Juicy Slow Cooker Italian Sausage and Peppers Dinner

Juicy Slow Cooker Italian Sausage and Peppers is the classic Italian-American dinner, made hands-off. Whole sweet Italian sausage links get a quick browning in olive oil, then settle into wide strips of red and green bell pepper, sliced onion and a garlicky crushed tomato sauce for a slow afternoon in the crock pot.

The finished peppers are soft and tender, the way slow cooking leaves them, but they're still recognizable strips, and the sauce clings to them instead of pooling. Serve it on its own, over pasta or piled into hoagie rolls.

Why You'll Enjoy This Recipe

• Real sausage-and-peppers flavor. Browning the links first gives color and a savory base the slow cooker can't produce on its own.
• Peppers that stay in strips. Wide cuts and careful layering keep them from collapsing into the sauce.
• A sauce that clings. Just one can of crushed tomatoes, because the vegetables add their own juices, plus an easy fix if the sauce comes out thin.
• Pantry-simple. Nine ingredients, with no special seasoning blend.
• Flexible serving. It's a complete dinner as written; pasta and rolls are optional.

Ingredients and Notes

Exact amounts are in the ingredient list above. A few notes on choosing them:

Sweet Italian pork sausage links. 8 fresh, uncooked links, about 2 pounds (900 g) total. Link sizes vary by brand, so go by weight. Use raw links from the meat case, not precooked or smoked sausage, and make sure they're fully thawed. Leave the links whole and the casings intact; they hold the juices in during the long cook.

Red and green bell peppers. 2 large of each, about 2 pounds (900 g) whole. Red peppers bring sweetness, green ones a slightly bitter, savory edge that's traditional here. Firm, thick-walled peppers hold up best.

Yellow onion. 1 large, about 12 ounces (340 g), sliced ½ inch thick.

Garlic. 4 cloves, minced. It goes into the tomatoes so it's spread evenly over the top.

Crushed tomatoes. One 14- to 15-ounce can, about 1¾ cups. That looks like too little at the start, but the peppers and onion release plenty of liquid as they cook. A 28-ounce can would leave you with a watery sauce.

Olive oil. 1 tablespoon, for browning.

Dried oregano and black pepper. 1½ teaspoons oregano and ½ teaspoon black pepper, stirred into the tomatoes with the garlic.

Salt. Only as needed, at the end. Italian sausage is already salted, and much of that salt ends up in the sauce. Most batches need ¼ teaspoon or none at all.

Equipment and Slow Cooker Size

• A 6-quart oval slow cooker. The oval shape lets 8 links lie in a single layer. USDA recommends filling a slow cooker between half and two-thirds full; this batch fits that range in a 6-quart cooker. A 5-quart oval works if the links still fit in one layer, but it will be fuller.
• A 12-inch skillet for browning the sausage and, if needed, reducing the sauce.
• Tongs for turning the links.
• An instant-read thermometer. It's the only reliable way to know the sausage is done.
• A cutting board and sharp knife.

How to Cut the Peppers and Onion

Peppers: Cut off the tops, pull out the cores and seeds, and slice the walls lengthwise into 1-inch (2.5 cm) wide strips. Thin strips turn to mush over several hours; wide ones soften but keep their shape.

Onion: Halve it through the root, peel it and slice it into ½-inch (1.25 cm) thick half-moons. Thinner slices melt away on the bottom of the cooker.

Why the Layering Matters

The order in the cooker is deliberate:

1. Peppers and onion on the bottom, tossed together into an even bed. They sit closest to the heat and release their juices into the sauce.
2. Sausage in a single layer on top, pressed in slightly, so every link cooks at the same rate and the browned casings aren't buried under the vegetables.
3. Tomatoes spooned over last, with the garlic and oregano, to season everything as the juices run down through the layers.

Don't stir during cooking. Stirring breaks up the softening peppers and lets out heat.

Recipe Notes

• Times at a glance: 25 minutes of prep, including 6 to 8 minutes of browning, then 4 to 5 hours on LOW.
• Total time: the 5 hours 25 minutes on the recipe card uses the longest LOW time. Many batches are done sooner. If the sauce needs reducing, add about 10 minutes.
• Cooking on HIGH: cook for 2½ to 3 hours instead, and start checking at 2½ hours. LOW is gentler on the peppers and is the recommended method.
• Yield: 8 servings, 1 link each, with peppers and sauce. Pasta and rolls are extra.
• Cooking times are estimates. Slow cookers vary by brand, size and age. Go by the thermometer and the texture of the peppers, not just the clock.

How to Check the Sausage

USDA lists 160°F as the safe minimum internal temperature for sausage made with ground pork. Insert an instant-read thermometer into the end of the thickest link and push it to the center, so the tip sits in the middle of the meat, not against the casing or the pan. Check more than one link.

Start checking at 4 hours on LOW (or 2½ hours on HIGH). Don't judge by color: browned casings look done long before the centers are.

Brown and cook in one go. The browned links are still raw inside, so they go straight into the slow cooker. Don't brown them ahead and refrigerate them to cook later.

Use thawed sausage only. USDA advises thawing meat before it goes into a slow cooker, because frozen meat can stay too long at temperatures where bacteria multiply. Thaw sausage in the refrigerator overnight.

Serving Suggestions

The base dinner is complete as written. These are optional and cooked or bought separately:

• Hoagie rolls: split and toast them, then tuck in a link with a spoonful of peppers and sauce. A slice of provolone is a classic addition.
• Pasta: toss the peppers and sauce with rigatoni, penne or ziti, and slice the sausage on top.
• Polenta or mashed potatoes to catch the sauce.
• Crusty Italian bread for mopping the plate.
• A green salad with a sharp vinaigrette.

Prefer the stovetop? Try the skillet version, Sausage, Peppers, and Onions. For more hands-off dinners, see Slow Cooker Sausage & Onions or Crockpot Pepper Steak.

Storage, Freezing and Reheating

Refrigerator. Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours of cooking (1 hour if the room is above 90°F). Store them in shallow, airtight containers so they cool quickly, and use within 3 to 4 days.

Reheating. Reheat leftovers to 165°F. Warm them in a covered saucepan or skillet over medium-low heat, turning the links now and then, or in a covered dish in the microwave. Add a splash of water if the sauce has thickened too much. Don't reheat leftovers in the slow cooker, which heats food too slowly.

Freezing. Freeze cooled portions in freezer containers for best quality within 1 to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then reheat to 165°F. The peppers will be softer after freezing.