An October Sheet Pan Supper

The first cool weeks of October call for one thing: everything on a sheet pan, a hot oven, and a kitchen that smells like sage and roasting apples.

Roasted Sausages with Maple Acorn Squash, Apples & Fresh Sage

There’s something about the first few weeks of October that makes me want to make a sheet pan supper and let the oven do the work. Especially when that sheet pan is loaded with squash, crisp apples, red onion and handfuls of fresh sage.

As it all roasts, the kitchen fills with the smell of maple, sage and caramelizing apples. It's the kind of dinner that makes the whole house feel cozy before anyone has even sat down to eat.

I picked up a selection of sausages from my local butcher (Mexican chili, honey garlic and rosemary garlic) because I couldn't decide on just one. Really, any good-quality sausage will do.

The sausages come out browned and crisp on the outside and juicy inside. The sage adds an earthy note to the apples, the kale crisps up without losing its depth, and the roasted radicchio brings a welcome touch of bitterness.

Colourful, comforting and full of seasonal ingredients, this is exactly the sort of uncomplicated cooking I love.

Prep: 20 min | Cook: 35–45 min | Serves: 4

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Two sheet pans, one oven, dinner for four

Ingredients

Prepping the squash, onion and apples

For the sheet pans

• 6 fresh sausages, your choice of flavours

• 1 medium acorn squash, seeded and sliced into thin wedges, skin on

• 3 Honeycrisp apples, cored and cut into 6 thick wedges each, skin on

• 1 large red onion, cut into thick wedges

• 1 whole head of garlic, top sliced off

• 1 generous handful of fresh sage leaves

• 1 small head of Treviso radicchio, quartered lengthwise

• 2 generous handfuls of curly kale, tough stems removed

• 2–3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus a little for the greens

• About 1 teaspoon salt, divided

• About 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided

For the maple squash

• 1½–2 tablespoons pure maple syrup

• 1 teaspoon brown sugar

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• A pinch of salt

A note on sweetness: I tossed my squash in maple syrup, but it wasn’t quite sweet enough. Next time I’ll use a little more maple and add a teaspoon of brown sugar, so that’s what I’ve listed here.

Let’s Get Cooking

Preheat and prepare

Preheat your oven to 400°F (200°C). Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.

Cut the acorn squash in half, scoop out the seeds and slice into thin, even crescents. Leave the skin on. It’s perfectly edible once roasted and adds a nice bit of texture.

Sweeten the squash

In a small bowl, stir together the maple syrup, brown sugar, olive oil and a pinch of salt. Toss with the squash wedges until lightly coated.

Arrange the squash on one baking sheet, leaving a little space between the pieces.

Add the apples, onion, garlic and sage

Arrange the apple wedges, onion wedges and the head of garlic alongside the squash.

Drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and scatter the sage throughout the pan.

Squash, apples, onion, garlic and sage, ready for the oven

Prepare the sausages

Arrange the sausages on the second baking sheet, leaving space between each one so they brown rather than steam.

I like to prick the tops lightly with a fork to keep them from bursting, although this does let a little of the juice escape.

Put both pans in the oven. Turn the sausages halfway through so they brown evenly.

Add the radicchio (at about 25 minutes)

Add the radicchio wedges to the vegetable pan, cut side down, and drizzle lightly with olive oil. The outer leaves will soften and caramelize while the inner leaves keep some of their deep burgundy colour.

Treviso radicchio, quartered, with the fresh sage

Finish with the kale (at about 32 minutes)

The squash should be fork-tender, the apples softened but holding their shape, and the sausages golden brown. Give it up to 45 minutes if needed.

Check the sausages with a meat thermometer: 160°F (71°C) for pork or beef, 165°F (74°C) for poultry.

Serve

I slid the sausages onto the vegetable pan and brought the whole thing to the table. You could also arrange everything on a large platter.

Squeeze the soft roasted garlic from its skins and spoon the pan juices over the top.

A Few Tips from My Kitchen

Choose your apples wisely. Honeycrisps are my choice because they’re sweet, crisp and hold their shape, even roasting for the full time. Whatever you do, don’t use McIntosh! I learned that the hard way when mine turned into applesauce. Delicious applesauce, mind you, but applesauce nonetheless.

Keep an eye on the oven. Depending on your oven and how thickly you’ve sliced your vegetables, you may need an extra 5–10 minutes. You’re looking for tender squash, caramelized edges and sausages cooked all the way through.

Save the greens until the end. The radicchio needs a little roasting to mellow its bitterness, and the kale needs just a few minutes to crisp. Add them at the start and you’ll lose their colour and texture.

Give everything room. I originally planned to make this on one sheet pan, but there simply wasn’t enough room. Two pans turned out to be the better option anyway: the sausages browned properly without crowding the vegetables.

From My Kitchen to Yours

Dinner on my favourite vintage plate

Sometimes the best dinners are the ones that don’t require much fuss. A few fresh ingredients, a hot oven and the smell of sage, roasted apples and maple syrup drifting through the kitchen.

And if a few apples turn into applesauce along the way? Well, that’s how good recipes get better.