This flavoursome and hearty vegetarian sausage and butternut squash traybake makes a wonderfully comforting meal. It’s packed with lots of classic, seasonal, British flavours which is ideal on colder days.
I love a traybake! They are so easy to bring together when you don’t have much time to spare and best of all it’s made all in one pan, so less washing up!
This vegetarian sausage and butternut squash traybake comes together in five minutes (if using preprepared ingredients) and can be on your table within fifty minutes. It’s full of classic seasonal British flavours, pairing the savoury sausages with the naturally sweet butternut squash, red onion and apples. All you have to do is a little chopping and then just sit back and let the oven work its magic.
This recipe also has the addition of Puy lentils. These ready-prepared lentils are not only convenient but add a wonderful peppery taste as well as being great for adding extra protein, fibre and texture to this traybake. I like the Puy lentils by Merchant Gourmet.
This recipe is a generous portion size, so if you have any leftovers why not store them in an airtight container and keep them in the fridge for a couple of days. You can then simply reheat it in the oven on a low heat.
Vegetarian or Vegan Sausages?
There is a massive choice of either vegan or vegetarian sausages in the supermarkets. It seems that we all enjoy different brands, sizes and flavours when it comes to our sausages, so my suggestion is to simply choose whichever vegetarian or vegan sausages you prefer.
For this particular sausage and butternut squash traybake, I chose to use Lincolnshire Vegan Sausages by Cauldron. These tasty sausages are already seasoned with sage and parsley which adds an extra herby flavour to this dish.
I also pan-fried the sausages before adding them to the vegetables as I think it just intensifies their flavour. I did this prior to adding them in step 3 of the recipe below. However, some vegetarian sausages can be oven cooked. Just make sure to read the recommended cooking advice on the package and either cook separately and add at the end or after step 3 in the instructions below.
You could of course use meat sausages for this recipe as well if you would prefer. Again these can be cooked in the oven with the vegetables, however, you may just need to increase your cooking time.
How to prepare the butternut squash
I have to admit I often cheat with this recipe and use the pre-prepared butternut squash slices from Sainsbury’s. Simply because it saves time which is often key during the week.
However, if you are using a whole, unprepared butternut squash then here is my method for preparing.
- Place the squash in the microwave on high for 4-5 minutes. This simply helps to soften the squash and makes it easier to peel and cut.
- Use a sharp knife to cut off the top of the squash then hold the base of the squash and carefully cut it in half
- Use a peeler or if the skin is very tough use a pairing knife to remove all of the skin from the squash
- Then use a spoon to dig out and remove the seeds – N.B. Place the seeds to one side if you are planning on roasting them for a delicious snack
- Finally using your large knife again, cut the squash into chunks
What you will need to make this traybake
- Red Onions
- You can’t have sausages without onions!
- Slowly roasted brings out all their natural sweetness.
- Butternut Squash
- Gives you a whopping dose of vitamin A alongside lots of other vitamins and minerals
- Has a wonderful soft sweet nutty flavour and pairs beautifully with the other ingredients
- I often cheat and use a packet of pre-chopped butternut squash to save prep time
- Apple
- Not just for a snack or sweet treat, they are delicious in savoury dishes too
- A brilliant source of fibre and vitamin C.
- I tend to use whatever I have in the fruit bowl
- Lentils
- I use either a pouch or tin of prepared puy or green lentils (it depends what’s in the cupboard). I like the Puy lentils by Merchant Gourmet
- Great source of protein, fibre and B vitamins
- Help to make this a hearty and filling dinner
- Vegetable Stock
- Adds a little sauce to the dish to stop everything from sticking as well as extra savoury flavours
- Vegetarian sausages
- There is a huge choice of veggie or vegan sausages so use whichever you prefer.
- I used the Lincolnshire Vegan Sausages by Cauldron as they are already seasoned with sage and parsley
- Fresh Sage
- Not essential but definitely gives this dish an extra boost
- Or use any herbs you have to hand
How to make this sausage and butternut squash traybake
Once all the preparation is done of the vegetables this really is an easy meal to make. However, if you are preparing the butternut squash from whole then it will take a little longer (see above) .
Start by preheating the oven to 220C/200C. Place the sliced onions butternut squash and apple into your baking tray with a little olive oil and season well. Then roast for 20 minutes.
Whilst your veg are cooking you may want to pan fry your sausages to give them a little colour before adding them in step 3.
Next, remove the vegetables from the oven, add the lentils and stir through with the vegetable stock and most of your chopped sage. Place the sausages on top and cook for a further 20 minutes turning the sausages halfway through.
Serve with the remainder of the chopped sage and some fresh greens.
More Easy & Delicious Diabetic Recipes for BALANCED Blood SugARS:
Diabetes Note
This is a great lower carb-count, all-in-one meal. The lentils and butternut squash are full of fibre and help to make this a super filling dinner that you may find you don’t need to add any additional carbs.
However, we tend to and usually have a smaller portion of potatoes, either boiled roasted or mashed, which are all delicious serving options. We also have a big side of greens which make the plate look more inviting!
Carb Counting
The overall carb count for a serving of this Vegetarian sausage and butternut squash traybake based on the ingredients we would count (apples):
Raw Apples = approx 360g – 35.4g of carbs
Divide this by the serving size, 4 – 35.4/4 = 9g of carb per serving
However usually with this dish, I tend to pick out some apples when I am serving for the carb counting plate and weigh this separately to ensure more accurate carb counting.
This is just an approximation based on the ingredients we need to count for, but yours may be different. As always you know best what you need to count.
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Vegetarian Sausage and Butternut Squash Traybake
This flavoursome veggie sausage traybake with rich seasonal flavours makes a perfect heartwarming midweek dinner
4
servings10
minutes40
minutes50
minutesKeep the screen of your device on
Ingredients
2 medium onions, quartered
600 g butternut squash, chopped into chunks
3 medium apples, cut into wedges
1 pouch/tin lentils
300 ml vegetable stock
2 tbsp fresh sage, chopped or roughly torn
12 vegan or vegetarian sausages
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 220C/200C Fan
- Place the sliced onions butternut squash and apple into your baking tray with a little olive oil and season well. Then roast for 20 minutes.
- Remove from the oven, add the lentils and stir through with the vegetable stock and most of your chopped sage. Place the sausages on top and cook for a further 20 minutes turning the sausages halfway through.
- Serve with the remainder of the chopped sage and some fresh greens.
Tips and Notes
- Follow the cooking instructions on the packet for your sausages – See notes above
- Whilst your veg are cooking you may want to pan fry your sausages to give them a little colour before adding them in step 3
- Diabetes note – The lentils and butternut squash are full of fibre and help to make this a super filling dinner that you may find you don’t want additional carbs However, we normally have a smaller portion of potatoes, boiled roasted or mashed which are all delicious serving options
- Any leftovers can be stored in an airtight container and then frozen or kept in the fridge and reheated for a couple of days
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