Italian Sausage and Peppers Pasta
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Mmm, Italian Sausage and Peppers Pasta! Hello weeknight wonder! ?
Noodles and sauce deserve an upgrade, and this weeknight dinner delivers.
The crushed tomatoes provide tons of bright flavor and the sauce is enhanced by the fennel and Italian seasoning.
Contrary to popular belief, marinara sauces don’t always need to simmer for hours on end! This meal comes together in 30 minutes yet is still infused with fresh flavors.
I’m kind of a sucker for a good pasta dish. But I mean, aren’t we all?! Let me introduce you to this Skillet Lasagna Recipe, Ravioli Lasagna, and Chicken Baked Ziti if you need another pasta dish to fall in love with!
We’ve made this sausage and peppers pasta three times in the last 2 weeks and clearly can’t get enough of it. With cooler weather approaching, cozying up with a bowl of warm pasta is the comfort I crave.
Ingredient Notes
You can scroll down to the recipe card for the full list of ingredients and measurements.
- Sausage: I used an Italian Chicken Sausage and sliced into rounds. More specifically I used the Italian Chicken Sausage from Aidells. You can use your favorite sausage, either mild or hot and slice it or use ground up pieces.
- Bell Peppers: I love using a combination of colors: I chose yellow, red and orange but you can use any combination of colors you prefer.
- Crushed tomatoes: You’ll need a large 28 oz. can. This is used to make the simple, yet super flavorful red sauce.
- Onion: choose an onion that cooks down well, like a yellow or white onion.
- Pasta: We love this over spaghetti noodles, but feel free to choose any pasta you love! I think short shaped pasta such as ziti or penne would work really well with this dish too.
- Spices: garlic, fennel, red pepper chili flakes, salt, pepper & Italian seasoning. Add any extra herbs or spices if desired.
Step by Step Directions
Be sure to scroll down to the recipe card for the full recipe instructions.
- Cook onions in a large skillet with olive oil.
- Add the bell pepper and continue to cook for another 5 minutes.
- Add the garlic, fennel and other seasonings. Stir to combine.
- Push to one side of the skillet. Add the sausage and olive oil and cook.
- Stir together cooked sausage and bell pepper and onion mixture. Add in crushed tomatoes.
- Simmer for 5 minutes.
- Serve over spaghetti. Garnish with parmesan cheese if desired.
Tips and Variations
- Use hot, mild or sweet Italian sausage. Slice into rounds, or use a ground sausage.
- Change up the pasta! Penne, shells, bowtie, ziti, linguine, etc.
- Bulk up the red sauce by adding diced tomatoes too.
- Make it creamy by adding in a bit of heavy cream.
- Use more veggies if you prefer. Add in mushrooms, spinach, broccoli or zucchini when cooking the bell peppers.
- Add garnishes! When plating, serve with Parmesan cheese, chopped basil, red pepper chili flakes, fresh parsley, etc.
FAQ
How long does sausage and peppers last in the fridge?
4-5 days, properly stored. Great for meal prep for the week!
How do I reheat this meal?
I recommend reheating on the stove in a skillet. The pasta will absorb some of the red sauce. Add in a touch more sauce if you have on hand, or a little water to thin it out.
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Italian Sausage and Peppers
Ingredients
- 4 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
- 1 small white or yellow onion, chopped
- 3 bell peppers, chopped – multicolors (red, yellow, orange)
- 2 tsp. garlic, crushed (~3-4 cloves)
- 1 tsp. fennel seeds
- 1 tsp. Italian seasoning
- 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
- freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1/2 tsp. red pepper chili flakes (optional)
- 1, 12 oz. package Italian chicken sausage, sliced into rounds
- 1, 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
- Cooked Spaghetti
Last step! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.
Instructions
- Heat 2 Tbsp. olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions; cook, stirring occasionally for ~5 minutes.4 Tbsp. olive oil, divided, 1 small white or yellow onion, chopped
- Add the chopped bell peppers and continue to cook for another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.3 bell peppers, chopped – multicolors (red, yellow, orange)
- Add the garlic, fennel seeds, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper and red pepper chili flakes if desired. Stir until fragrant, ~1 minute.2 tsp. garlic, crushed (~3-4 cloves), 1 tsp. fennel seeds, 1 tsp. Italian seasoning, 1/2 tsp. kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, to taste, 1/2 tsp. red pepper chili flakes (optional)
- Push the onions and bell peppers to one side of the skillet to make room for the sausage.
- Add the sliced chicken sausage rounds and remaining olive oil and cook for ~5 minutes until sausage browns on each side.1, 12 oz. package Italian chicken sausage, sliced into rounds
- Stir together cooked sausage and bell pepper and onion mixture. Add in crushed tomatoes. Bring to a boil; then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 5 minutes. Taste, and adjust salt and pepper if needed.1, 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
- Serve over cooked spaghetti pasta (or pasta of choice). Garnish with parmesan cheese if desired.Cooked Spaghetti
Video
Notes
- Feel free to use sweet, spicy or mild sausage.
- Use pasta of choice, we love it with spaghetti!
- This meal is an all in one (carbohydrate, veggie and protein) but pairs well with a dinner salad too.
Nutrition Information
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is automatically calculated. It should only be construed as an estimate rather than a guarantee. Ingredients can vary and Kroll’s Korner can’t make any guarantees to the accuracy of this information.
Easy to make with high quality taste!
So glad you like this one, thank you!
I had a lot of peppers and some mild Italian sausage I had to use so gave this a try. This recipe was very good. I’m not a fan of peppers but enjoyed this a lot. I usually make my own sauce but this time followed the recipe almost exact. Almost exact because I did not have fennel seed so substituted Herbs De Provence which has fennel as one component. It worked out fine. I used yellow and orange peppers but the colors were masked by the tomato sauce. (Green are more acidic so would never use those in this recipe.) Again, I’m not wild about peppers but really enjoyed this. Oh, I use one pound of thin spaghetti and there was enough sauce for it. Thanks Kroll!
I love this recipe! It is so flavorful. I usually use traditional italian sausage – either ground or sliced into rounds. Our favorite pasta shape to use is rigatoni. It is a huge hit with my family and doesn’t take too much time to toss together which is always nice.
Thank you soo so much! We really love this one too 🙂 SO glad its a huge hit. xo, Tawnie
Made this the other night and it was a hit! Unfortunately, Kroger didn’t have all the sausage I needed so I had to mix chicken and sausage together. It was mighty tasty.
Thank you so much Jess! Love the photo – it looks amazing! Thank you! xo, Tawnie
I haven’t made this yet but have a question..how do you slice that kind of sausage into rounds before you cook it? I tried that once long ago and it just tore and turned into mush. Ever since I’ve always thought you had to cook it first.
Hi Lauren! It’s an Italian chicken sausage so it slices very nicely 🙂 Hope you love this one! xo, Tawnie
Put the link in the freezer for 20-30 minutes before slicing.
Yum! That looks so good and I could make it with my favourite vegan sausages.
Loved all the rich flavors. Want to dive into it!
My mouth is watering right now! This pasta looks and sounds amazing!!
What a great pasta recipe, the sausages, oh my! delicious! We are adding this to our weekly rotation 🙂
I just saw this and have bookmarked it for next week. With some zucchini noodles for a low carb version I think the fam will be really happy!
this was so easy and delicious… my kids and grandkids couldn’t get enough… will make it often!