My Tuscan Veggie Sausage and Roasted Grapes is a plant-based version of this Italian classic. Serve with my mascarpone mashed potatoes!
Tuscan Veggie Sausage and Roasted Grapes
March 17, 2020 Updated May 2, 2021 Jump to Recipe
My Tuscan Veggie Sausage and Roasted Grapes is the new favorite recipe in our house. 😋
A Plant-Based Twist on an Italian Classic
It sounds like a really unique combination (at least it did to me!), but sausage and grapes, or “salsicce all’uva,” is a classic Italian dish from Tuscany and Umbria.
I absolutely love discovering the history behind classic dishes, and then putting my own twist on these classics. Like in my Classic Pesto and Potatoes Puttanesca recipes.
I wish could have found more info about the history of the sausage and grapes combination in Italy. All I could dig up is that its deepest roots go back to Umbria, a region known for—you guessed it!—grapes and sausage.
Interestingly enough, it seems this classic Italian dish is actually a little less commonly prepared today.
I’d certainly never heard of it until my daughter and I discovered the combo while watching The Barefoot Contessa. (I think my daughter may just be the only pre-schooler who enjoys watching grown-up shown on the Food Network. And I LOVE it!!). In this episode, Ina had a friend of hers over to cook, and they prepared sausage and grapes.
An Intriguing (and QUICK!) Meal
I was immediately intrigued and knew I’d have to make my own spin on the dish!
My favorite plant-based sausage to use here is Trader Joe’s Italian Sausage, or Beyond Meat’s Hot Italian Sausage. Really, any veggie sausage will be delicious in this recipe—you could even use Beyond Meat’s Brat Original—the dish just wouldn’t have as much of an Italian flavor.
My recipe is so simple, you literally just have to cut your favorite veggie sausage to ½ inch rounds, wash the grapes, slice half a red onion, and throw it all on a baking sheet with a little olive oil and sea salt. Add a touch of balsamic vinegar after roasting, and serve with my Mascarpone Mashed Potatoes over a bed of greens.
DONE.
Could it get any easier?
Even better, this elegant meal comes together in 45 minutes!
Enjoy!
Enjoy my Tuscan Veggie Sausage and Roasted Grapes this week, and I guarantee you’ll find yourself making this showstopping meal again and again!
Tuscan Veggie Sausage & Roasted Grapes
Enjoy my Tuscan Veggie Sausage and Roasted Grapes this week, and I guarantee you’ll find yourself making this showstopping meal again and again!
Servings: 4
Print RecipeIngredients
For the veggie sausage & grapes
- 4-7 veggie sausages cut to ½ inch rounds, I prefer Trader Joe’s Veggie Italian Sausage or Beyond Meat’s Hot Italian Sausage. (Use 4 sausages if using Beyond Meat, as these are bigger than other sausage link brands.)
- 2 cups grapes, washed
- ½ red onion, thinly sliced
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1/8 tsp pepper
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 Tbsp balsamic
For the Mascarpone Mashed Potatoes
- 1 ½ pounds potatoes, peeled, preferably Dutch or Yukon Gold
- ¼ cup milk, (use a plant-based milk to keep these potatoes vegan; I use Unsweetened Almond Milk)
- 2 Tbsp butter or Earth Balance, (or olive oil)
- 2 Tbsp mascarpone or vegan cream cheese, (or omit, but using mascarpone or vegan cream cheese makes these potatoes extra creamy!)
- 1 tsp sea salt
Everything else:
- Arugula or Spinach, for serving
Instructions
Boil the Potatoes
- If you plan to make this meal with my Mascarpone Mashed Potatoes, I recommend getting those potatoes boiling first!
- Bring the potatoes to a boil in a large soup pot of water. There should be at least 1 inch of water above the potatoes. Boil for 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are soft, and a fork goes easily through when the potatoes are pricked.
- Note: if using large potatoes, I recommend cutting them in half before boiling so they cook faster!
- While the potatoes boil, roast the sausage, onions, and grapes!
Prepare the sausage, grapes, and onion
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees
- Place the sausage, grapes, red onion, salt, and pepper on a standard-sized baking sheet. Drizzle the olive oil over the top, and toss everything in the olive oil with you hands until evenly coated.
Roast the sausage, grapes, and onion
- Roast for 15 minutes.
- After 15 minutes, take the sheet pan out of the oven, and flip everything with your spatula so a different side of each sausage, grape, and onion is touching the baking sheet. Don’t worry if not everything turns over, this can be a very casual flip.
- Put the sheet pan back in the oven, and roast for another 8-12 minutes, until the sausage is cooked through and slightly browned. (The roasting time will vary by a few minutes depending on the type of veggie sausage you use, so star with 8 minutes, and roast longer if needed.)
Drizzle the balsamic
- Take the sheet pan out of the oven, and drizzle 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar over the top. Mix the balsamic in with your spatula so everything is evenly coated, and the sausage and grapes are done!
Back to the Potatoes!
- Once the potatoes are cooked through and a fork goes easily through each potato when pricked, drain the potatoes, and put them back in the pot.
- To the pot, add the milk, butter, mascarpone, and salt.
- With a handheld mixer, mix the potatoes on medium speed until completely smooth, and the butter and mascarpone are completely incorporated.
- Potatoes are done!
Serve and enjoy!
- I like to serve my Tuscan Veggie Sausage & Roasted Grapes over the Mascarpone Mashed Potatoes and a bed of greens. Spinach or arugula are great options.
- Enjoy!
Notes
This meal is vegan if you follow my vegan ingredient instructions in the mashed potatoes. This meal is gluten free if you use a gluten-free veggie sausage, like Beyond Meat.
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This Post Has 6 Comments
Interesting! We absolutely love all things Italian in our house, but I must admit that sausage + grapes is a new one. Talk about taking advantage of the local Tuscan products! I can see how the flavors work together, too…and then serving this over marcarpone mashed potatoes!? Holy cow! This is totally a comfort food meal! Thanks for introducing me to a new idea, Shannon!!
Thank you David! This is definitely a new favorite meal in our house! LOVE the unique combination!
Salsicce all’uva is a recipe I know, but I’ve not had Ina’s version, but soon will. We first experienced the dish as a starter, but it was served with a small sausage on top of stewed grapes with onion and crusty bread. It was fantastic. Then we had the dish served grilled on a skewer that was OK. But, when you go and put it on mashed potatoes and rocket, well that takes it to a new dimension for me.
Thank you Ron! Ohhhh Salsicce all’uva would be phenomenal over crusty bread, I need to try it that way next! Thank you for the fabulous idea 😋
It does sound really unique, Shannon! I love the simplicity and the flavour combination in this dish – it sounds like something I’d make on Friday night, quick but special, to celebrate the end of a busy week. And aren’t cooking shows just the perfect source of new inspiration? I love re-watching Nigella shows for this particular reason. So fun!
Oh you are so right, this is the perfect Friday night meal! Special, but not time intensive! Ohhh I really need to start watching Nigella! Love her whenever I see clips, but I have never seen a whole episode!