Sausage casserole for kids
This slow cooker sausage casserole for kids is a hearty slow cooked dinner full of sausages, bacon, and tomatoes.
This slow cooker sausage casserole for kids and grown ups as it’s a delicious, hearty dinner full of sausages, bacon, and tomatoes. Slow cooking the sausages brings out their flavour and makes them beautifully soft, which is ideal for toddlers and young children.
I love our slow cooker, particularly in the winter as it makes such delicious, warming dinners. If you like this slow cooker sausage casserole, you might also like our slow cooker pulled pork or bolognese, both firm family favourites in our house!
How can kids help make this sausage casserole?
It’s probably not one for teeny tiny chefs to help with, but there are some easy steps for older kids to do. Hannah enjoyed measuring out everything and adding the ingredients to the sauce, as well as learning from her Daddy how to chop onions.
Difficulty: Easy
Time: 30 minutes + 4 hours cooking
Serves: 6-8
Ingredients
1–2 tbsp sunflower oil
12 good quality pork sausages
Pack of bacon lardons
2 onions, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tsp paprika
400g can chopped tomatoes
300ml chicken stock
2 tbsp tomato purée
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp dark brown muscovado sugar
2 tsp dried mixed herbs
1 tsp thyme
2 bay leaves
100ml red or white wine (optional)
How to make the slow cooker sausage casserole for kids
Brown the sausages
Heat and spoonful of oil in a non stick frying pan and fry the sausages gently for 10 minutes. Turn them once in a while so they are brown on all sides. Add to your slow cooker.
Fry the bacon
Get your child to help add the bacon lardons to the pan (being careful not to get too close). Fry them until they are nice and crisp then add to your sausages.
Cook the onions and garlic
While the sausages and bacon are cooking get your child to help you peel the garlic and onions. If you have a garlic crusher, they can help you crush the garlic as well. If they are a bit older they may be able to help you cut the onion as well.
Cook the onions in your pan on a medium heat for five minutes or so until they start to soften.
Add the garlic to your pan and cook for a few more minutes until the onions are a golden brown.
Add the paprika. Hannah helped us measure this out. We put it in a small bowl first and then put it in the pan, as this was a bit easier for her to manage.
Slow cook your sauce
Rather than add everything straight to the pan, we got Hannah to help measure out the dry herbs to a bowl and the wet ingredients into a jug. That made it much easier to then add it safely to the pan.
Start by getting your child to put the stock cube/pot into the measuring jug. Add the water and get them to give it a stir. Add the tomato puree (2 tbsp) and Worcestershire sauce (1 tbsp).
In a separate small bowl, get your toddler to measure out the sugar (1 tbsp), mixed herbs (1 tsp), bay leaves (2) and thyme (1 tsp).
Once everything is measured out, get your little one to pour the herbs and jug of sauce into the frying pan and give it a stir. Pour over some wine (100ml) or if you’re not using wine, just the equivalent in water. Bring the sauce to a simmer.
Add the sauce to the sausages and bacon in the slow cooker. Cook your sausage casserole a medium heat for 4-5 hours. If you are not using a slow cooker, pop everything in a flameproof casserole dish and cook on a simmer for 30 minutes or so, stirring from time to time.
Serve your sausage casserole with vegetables, rice or some rustic bread.
Slow cooker sausage casserole for kids
Ingredients
- 1 –2 tbsp sunflower oil
- 12 good quality pork sausages
- Pack of bacon lardons
- 2 onions thinly sliced
- 2 garlic cloves crushed
- 1 tsp paprika
- 400 g can chopped tomatoes
- 300 ml chicken stock
- 2 tbsp tomato purée
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tbsp dark brown muscovado sugar
- 1 tsp dried mixed herbs
- 1 tsp thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 100 ml red or white wine optional
Instructions
Brown the sausages
- Heat and spoonful of oil in a non stick frying pan and fry the sausages gently for 10 minutes. Turn them once in a while so they are brown on all sides. Add to your slow cooker.
Fry the bacon
- Add the bacon lardons to the pan. Fry them until they are nice and crisp then add to your sausages.
Cook the onions and garlic
- While the sausages and bacon are cooking peel the garlic and onions.
- Cook the onions in your pan on a medium heat for five minutes or so until they start to soften. Add the garlic to your pan and cook for a few more minutes until the onions are a golden brown. Add the paprika.
Prepare the sauce
- Measure out the dry herbs to a bowl and the wet ingredients into a jug. Start by putting the stock cube/pot into the measuring jug. Add the water and give it a stir. Add the tomato puree and Worcestershire sauce.
- In a separate small bowl, measure out the sugar, mixed herbs, bay leaves and thyme.
- Once everything is measured out, pour the herbs and jug of sauce into the frying pan and give it a stir. Pour over some wine (100ml) or if you’re not using wine, just the equivalent in water. Bring the sauce to a simmer.
- Add the sauce to the sausages and bacon in the slow cooker. Cook on a medium heat for 4-5 hours. If you are not using a slow cooker, pop everything in a flameproof casserole dish and cook on a simmer for 30 minutes or so, stirring from time to time.
- Serve with vegetables, rice or some rustic bread.
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