My Tuscan Veggie Sausage and Roasted Grapes is a new favorite recipe in our house.
A Plant-Based Twist on an Italian Classic
Sausage and grapes sounds like a unique combination. But “salsicce all’uva” is a classic Italian dish from Tuscany and Umbria.
I love to discover the history behind classic dishes, and then put my own twist on them. (Like my Classic Pesto and Potatoes Puttanesca recipes.)
Unfortunately, there’s not much information available about the history of the sausage and grapes combination in Italy. What is known is that the deepest roots of the dish go back to Umbria, a region known for—you guessed it—grapes and sausage.
Interestingly enough, it seems this classic Italian dish is less commonly prepared today.
I’d never heard of it until my daughter and I discovered the combo while watching The Barefoot Contessa. In this episode, Ina had a friend over to cook, and they prepared sausage and grapes.
The combo was so intriguing, I knew I’d have to develop my own plant-based version.
Plant-Based Sausage and Grapes
My favorite plant-based sausage to use here is Beyond Meat’s Hot Italian Sausage. You could also use Beyond Meat’s Brat Original. The dish just won’t have as much Italian flavor.
Any brand of meatless sausage will work in this recipe, but Beyond Meat sausage is second to none. Other plant-based sausages dry out in the oven much more quickly. If you choose to use another brand of meatless sausage here, shave a few minutes off the cooking time to keep the sausage from drying out.
This recipe is so simple, you literally just have to cut the 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.
That’s it.
Make Veggie Sausage and Grapes This Week!
Even better, this elegant meal comes together in 45 minutes.
Enjoy my Tuscan Veggie Sausage and Roasted Grapes on a busy night this week. I’m sure you’ll find yourself making this showstopping meal again and again.
Tuscan Veggie Sausage & Roasted Grapes
Ingredients
For the veggie sausage & grapes
- 4 veggie sausages, cut to ½ inch rounds, I prefer Beyond Meat’s Hot Italian Sausage
- 2 cups grapes, washed
- ½ red onion, thinly sliced
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1/8 tsp pepper
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
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, start by boiling the potatoes.
- Bring the potatoes to a boil in a large soup pot of water. The water should cover the potatoes by at least one inch. 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, onion, and grapes.
Prepare the sausage, onion, and grapes
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- Place the sausage, red onion, grapes, 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.
- Spread the sausage, onion, and grapes out evenly on the baking sheet.
Roast the sausage, onion, and grapes
- Roast for 15 minutes.
- After 15 minutes, take the baking sheet 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 baking sheet back in the oven, and roast for another 8-12 minutes, until the sausage is cooked through and slightly browned.
- Note: this second roasting time will vary by a few minutes depending on the type of veggie sausage you use. Beyond Meat Sausage generally requires more roasting time than other veggie sausage brands. Start with 8 minutes, and roast longer if needed. You don't want to dry the sausage out.
Drizzle the balsamic
- Take the baking sheet out of the oven, and drizzle 1 Tbsp of balsamic vinegar over the top. Mix the balsamic in with your spatula so everything is evenly coated.
- The veggie sausage, grapes, and onion are done.
Finish the potatoes
- 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!
- Serve the Tuscan Veggie Sausage & Roasted Grapes over the Mascarpone Mashed Potatoes and a bed of greens. Spinach or arugula are my favorites.
6 Responses
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!