Pineapple Kielbasa Bites

These Pineapple Kielbasa Bites are a perfect appetizer for game day or any party you’re hosting. They’ve got a sweet and tangy sauce with a little kick from jalapeño — though you can easily leave that out if spicy isn’t your thing.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

I love recipes like this one because they’re mostly hands-off. Once the kielbasa is sliced and everything’s tossed together in the baking dish, the oven does the rest of the work while you focus on the rest of your spread. The sauce thickens up beautifully around the sausage and pineapple as it bakes, so you end up with these sticky, caramelized bites that people can’t stop grabbing with a toothpick.

Ingredients:

• kielbasa- Pederson’s Natural Old World Kielbasa Sausage is the brand I like to use. No sugar added and easily available at Whole Foods and Sprouts.
• diced pineapple (fresh or canned — if using canned, two 14-ounce cans makes this easier)
• pineapple juice
• tablespoons molasses
• tablespoons coconut sugar
• tablespoon arrowroot powder
• tablespoon fresh parsley
• jalapeños, sliced (optional)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Cut each kielbasa in half. Place a chopstick on each side of a piece of kielbasa, then slice about ⅔ of the way down — the chopsticks will stop you from cutting all the way through. Repeat with all the kielbasa pieces.
3. Slice the sausage into 1-inch bite-size pieces. Place in a baking dish along with the pineapple chunks.
4. In a small bowl, combine the pineapple juice, molasses, coconut sugar, arrowroot powder, parsley, and jalapeño slices. Stir together, then pour over the kielbasa and pineapple.
5. Bake for 30 minutes, uncovered.

A Few Tips

• The chopstick trick is worth the extra minute — it keeps your slices even and gives the sauce more surface area to cling to without any piece falling apart.
• If you like things spicier, leave some jalapeño seeds in, or add an extra jalapeño.
• These reheat well, so they’re a good make-ahead option — bake, cool, refrigerate, then warm through in the oven right before serving.
• Toothpicks make these easy to grab straight off the tray, which makes them great for a buffet-style spread.

Pineapple Kielbasa Bites

Recipe by Kristin Sullinger

Course: Blog Posts

Servings

6-8

servings

Prep time

10

minutes

Cooking time

30

minutes

Ingredients

• 2 packages of Kielbasa (make sure it is paleo, check your labels)

• 3 cups pineapples (you can use fresh or canned, if you use canned, use (2) 14 ounce cans)

• 1 cup pineapple juice (if you use canned pineapple you can use the juice from the can)

• 2 tablespoons molasses

• 2 tablespoons coconut sugar

• 1 tablespoon arrowroot powder

• 1 tablespoon fresh parsley

• 2 jalapenos, sliced (you can leave this out if you do not like a little kick- will be just as delicious)

Directions

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut each kielbasa in half. Take two chopsticks and place on each side of a piece of the kielbasa. Slice the kielbasa about 2/3 the way down, the chopsticks will help you to not cut all of the way though. Do this with all of the kielbasa pieces.
• Slice the sausage into 1 inch bite size pieces. Place in a baking dish with the pineapple chunks. In a small bowl, add in the molasses, coconut sugar, arrowroot powder, parsley, and jalapeno slices. Stir all together- pour over the kielbasa and pineapple.
   
• Bake for 30 minutes, uncovered. Enjoy!

Nutrition Facts

• Serving Size: 1 serving
• Total number of serves: 6
• Calories: 100kcal
• Fat: 0.3g
• Saturated Fat: 0.1g
• Sodium: 99mg
• Potassium: 239mg
• Carbohydrates: 25.6g
• Fiber: 1.7g
• Sugar: 20.2g
• Protein: 0.7g
• Vitamin A: 10.2mcg
• Vitamin C: 43.7mg
• Calcium: 32mg
• Iron: 1mg
• Vitamin K: 12.4mcg
• Thiamin: 0.1mg
• Niacin: 0.6mg
• Vitamin B6: 0.2mg
• Folate: 18.2mcg
• Pantothenic Acid: 0.3mg
• Phosphorus: 13mg
• Magnesium: 32mg
• Selenium: 1.5mcg
• Copper: 0.2mg
• Manganese: 0.9mg

Perfect for an Apps-Only Get-Together

If you’re the friend who always gets asked “what are you bringing?”, these bites are a great answer — they travel well, hold their temperature for a while on a buffet table, and there’s rarely any left to carry back home. They’d also be right at home at an apps-only get-together, where everyone brings one dish and grazes all night instead of sitting down to a full meal. If that’s the kind of party you’re planning (or crashing), a few more to add to the table: Paleo Buffalo Wing Dip, Paleo Sweet and Sour Meatballs, and Paleo Bacon Wrapped Hot Dogs.