In recent years I have come to appreciate the versatility of Kielbasa sausage, and realize it isn’t just for grilling.
Kielbasa is milder than Andouille or Chorizo, comes in a long u-shape form, usually isn’t smoked, and is full of garlic. It works great in a variety of soups, stews (try it in Kielbasa Stew), and even chili, as well as sautéed with potatoes and vegetables, or used as a breakfast meat. Or grill it and put it on a bun with your favorite toppings.
This skillet kielbasa meal is great for any time of the day and can be adapted to whatever you like. You could certainly add broccoli, or another vegetable of your choosing. I like to make this in the fall when I have a fresh garden harvest of potatoes, snap peas, bell peppers, tomatoes, spinach, and onions or chives.
Microwave the potatoes first to cut down on cooking time, then put them in the refrigerator to cool a bit before cutting them up. While the potatoes are cooling, I prepare the rest of my ingredients.
Use a nonstick pan when cooking potatoes since they tend to stick to stainless steel quite well. Medium heat seems to crisp them up perfectly in about 5 minutes, but you might need to turn it down to medium low after adding the sausage and other vegetables to prevent things from burning.
When adding the sausage and veggies there is no need to add more oil since the sausage will render out fat.
It is also important to season in layers, so I add about half of the seasonings with my potatoes, and the other half with the sausage and veggies, as well the mustard with the sausage and veggies.
In the last couple of minutes, stir in the greens and sauerkraut. If it’s not summer or fall, I have power greens from Earthbound Farm in my fridge, so I use that. The power greens mix has baby spinach, kale, and chard. But using just spinach or kale works too.
I also make my own sauerkraut using purple cabbage, so I have purple sauerkraut. But regular sauerkraut is just fine. Make sure you drain the sauerkraut first.
Now you are ready to eat. This is great as is, but you can top it with whatever you desire, cheese, avocado, a fried egg, fresh tomatoes…
Enjoy!
Kielbasa Skillet
Equipment
- Cutting board and knife
- Large nonstick sauté pan and heat resistant spoon
Ingredients
- ½ pound kielbasa sausage sliced in ½ moons
- ½ each red bell pepper diced
- ¼ each yellow onion diced
- 8 each button mushrooms sliced
- 2 each russet potatoes
- 1 cup sauerkraut
- 4 cups fresh spinach or 4 handfuls
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard or brown mustard
- 1 tsp oregano
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ½ tsp sea salt
- ½ tsp granulated garlic
- ¼ tsp chipotle pepper
Optional Toppings
- Fried Egg
- Avocado slices or Guacamole
- Shredded cheese
- Fresh diced tomatoes
- Sour cream
Instructions
- Wash the potatoes and stab several times with a fork. Microwave for 2 minutes, turn over and microwave for 2 more minutes. Put in the refrigerator.
- Gather and prepare the rest of the ingredients, then dice the potatoes.
- In a large nonstick sauté pan, heat over medium heat and add oil. Stir in the potatoes and abut half of the seasonings, and sauté for about 5 minutes to start crisping them.
- Add the kielbasa, the vegetables, except the spinach and sauerkraut, Dijon mustard, and the rest of the seasonings.
- Sauté for 5 minutes or so to soften the vegetables and crisp the sausage.
- Stir in the spinach and sauerkraut and cook until it wilts, another 3 to 5 minutes.
- Serve as is or top with your favorite skillet toppings.
- Enjoy!
