This creamy Whole30 casserole is the perfect easy and family friendly dinner. It’s with sausage and potatoes in under an hour and is a creamy, comforting Paleo or gluten-free recipe. It would be great for meal prep, and I think the leftovers are almost more delicious!
My midwest, Minnesotan youth was filled with all types of classic casseroles. In Minnesota we call a casserole a “hot dish”, which I’ve been told isn’t the norm in most parts of the country. Hot dishes, or, you know, casseroles, were a staple at every family gathering. That’s probably why I think of these foods as comfort foods now – hearty, and ate around a table with my favorite people.
Now it kind of makes me laugh because now that I make casseroles for myself, like this Whole30 casserole I know how easy they are. I’ve realized that that’s probably the real reason they’re always around or why my mom made them when she wanted to just throw things in one pan and be done with it.
This creamy sausage and hash brown Paleo and Whole30 casserole is ALMOST a one pan meal, but you will need a skillet for the creamy sauce and sausage. It’s worth the extra dish, I promise! I love this casserole so much I’ve made it specifically for breakfast too. I tell myself it’s like a hash brown sausage and gravy casserole when it’s before 9 a.m.
The potatoes I used for the paleo casserole came from a bag of compliant hash browns. You can find these in many stores, including Walmart! If going from frozen, you’ll want to let them thaw prior to baking. I used canned coconut cream and a Califia Farms almond milk. Any Paleo substitution would work for the milk, including nutpods. You’ll need a bit of ghee for the cream sauce, broth, and some arrowroot flour to thicken the cream and the rest of the ingredients will be your normal pantry and food items!
Califia, nutpods, coconut cream, ghee, broth and arrowroot can all be purchased from Amazon, or your local Whole Foods. You can also grab all of those products at a discount from Thrive Market (and get 20% off of your first 3 orders!) For more of my favorite Thrive Market budget favorites, check out my Paleo staples list, and Whole30 staples list!
The Whole30 casserole recipe itself is really easy. I mean, of course it is. You’re talking to me after all. Nothing fancy or complicated. Simply brown the meat first, make the creamy sauce, combine it all in a baking dish and you’re set! I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do!
PrintCreamy Sausage & Potato Whole30 Casserole (Paleo + GF)
This creamy Whole30 casserole is the perfect easy and family friendly dinner. It’s with sausage and potatoes in under an hour and is a creamy, comforting Paleo or Whole30 recipe. It would be great for meal prep, and I think the leftovers are almost more delicious!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: Serves 4-6 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground sausage (no sugar)
- 3 cups shredded potatoes (hash browns, no sugar added such as Mr. Dell’s brand)
- 2 cups baby spinach
- 1 13.5oz can unsweetened coconut cream
- 1 cup sliced mushrooms
- 1 cup diced yellow onion
- 1 cup broth (chicken or beef)
- 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 2 tablespoons arrowroot flour (or tapioca flour)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon ghee
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly grease a 2.5-3 quart casserole dish and set aside
- Add olive oil to a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, add diced onion and sauté for 3 minutes, or until they begin to soften
- Add ground sausage, garlic, salt and pepper. Cook until meat is browned and crumbled
- Drain excess grease and transfer to a large bowl
- Add almond milk, coconut cream, ghee and broth to the skillet over medium heat with the remaining spices
- Combine well and bring to a simmer, about 5 minutes. While the sauce is heating, add hash browns, spinach, mushrooms to the bowl with the crumbed sausage and mix well. Place the potato and sausage mixture into the casserole dish.
- Slowly (to avoid clumping) whisk in flour to thicken the sauce in the skillet. Continue whisking for about 2 minutes until sauce is thick
- Pour cream sauce over the sausage and potatoes in the casserole dish. Use a spoon to gently mix it in
- Bake for 45 minutes, or until the top of the mixture forms a slight crust and doesn’t give when you press in the middle of the casserole
Notes
- If you want a thicker cream sauce, or sauce is too thin, add an additional 1/2 tablespoon arrowroot flour and slowly whisk in.
- For a list of Whole30 compliant sausage brands, check this post, or make your own using ground pork using this recipe.
- For a list of Whole30 compliant almond milk brands, check this post.
