Years ago I made Nature’s Candy, which was a deliciously sweet and savory oven roasted side dish that was so good I’d almost call it a dessert. Well, I decided to take that amazing flavor combination and turn it into a sheet pan dinner. I added some sweet Italian sausage, a red onion for a slightly more savory twist, and a few more fall-inspired herbs. This Oven Roasted Autumn Medley has all the best flavors of the season in one sheet pan!
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How to Serve Oven Roasted Autumn Medley
I served this sheet pan mix with a side of mashed potatoes, but you could also serve the roasted sausage and vegetables over a bed of greens for a fall-inspired salad. Or just serve it on its own with a nice piece of crusty bread and some butter on the side. :)
Can I Use a Different Sausage?
Yes, if you don’t like or can’t get sweet Italian sausage, you can use a maple or apple flavored turkey sausage in its place. Any type of sausage with those fall vibes will work great!
Other Vegetable Options
This dish is also pretty flexible when it comes to the vegetables. You can swap out the sweet potato or just add some butternut squash, acorn squash, or pumpkin. All of those hard, slightly sweet winter squashes work great. Carrots, with their subtle sweetness, are another great option!
Tips for Roasting Vegetables
One of the goals when roasting vegetables in the oven is to get that nice caramelization on the edges. The caramelized edges are sweeter and have a deep, intense flavor. To get this nice browning action, make sure your vegetables are not too crowded on the baking sheet. They should be in a single layer. If the vegetables are piled too high on top of each other the steam will get trapped and the vegetables will essentially steam in their juices instead of getting that nice caramelization.
So, if you decide to double this recipe, make sure to use two sheet pans!
Oven Roasted Autumn Medley
Servings 2Ingredients
- 1 red onion ($0.44)
- 1 lb. sweet potato ($1.07)
- 2 apples ($0.76)
- 8 oz. sweet Italian sausage ($1.40)
- 2 Tbsp olive oil ($0.32)
- 1 tsp dried basil ($0.10)
- 1 tsp rubbed sage ($0.10)
- 1 tsp dried rosemary ($0.10)
- 1/2 tsp salt ($0.02)
- 1/4 tsp freshly cracked black pepper ($0.02)
- 1 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley (optional) ($0.11)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Core and dice the apples into 1-inch pieces. Peel and dice the sweet potato and red onion into 1-inch pieces.
- Place the chopped apples, onions, sweet potatoes, and Italian sausage links on a large 9×13-inch baking sheet. Drizzle the olive oil over top, then add the basil, sage, rosemary, salt, and freshly cracked pepper. Toss until everything is well coated in oil and herbs.
- Transfer the baking sheet to the preheated oven and roast for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, remove the baking sheet and use tongs to transfer the sausage to a cutting board. Slice the sausage into medallions, then add them back to the baking sheet. Return the baking sheet to the oven.
- Roast the autumn medley for another 20 minutes, or until it reaches your desired level of browning. Top with chopped parsley for garnish after roasting, then serve.
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Equipment
- Enamelware Sheet Pan
- Chef’s Knife
- White Cutting Boards
- Measuring Cups Spoons
Nutrition
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How to Make Oven Roasted Autumn Medley – Step by Step Photos
For this recipe I used two sweet Italian sausage links, one sweet potato (about 1 lb.), two apples, one red onion, 2 Tbsp olive oil, 1 tsp dried basil, 1 tsp dried sage, 1 tsp dried rosemary, ½ tsp salt, and ¼ tsp pepper. Preheat the oven to 400ºF.
Core and dice the apples, peel and dice the sweet potato, and peel and dice the red onion (all 1-inch pieces). Place the apple, sweet potato, onion, and sausage links on a large sheet pan. Drizzle with 2 Tbsp olive oil, then sprinkle the herbs and spices over top (basil, sage, rosemary, salt, and pepper).
Toss to coat everything really well in oil and herbs. Make sure everything is spread out on the sheet pan as evenly as possible.
