With just 15 minutes of prep time, this Slow Cooker Sausage & Bean Casserole is an easy midweek meal and pure comfort food for those cold, dark nights.
I love my slow cooker! (or crockpot as it is 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 easy slow cooker sausage and bean casserole, curries, desserts and even slow cooker roast potatoes. (You need to try these, trust me!)
Everything for this dish can be easily prepared 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 that was given to me by a friend. It quickly became one of the kid's favourite dishes and over time, I have tweaked a few ingredients and changed the cooking method to 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 will love, 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.
It's super tasty and pure comfort food for a cold day!
Best of all, it's dairy free and gluten free too & if you don't have a slow cooker, no worries, I will show you how to cook this sausage & baked bean casserole in a conventional oven further down the post too!
If you are looking more more winter dinner ideas take a look at my Gluten Free Ikea Meatballs, Creamy Chicken & Leek Risotto, Lemon & Garlic Chicken Traybake, Easy Vegan Mixed Bean Chill & Gluten Free Chilli Con Carne.
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🍅 Ingredients Needed
✋ Be sure to double check all packaging for allergens. ✋
- 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 if you are following a gluten free diet. I love using Tesco Finest pork sausages or Heck 97% pork sausages as neither contain gluten. I have also used Heck sausages in this sausage plait recipe. If you only have cocktail sausages, trying making these honey & mustard glazed cocktail sausages instead.
- Bacon - Use smoked or unsmoked bacon, depending on your preference. I love smoked bacon as I find this gives a more intense flavour.
- Baked Beans - The store cupboard staple! They also count towards one of your five a day!
- Chopped Tomatoes - I love Napolina chopped tomatoes, try and buy the best quality you can, you will notice the difference.
- Vegetables - I have used carrots, potatoes, onion and garlic. Any white potato will work or you could also use sweet potato if you prefer.
- Vegetable Stock - This is used to give a little more sauce to the casserole and add flavour. I use the Knorr stock pots as they are gluten free. Be aware that the vegetable stock does contain celery. You can also use chicken stock if you prefer.
- Brown Sugar - Used to balance out the acidity of the tomatoes.
- Gluten Free Worcestershire sauce - Check the ingredients as Lea & Perrins contains Barley. The Biona Organics worcester sauce is gluten free but does contain soya. Amazon also sells this worcester sauce by Chippa which is also gluten free.
ScrSee the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
⚡ Variations
- Mix Up The Veg: Add some button mushrooms chopped in half or chunks of red pepper to help 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 pork and leek? Just be sure to double check the packaging.
- 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 mashed potato starts to crisp up.
✏️ How To Make - Step-By-Step Instructions
⬇️ Here you will find an overview of how to make the recipe. For full information on ingredients and quantities please see the recipe card at the bottom of the page ⬇️
Step 1: Start by chopping each sausage into three parts and slicing the bacon into small squares. Fry them both in a frying pan until browned on the outside.
You can skip this bit, but personally, I love the colour you get on them from frying them first as they won’t change colour in the slow cooker.
Step 2: 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.
Step 3: Next, make up the stock. You will only need 100ml so why not use the rest to make my creamy, dairy 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.
Step 4: That's 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.
🤔 Can I Cook This Recipe In The Oven?
If you don't have a slow cooker or want to make this casserole to enjoy immediately, you can make it in a standard oven.
Simply sauté 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, until the sausages are fully cooked.
💡 Tips & Tricks
- No Need To Peel The Carrots: A lot of the goodness is found in the skin of the carrot, so there is no need to peel the skin, just give it a good scrub!
- Brown The Sausages & Bacon First: Although it's perfectly ok to throw the sausages and bacon into the slow cooker raw, by frying them off in the pan first you will get a lovely brown colour on the outside of the sausages and the bacon will be nice and crispy.
- 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 halfway through if you must, but try to just leave it to cook on its own.
🔪 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 & it's still going!
🥡 Storage
The sausage and bean 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 reheat as above.
🍴 How To Serve
You almost have a full meal just in the casserole but I love serving it with some freshly steamed broccoli or roasted carrots & green beans.
A big chunk of gluten free bread to mop up the juices is also delicious.
💬 Recipe FAQs
Yes you can. I like to fry the sausages in a frying pan before putting them in the slow cooker as this gives them that lovely crispy, brown skin. The slow cooker won’t colour the outside of the sausage, so if you want some colour in your sausages it's best to fry them first.
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, they 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.
Can you put frozen sausages in the slow cooker?
You can put frozen sausages in a slow cooker, but it's important to add extra cooking time (around an extra hour) Separating the sausages helps with even cooking. To ensure safety, use a meat thermometer and check that sausages reach at least 160°F (71°C). Thawing sausages before cooking is recommended if you have the time, but it's not strictly necessary. Cooking times may vary depending on the sausages.
More Slow Cooker Recipes..
Check out these other delicious slow cooker recipes too!
If you loved this recipe, please leave me a 5🌟 rating or comment below. I really do appreciate it. 😊
📖 Recipe
Slow Cooker Sausage & Bean Casserole
Equipment
- Meat thermometer optional
Ingredients
- 8 sausages check packaging to ensure they are gluten free.
- 2 rashers back bacon smoked or un-smoked.
- 400 g ( 14 ounces )baked beans tin of
- 400 g ( 14 ounces) tinned chopped tomatoes one tin of
- 300 g ( 10.5 ounces) 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 ( 3.3 fl oz) 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.
Notes
- No Need To Peel The Carrots: A lot of the goodness is found in the skin of the carrot, so there is no need to peel the skin, just give it a good scrub!
- Brown The Sausages & Bacon First: Although it's perfectly ok to throw the sausages and bacon into the slow cooker raw, by frying them off in the pan first you will get a lovely brown colour on the outside of the sausages and the bacon will be nice and crispy.
- 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 halfway through if you must, but try to just leave it to cook on its own.
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