Slow-Cooker Sausage & Peppers

Slow-cooked sausage in a fire-roasted tomato sauce

If you grew up anywhere within an hour of Philly or New York City, this sandwich is basically part of your DNA. You didn’t need a menu—you followed the smell. Festivals, street corners, church basements, ball fields… sausage and peppers was always there, wrapped in foil or on a paper plate, dripping down your wrist, daring you to care.

Italian or country sausage, hot or mild—it all works. When it’s done right, it’s simple food that hits hard, especially in winter when you want something warm, messy, and deeply comforting.

This version builds flavor first, then lets the slow-cooker handle the rest—and it uses crushed fire-roasted tomatoes because they’re easy to find and bring a little extra depth.

Recipe: Slow-Cooker Sausage & Peppers

You’ll Need:

• 2–2½ lbs sausage links (Italian or country)
• Extra-virgin olive oil
• 6 oz. onion, diced
• 3 oz. carrot, diced
• 3 oz. celery, diced
• Tops and bottoms from your sweet peppers, diced (for soffritto)
• 3 cloves garlic, smashed
• 2 Tbsp tomato paste
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1 (28 oz) can crushed fire-roasted tomatoes
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1–2 tsp Knorr tomato bouillon (to taste)
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes — optional
• Salt and black pepper to taste
• 1 large sweet onion, julienne cut
• 2–3 sweet peppers, sliced into strips (save tops/bottoms for base)
• Club rolls, toasted
• Optional: sliced provolone or mozzarella

Step 1: Brown the Sausage

1. Heat a wide pan with a little olive oil over medium-high heat.
2. Brown the sausages well on all sides. You’re not cooking them through—just building flavor.
3. Remove sausages and set aside in slow-cooker.

Step 2: Build the Soffritto

1. In the same pan, add a little more oil if needed. Reduce heat to medium.
2. Add diced onion, carrot, celery, and the diced tops and bottoms from your peppers. Season lightly with salt.
3. Cook until soft and starting to caramelize—about 8 minutes. This is your flavor base.
4. Add garlic and cook about 30 seconds, till fragrant.
5. Stir in tomato paste and cook it out for 2–3 minutes until darkened and rich-smelling.
6. Deglaze with chicken stock, scraping up all the good browned bits.
7. Add crushed fire-roasted tomatoes, oregano, basil, tomato bouillon, and red pepper flakes if using.
8. Simmer uncovered 10–12 minutes, stirring now and then, until thickened.
9. Puree with an immersion blender (or carefully in a blender) until smooth. Taste and adjust salt and pepper.

Step 3: Slow Cooker

1. Transfer the sauce to the slow cooker, covering the browned sausages.
2. Top with julienne sweet onion and sliced sweet peppers. Gently push into sauce so they soften and melt into the sauce.
3. Cook on Low for 2–3 hours, until sausages are tender and the peppers and onions are silky.

Step 4: Serve

1. Pull the sausages out of the sauce.
2. If they fit your roll, leave them whole. If they’re too long, slice them in half or thirds—whatever makes sense for your bread.
3. The sausages I get from my butcher are basically born for a club roll, so they go in whole. If you’re buying sausage in one long coil or oversized links, cut them to roll-size before cooking so everything stays neat and cooks evenly.
4. If you’re using cheese, lay slices of provolone or mozzarella on the bottom of the toasted roll first.
5. Add the sausage, pile on peppers and onions, and spoon plenty of sauce over the top.

  

Final Word

This isn’t fancy food. It’s “don’t wear a white shirt” food.
It’s the kind of sandwich you eat leaning over the counter, telling yourself you’ll just have half… and then somehow the plate is empty.

If you grew up around Philly or New York, this will taste like home.
If you didn’t—now you get why we won’t shut up about it.

As always, reach out to The Small Town Chef with any questions or comments. We look forward to hearing from you.

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