I feel honored that I even have this Italian Sausage and Peppers Recipe to share with you all. I didn’t even know what Italian Sausage was until I moved to NJ. Seriously! I grew up believing there was only one kind of sausage in the world. You could get it in breakfast links or by the pound at the grocery store.
Looking back, there is one other incident where I had Italian Sausage, but at the time I had know idea what I had eaten, I just knew that it was so flavorful it blew my mind. I was serving as a missionary for my church and we would often be invited to have dinner with people from the congregation in which we were serving. One night we ate with a family who we hadn’t eaten with before and the father, who grew up in New York, made dinner that night. He made the most amazing spaghetti I have ever had. It had giant meatballs and what I now know were large Italian sausage links in it. It was FANTASTIC!!!
I asked him what the other meat was besides the meatballs, and he kind of laughed and said, “It’s a special sausage I order from New York.” I remember thinking it was a little excessive that he (living in California) ordered his sausage from New York.
Then about 6 years later I moved to New Jersey and completely understand why he would go to the trouble of ordering sausage from across the country. The Italians out here in the East really know what they’re doing with their sausage!
I’m hoping good Italian Sausage is more easily available out West than it was when I was a kid. You’re going to need some to make these ridiculously delicious Italian Sausage and Pepper Sandwiches.
Back to the recipe: One of my good friends in New Jersey introduced me to this recipe and taught me how to make it. She is Italian so I feel very fortunate to have learned this art at her feet.
It’s not complicated, but certain things really matter. Like, you brown your sausages. Do not just throw them in the 9×13 baking dish without browning them first. She likes to use half hot and half mild sausages. I really like the hot ones, but my kids don’t so I end up doing all mild sausages most of the time.
Once you have browned the links, you put them in a 9×13 baking dish, slice up as many peppers and onions as you want. I usually slice 2 or 3 onions and one large red and one large green pepper. Then you throw on a handful of peeled and smashed garlic cloves….at least seven or eight. Don’t crush or chop the garlic. Leave it basically whole, just a little smashed or broken. Drizzle with olive oil (the olive oil is another non-negotiable step, don’t skip it or use any other oil), salt and pepper, cover with foil and bake for 2 hours. Remove the foil for the last 30 minutes of baking.
Serve with nice crusty rolls or your favorite Italian bread. Make sure to dip the bread in those delicious juices on the bottom of the pan. So good!
This recipe also works great in the slow cooker. You do all the same steps, brown sausage, slice onions and peppers, toss in garlic, drizzle olive oil, salt and pepper, and then instead of a 9×13 baking dish you put it in the slow cooker and set it to low for 4 hours. Same great results as baking it!
Cooking it in a slow cooker is a great way to serve it at a Super Bowl Party or other Holiday gatherings.
More Italian Sausage Recipes
Amazing Spaghetti SauceKale and Sausage Soup with Cannellini BeansMillion Dollar Zucchini Skillet
7-8 cloves of garlic, peeled and slightly smashed (they should still look like a whole piece of garlic)
Drizzle Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper
Instructions
Brown Sausages in a skillet. When browned transfer them to a 9x13 baking dish. Once all of them are in the dish, cover them with the sliced onions, peppers and garlic cloves
Drizzle a small amount of Olive oil over the pepper and onions.
Salt and Pepper. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 2 hours. Remove the foil for the last 30 minutes of cooking.
Serve with Crusty rolls or your favorite buns.
**For Slow Cooker instructions see written post.
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Italian sausage makes any meal a little more savory. Hot or mild, whole or crumbled, it pairs well with a variety of vegetables — including bright peppers, crunchy kale, fennel, and briny olives — as well as beans and pasta.
If serving Sausage and Peppers for a sit down meal, serve with a pasta such as penne all vodka. Sausage and Peppers also goes well with rice or mashed potatoes. If serving to a party or in a casual environment, serve with club rolls on the side and let everyone make their own Sausage & Pepper sandwich.
With its origins in southern Italy, this versatile dish can be served over pasta, nestled in a crusty roll for a satisfying sandwich, or even alongside some creamy polenta.
When it comes to sausage dinners, there's a wide range of side dishes that can spruce up your meal. Some of our favorites include baked beans, creamy parmesan-polenta, sautéed peppers and onions, barbecue fries and traditional coleslaw.
Salame is a general term for cured Italian sausage that is fermented and then air dried, allowing it to be stored at room temperature for years. A popular variety is salame genovese di Sant'Olcese made from a combination of pork, beef and/or veel, red wine, garlic and spices.
Casseroles, beans and rice, pasta, soup, stew – there's really not much you can't make with smoked sausage. Plus, because it's already cooked, it makes a great dinner shortcut. Just add whatever's in your fridge or pantry – whether that's pasta, rice, potatoes, broccoli, eggs, etc.
To reheat, just defrost in the refrigerator and heat in a 300 F oven for about 30 minutes. You can also toss the roasted sausage and veggies with pasta or just eat it on its own if you don't want to eat it as a sandwich. Try tossing the roasted sausage with onions and peppers with tomato sauce for another variation.
Ground meatballs, Italian sausage, pork, or ox tail, can all be put directly into the sauce raw as long as you are cooking the sauce until the meat is cooked.
The particular ingredient that usually sets Italian sausage apart is fennel. This is a licorice scented herb that gives Italian sausage its unique taste that is different than other types of sausage.
aglio, salsiccia, peperoni, sarde. Make a huge batch of deviled eggs, eat one every time you want "something" - have huge omelets with bacon, sausage, peppers, mushrooms & cheese.
It's the quintessential Italian-American classic. Grilled, broiled, or pan-fried Italian sausages, with sautéed peppers and onions. The flavor (and the aroma) are exactly what it means to be Italian-American.
A combination of Brisket (point end) and Chuck is a good combination. Eye Round and Sirloin Tip are also good, albeit more lean so additional fat will need to be added.
Casseroles, beans and rice, pasta, soup, stew – there's really not much you can't make with smoked sausage. Plus, because it's already cooked, it makes a great dinner shortcut. Just add whatever's in your fridge or pantry – whether that's pasta, rice, potatoes, broccoli, eggs, etc.
Sausage casing, also known as sausage skin or simply casing, is the material that encloses the filling of a sausage. Natural casings are made from animal intestines or skin; artificial casings, introduced in the early 20th century, are made of collagen and cellulose.
Certainly!You can make a balanced and satisfying meal out of sausage by incorporating other food groups. Here's a more detailed recommendation: Sausage is a good source of protein.
Introduction: My name is Tyson Zemlak, I am a excited, light, sparkling, super, open, fair, magnificent person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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I feel honored that I even have this Italian Sausage and Peppers Recipe to share with you all. I didn’t even know what Italian Sausage was until I moved to NJ. Seriously! I grew up believing there was only one kind of sausage in the world. You could get it in breakfast links or by the pound at the grocery store.
Once you have browned the links, you put them in a 9×13 baking dish, slice up as many peppers and onions as you want. I usually slice 2 or 3 onions and one large red and one large green pepper. Then you throw on a handful of peeled and smashed garlic cloves….at least seven or eight. Don’t crush or chop the garlic. Leave it basically whole, just a little smashed or broken. Drizzle with olive oil (the olive oil is another non-negotiable step, don’t skip it or use any other oil), salt and pepper, cover with foil and bake for 2 hours. Remove the foil for the last 30 minutes of baking.
This recipe also works great in the slow cooker. You do all the same steps, brown sausage, slice onions and peppers, toss in garlic, drizzle olive oil, salt and pepper, and then instead of a 9×13 baking dish you put it in the slow cooker and set it to low for 4 hours. Same great results as baking it!