Here’s another super easy meal prep for you! This super simple Cajun Sausage and Vegetables meal prep follows the basic protein + veg formula and is super fast to make. I’ve got some additional suggestions for you below, if you’d like to bulk up the meal a bit or just make it a little fancier!
Vegetable Options
This recipe is super flexible, so if you don’t like the vegetables I chose, you can swap them out with other vegetables. Here are some options:
- Mushrooms
- Broccoli
- Cauliflower
- Asparagus
- Cabbage
- Green Beans
- Brussels sprouts
For heartier vegetables, like broccoli, cauliflower, or Brussels sprouts, you may want to pre-steam them for a few minutes just to make sure they get tender.
Protein Options
The Andouille sausage in this recipe is packed with herbs, spices, and a delicious smoky flavor, which ends up adding flavor to the entire dish. You can swap the sausage out with something like shrimp or chicken thighs, but if you do so, I suggest coating the chicken or shrimp well with plenty of Cajun seasoning since they don’t have seasonings built-in, like the sausage.
Bulk it Up!
If you need some carb action to keep you full and satisfied, you can serve these Cajun Sausage and Vegetables over a bed of rice. You can cook your rice in broth or add some herbs and spices for even more flavor.
Another option is to serve the sausage and vegetables over a bed of pasta. I think penne would be a great choice. If serving over penne, you can add a vinaigrette to help coat everything in flavor. I think the Smoky Vinaigrette that I used in my Smoky Roasted Sausage and Vegetables recipe would go nicely.
How Long Does it Last?
I generally keep meal preps like this for about four days, but the lifespan will vary depending on the conditions in your refrigerator, the freshness of the vegetables, and how long you cook the vegetables. Since I cooked this with the intention of reheating later, I purposely cooked the vegetables very lightly to prevent them from getting super soggy as they wait in the refrigerator. By nature, they will wilt a bit as the days go by, but undercooking them slightly can definitely help.
Cajun Sausage and Vegetables
Servings 4Ingredients
- 1 zucchini (½ lb.) ($0.72)
- 1 yellow squash (½ lb.) ($0.70)
- 1 red bell pepper ($1.50)
- 1 red onion ($0.28)
- 14 oz. Andouille sausage* ($3.33)
- 2 Tbsp cooking oil, divided ($0.08)
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika ($0.05)
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder ($0.02)
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper ($0.02)
- 1/4 tsp salt ($0.02)
- 1/4 tsp freshly cracked black pepper ($0.02)
- 2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley ($0.20)
Instructions
- Slice the zucchini and yellow squash into half-rounds. Slice the red bell pepper and red onion into strips. Add all of the vegetables to a large bowl.
- Slice the sausage into rounds. Add the sausage and 1 Tbsp cooking oil to a large skillet. Cook the sausage over medium heat until well browned. Remove the skillet from the heat and transfer the sausage to a clean bowl.
- Drizzle the vegetables with the remaining 1 Tbsp cooking oil, then sprinkle the smoked paprika, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper over top. Toss the vegetables to coat them in oil and spices.
- Place the same skillet back over the heat and turn the heat under the skillet up to medium-high. Once very hot, add the vegetables and sauté just until they are slightly tender. The vegetables will pick up the flavor left in the skillet from the sausage, so do not clean the skillet first. Be careful to not overcook the vegetables, as they will cook more when you reheat your meal preps.
- Remove the skillet from the heat and add the cooked sausage and chopped parsley to the vegetables. Toss to combine with the vegetables. Give the sausage and vegetables a taste and adjust the salt or other seasonings to your liking.
- Serve immediately or divide into four portions and refrigerate until ready to eat.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!
How to Make Cajun Sausage and Vegetables – Step by Step Photos
Prep the vegetables first, so they’re ready to go. Slice one zucchini and one yellow squash into half-rounds. Slice one red bell pepper and one red onion into strips. Place the vegetables in a bowl.
