Extreme makeover: Sausage casserole

The way we cook sausages and what we add to them has a huge influence on their health impact.

Follow these tips for a tastier and healthier version of this family favourite.

• Choose lean sausages: Venison sausages are traditionally lower in fat than pork or beef, but butchers are working hard to produce lower fat versions with all meat types. Check the labels; look for less than 10% fat.
• Dry-fry, grill or bake: Sausages have enough fat in them so you don’t need to add fat in the cooking process.
• Drain sausages on absorbent paper after cooking: This mops up any fat that comes out during cooking. The fat in sausages is predominantly saturated fat.  The more of it we can get rid of, the happier our hearts will be.
• Add extra vegetables: Vegetables are rich in antioxidants, vitamins and fibre; the more we eat the better.  Add them to everything you can; casseroles, meatballs, meatloaves, hamburgers etc.
• Add pulses: Chilli beans, kidney beans, lentils and chickpeas are rich in so many nutrients, very low in fat and very cheap! Get into the habit of adding them to recipes where you can. In this recipe they provide additional protein, fibre and lots of other useful nutrients and have the effect of ‘diluting’ the fat provided by the sausages.
• Boil sausages before use: By pricking and boiling the sausages before you use them, you are allowing some of the fat to melt out into the boiling liquid.  The more fat you get rid of at this stage, the less you eat!

Try our HFG sausage casserole recipe.

How they compare

Traditional sausage casserole
Total kJ per serve = 2010
Total fat per serve = 38.7g (13.4g saturated)

HFG sausage casserole
Total kJ per serve = 1855
Total fat per serve = 15.6g (6.8g saturated)