This savory and sweet harvest casserole is packed with veggies, protein, fresh herbs and all the best fall flavors! Serve it as a holiday side dish or a special seasonal meal. The leftovers are delicious for any meal! Paleo friendly, dairy free, Whole30.
October makes me want to break out all the fall goodies! Roasted winter squash, fresh herbs, apples, cranberries.
I wanted to do it ALL with this casserole which is why it contains a ton of veggies, fruit, nuts, and of course protein.
At first I thought I was going to make this with rotisserie chicken, but chicken sausage sounded like a much better idea once I got started!
The flavors are perfect together – savory and a little sweet. You can make this for dinner or as a holiday side dish. And the leftovers are incredible!
What You Need to Make this Harvest Casserole
The ingredient list might be long because there’s a lot going on here, but trust me – it’s worth it to get the perfect combination of fall flavors!
Here’s everything you need to prepare this casserole:
- butternut squash
- brussels sprouts
- Olive oil
- Sea salt and black pepper
- onion and garlic
- chicken sausage
- rosemary
- sage
- thyme leaves
- parsley
- cauliflower rice, fresh or frozen
- honey crisp apple
- chopped pecans
- dried cranberries
- teaspoon cinnamon
How to Make This Harvest Casserole
First, roast the brussels sprouts and squash for about 25 minutes in a 425° F oven. While the veggies roast, you cook everything else in a skillet.
In a large skillet, cook the onions until translucent, then add the garlic and cook about 30 seconds. Stir in the chicken sausage and fresh herbs, and cook until the sausage is browned on the outside.
Add in the cauliflower rice, apples, pecans and cinnamon and cook, stirring, until the cauliflower rice and apples begin to soften. Stir in the cranberries and season with salt and pepper to taste, then remove from heat.
Spray a 9 x 13” baking dish with cooking spray and combine the sausage rice mixture with the roasted squash and sprouts in the dish. Bake until the top is toasty.
Serve garnished with fresh herbs if desired, as a meal or holiday side dish.
Fresh or Frozen Cauliflower Rice?
For this recipe I recommend buying either fresh or frozen cauliflower rice.
I always purchase it already “riced”, usually frozen so it doesn’t go bad and there’s no work involved!
If you use fresh cauliflower rice, it will take a bit longer to soften, so watch it while cooking.
Frozen cauliflower rice softens almost instantly once it’s in the skillet, so be careful not to overcook it.
Either way cauliflower rice add a great texture to the casserole AND soaks up all the delicious flavors.
I hope you’re ready for all the fall flavors in a healthy, filling harvest casserole!
Start chopping your veggies and preheat the oven because it’s time to cook – let’s go!
Harvest Casserole {Paleo, Whole30}
Harvest Casserole (Chicken Sausage Veggie)
Ingredients
- 3 cups butternut squash cut into 1” cubes
- 1 lb brussels sprouts halved or quartered, depending on size
- 4 tablespoons Olive oil divided
- Sea salt and black pepper
- 1 small yellow onion diced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 6 links chicken sausage cut into coin shapes (check ingredients for Whole30)
- 2 teaspoons fresh rosemary minced
- 2 teaspoons fresh sage minced
- 1 teaspoon thyme leaves
- 2 teaspoons fresh parsley minced
- 2 cups cauliflower rice fresh or frozen (buy this pre-riced)
- 1 apple (honey crisp), finely diced
- 1/2 cup pecans chopped
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries juice-sweetened
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- Sea salt and black pepper to taste
- Fresh herbs for garnish if desired
Instructions
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Preheat your oven to 425° F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Place the squash on one sheet and the Brussels sprouts on the other. Drizzle both with one tablespoon each of the oil and sprinkle all over with salt and pepper. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes, stirring the Brussels sprouts halfway through. You can remove the Brussels sprouts sooner if you don’t want them to brown too much. Once done, reduce the heat to 400° F.
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Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium heat and add the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil. Cook the onions until translucent, then add the garlic and cook about 30 seconds. Stir in the chicken sausage and fresh herbs, and cook until the sausage is browned on the outside.
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Add in the cauliflower rice, apples, pecans and cinnamon and cook, stirring, until the cauliflower rice and apples begin to soften. Stir in the cranberries and season with salt and pepper to taste, then remove from heat.
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Spray a 9 x 13” baking dish with cooking spray and combine the sausage rice mixture with the roasted squash and sprouts in the dish. Bake in the preheated oven for 12-15 minutes or until the top is toasty. Serve garnished with fresh herbs if desired, as a meal or holiday side dish. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Want More Fall and Thanksgiving Recipes? Try One of These!
Ultimate Roasted Stuffed Acorn Squash
Maple Bacon Roasted Butternut Squash
Harvest Hash with Apple Vinaigrette
Butternut Squash Sausage Stuffing
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YUM! This looks like comfort food – can’t wait to try it! Wondering how it will be with leftover Thanksgiving turkey….
This recipe appears to be quite similar to the Harvest Sweet Potato and Bacon Hash that I tried for the first time yesterday. My husband and I totally enjoyed that Harvest Hash and decided to make it again as a Thanksgiving side. This one sounds equally delicious with the added protein and cauliflower rice sans the bacon. The flavors in the Harvest Hash work so well together. Thank you, as always, for sharing your God-given expertise with the rest of the world. You truly have a talent for delicious dishes. Thank you!
