Crock Pot Sausage and Peppers

My Aunt Mary’s Sunday Sauce with sausage and peppers is legendary. Anytime we visit her in Ohio, she sends us back to Iowa with a massive tupperware full — which I will admit to eating cold in the car on the ride home on more than one occasion.

My Aunt has been making this recipe since I was a child. It was passed down from her mother Rose, and likely Rose’s mother before her. At one point she shared the recipe with my Mom and lucky for us, it’s perfect for the crock pot.

Crock Pot Sausage and Peppers is browned Italian sausages layered in a crock pot with seared onions, peppers, garlic, and tomato sauce, cooked low and slow until the sausages are nearly fall-apart-tender, and the sauce is like gravy.

Your house will smell like a DREAM while this feast slow cooks!

Watch How to Make It

Why You’ll Love Italian Sausage and Peppers

This family recipe is incredibly nostalgic for me and triggers so many treasured memories. Even without my experiences though, you’ll still adore this dish!

1. Easy: sear the sausage and peppers then toss them into a crock pot with sauce and slow cook.
2. Feeds a crowd: we often make this dish when getting together with my parents and brothers plus their families because it feeds a crowd and truly everyone loves it. It’s great for game day, too!
3. Make ahead: add everything into the crock pot up to two days ahead of time then refrigerate. Pop it onto the crock pot base then slow cook when you’re ready.
4. DELICIOUS: if you’ve ever had Sunday Sauce then you know you can taste the love put into it. Crock Pot Sausage and Peppers tastes like homemade, slow-cooked Sunday Sauce – because it is! – but doesn’t take as much effort to make. Every time I eat it I think of this moment when my husband and I were wondering through an Italian cliffside village smelling folks’ Sunday Sauce simmering on their stoves.

Main Ingredients Needed

Something else I love about this slow cooked sausage and peppers recipe is that you only need a handful of ingredients to make it:

• Sausage: sweet Italian sausages are what my Aunt Mary uses, though if you want a spicy dish, feel free to use spicy Italian sausages. I like Johnsonville brand.
• Peppers: a variety of bell pepper colors makes for a pretty dish, but any color or combination of colors will do.
• Onions: a large or couple of thinly sliced yellow onions.
• Marinara sauce: as of 2025 this recipe has been updated to use a couple jars of high-quality marinara or spaghetti sauce (I included the original ingredients in the recipe card below). I find marinara sauce adds even more flavor to this dish!

How to Serve Italian Sausage and Peppers

I like to serve Italian Sausage and Peppers one of two ways, and also usually with a big salad and loaf of warm Focaccia bread.

1. Sub sandwiches: We’ve always enjoyed sausage and peppers stuffed into rolls smothered with sauce and mozzarella cheese. I like toasted Canyon Bakehouse Sub Rolls. If you don’t need to eat gluten free, your favorite sub or hoagie roll will do.
2. Pasta: scoop the sausage and peppers over cooked rigatoni or penne. I’m loving Rummo pasta lately!

How to Cook Italian Sausage and Peppers in the Crock Pot

Step 1: Sear the Italian sausages.

Start by heating a large, 12″+ skillet with high sides over medium-high heat. Spritz the bottom with nonstick spray then add as many sweet Italian sausages halves as will fit in the bottom.

Despite the name, SWEET Italian sausage does not taste sweet!

Sear the sausages on all four sides until golden brown – they do not need to be cooked all the way through. You CAN put sausages in a slow cooker raw but searing them provides a ton of additional flavor.

The sausages will start to shrink fairly quickly so don’t worry too much about overcrowding the pan. That said, you’ll likely need to do this in 2-3 batches.

Transfer the seared sausages into the bottom of a 6-quart slow cooker then pour out the fat from the skillet and sear the remaining sausages.

Step 2: Sear the peppers and onions.

After the last batch of sausages, pour out all but ~1 Tablespoon fat then add thinly sliced bell peppers and yellow onions to the skillet. Again, the colors of the bell peppers are up to you!

Season with salt and pepper then saute until the vegetables begin to soften, 3-5 minutes. Add fresh garlic and a pinch of red chili pepper flakes if you’d like a little bit of heat then sear for one more minute. Transfer the vegetables into the crock pot with the sausages.

Step 3: Slow cook the peppers and onions.

To the crock pot add two, 24-26oz jars of HIGH QUALITY marinara sauce or spaghetti sauce. I love Gino’s, which is a regional brand, but you can use what you like best. Rao’s or Bove’s, for example, would be delicious!

Stir all the ingredients to combine then place a lid on top and cook on LOW for 5-6 hours, or until the peppers are extremely tender.

How to Store, Reheat, and Freeze

• To store: Transfer the cooled sausage and peppers to a glass storage container with a lid (plastic will become stained by the sauce) then refrigerate for 3-5 days.
• To reheat: Scoop the sausages, peppers, and sauce into a microwave-safe bowl then cover and microwave until hot.
• To freeze: Scoop the chilled sausage and peppers into gallon-size Freezer Ziplock bags then freeze flat. Thaw in the refrigerator then reheat in the crock pot on warm or low until hot, or reheat in a covered pot on the stovetop until hot.

That’s all she wrote! From my family to yours, I hope you love this incredible, slow-cooked Italian Sausage and Peppers with sauce – enjoy!

More Hearty Italian Recipes You’ll Love

• Crock Pot Italian Beef Sandwiches
• Pink Sauce Pasta
• Loaded Italian Sausages
• Mushroom Risotto
• Oven-Braised Short Rib Ragu
• Gluten Free Meatballs

Photos by Ashley McLaughlin

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