Roast the autumn medley for 20 minutes, then remove it from the oven. The sausage will be about half-cooked at this point, but firm enough to slice into medallions. Carefully remove the sausage with tongs to a cutting board, slice, then return the slices to the sheet pan. Return the sheet pan to the oven.
Roast the autumn medley for another 20 minutes, or until it achieves the level of browning that you like. Top with a tablespoon of chopped parsley, if desired (just for garnish).
Serve immediately and enjoy! This mix also works great for meal prep!
This is really good with smoked pork chops from my local butcher! I used a gala apple and a granny smith apple.
Recently made this for my boyfriend’s family. They LOVED it. Now Grandma wants the recipe (do I hear wedding bells, lol?!)
I made a few tweaks based on my kitchen settings:
1. Dish stayed in for a total of 1hr & 15 min; I like the crispiness as well as the color variation of the different foods.
2. As a side, I added wild long grain rice. One word: Heavenly
3. Lastly, I have an insatiable sweet tooth, so (for my plate only) I added a dollup of honey. Pretty I died and went to Heaven all. over. again.
This recipe is a HIT. That’s Beth!
I have Butterball pre-cooked turkey sausage. I think I bought it from the section where they have all the grill-able meats like hotdogs and those sort of sausages. Should I add it somewhere near the end, like the person above? I may just play it by ear. I may add it at first and then see where it is 20 minutes in. If its done, I can just take it out, right?
Yep. I think 15-20 minutes should be good to heat it through and yes, you can always take it out once it’s finished and let the rest continue to cook. :)
This is so satisfying and delicious! I kept it really simple by skipping the onion and apples and using a few different herbs like cilantro. I bought mild Italian flavored sausage from the farmer’s market and this meal was a hit! I think this would make a great dish for a brunch, potluck, or even a holiday celebration.
Definitely a budgetbytes week in my house…we had the autumn medley for supper tonight and after that I made the Italian Wonderpot (again!) for a few meals for the boyfriend and I this upcoming week.
This was awesome! So quick and easy to make and it was delicious on this early Fall evening.
Thanks for making your recipes so easy.
I’ve already made this several times. It’s so easy and good, and I love how easy it is to substitute different vegetables. Sometimes I substitute one of the sweet potatoes with two small red potatoes just to make the overall dish less sweet. I like mixing up the herbs used too. Sometimes I serve it with buttery noodles. I have fed this to people who are generally suspicious of vegetables, and even they enjoy it.
I made all my housemates jealous of my meal when I made this. Super quick, super cheap, super good! Getting a fresh bread roll for this meal was a great idea as well.
Turkey sausage is not a thing here, so I used chicken thighs. Granny Smith apples worked perfectly – I used one large one.
did you cook the chicken thighs exactly as the recipe describes cooking the sausages, or did you add them later into the cook time? do you flip them midway through thte cook time? (sorry noob cook here…) thanks!
Very tasty! I’ll keep this recipe on hand for No-Cook Wednesdays (yes, that’s a thing in my house). It’s close enough to effortless to qualify. Thanks!
Made this tonight and it was so very delicious!! Thanks for the great recipe!
Literally just finished eating this and it was awesome! I made a few tweaks according to my budget and personal preferences (green apple instead of red, yellow onion instead of red, chicken instead of sausage, and thyme in place of rosemary). With those tweaks the recipe was less than 5 bucks for me (I shop at Trader Joe’s). I can certainly dig that.
Oh and I had toasted garlic challah on the side (i.e. garlic bread using challah rolls).
I made the leftovers into a scramble with some cheddar cheese, garlic salt and pepper. It was delicious!
I made this last night and it vanished, completely, without a bite left over. It was fantastic! I added mushrooms, baby carrots, and fingerling potatoes but otherwise followed the recipe to the letter. I will definitely be making this again, possibly this week.
DANG. So I made this last night for my family, and my husband and I hardly got any after our 3 yr old twins got through with it! Even my 10 mo old went to town on the vegetables. This was amazing. But next time, I will double it. :)
I made this the other night with chicken apple sausage and it turned out so wonderful!! It’s not lasting very long:) And it was super easy!