We’ve been back into our weeknight groove where even on full work from home days, we need an easy sheet pan dinner to throw in the oven while we get a quick work out in.  If you know me, you’ll know that a sheet pan dinner is probably my favorite type of dinner.  These meals are totally hands-off after prep, and you gain 30-45 minutes of roasting time back to yourself while the food does its thing roasting away in the oven.  When you come back ready to eat, you’re greeted with golden brown goodness and concentrated flavors from the oven time.  Plus, there’s only one pan to clean up after!  This version is loaded with healthy veggies, combining fennel, cauliflower, and cherry tomatoes with sweet Italian sausage to make a quick, hands-off dinner perfect for any weeknight.

I think these flavors work incredibly well together, as fennel is a classic seasoning in Italian sausage.  Italian sausage and tomatoes pair beautifully together, as I’ve written about before in this pasta and stuffed zucchini recipe.  We make Italian sausage for dinner about once a week – it’s cheap, it freezes and thaws well so we buy in bulk, and it comes pre-seasoned.  I’m actually shocked that I don’t have more Italian sausage recipes on the blog, but I guess that leaves room for plenty more in the future!

Recipe down below, photo up top!  This made enough for two people to enjoy with plenty of leftovers for my lunch the next day.  Feel free to double for a family of four or for meal prep – this reheats very nicely in the microwave and the veggies made a delightful warm salad for lunch!

Sausage Sheet Pan Dinner with Roasted Cauliflower, Fennel, and Tomatoes

Ingredients:

• 4-6 Italian Sausage Links
• ½ bulb of fennel, diced
• 1 head of cauliflower, chopped into florets
• 1 ½ cups of cherry tomatoes
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp rosemary
• ¼ tsp black pepper

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 375F.
2. Prep the veggies by chopping the cauliflower into large florets, and chopping the fennel into large dice.  Put the veggies on the sheet pan along with the cherry tomatoes.
3. Drizzle olive oil and sprinkle salt, rosemary, and black pepper over the veggies, toss to combine until everything is evenly coated with olive oil and seasoning.  Arrange the veggies in a single layer on the sheet tray.
4. Nestle in the Italian sausages so that they are making direct contact with the sheet pan (not sitting on top of the veggies).  Once everything has been arranged into one neat layer, place the sheet pan in the oven and roast for 40 minutes.
5. After 40 minutes, remove the sheet pan from the oven.  The veggies and Italian sausages should all be nicely tender and golden brown.
6. Plate up the veggies along with 1-2 sausages.  Enjoy!