Crock Pot Sausage and Peppers
Sausage and Peppers have incredible flavorful and are simple to make using a Crock Pot. Plus they’re versatile and can be served in many ways!
A CLASSIC CROCK POT DINNER RECIPE
I love this recipe for sausage and peppers. It is delicious all by itself or served in a lot of different ways. There’s something so delicious about these juicy bites of Italian Sweet Sausage mixed in a bed of tender onion and bell pepper slices! You can throw some in a sandwich or toss it with pasta. It is one of the recipes that is a go-to for me on weeknights when I am just stumped on what to make for dinner!
Absolutely delicious! My husband couldn’t stop talking about how good this was! Thank you so much for this recipe.
– Betsy
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
There’s so many options with this Sausage and Peppers recipe and I love it. Two of my most popular ways to serve it is on hot dog buns, or slice them up and serve them on their own. They’re also really good on top of a bed of pasta, rice, or egg noodles. 
This dish is perfect just by itself, but if you want some side option ideas, here are a few to try:
– Southern Fried Potatoes
– Mac and Cheese
– Grilled Vegetables
– Pasta Salad
Yes. Prep the sausage, peppers and onions as you would for the crock pot version.
Preheat the oven to 400F and line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper.
Lay out the sausage, bell peppers, and onions in a single layer on the pan.
Drizzle with olive oil since we aren’t adding butter. Season according to the crock pot version, toss as needed.
Bake for 25-35 minutes, or until the peppers are as tender. You may want to rotate the pan about halfway through. Serve how you prefer.
Yes, if you like Sausage and Peppers with lots of sauce, these can be served with more warmed up marinara sauce
Leftovers should be store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4-5 days. Transfer to a freezer safe container and keep for up to 3 months in the freezer.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (SEE RECIPE CARD BELOW FOR THE FULL RECIPE)
HOW TO MAKE SAUSAGE AND PEPPERS:
Slice up all the green peppers, red peppers and onions. This takes the most time in the preparation. The rest is a breeze! Pop all of your sliced veggies into a wide (or oval) 4 to 6-quart slow cooker. Season veggies with Italian seasoning, garlic powder along with salt and pepper. Pour the marinara sauce over peppers and onion. Stir well. Cover and allow to cook on low for 2 hours (stirring occasionally).
When peppers and onions are soft and cooked, it’s time to start grilling up those sausages! Sear sausage in 2 Tablespoons salted butter, then added to the slow cooker. (this step is optional if you don’t want to brown your sausage.) Cook 4 more hours on low, stirring every hour or so as the peppers cooked down. But be careful not to break up the sausages as they will become soft from cooking.
If you want to eat the sausages sliced, just remove from the crock pot, slice them up then add back in. Serve it all up by itself or on hot dog buns!
CRAVING MORE RECIPES?
- Slow Cooker Brats
- Sheet Pan Sausage and Peppers
- Easy Sausage Baked Beans
- Crock Pot Kielbasa and Potatoes
- Sausage Spaghetti Cups
- Creamy Tuscan Sausage Tortellini Soup
- Sausage, Egg and Cheese Biscuit Casserole
- Crock Pot Creamy Sausage and Potatoes
- Air Fryer Sausage Balls
- Polish Casserole for Two
- Crock Pot Lasagna
- Crock Pot Pork Loin
- Kielbasa Sheet Pan Meal
- Crock Pot Round Steak
Originally published: December 2017
Updated photos & republished: May 2025 (Note: original post was a sponsored post for Johnsonville Sizzling Sausage Grill which has been discontinued)
Crock Pot Sausage and Peppers
Ingredients
- 4 red peppers, sliced
- 4 green peppers, sliced
- 1 large onion, sliced
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 Tablespoon Italian seasoning
- ½ Tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 ¼ cups marinara sauce
- 2 Tablespoons salted butter
- 2 (19 ounce) packages Johnsonville Italian Sweet Sausages
- hot dog buns (or cooked pasta), to serve
Instructions
- Add 4 red peppers, sliced, 4 green peppers, sliced and 1 large onion, sliced into a wide (or oval) 4 to 6-quart slow cooker.
