This easy smoked sausage casserole is the perfect comfort food. Just pop everything into your slow cooker and in a few hours, you have a hearty side dish or a full keto meal. This post is sponsored by Cabot Creamery.
I have a problem and this cheesy keto smoked sausage casserole is the perfect solution.
Every year, right around this time, I get really caught up in creating delicious holiday recipes. So caught up, in fact, that I forget about feeding my family.
Wait, you mean they can’t just live off of keto Christmas cookies for a few months? They need some real food too?
Okay, fine! Let’s just throw some cauliflower, chopped kielbasa, and some Cabot cheddar in the slow cooker and call it dinner. Now that’s a very good idea indeed!
Easy Dinner Inspiration
I think it’s safe to say we can all use more easy keto dinner recipes during the holiday season. We’re all running around, prepping our Thanksgiving meals and shopping for loved ones. All while juggling work and family and other obligations.
So a meal that practically cooks itself while you attend to other things? That’s absolutely priceless.
Slow cooker smoked sausage casserole fits the bill perfectly. It’s what I like to call a “dump-and-run” recipe. Dump everything into your slow cooker, stir together, and walk away. That’s all you need to do.
Cabot for flavor!
I make no bones about my love for Cabot cheddar. It is unparalleled for flavor, in my opinion, and I use it in everything from keto drop biscuits to keto cheese crackers.
Their cheddar wins awards every year in all sorts of categories. But as anyone who has lived in the New England area knows, they are an exceptional company in a multitude of ways. As a cooperative, they are member-owned and member-controlled, so the farmers benefit directly.
They also give back to the communities, and promote programs for volunteerism, fundraising, non-profits, and health and wellness.
Is that why the cheese tastes so good? I can’t say for sure but I have my suspicions!
How to make cheesy smoked sausage casserole
- Chop the cauliflower into small pieces. I recommend less than 1 inch, which helps it cook through faster and more evenly.
- Check the label on the smoked sausage. Some brands add a startling amount of sugar to kielbasa and other smoked sausage, but it really doesn’t need it. Look for sausage that has less than 2g of carbs per serving.
- Use good sharp cheddar. Have I mentioned that I love Cabot???
- Toss everything together. Once you add all the ingredients into the slow cooker, give it a stir to mix it up.
- Cook on low. It should only take 3 hours or so for the cauliflower to become tender.
- Thicken the sauce. Since the cauliflower releases a fair bit of liquid, you can whisk in some glucomannan to thicken the sauce a bit. But this step is optional and it tastes delicious either way!
- Add more cheddar at the end. You could mix in all the cheddar at the beginning but I love a delicious coating of gooey, melted cheese.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can but pressure cookers tend to force vegetables like cauliflower to release a lot of excess moisture. To avoid this casserole being too soupy, I recommend on cutting the sour cream in half and being ready to add more glucomannan.
Sure! Any pre-cooked sausage would be great, as would cooked chicken. I recommend pre-cooked for both ease and food safety, but you can always cook it yourself before making the casserole.
I don’t recommend frozen cauliflower for this recipe. The freezing and thawing process makes the cauliflower more mushy.
I haven’t tried this recipe with anything else but broccoli would work well and radishes might be good. I don’t recommend something like zucchini because of the high moisture content.
The leftovers should be stored in the fridge in a covered container, and will last up to 5 days. I recommend re-heating them gently in the microwave or the oven.
Keto Smoked Sausage Casserole Recipe
Ingredients
- 24 ounces fresh cauliflower cut into small pieces (less than one inch)
- 1 lb smoked kielbasa chopped
- 8 ounces Cabot Extra Sharp grated, divided
- ¾ cup sour cream
- 2 tablespoon butter cut into small pieces
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ½ teaspoon glucomannan optional
- Chopped chives or parsley for garnish
Instructions
- Lightly grease a 4 to 6 quart slow cooker.
- Add the cauliflower, kielbasa, 4 ounces of the cheddar, the sour cream, butter, garlic, salt, and pepper to the bottom. Toss to combine.
- Cook on low for 3 hours. Stir to mix everything up well. If you want to thicken the sauce at this point, push the meat and cauliflower to one side and whisk the glucomannan into the liquid.
