Italian sausage with bell peppers, and onions in the slow cooker makes an easy and delicious dinner that tastes just like an Italian grandma worked for hours on it! You'll make this crock pot sausage and pepper recipe on repeat.
Ingredients
6largeItalian sausage linksfresh links with the casing, not smoked sausage
24ouncesmarinara sauce
½teaspoonoregano
½teaspoongarlic powder
½teaspoonsalt
¼teaspoonpepper
3largebell peppers sliced between ¼ and a half inch strips. we use a mix of red, yellow and orange bell peppers
1largewhite onion sliced between ¼ and a half inch strips
Instructions
Spray a skillet with a little oil and place over medium high heat. Brown the sausages for about 2-3 minutes on each side just until they begin to get a little color. The sausages won’t be cooked through.
Spray the slow cooker with oil then add the marinara to the bottom of the slow cooker. Pour ¼ cup of water to the tomato jar and shake it with the lid on to get all of the tomato into the slow cooker.
Add oregano, garlic powder, salt and pepper to the sauce. Mix the spices into the sauce with a spoon or spatula.
Place the bell pepper slices and sliced onions on top of the tomato sauce. Add the sausages on top of the peppers and onions. Push the sausages down a little into the peppers and onions.
Set the slow cooker to cook for 5-6 hours on low or 3-4 hours on high. The sausages should be at least 160 degrees when measured with a meat thermometer. Flip to the warm setting until you are ready to serve, then enjoy on rolls.
Notes
If you choose to serve this recipe on a roll, I recommend using a hoagie roll or a ciabatta roll. A hot dog bun will typically fall apart and become too mushy when you add the warm tomato sauce. The sausages can easily be sliced to fit on the roll, or can also be sliced and layered if your rolls are more like a thick bun.