Potato and Sausage Casserole

Creamy, cheesy, and savory with sweet and hot Italian sausage.

By
Elise Bauer
Elise Bauer
Elise Bauer
Elise founded Simply Recipes in 2003 and led the site until 2019. She has an MA in Food Research from Stanford University.
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Updated January 13, 2025
Elise Bauer
Potato Spinach Sausage Casserole
Elise Bauer

We are constantly trying out new recipes here at Casa Elise, and even jokingly refer to our kitchen as the "test kitchen". However, many recipes never make it to this site because often they just aren't good enough. In fact, some are downright awful.

When we do find a good one, we declare it a "winner" and often make it again so I can get a good photo. This is one of those recipes. Not a big one for casseroles, I was surprised at how tasty this Potato and Sausage Casserole was.

It comes from the charter issue of a magazine put out by the folks at Cook's Illustrated, called Cook's Country, a magazine devoted to home cooking. Our changes were to make the casserole for four people instead of eight and to use both sweet and hot Italian sausage instead of the kind of sausage you slice.

If you ever have a hard time convincing a family member to eat their spinach, this would be the recipe to use!

creamy potato and sausage casserole
Elise Bauer

More Tasty Dinner Casseroles

Potato and Sausage Casserole

Total Time 0 mins
Servings 4 servings
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Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 pounds russet potatoes (about 3 medium sized potatoes), peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks

  • 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil

  • 8 ounces fresh spinach, washed, dried, and stemmed

  • 1/2 pound Italian sausage (we like 1/2 sweet and 1/2 hot Italian sausage), out of casing, broken into small pieces

  • 1 large red onion (about 3/4 pound), peeled and sliced thin

  • 1 small clove garlic, minced

  • 1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus extra to grease the baking dish

  • 1/3 cup heavy cream

  • 1 tablespoon cider vinegar

  • Dash nutmeg

  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper

  • 1 cup shredded Gruyere or Swiss cheese

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 400°F:

    Butter a 6x9 or 8x8 inch baking dish.

  2. Boil the potatoes until tender:

    Place potato chunks in a large pot and add enough cold water to cover by 1 inch. Bring the potatoes to boil over high heat, then lower heat to a simmer. Cook until potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes.

  3. Cook the spinach:

    Heat 1 teaspoon of olive oil in a large skillet on medium high heat. Add the spinach and cook, using tongs to turn the spinach leaves over in the pan, until wilted, about 3 minutes. Remove from pan and let cool. Wrap in paper towels and squeeze out liquid. Roughly chop the spinach.

  4. Cook the Italian sausage:

    Wipe any remaining moisture out of the skillet. Add the Italian sausage to the pan and cook on medium-high heat until lightly browned, about 5 to 6 minutes. Transfer the sausage to a bowl. Leave the fat in the pan.

  5. Cook the red onions and garlic:

    You'll need 1 tablespoon of fat in the pan. So if the sausage has produced that much fat, great, if not, add more olive oil until you have 1 tablespoon of fat in the pan. Heat on medium high and add the thinly sliced red onions. Cook until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook a minute more. Add the onions and garlic to the bowl with the sausage.

  6. Mash the potatoes with butter, cream, vinegar, seasonings:

    When the potatoes are done cooking, drain them and return them to the pot, and mash them with butter, cream, vinegar, nutmeg, salt and pepper.

  7. Add the spinach and half the cheese:

    Stir the spinach and 1/2 cup of the cheese into the potato mixture.

  8. Bake:

    Transfer potato-spinach mixture to prepared baking dish. Top with sausage-onion mixture and sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup of cheese. Bake until potatoes are very hot and cheese is golden and bubbly, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
631 Calories
36g Fat
52g Carbs
26g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4
Amount per serving
Calories 631
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 36g 46%
Saturated Fat 18g 90%
Cholesterol 91mg 30%
Sodium 782mg 34%
Total Carbohydrate 52g 19%
Dietary Fiber 6g 23%
Total Sugars 8g
Protein 26g
Vitamin C 35mg 174%
Calcium 348mg 27%
Iron 4mg 25%
Potassium 1614mg 34%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. In cases where multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.