Slow Cooker Sausage with Sweet Potatoes

This recipe is easy to prepare, high in fibre, protein and heart healthy fats for a filling meal.  Each serving is packed with vitamins A, C, and K, potassium, and iron. I’ve made a very similar recipe by roasting it in the oven before, but the slow cooker was ideal for this (the ingredients had various roasting times, whereas everything went in the slow cooker at the same time, with the exception of the spinach).  It also reheats well for lunch the next day!

For the spice mix, I used the leftover mix from the rub I made for the Slow Cooker Spicy Pulled Pork.  I will definitely make that spice mix again to keep in a small jar for chicken and pork recipes, it had the perfect balance of savoury and spicy!  The spice mix I listed below is a simplified version (and matches the amount you need for this recipe).

Serves 8

Ingredients

1kg sweet potatoes (about 3 large or 4 medium), peeled and diced in bite sized chunks (2 cm by 1 cm)
450g pork sausage, sliced into bite sized pieces
1 19oz can chickpeas, drained
1 red bell pepper, julienne
1 tsp spice mix (1/2 tsp paprika, 1/4 tsp garlic powder, 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper, 1/8 tsp black pepper)
3 tbsp olive oil, divided
4 cups fresh baby spinach

Directions

Place peeled and chopped sweet potatoes in the bottom of the slow cooker and toss with 2 tbsp olive oil.  In a bowl, combine chickpeas, 1 tsp olive oil and spice mix and toss to coat.  Add spiced chickpeas on top of sweet potatoes.  Put sausage pieces and bell pepper into slow cooker and drizzle with remaining olive oil.  Place lid on and cook on high for 3.5 hours.  Remove lid and add spinach on top.  Allow to cook for another 10 to 15 minutes (until spinach is wilted).

Nutrition

Calories 573
Fat 24.5g
Carbohydrates 66.6g
Fibre 14.5g
Sugars 6.7g
Protein 23.1g