Economical One-Pot Sausage and Bean Stew with Vegetables

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Looking for economical comfort food that fills you up but doesn’t break the budget? This one-pot sausage and bean stew is full of vegetables too.

sausage and bean stew

The best recipes are the ones that you can vary according to the ingredients you have in the kitchen.

Rather than being prescriptive, good recipes are a guide. A suggestion. Inspiration for how to use up what you have on hand. Or stretch a small amount of food for many.

Stews are great because they are infinitely adaptable. Switch out the protein, change up the veggies, experiment with the herbs and spices and you’ve got something completely different.

This particular sausage and bean stew recipe uses inexpensive ingredients and stretches them to feed many and satisfies as all good comfort food should. And like all good stews, you can switch out ingredients for what you have in your fridge.

We are a family of four and get two meals out of the recipe below. If you want to stretch the meal even further for very little extra money, add another tin of beans, some more veg and a little more stock or water.

Substitution Suggestions

Like any stew, this sausage and bean recipe is very flexible. Experiment with the vegetables you have on hand and different types of sausages, depending on what’s on sale.

For the sausages: Use beef, pork or chicken sausages in this dish. If you use flavoured sausages, that will change up the flavour and you may not need the thyme and paprika that are in this recipe.

For the beans: The recipe calls for cannellini beans but any bean will work. White beans, butter beans, navy beans or kidney beans are fine.

For the vegetables: Any vegetables you have on hand work well in this dish. The other day, capsicum (bell peppers) were over $4 each! Mushrooms were less than $5 a kilo (which is cheap where I am from), so out with the capsicum, in with the mushrooms.

For the herbs and spices: You can use any herbs and spices you have on hand. Don’t have thyme? Mixed herbs, Italian herbs or fresh herbs are great substitutes. You can also leave out the paprika, used smoked paprika, or add chilli if you like it hot.

You can add flavour cheaply and without needing any extra herbs or spices in the pantry by using flavoured sausages. Or you could add flavoured tinned tomatoes, like these home-brand tinned tomatoes with onion, garlic and basil that are only 30 cents more than the plain home-brand variety. I got the idea of buying flavoured tomatoes to save money from the YouTube channel See Mindy Mom, where Mindy shares lots of very frugal but tasty recipes (I’ve tried some of them, and they are good).

Best Sides for Sausage and Bean Stew

This is a full meal on its own, with plenty of veg, protein, and healthy carbs with beans. So you don’t need to serve it with any side.

However, if you want to stretch the meal further, a side will make this meal feed even more people.

You can serve it with some crusty bread and butter, toast, creamy polenta (I like to cook polenta in the rice cooker, which makes it so easy), couscous, or quinoa.

Mashed potato is also a great hit. I like this tasty garlic mashed potato, or you can further increase the vegetable quotient by making mashed potato with cabbage.

I won’t lie though, there are busy nights where I’ve defrosted and reheated leftover stew and served it with reconstituted mash you buy in the packet (I know, don’t judge). It’s a quick and easy way to get a healthy and easy meal on the table fast.

Freezing Guide

You can refrigerate leftovers for three days and have for a cheap and healthy lunch. Or you can freeze the leftovers for a quick and easy reheat meal that’s packed with veg! Cooking large portions and freezing is a super easy way to batch cook and fill the freezer with meals ready to reheat.

To freeze, transfer to an airtight container or large sandwich bag to freeze flat, label the container, and cool completely before freezing for up to three months.

To reheat, fully thaw and then reheat on the stove or in the microwave until piping hot, making sure the sausage pieces are hot the whole way through.

Yield: 6-8

Sausage and Bean Stew

sausage and bean stew with mash

Looking for frugal comfort food? Sausage and bean stew will fill you up without draining your budget. It's full of veggies so healthy too.

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes

Ingredients

  • 8 thin beef or pork sausages
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 1 clove of garlic, crushed
  • 1 carrot, diced
  • 2 sticks celery, diced
  • 1 capsicum, diced
  • I cup frozen peas
  • 1 Tbsp tomato paste
  • 1 tsp dried thyme
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 1x440g tin tomatoes, chopped
  • 1/2 cup of chicken stock or water
  • 1x440g tin cannellini beans, drained & rinsed

Instructions

  1. In a large frypan over medium heat, fry sausages until cooked through. Remove to a plate and slice thinly.
  2. Add a little olive oil to the pan and sweat the onions for a minute or two until soft. Add the garlic, carrot, celery and capsicum and fry over medium heat for a few minutes.
  3. Stir in the tomato paste, thyme and paprika, then add the tinned tomatoes, stock or water, peas, cannellini beans and sausages. Let simmer for 15 minutes or until thickened slightly and the vegetables are cooked through.

Notes

Serving suggestion: serve with soft polenta, crusty bread or mashed potato.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

8

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 327Total Fat: 16gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 79mgSodium: 251mgCarbohydrates: 16gFiber: 4gSugar: 3gProtein: 29g

Nutritional information is calculated automatically using the Nutritionix database. Nutrition information can vary for a recipe based on factors such as precision of measurements, brands, ingredient freshness, serving size or the source of nutrition data. We strive to keep the information as accurate as possible but make no warranties regarding its accuracy. We encourage readers to make their own calculations based on the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.

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Looking for a warming dessert to enjoy after your sausage and bean stew? Why not try a frugal and easy homemade apple turnover.

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