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This oven-baked Hoover stew is a Depression-era recipe that never gets old — just five ingredients, one pan, and about 35 minutes in the oven. Chunks of smoked sausage and canned vegetables bake in a savory cream of mushroom gravy until everything is bubbling and the edges are browned and slightly crispy. It’s humble, hearty, and budget-friendly in a way that doesn’t taste like a compromise.
Why You’ll Love This
Only 5 ingredients — smoked sausage, canned vegetables, cream of mushroom soup, broth, and pepper. That’s it.
The sheet pan makes all the difference — baking it open means the edges brown and the gravy gets thick and glossy, not gray and steamed like a covered casserole.
Ready in under an hour — 35 to 40 minutes in the oven and dinner is done.
Feeds a crowd on a budget — six generous servings without a lot of fuss or expensive ingredients.
Leftovers are just as good — the gravy thickens overnight and reheats beautifully with a splash of broth.
A Few Notes on the Ingredients
The sausage matters more than you’d think. I use kielbasa, usually — whatever’s on sale, though I have a soft spot for the kind you find at the actual butcher counter rather than the refrigerated case at the grocery store, if that’s an option for you. Smoked sausage works just as well. Sliced hot dogs are also very true to the Depression era and, honestly, not bad — I tried it once and my husband looked at me like I’d lost my mind, but he ate two bowls.
The condensed cream of mushroom soup — don’t thin it out before you mix it with the broth. I know it seems thick and weird straight from the can. That’s the point. It needs to be. You whisk it together with the Beef broth and it becomes this gravy base that thins out enough to coat everything, then thickens back up in the oven into something that clings to the vegetables and sausage beautifully.
Canned mixed vegetables: drain them well. Really well. I hold the lid against the can and squeeze and tilt until I’m satisfied, then I do it again. Extra liquid in the pan makes the gravy thin and sad.
Ingredients
– 2 pounds smoked sausage or kielbasa, cut into 1-inch chunks
– 2 cans (about 15 ounces each) mixed vegetables, drained — and I mean well-drained
– 2 cans (about 10.5 ounces each) condensed cream of mushroom soup
– 1½ cups beef broth (water works too, if that’s what you’ve got — it’s a Depression recipe, after all)
– 1 teaspoon black pepper, plus salt to taste
How to Make It
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line a large rimmed baking sheet — or a 9×13 pan if that’s what you have — with heavy-duty aluminum foil. Leave some overhang on the sides. This matters because cleanup is otherwise a genuine project, and also because the overhang helps contain the gravy as it bubbles.
Spread your sausage chunks across the pan in a mostly single layer. Not perfectly — don’t fuss over it — but try not to pile them in a heap in the middle. You want the heat to get to them from multiple angles.
Scatter the drained vegetables over and around the sausage. I always try to get a little of everything tucked between the chunks so each scoop when you serve it has some of both.
In a bowl — doesn’t need to be a big one — whisk the condensed soup with the broth and the pepper. It’ll look thin and a little lumpy at first. Keep whisking. Taste it; add a small pinch of salt if it needs it, keeping in mind the sausage and soup both bring saltiness already. Pour this mixture evenly over the pan.
Give it a gentle nudge with a spatula to make sure everything is coated and more or less in an even layer.
Bake uncovered for 35 to 40 minutes. Partway through — around the 20-minute mark — open the oven and stir it gently, pulling the browning edges into the middle. This keeps the sausage from drying out and distributes the cooking more evenly. It’s also a good moment to assess whether you need another five minutes.
You’re looking for bubbling all over the pan, a thick glossy gravy, and those browned edges. When you see that, it’s done. Let it sit for five or ten minutes before serving — the gravy will settle and thicken a little more, and you won’t burn your mouth.
Serve it with a big spoon. Make sure everyone gets some of the edge pieces. Those are not optional.
Variations and What I’ve Tried
I’ve made this with leftover ham cubed up in place of sausage, which is very good, though the flavor is lighter. Shredded rotisserie Chicken also works if that’s what you have. The hot dog version I mentioned earlier is legitimately good — don’t make faces until you’ve tried it.
If you want it creamier, add half a can more of soup before baking. If you want a little brightness or tang, a tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce in the gravy base does something interesting. I’ve also stirred cooked elbow macaroni into the pan for the last ten minutes of baking and fed four hungry teenagers with it, which felt like a small miracle.
For picky eaters or kids — use just corn and carrots. Cut the sausage smaller. Kids are more likely to eat something if every single piece looks the same, in my experience.
Leftovers
This keeps in the refrigerator for three or four days. I use a glass container with a tight lid and sometimes transfer it to a shallow dish so it cools faster before I put it away — cooling it quickly before refrigerating is just good food safety habit.
When you reheat it, add a small splash of broth or water because the gravy firms up quite a bit overnight. The stovetop on low is gentler than the microwave, but the microwave works fine if you stir it halfway through.
I’ve thought about freezing it and never have. Potatoes and pasta don’t freeze well once they’re cooked into a dish like this, and the vegetables get softer. If you’re thinking about it — I’d just say make a smaller batch instead.
One Last Thing
I made this on a Tuesday when I had nothing planned for dinner and the grocery budget was tighter than I’d like. It took me less than an hour start to finish and my husband came into the kitchen when he smelled it and said, *what is that.* Not in a bad way.
We ate it over egg noodles with a jar of bread and butter pickles on the side, which sounds like an odd pairing and is in fact the correct pairing — the tang cuts right through the richness of the gravy. I’ve tried it with mashed potatoes, with rice, with thick slices of toasted white bread. The bread might be my favorite, actually, if I’m being honest. Something about soaking up that gravy with bread feels very right.
Whoever first figured out bread and gravy had the right idea all along.
Oven Baked 5-Ingredient Hoover Stew
Ingredients
- 2 lb smoked sausage or kielbasa cut into 1-inch chunks
- 2 cans mixed vegetables about 15 oz each, well drained
- 2 cans condensed cream of mushroom soup about 10.5 oz each
- 1 1/2 cups beef broth or water
- 1 tsp black pepper plus salt to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- Line a large rimmed baking sheet or 9x13-inch pan with heavy-duty aluminum foil, leaving some overhang on the sides.
- Spread the smoked sausage chunks across the pan in a mostly single layer.
- Scatter the drained mixed vegetables over and around the sausage.
- In a bowl, whisk together the condensed cream of mushroom soup, beef broth, and black pepper until mostly smooth.
- Taste the sauce and add a small pinch of salt only if needed.
- Pour the soup mixture evenly over the sausage and vegetables.
- Gently nudge everything with a spatula so it is coated and spread into an even layer.
- Bake uncovered for 35–40 minutes, stirring gently around the 20-minute mark to pull the browned edges into the middle.
- Bake until the pan is bubbling all over, the gravy is thick and glossy, and the edges are browned.
- Let the stew rest for 5–10 minutes before serving.