It’s never been easier to make a healthy one-pot meal than with this Sweet Potato and Sausage Quinoa Skillet! Protein-packed quinoa is tossed with sweet potatoes, kale, and seasonings, and sausage links for a filling meal that’s full of sage and herb flavor. Now you can have your quinoa bowl recipe ready to enjoy without all of the post-dinner cleanup!
Sweet Potato and Sausage Quinoa Bowl
One-pot and one-skillet meals are an absolute lifesaver when weeknights get a little hectic. This Sausage and Quinoa Bowl is no exception.
What makes it even better is when you know you’re fueling your body with super good-for-you ingredients, like Aidell’s chicken and apple sausage, quinoa, sweet potatoes, and kale. You’ll appreciate the health benefits after a long day!
If you want to make it all from scratch, whip up chicken apple sausage, Instant Pot quinoa, and roasted sweet potatoes at home!
It’s super easy to meal prep these ingredients ahead so you can have it ready to eat in very little time.
Table of Contents
Ingredients
- Sweet Potatoes. These brightly colored orange potatoes not only give a wonderful color but also a subtle sweetness to this dish. (There are a ton more Sweet Potato Recipes to explore, too!)
- Sweet Onion. A red or white onion can also be used.
- Sausage. The inspiration behind this recipe actually came after eating a link of Aidell’s Chicken & Apple sausage. It has a touch of sweet from the apple, a nice earthy flavor from some herbs and spices, and is also free of antibiotics and artificial ingredients! If you have trouble finding this particular chicken sausage, you can always substitute with another type from the grocery store (Applegate also makes a great chicken and apple sausage!) or use regular pork sausage or Italian sausage instead.
- Quinoa. There are numerous types of quinoa ranging from tri-color, red, or the traditional white quinoa. While they all tout loads of nutritional benefits, the tri-color quinoa definitely is the most eye-catching to use in this recipe. However, if you can only find white quinoa, it will still taste amazing!
- Kale. Feel free to substitute with other greens such as spinach or collard greens.
- Sage. Ground sage gives an earthy flavor to this dish. If you must, you can substitute dried rosemary.
How to Make a Sausage and Quinoa Bowl
Please see the recipe card below for more detailed ingredient amounts.
1. Cook the Sausage
Pour 1 tablespoon of olive oil into a large pan or skillet over medium heat, then carefully add the cut sausage. Cook the sausage for 3 to 4 minutes on each side. You want to see a nice sear.
Remove the sausage from the skillet with a slotted spoon and set on a paper towel-lined plate.
2. Sauté the Veggies
Warm the rest of the oil in the skillet. Add the diced red onion and cook for 2 to 3 minutes.
Stir in the minced garlic and sauté for another minute.
Push the onion and garlic to the side of the skillet. Add the sweet potatoes in and cook for 5 to 6 minutes, still over medium heat. It’s ok if they’re not cooked completely through, yet. (If you like these, you should check out this Skillet Sweet Potatoes recipe next!)
3. Add Quinoa, Season, and Simmer
Carefully stir in the quinoa, broth, salt, paprika, and ground sage. Let the mixture come to a boil, then reduce the heat to low.
Cover the skillet and let it simmer for 20 to 25 minutes. The quinoa should be fluffy and cooked through.
Recipe Tip
No matter what color quinoa you get, make sure you RINSE and DRAIN the quinoa thoroughly through a fine mesh strainer before cooking for the best results.
4. Finish it Off
Stir the sausage back into the fluffy quinoa mixture, and add the chopped kale. Cook for another 2 to 3 minutes, just until the sausage is heated through. This all-in-one main dish is ready to enjoy.
FAQs
If you think you are going to have some leftovers, store the quinoa mixture in the refrigerator before adding in the kale. Add in the kale just before serving.
This recipe will last in an airtight container up to 3-4 days in the refrigerator.
Yes! You can freeze this recipe for up to 4-6 months. However, do not add the kale until it has been defrosted for the best texture.
Recipe Tips
- Make it plant-based. Simply leave out the sausage or substitute for vegan sausage and use a vegetable broth to make this vegan or vegetarian.
- Substitution, please. Butternut squash would also taste great in this recipe.
- Feeling herby? Dried rosemary or thyme will substitute well.
- Picky eater? Add the kale in after serving them their portion.
More Easy One-Pot Meals
You can’t beat the lack of cleanup (and flavor!) from each of these one-skillet meal recipes.
- BBQ Chicken, Sweet Potatoes, and Broccoli
- Sweet Potato Hash with Eggs
- Sausage and Chicken Cajun Jambalaya
- Cilantro Lime Chicken Thighs
Other Healthy Quinoa Recipes
With quinoa as the base of a hearty meal, these recipes are perfect for a busy weeknight.
