Description
Crockpot Sausage and Peppers is an easy and quick dinner built for simple cooking and big family flavor. Juicy Italian sausage slowly cooks with sweet bell peppers and onions in a rich tomato sauce until tender. It is one of the best healthy ideas for a busy weeknight dinner and it also works for meal prep or a casual potluck or holiday party. Serve it in toasted rolls or over rice for a comforting meal that needs little hands on work. It also offers easy cleanup.
Ingredients
- 4 links or about 1 pound Italian sausage links
- 1 large Red bell pepper
- 1 large Yellow bell pepper
- 1 large Green bell pepper
- 1 medium Yellow onion
- 1 can or 14 ounces Crushed tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon Garlic powder
- 1 quarter teaspoon Salt
- 1 quarter teaspoon Black pepper
- 1 tablespoon Olive oil
- 2 tablespoons chopped Fresh parsley
Instructions
- Cut the red and yellow and green bell peppers into irregular strips and slice the onion into uneven curved pieces. Keep the vegetables naturally varied in width so they soften at slightly different rates. The vegetables should now look visibly transformed from whole produce into loose piles of colorful strips. Let some pieces overlap while leaving natural gaps between the different colors.
- Cook the four sausage links with the olive oil until irregular golden brown patches form across several sides. Turn and shift the links so the raw pink surface changes into a lightly seared exterior. The sausages do not need to cook through at this stage. Their visible transformation should be a firmer surface with uneven browning and small darker spots where the meat touched the hot surface.
- Scatter the sliced onion and all three colors of bell pepper across the slow cooker insert. Place the four browned sausage links over the vegetables with each link pointing in a slightly different direction. The food now changes from separate prepared components into one layered mixture. Leave parts of the peppers visible around and between the sausage links instead of arranging everything in neat rows.
- Combine the crushed tomatoes with the Italian seasoning and garlic powder and salt and black pepper. Pour the seasoned tomatoes unevenly over the sausage and vegetables so some pepper strips remain visible. The layered ingredients should now be partially coated with red sauce. The sauce will settle into the gaps while streaks of browned sausage and bright vegetables continue to show through.
- Cook until the sausage centers are fully done and the peppers and onions become soft with curled edges. Stir and shift the mixture once near the end so the thickened tomato sauce coats the vegetables more evenly. The finished mixture should show clear color and texture changes. The peppers will appear darker and softer while the onions become translucent and the sausage develops deeper uneven browning beneath the glossy sauce.
- Transfer one fully cooked sausage link to a white plate and spoon one quarter of the softened peppers and onions beside and partly over it. Add enough thick tomato sauce to connect the sausage and vegetables without covering every browned area. Finish with an uneven scattering of chopped parsley. The single portion should look homemade with irregular pepper strips and non-uniform sauce coverage and visible browning across the sausage.
Notes
Pro Tips:
- Choose sturdy Italian sausage links because thin links may split easily and lose more moisture during the long cooking time.
- Cut the peppers into thicker uneven strips so they soften while keeping visible color and texture in the finished dish.
- Brown the sausage before slow cooking to add deeper flavor and attractive irregular color to the final serving.
- Store the rolls separately from the sausage mixture so the bread stays firm and does not absorb sauce before serving.
Storage: Allow the sausage and pepper mixture to cool before placing it in an airtight container. Refrigerate the sauce and vegetables together so the sausage stays moist and flavorful. Store the cooked dish in the refrigerator for up to four days. Keep sandwich rolls or other bread in a separate container so they do not become soggy from the tomato sauce. Reheat individual portions until the sausage is hot through and the sauce begins to gently bubble. Add a small spoonful of water if the refrigerated sauce has become too thick. For longer storage freeze the cooled sausage and pepper mixture in portion sized containers for up to two months. Thaw it overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 hours
- Category: Dinner
- Cuisine: Italian American