I am all about quick, make ahead meals on weeknights. The big kids have school, my husband and I work outside of the home, and there are sometimes one or two Mom Taxi jobs in the evenings. I have seen others prepare sheet pan meals that are then easy to just pop in the oven, and I thought one would be delicious with our venison cheddar brats.  

Sheet Pan Dinner Recipes 

Sheet pan meals are a great way to put together a nutritious, filling meal that isn’t overly complicated or time consuming. The most complicated part is cutting up the vegetables you want to use! Choose a protein, vegetables, seasoning, and oil; cut everything up to similar size to bake evenly; serve with a side of rice, other grain, or just enjoy on its own! The main building blocks are the same for each sheet pan meal, you just have to adjust seasonings and cook time for whatever ingredients you customize it with. 

To make for an extremely easy clean-up, use a baking mat or parchment paper on your baking sheet before adding the ingredients. No pan scrubbing needed! Sheet pan meals are really the ultimate busy weeknight meal. 

Venison Cheddar Sausage Sheet Pan Dinner 

Up north, deer hunting in the fall is a BIG part of our culture and family traditions. Preparing hunting gear, putting out trail cameras, getting deer stands ready – all of these activities start once the air turns crisp in the fall. Our family bow hunts and also rifle hunts if needed. We like to get at least one good sized deer in the fall to keep the freezer full for the year. I do my best to keep venison in the rotation of protein in my meal planning for my family – there isn’t much healthier and fresher than lean venison harvested from your own land! 

One of our favorite ways to process venison is getting cheddar bratwursts made. We eat these year-round, but especially enjoy taking them out ice fishing and cooking them on the lake. We had quite a few packs made in our last batch, so I have been trying out new ways to use them in different dishes. I decided to slice them and use them in a sheet pan meal, and they were so tasty!  

I added some cut up potatoes, chopped carrots (you might want to sauté fresh carrots for a few minutes first, but frozen carrots should cook through in the same time as everything else), chopped bell peppers, and onions. I tossed everything in avocado oil, spread everything evenly out on a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat, sprinkled with Lowry’s Seasoning Salt, and baked at 375*F for about 30 minutes.  

Venison Cheddar Sausage Sheet Pan Dinner Recipe 

Serves 4-6 

Ingredients 

6 Venison cheddar brats, sliced to ½ inch thickness 

3 cups chopped potatoes, skins on or off 

1 onion, chopped into ½ inch pieces 

2 cups sliced carrots (if fresh, sauté for 5 minutes before adding to pan) 

2 bell peppers, sliced 

2 Tablespoons avocado oil 

2 Tablespoons Lawry’s Seasoning Salt (or seasonings of choice) 

Directions 

1. Preheat oven to 375*F if baking right away. 

2. Slice sausage and vegetables to about ½ inch thickness and sizes. 

3. Spread meat and vegetables on a sheet pan with a silicone mat or parchment paper. Do not make piles as they will not cook evenly. 

4. Drizzle oil on top of the meat and vegetables, sprinkle seasonings, then use hands to mix together evenly. 

5. Either cover and put in refrigerator until ready to cook, or place in oven to bake for about 30 minutes. Serve with rice or desired sides.