- Sweet Potato Black Bean Burger with Quinoa
- Black Bean & Quinoa Stuffed Bell Peppers
- Summer Vegetable Quinoa Salad
- Quinoa Tabbouleh
- Mexican Quinoa Salad
- Thai Peanut Quinoa Salad
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Sweet Potato and Sausage Quinoa Bowl
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Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp. olive oil
- 6 oz. chicken apple sausage cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1 small sweet onion finely diced
- 2 cloves garlic crushed
- 1 medium sweet potato cut into ½-inch cubes
- 1 ¼ cup tri-color quinoa rinsed and drained
- 2 ¼ cup chicken broth*
- ¾ tsp. salt to taste
- ¼ tsp. paprika
- ½ tsp. sage ground
- 2 cups kale finely chopped
Instructions
- Cook the Sausage: In a large skillet over medium heat add 1 tablespoon of oil with the cut sausage. Cook for 3-4 minutes on each side or until sausage is seared. Remove sausage from the skillet and place on a paper towel-lined plate to drain.2 Tbsp. olive oil, 6 oz. chicken apple sausage
- Sauté the Veggies: Add remaining oil to the skillet with diced red onion and saute over medium heat for 2-3 minutes. Stir in crushed garlic and continue cooking over medium heat for 1 minute.1 small sweet onion, 2 cloves garlic
- Cook the Sweet Potato: Push onion and garlic to one side of the skillet and add in cubed sweet potato. Cook for 5-6 minutes over medium heat, or until potatoes begin to soften. (They do not need to be completely cooked through yet!)1 medium sweet potato
- Add Quinoa and Simmer: Mix in quinoa, broth, salt, paprika, and ground sage. Bring mixture to a boil, cover, and reduce heat to low. Simmer quinoa for 20-25, or until fluffy and cooked through.1 ¼ cup tri-color quinoa, 2 ¼ cup chicken broth*, ¾ tsp. salt, ¼ tsp. paprika, ½ tsp. sage
- Finish and Serve: Add sausage back to the skillet along with the chopped kale. Cook over medium heat for 2-3 minutes, or until sausage is heated through. Serve and enjoy!2 cups kale
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Notes
- Aidell’s has the best chicken apple sausage and is what was used in this recipe.
- Water can be used in place of the chicken broth along with 1 teaspoon of “Better than bouillon” chicken base.
- Make sure you RINSE and DRAIN the quinoa thoroughly through a fine mesh strainer for the best results.
- Make it work. Simply leave out the sausage or substitute for vegan sausage and use a vegetable broth to make this vegan or vegetarian.
- Substitution, please. Butternut squash would also taste great in this recipe.
- Feeling herby? Dried rosemary or thyme will substitute well.
- Picky eater? Add the kale in after serving them their portion.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This was such a great recipe and 1 pan meal!
Yay! So happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe, Yakira! I love one-pan meals. Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a comment and rating!
I really enjoyed making this. Thank you.
Yay! So happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe, Anna! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a comment and rating!
Made this for my family and 3/4 loved it. The 4th isn’t a huge fan of quinoa or chicken sausage. The rest of us enjoyed the savory/sweet flavoring. I kept all measurements the same except I used 1tsp salt instead of 3/4tsp. For fun, I added chopped apple (Kid #2 loved the apple). Thanks for sharing a healthy, flavorful recipe. I will be making this again.
So happy it was a hit with most of your family. Adding apple is a great idea. Thanks for leaving a comment and rating.
This is one of the best recipes I’ve ever made. My bf and I just recently started an all plant based diet and he was worried there would be no flavor. Well he’s not worried after this dish. I used beyond meat sausage, added black beans but kept the rest as written. Next time I’ll add more kale and add my sweet potatoes later since they almost disintegrated. Thanks for a great recipe.
Yay, Denise! So happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe so much. You can also try cutting the sweet potatoes a little bigger if you want to keep them chunkier. Thanks for your comment and rating 🙂
Loved this meal! My kiddos gobbled seconds up, too! Thank you.
You’re so welcome, Jeanna! Happy to hear the littles enjoyed it. Thanks for your comment and rating! 🙂
Sounds amazing! Can this recipe be doubled if I want to bring it as a dish to a holiday party? Assuming I would need to use a bigger pot. Also might add some mushrooms and/or dried cranberries.
What a great idea, Sam!! Yes, this can absolutely be doubled. You might need to increase the cook time slightly depending on the circumference and depth of the dish, but it should still turn out great! And I bet the cranberries will taste delicious in here. Happy holidays!
Served on bed of spinach instead of stirring in kale. Added mushrooms (8oz.) and bell pepper to make it go further. Delicious, Fall-colored meal!
What a great idea for additions, Hannah! I bet they tasted great. Thanks so much for the rating and comment! 🙂