Nutrition Facts:
- Calories: 474
- Sugar: 3
- Fat: 36
- Carbohydrates: 13
- Protein: 19
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Melissa says
Looks delicious! Can’t wait to try it.
Did I miss something? You are using ghee but it says it’s a dairy free recipe. Is there a dairy free ghee?
paleobailey says
Hi Melissa! Great question! Ghee is a type of clarified butter – butter that has been heated in order to separate and then remove milk solids from the milk fat. The fat remaining, is ghee. Since ghee is the result once the milk solids have been removed, and the milk solids are what contains lactose, casein and antigenic proteins, it is dairy free! The remaining fat that is left is just a pure cooking fat then.
If you were thinking otherwise because on ghee ingredient labels they say something to the like of “Certified Organic Butter (Milk)” or “Milk Fat”, that’s because of two reasons. The first being that the USDA hasn’t come up with a better way besides “milk” to classify what ingredient IS ghee, without using the word “ghee” as the only ingredient. Ghee is technically the end RESULT of a cooking process which removes the lactose milk, not an ingredient in the cooking process. And, this labeling law hasn’t been updated or looked into being updated since 1993. Secondly, the the USDA requires “milk” to be on the ingredient list for any END product originally obtained FROM raw dairy, even if the milkfat has been removed in that end product. This is so consumers know what type of a product/animal it’s from, and prevent potentially harming those who have severe beef allergies, or the immune response to all beef products known as Alpha-gal.
Hope that helps! You didn’t ask for all that detail, but I find it so interesting, so maybe was interesting for you too! Best – Bailey 🙂
Sherri says
I have made this once and it was delicious. I ate it with a side of salsa to spice it up a little. Next time I may add a little cayenne pepper and also some chopped red bell pepper to give it a little more pep. I can’t always find canned coconut cream. Can I use canned coconut milk instead?
paleobailey says
Hi there! Glad you enjoyed it! You could, but it might not thicken as much 🙂
Jennifer says
This is an AMAZING recipe! I’m so thankful my friend told me about it. We just went dairy free and this has made it so much easier
paleobailey says
I’m happy to help, and so glad it was a hit! Thank you for letting me know!!
Kim says
I wasn’t sure you could make a hot dish without cheese or cream of something soup, but you nailed it! The only minus is I was hoping to have leftovers! So yummy!
paleobailey says
Haha, love this!! Thank you, Kim – so happy you enjoyed it 🙂
Maria says
This is definitely a keeper. For me, it was a little on the Sweetside. Next time I make it I’m going to use only the almond milk and no coconut cream. The texture was wonderful and the spices added just the right amount of super flavor.
paleobailey says
That sounds like a great substitution! If you use additional almond milk to replace the cream, you could probably use a bit less almond milk being it’s thinner than the cream. I just don’t want it to get too liquidy for you 🙂 I’m glad to hear overall you enjoyed it!!
Christina says
This was absolutely delish!!! My family could not believe it was a whole 30 meal!! I love when that happens!!! Thank you for an awesome recipe!!!
paleobailey says
Oh thank you so much!! I’m so happy to hear that!
Lesley says
Hi Bailey – firstly – congratulations to you for finding the “real you” & becoming so healthy. Fantastic job. You look awesome.
I had an abundance of potatoes & was scrolling through Pinterest for an interesting way in which to use them. I like making casseroles & yours caught my eye. I don’t follow the Whole30/Paleo diet, so made some substitutions. ie: I used a can of Carnation Brand fat free evaporated milk in place of the coconut milk. I didn’t use frozen hash browns – grated my own & squeezed out the liquid. I used sausages & cut them into thin slices, then browned them. And I used regular flour to thicken the sauce. The casserole was delicious – I like your choice of seasonings. I hope that you don’t mind my messing with your original recipe. I would absolutely make this again. Thank you for sharing it.
paleobailey says
Thank you for those kind words, Lesley! And I absolutely don’t mind, and I’m so glad you enjoyed it! If I wasn’t making this dairy free I’d also use evaporated milk or a heavy cream instead so I’m happy it worked out well that way too 🙂
Megan says
I am allergic to coconut, and all treenuts what could I use as substitutes?
paleobailey says
Hi there! Sorry for the late reply here, I don’t know how I missed your comment! If you’re not doing a Whole30/Paleo, I’d use heavy cream. If you are, I don’t think there would be a nut free substitution that I’d be confident in recommending that would still replicate the milk used here. Sorry!!
