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Curried Sausage Stew
Curried sausage stew is hearty, comforting, and packed with savoury flavour, with browned sausages simmered in a gently spiced curry sauce with vegetables until everything is tender. It’s easy to make, wonderfully filling, and exactly the sort of dinner that works well when you want something warm and familiar without spending hours in the kitchen. Serve it with mashed potatoes or rice for a simple meal that always feels satisfying.
Curried Sausage Stew
My curried sausage stew is hearty, warming and packed with savoury flavour, with tender sausages and vegetables simmered in a rich, gently spiced curry sauce. It’s an easy family dinner that’s perfect for cooler evenings, especially when served with creamy mashed potatoes or rice. I love this kind of simple, old-school comfort food because it’s filling, affordable and wonderfully low-fuss, with plenty of sauce for spooning over whatever you serve alongside it.
Ingredients
- 6 curried sausages
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 brown onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tbsp turmeric
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 2 tbsp plain flour
- 400g tin of diced tomatoes
- 2 large carrots, diced
- 2 large potatoes, diced
- 2 cups hot chicken stock
- 5 sprigs of fresh thyme
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the sausages and cook for 4-5 minutes per side, or until golden. Remove and dice into bite-sized pieces, then return to the pot and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes. Remove and set aside.
- Add the onion to the pot and cook over medium heat for 4-5 minutes, or until soft. Add the garlic and spices and cook for an additional 1-2 minutes, or until fragrant.
- Stir through the flour and cook for 3-4 minutes, incorporating it well into the onion and spices.
- Add the tinned tomatoes and simmer for 1-2 minutes until well incorporated.
- Return the sausages to the pot and add the potatoes, carrots, stock, and thyme. Season with salt and pepper and stir to combine.
- Bring to a bubble, then reduce the heat to low and cover with a lid. Simmer for 30 minutes, or until the potatoes and carrots are cooked through.
- If you prefer a thicker sauce, remove the lid and simmer for an additional 10-15 minutes. The sauce will thicken further as it cools.
- Serve hot with naan bread, or buttery mashed potatoes.
Notes
- Curried sausages are a true Australian comfort food classic. This version is hearty, warming, and deeply spiced without being too heavy on the heat.
- Cooking the sausages in two stages, first whole and then diced, gives you a better texture and more caramelised surface area on the sausage pieces.
- Cooking the flour through with the spices and onion before adding the liquid creates a roux that thickens the stew beautifully as it simmers. Don't skip this step.
- Turmeric gives the stew its gorgeous golden colour. Be careful as it will stain everything it touches, including your hands, spoons, and light-coloured surfaces.
- Curried sausages are widely available in Australian supermarkets and butchers. If you can't find them, use plain beef or pork sausages and add an extra teaspoon of curry powder to the spice mix.
- Dice the potatoes and carrots into evenly sized pieces so they cook through at the same rate. Too large and they'll still be firm when everything else is done.
- Fresh thyme adds a lovely herby depth. Remove the sprigs before serving as the stems can be tough and stringy.
- This stew tastes even better the next day once the flavours have had time to develop. Make it ahead if you can.
- I use this large heavy-based pot for stews. It distributes the heat evenly and prevents the sauce from catching on the bottom during the simmer.
- Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat gently on the stovetop over low heat, adding a splash of stock or water if needed to loosen the sauce.
- This stew freezes beautifully. Portion into freezer-safe containers and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost in the fridge overnight and reheat gently on the stovetop.
What I Cook With
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 330Total Fat: 11gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 14mgSodium: 533mgCarbohydrates: 50gFiber: 7gSugar: 8gProtein: 11g
Please note, this nutrition information is to be used as a guide only. Nutrition information isn’t always accurate.
Serve this with
- Spoon over my Buttery Mashed Potatoes for the ultimate comfort-food dinner. The creamy mash soaks up the thick curry gravy beautifully and works perfectly with the sausages, carrots and peas.
- Serve with steamed basmati rice for an easy alternative to mash. The fluffy rice catches all that gently spiced gravy and keeps the sausages and vegetables firmly at the centre of the meal.
