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!
Love this dish, strikes a great balance between delicious, easy, and nutritious. Bonus is that the ingredients all keep for a long time so I can buy them a week or so ahead.
I have a devil of a time getting the apples right though- they seem to turn to mush most of the time.
I used a 13 oz turkey kielbasa and added it halfway through when stirring (already sliced), and it was perfectly roasted at the end. I also 8 oz carrots which made 4 big servings. Served with the slow cooker mashed potatoes recipe as suggested.
Made this for dinner tonight and it was fantastic. Only change I made was to add halved brussels sprouts, just for a little green. Everything came out delicious. I served it with couscous and it made a very filling meal.
This was nice, but it needed some more green. I agree with some of the other comments that it would benefits from from brussels sprouts or something like that!
I added brussels sprouts to the pan and used plant-based sausage, I think my oven went beyond 400 for a while and then the vegetables came out a bit dry, but I added some whole grain mustard and a splash of balsamic vinaigrette. Delicious!
Amazing recipe requiring no greater skill than the ability to chop vegetables…in other words, exactly my style! Turned out really savory and tasty! Five stars :)
Hi Beth, I’m looking for a recipe similar to this one that you posted years ago (maybe 2015-2016?), that I can’t find anymore. I make it every fall! It was called something like oven roasted root vegetables and included rutabaga and turnips (as suggestions). Do you still have it on your site?
We always keep pdf copies of anything that is removed from the site, so I can email that to the address you used to register this comment. :)
I tried this with a plant-based sausage and it was awesome! So tasty and filling. Great way to make a little bit of protein go a long way.
My whole family loved this sheet pan recipe. We especially liked how in the second half of cooking the sausage fat flavored and basted the veggies. We had it with mashed potatoes.
I could imagine making this again with other fall vegetables like acorn squash and Brussels sprouts.
So tasty with mashed potatoes, I added some quartered Brussels sprouts to mine to add some extra green.
This was great inspiration for the two sausages I had stashed in the freezer and the sweet potato I picked up over the weekend. I didn’t have sage, and I don’t love rosemary, so I used 2 tbs Penzey’s Mural of Flavor (kind of like a Mrs. Dash), salt & pepper. I served once over salad greens and added some chopped baby beets. Drizzled with a little balsamic vinaigrette and goat cheese crumbles. SO GOOD!
Sarah, thank you for posting this! My CSA had spinach and a local herbed goat cheese in it this week, and I made this recipe and served it as you suggested, over spinach with balsamic glaze and goat cheese crumbles. It was SO DELICIOUS! This was an excellent serving suggestion!
Do you have a recommended type of apple? I usually have Fujis or Honeycrisps in the house.
I think both of those would work fine. :) I think anything on the spectrum of sweet to sweet-tart will be good. I just wouldn’t go with something totally tart, like a Granny Smith.
I use Fuji and they are delicious. I’m thinking of making this with apples only as a side dish.
Yum! Had no sweet potatoes in the house, but a small butternut squash stood in. I also subbed chicken sausages, and added half of a diced red bell pepper with some peeled garlic cloves. With fresh basil, lemon thyme, and rosemary in pots on my patio, I was good to go. This was SO delicious! Thanks!
I’m going to make this for Canadian Thanksgiving this weekend. I’d like to use all the fresh herbs from my garden (while I can before the frost arrives) – if I’m using fresh herbs instead of dried, when should I add them? At the end so they retain their freshness, or at the beginning so the flavours cook into the veggies?
I also used fresh herbs and added everything at the beginning, but used some fresh chopped basil and thyme at the end for a garnish. I didn’t need to cook for the full 40 minutes, as everything was done after slicing the sausages and returning the pan to the oven for a 10 minute finish, so 30 minutes total. 400F is a pretty hot oven. You could add the fresh herbs then, although rosemary will hold up for the entire cooking.
This was delicious! Thanks Janet for the fresh herbs tip – that approach worked well. I added in some fresh beets and carrots from my garden, in addition to the sweet potato, red onion, and apple. I cooked at 375 instead of 400 for 40-45 mins. Wish I could post a picture to show everyone how colourful it was!
I love oven roasted autumn medley recipe. the flavor of oregano is so yum.
This was so delicious!! I doubled the sausage and the sweet potato. Also, didn’t have rosemary and used thyme instead. Thanks for the recipe! Will definitely make again!!