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Hearty and loaded with healthy, fresh ingredients like bell peppers, onion, and garlic, this easy Slow Cooker Sausage & Peppers recipe is the answer to your Italian food cravings! Slice the sausages for pasta or leave them whole and place in buns for easy sausage & pepper sub sandwiches!
This Slow Cooker Sausage & Peppers recipe is great because of the versatility in using it for either pasta or subs! Either way, there’s minimal effort involved!
My family has been crazy busy lately, which means I’m using my slow cooker A LOT!
It really is a time saver when you can just take 10 minutes to throw everything in the slow cooker and dinner is practically made!
I personally love this over farfalle (bowtie) pasta with a generous sprinkling of parmesan cheese on top, but Italian sausage subs or hoagies are just as delicious!
Ingredients needed for this recipe (scroll down to recipe card for complete recipe):
- Italian sausages – mild or hot
- Green bell pepper
- Red bell pepper
- Yellow onion
- Garlic
- Marinara sauce
- Fresh basil leaves
- Pasta or sub rolls
How to make Slow Cooker Sausage & Peppers
- Brown sausages in a skillet, then transfer to a slow cooker.
- Add bell peppers, onion, garlic, marinara sauce, and fresh basil to slow cooker. Cook for 3-4 hours on high or 5-6 hours on low.
- For pasta, I like to slice the sausages, then top my favorite pasta with the sausage, peppers, onions, and the wonderful marinara sauce. For sandwiches, place whole sausages in buns and top with onions, peppers, and if desired, sliced cheese before going under the broiler for melty cheese.
Both mild and hot Italian sausage links are great in this recipe.
My family loves spicy food, so I use hot Italian sausage and add a little crushed red pepper flakes to the marinara sauce too!
We love the combination of both red and green bell peppers, but feel free to double up on one or the other if you prefer.
Optional, but the flavor of fresh basil added to the dish is fantastic!
How to serve Italian sausage & peppers?
Sausage & peppers can be served in a variety of delicious ways.
- You can slice the sausages and put the sauce, sausage, and peppers over your favorite pasta.
- Mashed potatoes are a perfect base in place of pasta.
- Sub sandwiches or hoagies with the sausages left whole are so good! Simply pile everything into your bun and top with sliced cheese. Put it under the broiler until the cheese is melted.
- If you want to take your Sausage & Peppers Sandwich to the next level – make a batch of Chicago-Style Hot Giardiniera a couple days before.
The spicy condiment will add a wonderful zippy flavor and fabulous crunch to the dish!
It’s typically served on Italian Beef sandwiches, but would be amazing with Italian sausage subs!
Tips from readers:
- “I make this for my husband’s lunch. Sausages fit nicely into a thermos” – Danielle
- “I serve this with rice” –Amanda
- “I put mine over mashed potatoes” –April
- “I add more veggies. Tomatoes, corn, mushrooms and olives! Delicious! Then I save the extra sauce and make lasagna or spaghetti and meatballs later!”– Wendy
Substitutions
- I use pork sausages, but chicken or turkey sausages would be great too.
- I used jarred marinara sauce to make this recipe super easy. Feel free to use homemade.
- Green, red, and yellow bell peppers are all delicious in this recipe. Use which ones you like best.
Looking for more slow cooker recipes? Here are some favorites:
- Slow Cooker Chicken Adobo
- Slow Cooker Cheesy Broccoli Potato Soup
- Slow Cooker Chicken Fajita Tacos
- (shown below)
- Slow Cooker Mexican Beef Barbacoa
NOTES:
- A 24oz jar of marinara = 3 cups of homemade.
- Browning the sausages first is not essential, but the sausages will have a better appearance if browned first. It only takes 5 minutes and I think it’s totally worth it.
Slow Cooker Sausage & Peppers
Flavorful Eats
Hearty and loaded with healthy, fresh ingredients like bell peppers, onion, and garlic, this easy Slow Cooker Sausage & Peppers recipe is the answer to your Italian food cravings! Slice the sausages for pasta or leave them whole and place in buns for easy sausage & pepper sub sandwiches!
5 from 3 votes
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Prep Time 0 minutes mins
Cook Time 4 hours hrs
0 minutes mins
Total Time 4 hours hrs
Course Main Course
Cuisine Italian
Servings 5
Equipment
5 quart slow cooker
Ingredients
- 1 lb. Italian sausage links (usually 5 in a pack)
- 1 green bell pepper sliced
- 1 red bell pepper sliced
- 1 yellow onion sliced
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 24 oz marinara sauce
- 6 fresh basil leaves sliced thinly
- 1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes optional (if you like spicy)
- Rolls for sandwiches or cooked pasta
- Parmesan cheese garnish
Instructions
Brown sausages on both sides in a skillet, then transfer them to a slow cooker. (I used a 5-quart slow cooker). We don't need to cook the sausages through, just searing the exterior for color.
Top the sausages with the sliced bell peppers, onion, garlic, marinara sauce, and fresh basil leaves. Cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 5-6.
FOR PASTA: remove the sausages from the slow cooker and slice them on a diagonal, then return them to the slow cooker. Serve the sausage & peppers over your favorite pasta and garnish with parmesan cheese.
FOR SUBS: either leave rolls soft, or toast them, personal preference. Place whole sausages in the roll and top with onions and peppers. If desired, place provolone or mozzarella cheese on top and broil until cheese melts. Enjoy!
Notes
Browning sausages is optional, but they look more appetizing with some color on them, and searing them enhances their flavor.
Keyword Bell Peppers, Pasta, Peppers, Sandwich, Sausage, Slow Cooker
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