- Add buttered green beans or peas on the side if you want a little extra veg. Keep them simple so they don’t compete with the nostalgic curry flavour and rich sausage gravy.
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Curried Sausage Stew Recipe
Cosy Pubs and Local Charms
When I first moved to the UK, one of the things I instantly fell in love with was the abundance of cosy pubs. Not just any pubs, but the kind that had stone facades, flickering fireplaces, mismatched chairs, and that warm amber lighting that makes everyone look ten years younger and a bit more interesting. I’d often find myself tucked into a corner with a glass of red, a bowl of chips, and some sort of pub pie, watching the evening darken outside while the fire crackled beside me. Honestly, if you haven’t lost an entire Sunday afternoon in a pub like that, have you really lived? It was those kinds of dishes that inspired my new Curried Sausage Stew recipe, a comforting one-pot wonder that brings all the best bits of pub dining straight to your own kitchen.
Brisbane, on the other hand, never quite nailed that same charm. Everything was either too sleek or too … fake. It was all generic sports bars or polished wine bars that tried too hard to be trendy. Nothing with that slow charm of a proper English pub! But then I moved to Adelaide, and let me tell you, they get it. The pubs here are the perfect blend of that nostalgic UK feel and Australian ease. There are a few within walking distance of where I live now, and every single one feels like a warm hug. Cosy, inviting, and perfect for a cheeky midweek glass of wine after work.
Just the other night I went on a date at one of these local gems. It had been my first day back at work after three weeks off, and I needed a little decompression. We sat at the outside benches, surrounded by fairylights, ordered drinks, and instantly, I felt that familiar pub comfort settle over me. That’s what I love about this city. Adelaide is full of these unexpected pockets of calm and charm, and every time I find one, it reaffirms why I made the move.
Finding Calm in My New Home
This past week I’ve been taking full advantage of the glorious weather and wandering my local area on foot. I’ve always believed you learn the heart of a place not through guidebooks or Google Maps, but by walking its streets and following your curiosity. And my suburb? It’s everything I wanted and more. Quiet streets lined with jacarandas and succulents, cafes on corners filled with the smell of fresh pastry and espresso, and cheerful dogs dragging their humans along in the sunshine.
The job I worked last week was within walking distance, which meant leisurely morning strolls and slow evenings home. No rush, no stress, just a calm sort of rhythm that I hadn’t realised I’d been craving. Between the charming shops, hidden book nooks, and the absolute abundance of cosy pubs, I’ve found myself falling into step with a much softer pace of life. It’s exactly what I needed after the whirlwind of the past few years.
When I first told friends I was moving to Adelaide, I got a lot of confused looks. A few people genuinely asked, “Why would you want to move there?” But for me, it’s never been about the flash and the fuss. I’ve lived in big cities, I’ve done the hustle. What I wanted was a place where I could breathe. Somewhere with soul, stillness, and just enough spark to keep things interesting. I found that here. Adelaide has quietly given me a life I didn’t even know how much I needed.
Pub-Inspired Comfort
Which brings me back to pub food. Specifically, the kind of meals that feel like a blanket for your insides. The kind that make you want to curl up on the sofa with a bowl in one hand and the TV remote in the other. I’m talking about dishes like my new Curried Sausage Stew recipe. Now I know sausage stew doesn’t exactly scream gourmet, but stay with me. Because this one? This one is good. Like, really good. And I owe it all to a local butcher with a dangerously delicious sausage selection.
The inspiration hit when I spotted these curry-flavoured sausages that looked too good to pass up. Iridescent and practically singing from the display case, I knew they needed to be the star of something rich and warming. Add some golden potatoes, sweet carrots, and gently softened onions, and you’ve got yourself a bowl of heaven. There’s no gloopy gravy, no soggy sausage skins. Just deep, comforting flavour that somehow feels nostalgic and new all at once.
