Mediterranean Pork Sausage, Green Bean & Tomato Bake

Whole pork and chorizo sausages baked with green beans and cherry tomatoes in a thick Mediterranean-style tomato sauce. Rich, generous and family friendly, it is an easy oven-baked dinner made for serving with crusty bread or creamy mashed potato.

Golden pork and chorizo sausages, blistered cherry tomatoes and tender green beans make this a wonderfully generous dinner for the whole family. The sausages are browned first, then nestled into a thick tomato sauce enriched with onion, garlic and oregano before everything finishes together in the oven.

The sauce reduces around the sausages as they bake, becoming rich enough to cling to every spoonful without turning the dish into a heavy casserole. Serve it with thick slices of crusty bread for soaking up the sauce, or spoon it over creamy mashed potato when you need something especially comforting.

Prep: 15 min · Cook: 60 min · Serves: 6 · Cuisine: Mediterranean · Category: Dinner

Ingredients

Mediterranean Pork Sausage, Green Bean & Tomato Bake

• 1 kg thick pork and chorizo sausages
• 1 tablespoon olive oil, if needed
• 1 large brown onion, halved and thinly sliced
• 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• ½ teaspoon dried thyme, optional
• 2 × 400 g tins crushed tomatoes
• 75 ml chicken stock
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar, optional
• 300 g cherry tomatoes
• 300–350 g green beans, trimmed
• Freshly cracked black pepper
• Salt, only if needed
• Chopped flat-leaf parsley, to finish
• Finely grated parmesan, optional

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C conventional or 180°C fan-forced.
2. Heat a large ovenproof frying pan or shallow casserole over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil only if the sausages are quite lean.
3. Add the sausages and cook for 8–10 minutes, turning regularly, until browned well on all sides. They do not need to be cooked through at this stage.
4. Transfer the sausages to a plate.
5. Reduce the heat to medium. Add the sliced onion to the same pan and cook for 5–7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened and beginning to turn golden.
6. Add the garlic and cook for approximately 30 seconds, just until fragrant.
7. Add the tomato paste, oregano and thyme, if using. Cook for 1–2 minutes, stirring, until the tomato paste darkens slightly.
8. Pour in the crushed tomatoes and chicken stock. Add the brown sugar, if using, and season with freshly cracked black pepper.
9. Stir well, scraping the browned flavour from the base of the pan. Bring the sauce to a gentle simmer.
10. Simmer uncovered for 10–12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce has visibly thickened. It should look slightly thicker than you think it needs to be, as the cherry tomatoes and sausages will release some liquid while baking.
11. Taste the sauce before adding salt. The pork and chorizo sausages may provide enough seasoning on their own.
12. Nestle the browned sausages into the sauce, leaving most of their tops exposed.
13. Scatter the cherry tomatoes around and between the sausages.
14. Bake uncovered for 20 minutes.
15. Remove the casserole from the oven. Add the green beans, tucking them gently into and around the sausages and sauce.
16. Return the casserole to the oven and bake uncovered for another 15–20 minutes, or until the sausages are completely cooked through, the cherry tomatoes have softened and blistered, the green beans are tender and the sauce is thick and bubbling around the edges.
17. Rest the bake for 5–10 minutes before serving. Finish with chopped parsley, cracked black pepper and finely grated parmesan, if using.

Serving Suggestion

Serve with thick slices of crusty bread or warm wedges of Simple Rosemary Focaccia for soaking up the rich tomato sauce. Creamy mashed potato makes it especially comforting, or spoon the sausages and sauce over Creamy Polenta, Our Family Milho Method for a generous and complete family dinner.

Notes

Pork and chorizo sausages can vary considerably in salt and spice, so taste the sauce before adding any additional salt.

A broad, shallow casserole allows the tomato sauce to reduce more effectively than a narrow, deep dish.

Leftovers can be stored in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to three days. Reheat gently in the oven or on the stovetop until the sausages are hot throughout.

The Grace Table Tip

Allow the bake to rest for 5–10 minutes before serving. The tomato sauce will settle and thicken around the sausages, making it much easier to spoon generously over bread or mashed potato.

For preparation in a separate serving dish, brown the sausages and prepare the sauce in a frying pan, then transfer everything to an oven-safe casserole before baking.