For the chicken sausage links, are you referring to small links (like breakfast sausage) or larger (like Aidells)? Thanks for the clarification!
Wondering the same thing…
This is delicious and healthy! But don’t think it takes 15 minutes to prepare. It took over half an hour to peel and chop the squash. It took over an hour to chop and prepare / cook the onion-apple-cauliflower mixture. I did that while the squash and sprouts were roasting. If all the ingredients were chopped and ready to assemble you might get that done in 15 minutes. As much as I like the dish I think it’s way too much work for everyday.
Very true – i made it yesterday- and while it was delicious, it was very very labor-intensive.
Can you sub the butternut squash for sweet potatoes?
It was just alright. Wanted to love it, but it didn’t have the flavor depth I was hoping for. Wouldn’t make it again.
I made this for dinner this evening! It was terrific!! I didn’t have the sausage and it was still super tasty! Thanks!
Delicious but very time consuming. I used free form sausage I bought at the farmers market as I think it’s a much better idea to give a little bit of sausage flavor to every spoonful. I also used a small Fuji apple instead of a massive Honeycrisp apple and I halved the amount of Craisins in order to reduce carbs a little. Would definitely make again!
This was so delicious! We have a chicken allergy so I subbed Tetons for the chicken sausag. All of the adults devoured it, and a third of the kids (which is huge in our house of super picky eaters). Thank you!
This is amazing!!! I put it into a slow cooker with about 1/2c. Chicken broth added… Cooked on low for 4 hour. It was amazing! Thank you
You put in everything raw? No roasting or sauteing?
Will it taste the same if I omit the chicken?
This is so good, there are no words!!! Every time I make this now, I either have to let everyone know so they come for dinner, or I have to make up packages!
Loved this recipe! Great for fall time to warm up the body! I used dry seasoning so I cut the recommended quantity in half. It was still great. Dried rosemary is not my favorite though. Will make again!
I substituted the chicken sausage for the maple bourbon bacon, and the crunchy hunks of bacon were the perfect touch!!
You should assess your goals and make sure they are what you really want. If you decide that a goal is important because it pleases someone else, you may want to reconsider.
If, however, you’re going to please your parents, then you may be setting yourself up for negative feelings later in life.
It was wonderful! I actually used ground sausage instead and it turned out perfect. Thank you for the recipe!
Very good! To make it a bit more flavored to my taste, I added onion and garlic powder and a sprinkle of ginger. Prep time was helped by buying pre-cut butternut squash from Trader Joe’s
I prepared this for supper tonight! It was fantastic!! I didn’t have the sausage, but it was still delicious! Thanks!
Fresh or fully cooked sausage?
Do you think this would freeze well?
Would frozen all ready cut up squash and Brussel sprouts work?
I wasn’t expecting this to be such a hit, but my husband nearly singlehandedly ate the entire dish by himself. I got one serving. It was super yummy, obviously.
This was a bit labor intensive BUT worth the effort!! The blend of flavors is delicious! This is a wonderful fall dish with all the fall produce. In this recipe, I did use frozen cauliflower rice and dried cherries. I have passed this recipe on because it is so good!!
I am wanting to make this dish for thanksgiving and wondering if I can do this in a crock pot since the kitchen and oven will be full where we are staying?
I really like this recipe. It has such a great variety of flavor and is super filling.
Delicious: subbed white rice for cauliflower rice. Prep time is whole fully off-took me 1 hour and 50 mins from start to eating. Lots of veggie chopping.
Also, recipe didn’t say when to add sage, thyme and rosemary, so added to sauté pan at end.
Took 1 hr and 50 mins start to table
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I’m absolutely loving this recipe! The range of flavors is truly amazing, and it leaves you feeling completely satisfied.
Delicious and worth the effort when time allows. We are a small family, so we obtain leftovers. I prepped the butternut squash, onion, & Brussels a day ahead. Even after that, it took a full hour to make. The nice thing is that I was able to clean dishes while it baked.
Color was not even close. Flavor was perfect. Noteworthy.. I typically use frozen Brussels and squash, roasting darkens them considerably. Sausage is also ‘usually’ fully cooked, so be careful not to over cook when browning. Otherwise great side dish and will keep making it until I get it to the correct consistency.
This vegetable dish is very good for health, adding fiber and some other nutrients
This vegetable dish is very good for health, adding fiber and some other nutrients. Eat this dish and play uno online is the best.
This was lovely! I’d make it again. I added mushrooms and garlic
Would spicy Italian chicken sausage work in this recipe?
Would this taste ok with Teton Polish sausage?
Made this with apple vegan sausage and it turned out so good. I could not stop eating it and I will make it again for sure. YUM!!
I want to make this and would love to read the comments beforehand, but I do not see them online. Where can I see them?
Thanks!
This dish was delicious! I cooked exactly as written except that I could only find gouda apple chicken sausage. It was wonderful the first night and even more flavorful a few days later! Definitely a keeper. My husband loved it!
What is dried cranberries juice sweetened. Is it dried cranberries or cranberry juice?