- Sprinkle the remaining cheddar overtop and replace the lid. Cook another 30 to 60 minutes, until the cheese is melted and the cauliflower is fork tender.
- Sprinkle with the chives or parsley and serve. You can serve it straight out of the slow cooker or transfer to another serving dish, as desired.
Tom says
Who on earth gave this over salted, soupy, cardboard tasting recipe anything beyond ZERO stars (I clicked one to make sure). This was HORRIBLE.
Heather says
I didn’t have the foresight to throw everything into the slow cooker, but I definitely will in the future. This time around I baked it in the oven at 375 for 45 minutes, then added the last 4oz of cheese and bumped up the temp to 400 for another 10/15 minutes h til it was melted and bubbly. It was really tasty! I wish I pulled back on the salt a bit since the cheese and sausage were pretty salty, but it was great otherwise.
jillian says
Well…We just purchased cauliflower and kielbasa (and it is Tetons) yesterday! This looks nice will make for dinner. Thanks.
Meg Peifer says
Made this sausage slo-cooker dish earlier this week and both my husband and I thought it was terrific!!! Easy, simple to assemble and delicious. Served with some fresh steamed
asparagus. I generally question the number of servings as listed. We had enough for 2 container for the freezer!
Fatima Easterwood says
Dear Carolyn..
I just saw your recipe for the 1st time and can’t wait to try it! I love kielbasa sausage and it’s quick and easy. The only thing I may change is the cheese to just sharp Cabot cuz I don’t really care for sharp cheese.. I’ll let you know how it turned out!
Thanks!
Carolyn says
That works!
Erica says
OK, I work all day and could only make this on weekends (and then I forgot to do it, lol). How can I do this in the oven and take less time, so I can have it during the week, please?
Anna says
Oh my goodness, this is delicious! I used frozen cauliflower and thawed it first, squeezing out as much liquid as possible before adding it to the slow cooker. I did not add any thickener to the sauce. I just ate some leftover for lunch and I don’t know if I can make it to dinner before eating the rest.
Diane Browning says
I had a couple extra chicken breasts hanging around, and I had broccoli in the fridge instead of cauliflower. So I added the extra chicken and used broccoli instead of cauliflower and it turned out great! The sauce was delicious.
shirley bader says
could thawed frozen cauliflour work?
Carolyn says
I would actually suggest not thawing it. Once thawed, it will cook much faster and I think you will end up with cauliflower mush.
Ellen Ingles says
What kind of Kielbasa do you use that does not have nitrates?
Carolyn says
Teton Waters Ranch is my fave!
Crystal says
Could broccoli be substituted for the cauliflower?
Carolyn says
Sure, I think that would work
Jo says
It was quite tasty and. I will probably make it again.
I did make a few changes. I didn’t have sour cream, so I used about half cottage cheese and half my homemade yogurt. I also added some diced carrots and some frozen soy beans, and a dash of cayenne pepper. Then it didn’t seem to be cooking enough, do I put it in a casserole dish and finished it in the oven. The cauliflower was done just right and actually seemed almost like potatoes. I will probably bake it in the oven next time.
Carolyn says
It likely wasn’t cooking through since you added so many other ingredients…
Jaime says
I don’t know how you did it…but it’s like you read my mind! i was looking for an easy crockpot recipe yesterday, as we were going to have quite a busy day. Then suddenly, I got an email from you…all about slow cooker recipes! So, of course, I had to try this one. I used andouille sausage and daikon radish instead of kielbasa and cauliflower since that’s what I had on hand. It turned out great! Really filling and very comforting. And VERY easy to make! Thanks for “saving the day” for me!
diane says
How long would you cook this in the Instant Pot?
Laura says
I just made this and it was very good. Will definitely be a go to recipe! Thank you for sharing! I did make it in my Instant Pot because I pretty much use it for everything (I live in an RV) I did “0” minutes and it came out great.
Rachel says
Did you have to add extra liquid to allow it to come to pressure?
Deb says
I added a little cream cheese and fresh mushrooms and didn’t have to thicken with anything else. Delicious!!
Carolyn says
Yum!
Sharon a Webb says
Might I use xanthan gum as that is what I have on hand? Would the amount be the same?
Carolyn says
Yes.
Bobbi says
Love the taste and so easy.