The sheet-pan dinner is not a new concept, it’s just a great way to cook. And this recipe for sausages with caramelized shallots and apples is sheet-pan cooking at its most successful.

It calls for only six ingredients (plus salt and olive oil) and doesn’t even require a mixing bowl, allowing you to make a delicious dinner with minimal groceries, chopping and cleanup.

Apples and shallots hit the pan first and roast, softening slightly, before being tossed with rosemary and whole-grain mustard. The sausages are arranged on top, and everything cooks together until the shallots are caramelized and the apples are soft and sweet. A drizzle of apple cider vinegar brightens the dish and balances the richness.

This recipe works well with sweet or hot Italian pork sausage, or raw chicken or turkey sausages. But steer clear of precooked sausages: Part of this dish’s appeal is the way the sausage juices flavor the apples and shallots as they roast. On that note, a mix of sweet-and-tart, red-and-green apples is nice here, but the recipe works with most varieties. (Just avoid tender-fleshed apples like McIntosh, which fall apart completely as they cook.)

For a light dinner, serve everything alongside a green salad — maybe a wintry mix of arugula and radicchio — with a medium-bodied white wine or crisp hard cider. Or, for a heartier dinner that nods to a classic French bistro dish, pile the sausages, apples and shallots on top of lentils simmered with bay leaf and garlic.

However you serve it, this dish is a reminder that simple is often best, and a weeknight dinner made with few ingredients and fewer pans is even better.

Sheet-Pan Sausages With Caramelized Shallots and Apples

• 6 shallots, trimmed on both ends and peeled (about 6 ounces)
• 2 crisp apples (preferably one tart, like Granny Smith, and one sweet, like Fuji)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more as needed
• Kosher salt and black pepper, to taste
• 1 pound sweet or hot Italian sausages
• 3 fresh rosemary or thyme sprigs
• 1 teaspoon whole-grain mustard
• 1 to 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar, to taste
• Chopped fresh parsley, for serving (optional)

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Cut shallots lengthwise into 1/2-inch-thick wedges. Core apples and cut into 1/2-inch-thick wedges. Place shallots and apples on a sheet pan, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and toss to coat. Roast 10 to 15 minutes, until shallots are just starting to brown at the edges.

Meanwhile, place sausages on a plate. Using a fork, prick a few holes in each sausage. Drizzle with olive oil and toss to coat.

Add rosemary and mustard to pan with apples and shallots. Toss, spreading everything into an even layer. Arrange sausages in pan, evenly distributed. Roast 12 to 15 minutes, then flip sausages and toss apples and shallots with sausage juices. Roast another 12 to 15 minutes, until sausages are browned and reach an internal temperature of 160 degrees. Shallots should be tender and caramelized.

Transfer sausages to a serving platter and discard rosemary sprigs. Pour vinegar over apples and shallots; toss well, scraping up any browned bits from pan. Add to serving platter; sprinkle with parsley, if using. Serve immediately. Serves 4.

Nutritional information unavailable.