Nutrition: 386 Calories | 30.1g Net Carbs | 22.9g Protein | 19g Total Fat
Make a quick Southern inspired meal with this recipe for a simple Sheet Pan Smoked Sausage Dinner with Okra, Grape Tomatoes, Zucchini, and Corn on the Cob.
Okra is an interesting ingredient. It seems to be one of those vegetables that people either love or hate. When I think of okra, my mind immediately goes to southern food because it is very common in southern dishes like gumbo. Okra has some great nutritional benefits too. According to WebMD, it’s a good source of vitamins A,C, K, and B6, magnesium and folate too. Although it might be more common in southern cooking, my family actually fell in love with okra while living in Hawaii. It showed up in one of our weekly vegetable boxes. I wasn’t really sure how to cook it, or if my kids would like it. I ended up roasting it in my simple recipe for Oven Roasted Okra and Tomato, and it was a huge hit.
We’ve moved a couple times since Hawaii. So, I was very excited when I recently happened upon some fresh okra at the local grocery store. And the kids were equally excited when I brought it home. This time I wanted to make a full meal, instead of just a side dish. This sheet pan smoked sausage dinner is everything I wanted it to be. To make this sheet pan recipe a full meal, there’s corn-on-the-cob, tomatoes and zucchini along with the okra and smoked sausage. It’s quick, easy, and tasty, and the whole family cleared their plates.
Start By Cutting Sausage and Zucchini
I love sheet pan dinners because they’re so quick and easy. Just some easy prep, toss everything together, and let it cook. I like to line my sheet pans with parchment just to make the clean up easier later. To prep your meal, start by cutting the smoked sausage into one inch pieces and move them to the pan. Next, add grape tomatoes to the pan. There’s no need to cut them. Cherry tomatoes work well too if that’s what you have.
After the tomatoes, cut up the zucchini. Start by cutting off the ends. Next, cut the zucchini in half long ways, and cut the halves in half again. You should have four long zucchini sticks. Lastly, cut these long sticks into one inch pieces, and add them to your sheet pan.
Cut the Corn-on-the-Cob
The next vegetable in this sheet pan smoked sausage dinner is the corn on the cob. Right now it’s early spring for me, so I used frozen mini corn-on-the cob. However, if it was summer, and I could find fresh corn, I would. There’s nothing like fresh sweet corn. Luckily we have options, so we can enjoy this meal any time of the year.
Mini corn-on-the-cob are basically half cobs. For this meal, I cut all the mini cobs in half through the cob, so they sort of resemble flowers. If you’re using larger cobs, cut them in four or five pieces. I learned this trick from a magazine years ago. Cutting the corn this way makes it easier of little kids eat. For this recipe, the sliced corn also serves another purpose. The trick to having everything in a sheet pan meal cook evenly is to have everything cut to about the same size. Same size means similar cooking time, which is why I like to slice the corn-on-the-cob.
The Last Vegetable to Cut is Okra
Last, but not least, we have the okra that inspired this meal. Okra is pretty easy to prep. First, cut off the tip and stem, and add them to your discard pile. Then, cut the remaining okra into half inch slices and add them to your sheet pan. Okra does have a slimy texture when cut. This slime, called mucilage, can make your knife and cutting board sticky, which is why I prefer cutting it last. The mucilage is actually a soluble fiber that’s great for thickening stews like gumbo.
Season the Meat and Veggies, Then Roast
The last step before cooking is seasoning your meat and vegetables. So, gather up olive oil, seasoning salt, and garlic powder. Then, drizzle your ingredients with the oil and sprinkle with the seasonings. Lastly, get your hands in there and mix it all up. Make sure everything is coated in the oil and seasonings. Then you’re ready to start cooking.
Roast your sheet pan dinner at 425° for about 30 minutes. The meal is ready when the tomatoes have started to burst and you have brown, roasted spots on you meat and vegetables.
Two Sheet Pans?
After preparing and seasoning all the ingredients, I ended up dividing everything between two sheet pans. Why? This allows everything to spread out in a single layer and touch the pan. Then, with all the meat and vegetables touching the pan, you get more of those delicious, roasted brown spots that add so much flavor to the food. I used to be able to cook my sheet pan dinners on one pan. But now, with the kids getting older and eating more, I usually use two.
Can you skip the extra pan? Absolutely. You can leave everything on one pan and toss the food occasionally while cooking. Or, leave it as is and the food will be a bit more steamed than roasted. It will still be very delicious.
What to Serve with the Meal
Are you looking to add more to round out your meal? Here’s a couple ideas.
- A large salad
- Mashed Potatoes
- Cheesy Grits
- Roasted Potatoes: It would be easy to add diced potatoes to your sheet pan dinner. Potatoes usually take longer to roast than the other ingredients. So, you can get them roasting early or pre-cook them in the microwave. Then toss the pre-cooked potatoes in with the other ingredients and roast them all together.
Other recipes to check out: Oven Roasted Okra and Tomato Recipe, Low Carb Eggplant Parmesan Sheet Pan Recipe, and Sheet Pan Shrimp and Asparagus
Simple Sheet Pan Smoked Sausage Dinner with Okra and Tomatoes
Enjoy a quick Southern inspired meal with this simple recipe for a Sheet Pan Dinner with Smoked Sausage, Okra, Grape Tomatoes, Zucchini, and Corn on the Cob. A quick and comforting meal for any night of the week.
Total Time: 40 min
Prep Time: 10 min
Cook Time: 30 min
Ingredients
- 26 oz (2 Packages) Turkey Smoked Sausage
- 12 oz Fresh Okra
- 1 Pint Grape Tomatoes
- 2 Medium Zucchini
- 6 Mini Corn on the Cob
- 3 Tbsp Olive Oil
- 1 tsp Seasoning Salt
- 1 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 425°. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
- Cut the smoked sausage into 1 inch pieces.
- Trim the ends of the okra and discard. Then, cut the okra into 1/2 inch pieces.
- Trim and discard the end of the zucchini. Cut the zucchini long ways into quarters. Then, cut the long strips into 1 inch pieces.
- Cut the corn in half, cutting through the cob making small circles.
- Place the sausage, okra, zucchini, and corn on the sheet pan with the grape tomatoes. Drizzle everything with olive oil and season with the salt and garlic powder. Toss the ingredients until everything is well seasoned.
- Spread the ingredients out evenly on the sheet pan. If you like your meat and vegetables more roasted, use 2 sheet pans.
- Bake at 425° until the tomatoes start to burst and the meat and vegetables have roasted brown spots, about 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve.
Nutrition:
Yield: 6 servings, Serving Size: 1/6 Recipe
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 386, Total Fat: 19g, Saturated Fat: 4.3g, Cholesterol: 75.8mg, Sodium: 1309.9mg, Carbohydrates: 34.4g, Fiber 4.3g, Sugars: 11.1g, Protein 22.9g
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