Name: Slow Cooker Sausage & Peppers
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 4 h
Yield: 10 Servings
Ingredients: 2 LBS Hot or Sweet Italian Sausage; 2 Large Bell Peppers, sliced (I used yellow and green); 1 Yellow Onion, sliced; 3 Garlic Cloves, minced; 1 14.5 Oz Can Fire Roasted Tomatoes; 1 14.5 Oz Can Tomato Sauce; 6 Oz Tomato Paste; 1 Tsp Salt; 1 Tsp Crushed Red Pepper Flakes; 1 Cup Water

I’m going to be perfectly honest with you… I made this Slow Cooker Sausage & Peppers today and I just ate it on a hoagie not too long ago. As I sit here trying to think of what to say about it, I have the overwhelming urge to go get a second one. But, it’s late and I shouldn’t. Ugh… we’ll see how this goes.

So… Slow Cooker Sausage & Peppers is on the agenda for today. What to say, what to say… first, it’s one of the most simple and delicious recipes that I make. My husband is absolutely in love with this one. Like maybe I should be concerned, but I totally get it. It’s that good. There are some types of recipes that I don’t believe in using a slow cooker for, but this is not one of them. The key to what builds all of the flavor in this dish is that it all cooks and marries together for hours. The sauce absorbs some of the flavor of the sausage. It’s just divine.

For this recipe, you can use either Hot Italian Sausage or Sweet Italian Sausage. Or both. If you have kiddos that are planning to eat this, I’d lean towards the sweet or a mix of the sweet and hot. My kids are perfectly fine with half hot and half sweet. I use the pre-ground sausage. If you cant’t find the pre-ground sausage, the links will work- just make sure that you remove the casings.

Start by browning the sausage in a medium-sized skillet over high heat. You want to break it up as it cooks, but not too much. You don’t want it to be as broken up as ground beef- you’ll want good sized chunks of sausage when you put it in a hoagie roll. I like to cook my sausage until it has a nice color and crunch to it (it’ll soften as it sits in the sauce). Cook it all the way through; never put raw sausage in a slow cooker.

To your slow cooker, add your bell peppers and onions…

Along with your sausage and garlic…

Next add the tomato sauce, fire roasted tomatoes, tomato paste, salt, pepper, crushed red pepper and water. Give it a good stir.

Cook it on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours. When it’s done cooking, it will look like this…

Now after it’s cooked, it’s totally up to you as to what to do with it. But, I BEG you to make a sandwich out of it. Grab some good quality hoagie rolls. Lay some provolone cheese on the inside of it, use a slotted spoon and place the sausage and peppers inside the roll (shake of excess sauce). Place the hoagies into a baking dish so they don’t tip over and ruin your day.

Now top with some more cheese…

Stick them under the broiler on low until the cheese is melted and the hoagies are crispy. Keep an eye on them so they don’t burn.

It’ll look like this 👆🏻when it’s done. Be still my heart.

You’ll want to take a bite of it right out of the oven. It’s worth burning your mouth over.

You could also serve this over rice or just eat it out of a bowl by itself. Sometimes, I take the leftovers and add some rice and some other fun stuff and turn it into Stuffed Peppers. Mind-blowing, right?! I promise to post that recipe. Although, I don’t know if I’ll have leftovers from this batch… 🤔

Slow Cooker Sausage & Peppers

Prep Time

10 Minutes

Cook Time

4 Hours

Servings

Ingredients

2 LBS Hot or Sweet Italian Sausage
2 Large Bell Peppers, sliced I used yellow and green
1 Yellow Onion, sliced
3 Garlic Cloves, minced
1 14.5 Oz Can Fire Roasted Tomatoes
1 14.5 Oz Can Tomato Sauce
6 Oz Tomato Paste
1 Tsp Salt
1 Tsp Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
1 Cup Water