- Season veggies with salt and pepper, to taste, 1 Tablespoon Italian seasoning and 1/2 Tablespoon garlic powder.
- Pour 1 ¼ cups marinara sauce over peppers and onion. Stir well. Cover and allow to cook on low for 2 hours (stirring occasionally).
- When peppers and onions are soft and cooked, it's time to start browning the sausages.
- Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add 2 Tablespoons salted butter. Sear both sides of all the Italian sausage links to get a golden brown color. When done, add to the slow cooker. Note: you can skip this step if you don't want to brown the sausages. Add links to the slow cooker.
- Cover and cook 4 more hours on low, stirring every hour or so as the peppers cooked down. But be careful not to break up the sausages as they will become soft from cooking.
- If you want to eat the sausages sliced, just remove from the crock pot, slice them up then add back in.
- Serve it all up by itself or on sub or hot dog buns!
Video
Notes
- Please refer to my FAQ’s (Frequently Asked Questions) and ingredient list above for other substitutions or for the answers to the most common questions.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
can I use canned crushed tomatoes?
You could but you lose a lot of flavor
Can you use frozen pepper strips in place of fresh?
Possibly. The frozen kind taste just fine but can add excess water to the mix.
Can I use oil to brown the sausages instead of butter? My daughter has a dairy allergy.
Absolutely!
Can you cook it on high for 2 hours instead to speed up the process?
Technically yes but you get a much better flavor by letting them simmer longer in the sauce 🙂
Hi! I’ve made this many times and love it! I am short on time today and wondering if I can use the precut frozen peppers in this vs. fresh? Thank you! Laurie
We have a Italian Festival in the beginning of August, I just love crock pot sausage peppers and onions.
Super easy and such a hit on a hot summer day, all could dress their sausage with as much/little of peppers and onions. I added mushrooms because I had some – was excellent! Thank You!!
can I use smoked sausage instead of the sweet Italian sausage
Hi Michael! I don’t see why not!
I made this for dinner but I used Smoked Brats because that is what was in my freezer. I served it over rice. It is so good.
I would definitely make this again we loved it.
Thanks so much Phyllis! I appreciate you coming back to comment!
Always a winner in our household
Where can I purchase the Johnsonville grill?
Sadly they don’t make it anymore 🙁
Absolutely delicious! My husband couldn’t stop talking about how good this was! Thank you so much for this recipe.
I am Canadian and just wonder if I can buy this grill in Canada, also, since I don’t have this grill, can I just put in oven or fry instead.
Hi Terri! You can just cook them on the stove top for a few minutes on each side. Then slice and pop into the slow cooker to finish off. 🙂 If you’re interested, the grill can be ordered here –
Thanks Brandie! We made this – it was fabulous!!!
This was such an easy and fun recipe. We all really loved it
I’m going to try cooking the peppers and onions in my cast iron skillet instead of using my slow cooker!
I think it should still turn out amazing! Let me know what you think!
What is best slow cooker on market to buy I have old fashioned low/high and only want to purchase one multiple uses
Thank you
I don’t have the grill so what’s the best way to cook the sausage?
Hi Kimberly! There are directions on the package on how to cook them. Just follow the skillet directions. Hope that helps! 🙂
I could eat sausage and peppers every day!
Now this is my kind of meal!
LOVE Johnsonville everything!
On item #11, you have “Slice up the peppers”. I think you want that to say ” Slice up the sausages”. The recipe looks really good!
Hi Bonnie! Good catch! You are right – I got it fixed. Thank you!
can I buy a sausage cooker.
Hi Barbara! You sure can! You can go to and purchase one. When you check out, there will be a box to enter a “Promo Code” and you will want to type: SIZZLE
That will get you free shipping! 🙂