Slow Cooker Sausage and Peppers

A white slow cooker with sausages in tomato sauce and tongs.

Slow Cooker Sausage and Peppers is an easy crockpot dinner recipe with sausage links, sliced bell peppers, dried seasonings, and flavorful marinara sauce. Simple to make with convenient and fresh ingredients.

Course Dinner

Cuisine American

Keyword slow cooker sausage and peppers

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 4

Total Time 4 10

Servings

Calories 465kcal

Author Jessica - Together as Family

Ingredients

5-6 Italian sausage links (see notes)
1 yellow onion OR sweet onion thinly sliced in half-moon shapes
1 yellow bell pepper thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper thinly sliced
1 green bell pepper thinly sliced
1 jar (24 oz) marinara sauce
3 cloves garlic minced or pressed
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional, more or less to taste)

Instructions

Spray the inside of a 6 Qt to 8 QT slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray, or drizzle some olive oil into the slow cooker to prevent the sausages from sticking.
Place the sausages in the bottom of the slow cooker in a single layer.
5-6 Italian sausage links
Add the sliced onion, and sliced bell peppers evenly over top of the sausages.
1 yellow onion OR sweet onion, 1 yellow bell pepper, 1 red bell pepper, 1 green bell pepper
Pour the marinara sauce evenly over top the peppers and onions. Sprinkle the garlic and all the dried seasonings on top of the marinara sauce. Do not stir! Layering the ingredients keeps the sausages juicy and helps the peppers steam evenly.
1 jar (24 oz) marinara sauce, 3 cloves garlic, 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper, ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
Cover with the lid and cook on LOW heat for 4-5 hours or HIGH heat for 2-3 hours.
^{*Make sure the sausage links have reached an internal temperature of 165℉ before serving.}
Serve the saucy peppers and sausage inside hoagie rolls for a sandwich, over rice or pasta, or over mashed potatoes. Enjoy!

Notes

Sausage Links : These come in either a 5-pack or 6-pack and either one will work in the recipe. I use a 6 pack so I can feed my family of 6. The Italian sausages go best with the flavors of the recipe (marinara sauce + Italian seasoning) but any flavor/variety of smoked sausage links will works just fine - such as applewood smoked, beef, turkey, spicy, cheddar, jalapeño, regular, etc.

Smoked sausage links come in a pack of 6. The uncooked, raw sausage links come in a pack of 5. The smoked sausage links are already cooked, but they get super tender & soft in the slow cooker (my family loves the smoked sausages). The raw Italian sausage links will obviously still cook in the slow cooker until juicy & tender, but their texture is a bit different. Use whichever you prefer.

Seasonings : Add any additional seasonings as wanted - cajun seasoning blend, a bbq seasoning blend from Kinders brand (I love their seasoning mixes), or just additional garlic powder or onion powder are always great choices. The sausages themselves are very flavorful so we love the recipe as is, but it's a very adaptable recipe to what you prefer. Using Italian style sausages is preferred because of the marinara sauce + Italian seasoning.

Spice : For a spicy flavor be sure and use a hot or spicy Italian sausage, add more red pepper flakes, and you can even add a dash of hot sauce to the slow cooker as well. The amount of red pepper flakes called for add flavor but not spicy heat at all. So use more if you want spicy heat.

Nutrition