Annette says
Did you use russets or a more moist potato (red, white) for the hash browns?
paleobailey says
I used russet potatoes 🙂
Nicole says
How long will it be good for leftovers? like 3 or 4 days?
paleobailey says
Yep! About 4 🙂
christina purvis says
How do you think this dish would do if I wanted to make this meal to freeze it for later? Freeze before cooking or afterwards? Baby is due in October so I like to stock up with easy thaw/ reheat or cook meals. This one sounds delish!
paleobailey says
Hi! I would freeze before! And congrats on baby! 🙂
Toria says
Hey Christina, how did freezing and cooking from frozen work out for you?
christina purvis says
It looked too good to freeze so we ended up baking & eating it all, hahaha. It was delish. I plan on trying to freeze it in the future- I will let you know how it goes!
Megan says
Can you use frozen hash browns with this recipe?
paleobailey says
Hi! I haven’t tried it before, I think it would be fine except perhaps increase bake time by a bit! You could let the frozen ones thaw first prior too 🙂
Josh Agarth says
Make sure you buy unsweetened coconut cream.
paleobailey says
Most coconut cream I can find in stores are all just coconut cream – I don’t think I’ve ever seen sweetened coconut cream at stores like Target and Whole Foods. A safe bet will always be Thai Kitchen, Whole Foods brand, Walmart Brand, Thrive Market brand, or Native Forest if you’re having trouble finding just coconut cream! 🙂
Josh Agarth says
The Goya brand used we are realizing is used to make Pina Coladas. We will have to try again. ????????????
Stacey Sellers says
Same thing happened to me… just grabbed the can that said Cream of Coconut and bought it. So disappointed. Can I use canned coconut milk instead and eliminate the almond milk so it’s not too watery? I was really looking forward to making this tonight. SO glad I looked a the label before I used it!
paleobailey says
Sure! You can try it!!
Christine says
This looks delicious and I can’t wait to make it! I only have canned coconut milk though, no broth or almond milk (although I could make almond milk). Since canned coconut milk is runnier than the cream, could I just use that and skip the other liquids, or what would you suggest? Thanks!
paleobailey says
Hey there! Yes, you could try that! It might be a bit more “coconut-y” tasting, being the broth and almond milk serves to make the “gravy”, but if you’re okay with that, I think it would still be good!
Cara says
This is so good! I didn’t have high hopes for this…not sure why…but it was amazing! I followed the recipe exactly (oh wait, I skipped the mushrooms) and it was so, so good! I’m freezing a portion to see how it reheats. Thanks for the recipe…comfort food Whole30 style! 🙂
paleobailey says
Haha! I’m glad it exceeded expectations! So happy you liked it 🙂 I’m definitely a comfort food girl myself! xo – B
Krystina says
Holy crap! This casserole is DELICIOUS! I was super hesitant because I’m not really a fan of coconut milk/cream in recipes but I can’t even taste it! I just wish mine looked as pretty as yours ????
paleobailey says
Thank you!! I agree about the coconut milk – I actually don’t even like the taste of coconut so every time I use it I’m sure to cover the taste with spices 🙂 so happy you enjoyed it!
Sandee says
Do you think this would work with compliant sausage links?. I haven’t found the bulk sausage yet. Would like to make it NOW! YUM.
paleobailey says
Hi there! Yes, I think it would be great with sausage links! Let me know how it turns out! PS – check a local butcher, I’m often able to find ground sausage without anything crazy added to it 🙂 Pederson’s (ordered through the Simple Grocer) also carries a Whole30 Approved one!
Monica says
I CANT BELIEVE how good this is!
paleobailey says
Thank you! I’m happy you enjoyed it!
Jill says
Bailey this is amazing!! My new go to for my family. I added a bit more broth at the end but only because I used a larger casserole dish than you and it was the best thing I’ve had all year
paleobailey says
This is AWESOME!! SO happy it was a hit with your family. Thank you for taking the time to letting me know! <3
Tess says
Holy moly this is good!! Reheats so well for my lunches! Thank you!
paleobailey says
I looove this recipe reheated too! Glad you loved it <3