Slice 14oz. Andouille sausage into rounds.
Add 1 Tbsp cooking oil to a large skillet and heat over medium. Add the sausage and cook until the sausage is well browned. Remove the skillet from the heat and transfer the sausage to a clean bowl.
Drizzle 1 Tbsp cooking oil over the vegetables, then sprinkle with ½ tsp smoked paprika, ¼ tsp garlic powder, ¼ tsp cayenne pepper, ¼ tsp salt, and ¼ tsp freshly cracked pepper. Toss the vegetables until they’re coated in oil and spices.
Turn the heat under the skillet up to medium-high. Once very hot, add the vegetables and sauté just until they begin to soften. The vegetables will pick up the flavor and browned bits left behind by the sausage. Be careful not to overcook the vegetables. Remove the skillet from the heat.
Return the cooked sausage back to the skillet along with a couple of tablespoons of chopped parsley. Toss to combine. Give it a taste and adjust the salt or other seasonings to your liking.
Serve immediately or divide into four portions and refrigerate until ready to eat.
This recipe is really low labor with a high flavor payoff. I used non-fancy (Hillshire Farm) smoked Cajun-style sausage and as a result (similar to another reviewer) it ended up a bit saucy, which I really liked! But if you want yours more dry go for a more expensive sausage option. It was also very filling on its own without the addition of grains or pasta.
This was so, so good. I needed to remove a lot of oil left over from cooking the sausage to keep the veggies from becoming too oily, but it might have just been the brand of sausage I used. This is definitely going in the rotation. Thank you for yet another excellent and healthy recipe! Now looking for how to tweak the seasoning on the veggies to accommodate different kinds of sausage (e.g. regular smoked sausage)…
We used turkey kielbasa and it turned out delicious! This is so easy to make.
I used up the contents of my fridge–chicken with Cajun seasoning, white onion, orange bell pepper and two zucchini. It was so flavorful– and not sure if it is because I used more oil and zucchini but I had quite a pan sauce so that, I didn’t need to worry about marrying it with quinoa I found at the dollar store. I’m so happy 😁 since I never really learned to cook I can’t eyeball seasoning and this was a perfect recipe even for someone who doesn’t like lots of heat. Thank you!
Budget friendly AND delicious!! Such a relief to be able to cook healthier for my family and not spend an arm and a leg. Bless you!❤️
This recipe is not my favorite. I had smoked sausage on hand, so I used that instead. I found that the sausage released a lot of fat when cooking, so the olive oil was unnecessary. My dish ended up overall ended up quite oily. It is okay but not the best meal I ever had. I also had to cook the vegetables longer than I wanted because they released so much liquid during cooking. I won’t throw it away, but I probably won’t make this dish again.
I am obsessed with this recipe. So easy to make but soooo delicious. I make It for my boyfriend once a week as work lunch. Thanks so much!!
Vivien
http://www.lovebuddy.no
So easy and quick and absolutely delicious!
I accidentally made this as a sheet pan meal because I wasn’t paying attention (and had made another sheet pan meal w/summer sausage the week before) and it turned out pretty well that way too! I am sure the flavor would be a bit different done in the pan, but it turned out fairly well as a toss and bake.
This was a nice way to get a lot of veg.
I made this for my lunches this week and I’m really enjoying it! I made some couscous cooked in veggie broth as well to make it more filling. The flavour is really nice, I used a heaping 1/4 tsp of cayenne as I like a bit of a kick and the spice level is just right. Definitely a new go-to meal prep for me!
I made with turkey kielbasa since it was cheaper at the store. Andouille has a lot more flavor, but it was still really good. I served with rice.
Whoops, didn’t mean to reply to this comment— but you get the idea!
Have you ever considered making your own vegan cajun sausage? If you check online, I am sure you will find several recipes.
Why are you clicking on a sausage recipe and expecting it to be vegan? If the dish is vegan/veggie she puts it in the title.
