon to the slow cooker along with the vegetables and all of the rest of the ingredients and give it a good stir.
- Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours.
Let me know what you think of this recipe!