The trick, I think, is treating your ingredients right. Give those sausages a proper browning, let their spices and fats do their thing, and build from there. I always say a good stew is built in layers, and this one is no exception. The simplicity is deceptive because the flavour payoff is enormous. It’s honest food. The kind you’d find in a pub on a rainy night, served with mash or crusty bread, and best eaten while wrapped in a blanket watching some mid-tier British mystery show. Total comfort.
Frequently asked questions
Why cook the sausages in two stages? Cooking them whole first gets a golden, caramelised exterior on the outside of the sausage. Dicing them and returning them to the pan for a couple more minutes then gives you additional caramelised surface area on the cut sides that you wouldn’t get if you diced them raw. More surface area means more flavour in both the sausage pieces themselves and the sauce they’re going to simmer in.
Why does the flour go in with the spices rather than being added later? Cooking the flour through with the onion and spices for three to four minutes before any liquid goes in creates a roux that thickens the stew gradually and evenly as it simmers. Adding raw flour to a liquid-based stew produces lumps and a raw flour taste. Cooking it off first eliminates both problems and gives the finished sauce a smooth, cohesive body.
Can I use regular sausages instead of curried sausages? Yes. Plain beef or pork sausages work perfectly well here. Just add an extra teaspoon of curry powder to the spice mix to compensate for the flavour that the curried sausages would have contributed. The finished stew will be virtually indistinguishable.
Ingredient breakdown
Curried sausages
The centrepiece of the stew, cooked in two stages for maximum flavour and texture. Whole first until golden on the outside, then diced and returned to the pan briefly so the cut sides develop their own caramelisation before being set aside while the sauce base is built. Curried sausages are widely available in Australian supermarkets and butchers. If you can’t find them, plain beef or pork sausages with an extra teaspoon of curry powder added to the spice mix work just as well.
Olive oil
The fat the sausages brown in and then the onion cooks in after they’re set aside. A small amount is all that’s needed because the sausages will render some of their own fat into the pan during the initial cook.
Brown onion and garlic
The aromatic base of the stew, cooked until the onion is properly soft before the spices go in. The onion needs four to five minutes over medium heat before the garlic follows, which gives it time to sweeten and become translucent. Don’t rush this stage because a properly softened onion base makes a noticeable difference to the depth of the finished stew.
Ground cumin, turmeric, and ground coriander
The spice blend that gives the stew its warmth, golden colour, and distinctly curried character. All three go in together after the onion and garlic and cook for a minute or two until fragrant before the flour goes in. Turmeric in particular is responsible for that gorgeous deep golden colour that makes curried sausages so visually distinctive. A note on turmeric: it will stain everything it touches including hands, spoons, and light-coloured surfaces, so use an older utensil and be careful.
Plain flour
Stirred through with the spiced onion and cooked for three to four minutes before any liquid goes in. It absorbs into the spiced oil and forms a roux that thickens the stew gradually as it simmers, giving you a sauce with body and consistency rather than a thin, watery broth. Don’t rush this stage or skip it.
Tinned diced tomatoes
Added after the flour has cooked through, simmered briefly until well incorporated before the stock and vegetables go in. The tomatoes add acidity, body, and a tomato depth that underpins the whole stew without making it taste like a tomato sauce.
Carrots and potatoes
Diced into evenly sized pieces so they cook through at the same rate over the thirty-minute simmer. Too large and they’ll still be firm when everything else is done. Too small and they’ll break down and disappear into the sauce. Roughly the same size as the diced sausage pieces is a good guide.
Hot chicken stock
The primary liquid that the stew simmers in and the savoury backbone of the sauce. Adding it hot rather than cold keeps the temperature of the pot consistent and doesn’t interrupt the simmering process once everything is combined.
Fresh thyme
Five sprigs added with the stock and vegetables, simmering in the stew for the full thirty minutes to infuse a quiet herbal depth into the sauce. Remove the sprigs before serving because the stems are tough and stringy.
Salt and pepper
Added with the stock before the lid goes on, then tasted and adjusted at the end. The sausages bring their own seasoning so taste carefully before adding more at the final stage.
