Chicken Sausage Sheet Pan and Polenta
Published Dec 05, 2024
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You’ll love this simple, rustic Chicken Sausage Sheet Pan recipe for an easy dinner full of Mediterranean-inspired flavor! Savory chicken sausages are roasted alongside a medley of vegetables and then paired with garlic Parmesan polenta for a well-balanced and comforting meal in about 30 minutes. All you need is a green or tomato salad on the side!
Why This Recipe is a Keeper!
This baked chicken sausage sheet pan recipe with Mediterranean vegetables atop creamy polenta perfectly balances comfort and sophistication. It’s super simple to prepare, and cleanup is a breeze thanks to the convenience of using just one sheet pan. Whether short on time or just enjoying a cozy night in, it’s an ideal, well-balanced trattoria-inspired weeknight meal.
Tossing the veggies in a generous amount of olive oil and Italian seasoning enhances their browning as they roast, which adds depth of flavor. Everything cooks together on a single sheet pan, with the kale added last to ensure that it wilts into a melt-in-your-mouth tenderness with delightfully crisp edges without overcooking to the point that it’s entirely crisp.
This roasted sausage and veggies recipe calls for instant polenta, which you can whip up while the main component is roasting in the oven. Chicken sausage is leaner than pork, but the creamy polenta makes the dish feel hearty and cozy.
This Chicken Sausage Sheet Pan recipe is:
- Easy! The vegetables and sausages are roasted on a single sheet pan, making preparation and cleanup easy.
- Delicious! Italian seasoning gives this recipe a Mediterranean-inspired flavor that pairs perfectly with the rich and creamy polenta.
- Customizable! Use whichever vegetables you’d like, or swap out the type of sausage used in this recipe to suit your preference.
How to Make Chicken Sausage Sheet Pan and Polenta:
Recipe Ingredients:
Here’s everything you’ll need to make this roasted sausage and veggies recipe. The recipe card below has the exact quantities.
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions:
- Chicken Sausage: I like using chicken sausage in this recipe because it is leaner than pork. That being said, you can use turkey, pork, or beef sausages instead. Any store-bought precooked chicken sausages will work for this recipe if they go well with an Italian-inspired dish.
- The Vegetables: Good bell peppers, zucchini, yellow squash, and red kale are available year-round. I used one orange and one red bell pepper because I already had a yellow vegetable in the form of the yellow squash, but use any color combination you like. As with the peppers, you can use all yellow squash or all zucchini for this recipe. I recommend using red kale rather than green kale because it’s slightly sweeter, more tender, and adds a vibrant pop of color, making it flavorful and visually appealing.
- Olive Oil: I always use extra-virgin olive oil. The olive oil adds flavor to the roasted vegetables, but you can also use a neutral oil such as avocado or vegetable.
- Italian Seasoning: Italian seasoning gives this dish its Mediterranean-inspired flavor. Italian seasoning combines dried herbs such as oregano, thyme, rosemary, basil, and marjoram. Any store-bought Italian seasoning blend will work.
- Polenta: I used instant polenta in this chicken sausage recipe, which cooks in minutes. You can use regular polenta instead for this recipe, but it takes longer to cook. Follow package directions.
- Parmesan Cheese: Use freshly grated if possible because it melts better than packaged pre-shredded cheese. Asiago or Romano may be substituted.
Step-By-Step Instructions:
- Gather and prep all the ingredients.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Place vegetables in a bowl and drizzle with 2 tablespoons olive oil.
- Add Italian seasoning, garlic, salt, and black pepper to taste.
- Toss well so all the vegetables are coated with oil, Italian seasoning, and garlic. (Alternately, place on a baking sheet and distribute oil and seasonings with your hands.)
- Spread out onto a nonstick baking sheet.
- Place chicken sausage halves over vegetables.
- Roast for 10 minutes.
- Stir vegetables and sausage.
- Drizzle kale with the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and season with salt and black pepper to taste.
- Gently massage until it wilts.
- Place over roasted sausage and veggies. Roast another 20 minutes or until vegetables are tender and kale is slightly crispy and wilted.
- While roasting the vegetables and sausage, bring 3 cups of chicken broth, butter, garlic, salt, and black pepper to a boil in a saucepan.
- Stir in the instant polenta, cook per package ingredients, then stir in cheese.
- Serve with vegetables.
- That’s it! A roasted sausage and veggies dinner is served! This Chicken Sausage Sheet Pan dinner with garlic Parmesan polenta is a simple, trattoria-style dinner for a quick, easy, hot, hearty, yet healthier meal your family will love!
Chef Tips and Tricks:
- Ensure that the flat, cut side of the vegetables is in direct contact with the sheet pan for the best caramelization.
