I was thinking about making paleo apple sausage from scratch. And then making a sweet potato scramble from scratch. But in the name of all things fast, I decided to turn this into a one pot meal and – WOW – I’m glad I did. Not only did it save tons of time, it tastes just as delicious as when I make them separate (with only half the work).

I originally adapted this recipe from an Autoimmune Paleo (AIP) apple sausage recipe during a 30 day AIP challenge I was did. It was shredded apples mixed with ground pork and cinnamon, shaped into patties and fried in coconut oil. I fell in love instantly. But shredding the apples in the food processor, mixing it all in a bowl and then forming patties and frying them is a lot more time consuming than I usually want to deal with. When I made these delicious little sausage patties, I usually serve them alongside a butternut squash or sweet potato hash. In this recipe, however, I threw it all in one pot and it turned out amazing. Even my kids asked for seconds (which is a rarity!) It took less than 30 minutes to make and was even faster to clean up. Mom win!

I used sage and cinnamon as the main spices for this dish. Sage and ground pork go so well together and totally remind me of fall comfort food. The cinnamon helps to sweeten up the apples and gives the whole thing a cozy fall vibe. I hope you truly love it as much as I do.

Oh, and the leftovers are also delicious for breakfast with fried eggs on top. Yummm…

Health Benefits

This dish is loaded in nutrients thanks to the apples, sweet potato, pork and kale. Apples are protective for your brain, good for your gut microbiome, and are loaded in nutrients. If you want to learn a little more about the health benefits of apples you can see this post or download my guide to getting 100x more nutrients out of the foods you are already eating here.

Now let’s talk a little bit about kale. Did you know kale was first cultivated around 2,000BC and was grown in ancient Greece and Italy? It has actually changed very little since that time. It is loaded with heart protective glucosinolates and has been shown to block 6 different types of cancer cells. It’s loaded in antioxidants (with the red leaf variety being the highest). No wonder it’s become a popular vegetable!

Want to learn more about the health benefits of kale? Check out this post.

Sweet Potatoes

Today, sweet potatoes are the star of the show. Most people assume sweet potatoes are part of the potato family, but they are not even closely related. They are actually part of the morning glory family. Botanists believe that they were one of the earliest domesticated plants. And for good reason. They are loaded in potassium, vitamin A, vitamin C, protein, sodium, calcium, phosphorus and magnesium. They are also high in beta carotene which is increased as they cook (just don’t boil them or you will loose all their nutrient value.)

Sweet Potatoes vs Yams

Most people interchange these two but they are actually different vegetables. Yams have a brown bark like hard outer layer with a dry starchy center that is white, red or purple. They are not very common in the United States.

What makes this confusing is that grocery stores frequently label soft sweet potatoes as “yams” and firm sweet potatoes as “sweet potatoes.” So if you are looking for true yams, be sure to double check that is what you are getting.

Health Benefits of Sweet Potatoes

Protective for the digestive system
Can help prevent cancer (especially the dark purple sweet potatoes)
Beneficial for eye health
Low glycemic index of 45 which makes them good for people with type 2 diabetes and general blood sugar control

How to Prepare Sweet Potatoes

Baking, roasting or steaming helps to increase their vitamin C and beta carotene content. Cooking sweet potatoes also doubles their antioxidant content. There is ample antioxidants in the peels so be sure to eat them if you can.

The darker the sweet potato the better so choose dark fleshed varieties when possible. Purple has the highest level of antioxidants followed by orange followed by white.

Are you feeling better about this recipe? Yup, so am I!!

Paleo Apple Sausage Scramble

Loaded with ground pork, apples, sweet potato and kale. It's super tasty and super fast too!

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Total Time 28

Course Main Course

Servings 4 people

Ingredients

2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
1 tbs coconut oil
1 lb ground pork
2 organic apples, washed and diced leave the skins on
1 yellow onion, diced
1/2 tsp ceylon cinnamon
1/2 tsp dried sage
1/2 tsp salt more to taste
1 bunch flat leaf kale, sliced into strips, hard stem removed

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Toss sweet potatoes and coconut oil on the baking sheet. Sprinkle with a bit of cinnamon and bake for 15 minutes, toss and bake 5-15 minutes more or until done (soft in the center and browned on the edges)
Meanwhile, cook pork in a large pot with onion over medium high heat. After about 5 minutes, stir in apple. Then mix in sage, cinnamon and desired amount of salt. Cook until pork is done and onion and apple are soft. Add kale, cover pot and cook on medium for 5 min until wilted. Add in sweet potato and stir well. Adjust seasonings as needed.