The light, savory combination of rosemary and cinnamon makes this fall casserole a perfect way to usher in the autumn months. It is is an easy casserole to throw together. The bulk of the prep time is for chopping up the vegetables.
You can mix up the vegetables, of course. You could even swap out the sweet potatoes for pasta if you prefer. The real beauty of this recipe is in the sauce, which is a béchamel sauce, or the basic white sauce attributed to French cuisines.
The basic white sauce is just what it sounds like; a very basic, plain white sauce. It comes together using butter, flour, and milk. You can flavor a béchamel any way you like from there. Melting cheese into it or infusing it with herbs and spices are popular options. For this recipe I had a real urge to try the combination of fresh rosemary and cinnamon. I cut some rosemary sprigs from my herb garden, but they are pretty easy to find in the produce section of a supermarket as well.
You can also mix up the protein element of this casserole. I tried out one of the plant-based meat alternatives, but I think this would also be delicious with ground beef or ground sausage. Sausage in particular brings out the robustness of herbal flavors, just make sure to use plain ground pork sausage instead of a breakfast sausage, or a hot and spicy Italian sausage. If you do go with the plant-based alternative, note that it cooks differently and won’t adopt the deep brown color that ground beef does.
This fall casserole will serve about eight people in one sitting, but it also keeps well in the fridge for a few days to provide multiple meals to one or two people.
The How-To
Start by getting all your veggies chopped and tossed into the greased 9×13 pan. Quick and easy, and it’s ready for you to add the protein and the sauce.
If you like to multi-task, get your protein going on the stovetop over medium-low heat. Then get the pot ready for your sauce. Add 4tbs of butter to the bottom of the pot and let it melt. Drop in the flour and stir together quickly using a wooden spoon or whisk until a smooth paste forms. Don’t let this burn! Keep it moving with the spoon and slowly start adding in milk.
Once you’ve got some milk in the pot, this is generally when I like to switch from a spoon to a whisk, but either one works. Gradually add in the milk, whisking to fully incorporate the butter-flour paste. Add the rosemary and cinnamon, and increase the heat to bring the mixture up to a boil. It should thicken up nicely right around the same time it starts to bubble. Take it off the heat right away and let it rest while you finish browning up the meat. Remove the rosemary sprigs before adding the sauce to your casserole.
If you’re using animal protein, drain off any fat that’s released while it cooks.
Fall Casserole Assembly
Add the cooked protein to the veggies in the 9×13 baking dish. Stir everything together so all ingredients are evenly distributed. Pour the rosemary cinnamon sauce over top of everything in the casserole dish, then stir to coat. It should have the texture of the cream-of-something soups.
Pop it uncovered into the oven at 350’F for 50 minutes. Depending on the size of your veggie chunks, this should be sufficient. I chopped my sweet potato into pieces about one inch squared, and at 50 minutes a fork easily went through the largest pieces. I wouldn’t recommend chopping them any smaller than that or the casserole might turn to mush. If you chop them larger, consider covering the casserole with foil for part of the cooking time to trap moisture and soften the veggies.
Since this casserole includes starch, veggies, and protein, it works just fine as a complete meal on its own. But you could easily serve it with a side of biscuits, and it pairs well with over-easy eggs as a breakfast dish!
Rosemary Cinnamon Fall Casserole
Ingredients
- 2 cups sweet potato, cubed
- 1 cup mushrooms, sliced
- 1 cup asparagus, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 cup brussels sprouts, halved
- 1 cup beans (I used garbanzo)
- 1/2 cup onion, chopped
- 1/2 lb ground meat (I used plant-based alternative)
Rosemary Cinnamon Béchamel
- 4 tbs butter
- 4 tbs flour
- 2 cups 2% milk
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
Instructions
Rosemary Cinnamon Béchamel
- Melt butter over low heat in the bottom of a pot. Be careful not to scald it. Add flour and quickly mix together with a wooden spoon to make a paste. Stir until smooth.
- Slowly add in milk, mixing continuously to fully incorporate the butter/flour paste. Turn the heat up to medium-high.
- Drop in rosemary and stir in cinnamon.
- Continue to stir or whisk continuously until mixture thickens and starts to come to a boil. Remove from heat.
- Let it rest and thicken for about five minutes. Remove rosemary sprigs before serving.
Casserole
- Preheat oven to 350' F.
- Cook ground meat according to package instructions. Drain off any excess fat and set aside.
- Lightly grease the bottom and sides of a 9×13 baking dish.
- Place sweet potatoes, mushrooms, asparagus, brussels sprouts, onion, beans, and ground meat into the casserole dish. Stir to mix.
- Pour prepared béchamel sauce over the top of the assembled casserole. Stir to coat all of the ingredients.
- Place casserole uncovered in preheated oven. Bake for 50 minutes or until a fork is easily inserted into the sweet potato pieces.