Sausage & Cannellini Bean Stew

I love creating hearty family meals for my babies and this dish is perfect comfort food, especially during these winter months! Full of vegetables and protein, this meal is a great way of getting nutritious food into my children’s diet and getting them used to a mixture of tastes and textures. I am very lucky that both my children love their food and are rarely fussy when it comes to trying anything new.

This recipe was created by using what was left in my fridge the day before my weekly food shop. I don’t like to waste food, especially fresh vegetables, so I love throwing things together and creating healthy meals for my little family to enjoy.

In this meal I added a can of cannellini beans, as I always have some in my store cupboard to add to dishes like this one. Growing up my mum would often cook a Turkish dish called Fasulye, which is where I got the inspiration for this recipe. She would always use cannellini, which is very nutritious and a great way of adding healthy beans into your diet, as it is high in protein and fibre. This is great for your overall health, skin and blood sugar. We should all be eating different types of beans three to four times a week, and they are a great substitute for meat. I have included beef in this recipe but if you are vegetarian or vegan you could make this dish without the meat or substitute with Quorn meat instead.

My children loved and approved this recipe so here I am, sharing my family friendly Sausage & Cannellini Bean Stew.

Preparation Time – 10 minutes

Cooking Time – around 35-45 minutes (depending on whether you use sausages or not and how you cook them)

INGREDIENTS

(Serves 3-4)

Olive Oil

6 Beef Sausages (For Vegetarian or Vegan diets use Quorn Sausages or add other vegetables to substitute)

2 small white Onions, diced

1 Garlic clove, finely diced

2 Carrots, peeled and chopped

1 green Bell Pepper, roughly chopped

400g can Cannellini Beans (I always get the ones in the can that come in water)

200g can Chopped Tomatoes

200ml Vegetable Boullion Stock

2 Spring Onions, chopped to serve

METHOD

Preheat the oven to the cooking guidelines of the sausages or grill/fry them and set them aside

While the sausages are cooking, in a casserole pot add a few tablespoons of olive oil over a medium to high heat, add the garlic and onions and fry until they are soft and starting to brown

Turn the heat down to a medium heat and add the carrots and peppers and fry for 5-10 minutes

Add the tomatoes and the stock and stir well

Drain the water from the cannellini beans and add to the pot, stir well

Chop up the cooked sausages and add to the casserole and stir

Leave uncovered and simmer for around 15 minutes, or until your casserole reaches a creamy consistency

Serve with some basmati rice or some steamed broccoli and sprinkle over the spring onions

Enjoy!

Do you like cooking casseroles during the cold months? What do you like to put in yours?

Looking for some more family friendly recipes? Check them out here!