- After the baked chicken sausage recipe is done, add a drizzle of good balsamic vinegar to the vegetables and chicken sausage for another layer of flavor!
Recipe FAQs:
It depends on the brand, but generally only two to three minutes. Because instant polenta is pre-cooked maize grains, adding liquid to achieve the perfect creamy consistency and infusing it with flavor from the broth, garlic and cheese is all that’s necessary in this chicken sausage recipe.
Yes, you can chop the vegetables and refrigerate until you are ready to cook. Alternatively, you can assemble the sheet pan with the vegetables and sausage, cover it tightly with plastic wrap or foil, and refrigerate. Just note that you may need to add a few extra minutes to the cooking time if it’s cold from the refrigerator.
Yes, but I suggest keeping the sausages and vegetables separate from the polenta when storing them in the refrigerator. Add a small amount of water or broth to reheat the polenta and heat in the microwave. Reheat the sausages and vegetables in the oven at 375 degrees until heated through.
Variation:
- Top the polenta with heated marinara sauce before topping with the vegetables.
Storage:
- Store any leftovers of this chicken sausage sheet pan recipe in the refrigerator for up to five days.
Serve this baked chicken sausage recipe with:
- Marinated Tomatoes
- Tomato and Onion Salad
- Wedge salad with Best Blue Cheese Dressing Recipe
- Burrata Caprese Salad with Roasted Cherry Tomatoes
More great sheet pan dinner recipes you’ll love!
- Sheet Pan Thai Baked Fish with Broccolini
- Vegetarian Sheet Pan Quesadillas
- Sheet Pan Roast Chicken with Potatoes and Green Beans
Be sure to check out all things healthy sheet pan dinners at 30 Best Healthy Sheet Pan Dinners!
Get all my chicken recipes at Chicken Recipes – From A Chef’s Kitchen.
Chicken Sausage Sheet Pan and Polenta
Ingredients
Sausage and Vegetables
- 1 medium yellow squash, sliced diagonally into 1/2-inch slices
- 1 medium zucchini, sliced diagonally into 1/2-inch slices
- 1 large orange bell pepper, seeded and cored, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 large red bell pepper, seeded and cored, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 package (12-ounce) chicken sausage, each sausage halved widthwise
- 1 bunch green or red kale, stems removed and torn into large pieces
Polenta
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 cup instant polenta
- 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
- Chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
Sausage and Vegetables
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place vegetables in a bowl and drizzle with 2 tablespoons olive oil. Add Italian seasoning, garlic, salt, and black pepper to taste. Toss well so all the vegetables are coated with oil, Italian seasoning, and garlic. (Alternately, place on a baking sheet and distribute oil and seasonings with your hands.)
- Spread out onto a nonstick baking sheet. Place chicken sausage halves over vegetables. Roast for 10 minutes. Stir vegetables and sausage.
- Drizzle kale with remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and season with salt and black pepper to taste. Gently massage until it wilts. Place over vegetables and sausage. Roast another 20 minutes or until vegetables are tender and kale is slightly crispy and wilted.
- Serve over polenta.
Polenta
- While vegetables are roasting, bring 3 cups of chicken broth, butter, garlic and salt and black pepper to a boil in a saucepan. Stir in instant polenta, cook per package ingredients, then stir in cheese. Serve with vegetables.
Notes
- You can use turkey, pork, or beef sausages instead of chicken.
- You can use regular polenta instead for this recipe, but it takes longer to cook. Follow package directions.
- Asiago or Romano may be substituted.
- Ensure that the flat, cut side of the vegetables is in direct contact with the sheet pan for the best caramelization.
- After roasting, add a drizzle of good balsamic vinegar to the vegetables and chicken sausage for another layer of flavor!
- Top the polenta with heated marinara sauce before topping with the vegetables.
- Chop the vegetables and refrigerate until you are ready to cook.
- Alternatively, you can assemble the sheet pan with the vegetables and sausage, cover it tightly with plastic wrap or foil, and refrigerate. You may need to add a few extra minutes to the cooking time if it’s cold from the refrigerator.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this? Leave a comment below!
How long should the polenta take to cook once added to the pot? Typically this takes 30mins on low while stirring every 10 minutes. Thank you!
Hi, Patti, Thanks so much for your question. I know instant polenta isn’t really ideal, but since this is a quick and easy recipe, that’s what I listed in the ingredients so the polenta will hardly take any time at all. Just follow the package directions. I did clarify the recipe. If you want a great oven-baked polenta, try this recipe of mine: Oven-Baked Gorgonzola Polenta Thank again!