Good God…Calm down. She is simply giving an alternative. It is actually a good idea that I wouldn’t have thought of to incorporate more meatless ideas into my meal planning.
I’m an experienced cook, but with the cost of food being out of control lately I’ve been feeling pretty hopeless about buying groceries. Thanks so much for your site, it’ll help a lot and I now have it bookmarked!
Never fear–Beth will help you keep costs down without sacrificing flavor or working hours in food prep.
You say you are experienced, so you may already know these tips: paying attention to grocery ads–I save lots of $$ by purchasing things when on sale, particularly canned and frozen items. I rarely use boxed mixes, other than cake mix which is usually cheaper than scratch baking. I rarely use coupons as they are mostly for over-processed items we don’t use, but they can helpful for non-food items. I watch shelves for reduced boxed, jarred, frozen, or canned foods approaching their sale by dates, or products which are being discontinued–has the future inavailability of some of these wonderful discoveries ever been a disappointment! At the meat counter, I find reduced prices for items reaching “sale by” dates–these are usually perfectly fine, but need to be cooked soon. Most supermarkets also have reduced price racks in the produce dept–these items can be close to dead, but sometimes I buy big bags of soft tomatoes and turn them into tomato sauce as soon as I get home, or peel, slice and freeze ripe bananas for smoothies or banana bread, muffins, etc. Cabbage, bagged carrots, onions, and potatoes are almost always bargains.
Use your freezer–it need not be huge, and a small one is more efficient because you can find everything. Cook a sale priced ham or turkey, then deconstruct it quickly after the first meal and fill your freezer with portion sized amounts. I buy boneless chicken breasts in family pacs–they are usually $1.99 a lb at both Aldi’s and my higher priced supermarket, and sometimes Aldi’s has them reduced to $1.69. Since they tend to be huge–14-17 oz per piece, I cook one for a meal that day and freeze the remaining 4-5 as single pieces–great for stir fries, slicing into cutlets, casseroles, etc. Because I use them within 2-3 weeks, I use plastic sandwich bags and label them with dates. For longer term storage, I use freezer bags.
I make my own pizza dough–Beth has recipes and it only takes a few minutes. After some time to let it rise, usually about an hour, I have one portion for today, 2 in the freezer for later. Planning a bit of thawing time–24 hrs in the fridge has it ready for use any time within the next 48 hrs–makes it less convenient that a frozen pizza, but economical and delicious. Buy cheese when it’s on sale–you can freeze it–although unopened packages will keep 4-8 weeks in the fridge, opened ones 3-4 weeks. Stock up on flour–and sugar–during the fall when cheap during the fall holiday baking season.
Grow some potted herbs on your windowsill or porch–you may already know how a fresh herb will liven up your meal, but if not, it can be an amazing way to spark a soup, sauce or casserole., or just about anything.
This particular recipe is wonderfully tasty, but cheapest when summer squashes are in season. My cost for making it last week was VERY close to that posted by Beth. My only change was to use fresh garlic instead of garlic powder.
Your comment is really encouraging to me. It’s as if you’ve distilled Beth’s tips down to a strategy I can use. I’m thinking especially the timing of thawing in advance and remembering to do it!
Andouille can be plenty spicy–the house made variety in my local supermarket certainly is. I love it that way, but those who don’t care for as much spice can use regular smoked sausage or kielbasa, and, as Beth suggests, add Cajun seasoning to taste. My local andouille is so spicy I would leave out the cayenne. Having done a similar dish in the past, know I like a bit of grated cheese on this when serving it for supper. If packing it up for multiple meals, I would leave it off and maybe bring some grated cheese to add prior to sticking it in the work lounge microwave. Of course the cheese will add fat and calories–so worth it, IMO.
Does anyone know of any vegetarian andouille sausage brands?
I couldn’t find any near me, but I used Simple Truth meatless chorizo and it worked great!