Cowboy supper: A slow-cooked sausage and bean casserole to warm you up

Lou Robbie’s comforting sausage and bean casserole is a cosy, budget-friendly dinner that’s made for slow cookers, batch cooking and freezing for future meals

Hearty, smoky and packed with veg, this sausage and bean casserole is the ultimate winter warmer – and it freezes beautifully too (Ella Miller)

“This a hearty, tasty and comforting dish, ideal for the cowboys and cowgirls in your life!” says chef Lou Robbie. “Beans and sausages are the perfect pair for a tasty midweek supper, and it’s also a budget-friendly meal if you’re trying to keep food costs low.

“Imagine a cold, wintry Wednesday when it’s damp and dreary and everyone’s coming home to a warm house with a cosy fire. The first smell they get as they open the door is this comforting slow-cooker casserole . . . perfect.”

‘Cowboy supper’ sausage and bean casserole

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

1-2 tbsp cooking oil

6 sausages, cut into quarters (450g)

2 onions, finely chopped

4 carrots, peeled and cut into 2cm cubes

1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cut into 2cm cubes

2 tsp smoked paprika

1 bay leaf

1 × 400g tin of chopped tomatoes

1 tbsp tomato purée

600ml hot beef stock

1 × 400g tin of cannellini beans, drained

Chopped fresh parsley, to serve

Method:

Lou Robbie’s ‘Make & Freeze’ is full of practical, family-friendly recipes designed for busy weeks and cold-weather comfort (Penguin Michael Joseph)

1. Heat the oil in a frying pan and brown the sausages all over, then put them into the slow cooker. This step is important because the sausages won’t brown in the slow cooker.

If you have time, brown the onions in the frying pan too, as this will give a better flavour to the finished dish.

2. Add all the rest of the ingredients except the cannellini beans and parsley to the slow cooker, and cook either on high for 3 hours or on low for 6 hours.

3. Add the drained beans 20 minutes before the end of the cooking time. Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed.

4. Serve with crusty bread and a sprinkling of fresh parsley.

Storage: Once cooked and cooled, store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.

To freeze: To save space in your freezer, portion the cooked and cooled bean casserole and freeze in labelled ziplock bags for up to 3 months.

To defrost: Defrost overnight in the fridge. Reheat in a pot or in the microwave until piping hot.

Recipe from ‘Make & Freeze’ by Lou Robbie (Penguin Michael Joseph, £22).