Broccoli rabe and sausage is sautéed and then baked in the oven with thinly sliced onion and smashed garlic. This skillet bake is only a few ingredients but it’s PACKED with flavor! For breakfast, lunch or dinner…it’s healthy, SO tasty and easy!
Broccoli rabe and sausage is a classic Italian flavor combo. While you may have seen a recipe for broccoli rabe and sausage pasta, you probably haven’t seen this combo as a skillet bake! Serve your skillet piping hot over rice, Italian farro, with fried or hard-boiled eggs, or tossed with cannellini beans.
Table of Contents
What is Broccoli Rabe?
Broccoli rabe (otherwise known as Rapini) is a vegetable most often found in Italian cuisine. The leaves, buds and stems are all edible. Broccoli rabe is somewhat bitter, sweetening and mellowing when cooked!
Broccoli rabe is the perfect flavor pairing with sausage or eggs.
How to Make Broccoli Rabe Less Bitter
Broccoli rabe mellows out when cooked, becoming less bitter and more sweet.
How to Prepare Broccoli Rabe
Prepare broccoli rabe by giving it a quick rinse, patting dry, and removing about 2 inches of the thick stems (they can be tough!). Roughly chop the remaining broccoli rabe into bite-sized pieces.
Ingredients
- Broccoli rabe – broccoli rabe cut into bite-sized pieces is the base for our skillet.
- Pre-cooked sausage – pre-cooked sausage takes out the extra step of boiling your sausage before baking. I like pre-cooked chicken sausage, but you can also use pork sausage. You can typically but fun flavors of pre-cooked sausage like garlic and onion, or sun-dried tomato. Any sausage that has “Italian” flavors would be delicious!
- Yellow onion – onion adds a slight astringency and sweetness when sautéed and then baked, caramelizing a bit in the oven!
- Garlic – garlic. Enough said!
- Extra virgin olive oil – olive oil will help us sauté our ingredients before baking.
- Hot pepper flakes – hot pepper flakes add spiciness, which is optional!
Ingredient Substitutions
- Broccoli rabe – substitute mustard greens, broccolini, kale if you absolutely can’t find broccoli rabe!
- Pre-cooked sausage – substitute raw sausage for pre-cooked sausage. Boil them for 20-25 minutes before slicing!
- Yellow onion – substitute sweet or Vidalia onion for yellow onion.
Variations & Additions
Serve your skillet bake as-is, or with one or two of the following additions!
- Brown rice – steam brown rice and serve spoonfuls of your skillet bake over the rice!
- Italian farro – Italian farro is a great grain that’s similar to brown rice but with a more al-dente texture. Boil, and then serve in a “bed” underneath spoonfuls of your skillet bake!
- Pasta – the classic way of serving broccoli rabe and sausage is mixed into pasta! Boil orecchiette or penne pasta and toss spoonfuls of your bake with the pasta! Serve with grated parmesan cheese.
- Bell peppers – slice red or green bell peppers, and sauté them with your onion and garlic!
- Sunny-side up eggs – crack an egg or two over your skillet when your skillet has about 10 minutes left in the oven.
- Hard boiled or soft-boiled eggs – serve your skillet with sliced hard- or soft-boiled eggs.
- Cannellini beans – drain and rinse a can of cannellini beans, and toss your beans in your skillet right out of the oven.
- Roasted tomatoes – roast tomatoes in the oven and serve your skillet with roasted tomatoes on top for a pop of juicy perfection!
What to Do With Leftovers
Store leftover broccoli rabe and sausage bake in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
Reheat, covered, in the oven at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes until hot. Or reheat in the microwave, covered, for a 60-90 seconds!
Tips & Tricks
- Buying pre-cooked sausages saves time! If you get raw sausages, boil them in a pot for 20-25 minutes before slicing.
- Set it and forget it! No need to toss your broccoli rabe and sausage in the oven.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Raw broccoli rabe lasts about 3-4 days, in the fridge.
Broccoli rabe is somewhat bitter, sweetening and mellowing when cooked. Some say it has a mild “mustard” taste!
Absolutely! Bring a pot of water to a boil, place raw sausages in boiling water, and boil for about 20 minutes or until sausages reach 165 degrees.
More Sausage Recipes on Tastefully Grace!
- Sausage Lasagna
- Tortellini Sausage Soup
- Pasta With Caramelized Onion, Sausage & Parsley
- Sausage & Sweet Corn Sauté
Broccoli Rabe & Sausage Skillet Bake
Equipment
- Large oven-safe skillet with lid (or use a large baking sheet as a cover)
Ingredients
- 1 large bunch broccoli rabe, roughly chopped
- 4 pre-cooked chicken or pork sausages, sliced into bite-sized pieces
- 1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, smashed
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- Hot pepper flakes, to taste
- Salt, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat a large, oven-safe skillet (with a lid) over medium-high heat until hot. Add olive oil, garlic, onion, salt and hot pepper flakes to taste.
- Sauté onions and garlic in the preheated skillet for 3-4 minutes until wilted. Add cooked, sliced sausage and toss.
- Add chopped broccoli rabe to the skillet. Do not toss! Put the lid on and let steam for 5-6 minutes until broccoli rabe starts to wilt and turn bright green. Don’t toss or remove the lid for the full 5 minutes so the steam isn’t released!
- Toss to combine, and spread out your ingredients in an even layer.
- Place skillet in a 400-degree oven, uncovered, for 15-20 minutes until sausage and broccoli rabe start to brown and crisp up.
- Serve as-is, or with one of the delicious ideas from the post above!
Video
Notes
- Buying pre-cooked sausages saves time! If you get raw sausages, boil them in a pot for 20-25 minutes before slicing.
- Set it and forget it! No need to toss your broccoli rabe and sausage in the oven.
- Serve your skillet bake alone, or with one or two of these additions!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
