Sausage and Pepper Sandwiches
There aren’t many things more satisfying than a sausage and pepper sandwich. They’re the perfect balance of spicy and savory. This recipe has literally the best ratio of sauce to roll. That means the insides of the crusty bread soak up all the flavor, and you’ll be left with just the right amount of mess on your plate.
Why I love these sausage and pepper sandwiches
I’ve been making this particular recipe for years now, and even though I’ve tried a few others, I still come back to this one. I’m not sure what it is, but I love it. Unfortunately we have a hard time finding good crusty rolls where I live, but I’ve found that substituting a French baguette works perfectly in a pinch. Or, you could toast up some submarine buns like I did this time. Either way, you don’t want them to be soft.
You can easily customize this recipe to work for your tolerance of spice as well. You can use spicy Italian sausages or sweet ones. You could add extra crushed red pepper flakes if you’re looking for more heat, or if you’d rather leave them out, that’s okay, too. Make the recipe yours. Use all green bell peppers or all red – or maybe even go crazy with some orange ones. Melt some Italian cheese one the top, like Marc does, or sprinkle them with a little parmesan. You can totally rock out this sandwich.
If you end up with leftovers – which I doubt you will – serve them over some pasta instead of having bread for a change of pace.
If you like this recipe, you have to try this Italian Bruschetta, and this southwest chicken stuffed peppers and this quick pickled asparagus.
Searching for more Italian recipes? Try this creamy Italian Dressing, these Italian green beans and this toasted coconut shakerato, they are some of my favorite Italian recipes.
SHOP THIS RECIPE:
Buy Now → 
Buy Now → 
Buy Now → Ingredients & substitutions
- Italian sausage – Any style of Italian sausage will do here. Sweet, mild or spicy – they all cook the same.
Making changes to a recipe can result in recipe failure. Any substitutions listed below are simple changes that I believe will work in this recipe, but results are not guaranteed.
The following is a detailed overview of the recipe steps with added tips and tricks for recipe success. For a simplified and printable version, including ingredient amounts and more formal instructions, see the recipe card below.
How to make sausage and pepper in a skillet
Sauté sausage and peppers. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cover the sausages and brown them in the skillet, turning occasionally. Remove the sausages and set them aside. Add peppers, onions and salt to the skillet and sauté until the onions are translucent or about 5 minutes.
Season, slice and serve. Add basil, oregano and garlic, stirring to incorporate. Cook for 2 minutes or until the garlic is aromatic then stir in the tomato paste, beef broth, diced tomatoes and crushed red pepper flakes. While that simmers, for about 10-15 minutes, slice sausages lengthwise and return to the pan. Cook for another 5 minutes with the sausage to allow the sauce to thicken.
Everything you need to know about sausage and pepper sandwiches
How long do you need to cook Italian sausage? When you are cooking Italian sausages in a skillet they typically take about 10-15 minutes to be fully cooked through. Check the internal temperature just to be sure, you want the internal temperature to reach 160°F.
What bread goes well with sausage and peppers? I prefer to serve these sandwiches on a hard crusty hoagie style roll, though a baguette will work well. You will want something that is long like the sausage. I think it is nice to have a firmer bread to help contain the saucy peppers and onions, plus it gives the dish lots of added texture.
Ingredients
- 5 – 6 Italian sausage links (about 1 1/4 – 1 1/2 pounds)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 green bell pepper (sliced)
- 1 red bell pepper (sliced)
- 1 large or 2 small onions (sliced)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 3/4 teaspoon dried basil
- 4 cloves garlic (minced)
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 3/4 cup beef broth
- 1 15- ounce can diced tomatoes with juice
- 1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 4 crusty rolls or 1 large baguette cut into 4 portions
Instructions
- In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add sausages and cover skillet. Cook sausages, turning occasionally, for about 7-10 minutes. Remove sausages and set aside.
- Add peppers, onions, salt and pepper. Sauté, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes.
- Add basil, oregano and garlic. Continue to cook for another 2 minutes.
- Add tomato paste, broth, diced tomatoes and crushed red pepper. Bring to a simmer cook about 10 – 15 minutes.
- Slice sausages lengthwise and return to pan. Cook for 5 more minutes or until peppers are soft and sauce has thickened.
Nutrition
Recipe adapted from Food Network.
You’ve got something going right here–I’m not a big sandwich person but the smell of onions and peppers with sausage will convince me every time!
I’m the same way!! I’ve never been a big sandwich person, but this – and any kind of chicken salad, etc – totally gets me!
I just wanted to thank you so much for sharing all your recipes. We have made a lot of them and every single one of them has been fantastic. We made the sausage, peppers and onions tonight. It tasted amazing! Even my kids had second helpings. Thank you again! I just love your blog!!
Thanks so much for taking the time to say such nice things, and thank you for reading and taking the time to try out the recipes! I’m so glad you like them. It means so much to me to have readers like you 🙂
Thank you for sharing! Everyone loved it!
Excellent! I used chicken broth in place of beef broth (because that is what I had on hand) and it was delicious!! Thanks for a great, easy recipe!
Great recipe!! I use Andouille sausage for this recipe and the only thing I do different is to add my sausages back into the pan as soon as I add in my tomato’s and broth. I love to have it all simmer together for about 15 or 20 minutes for all the flavors to blend and “marry”. Yum!!