Three sausage and pepper sandwiches topped with sautéed onions and red and green bell peppers are served on a white plate, accompanied by potato chips in a bowl and scattered nearby. Fresh parsley and a gray napkin complete the scene.


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.

It’s also incredibly easy to customize. Use sweet or spicy Italian sausage depending on how much heat you want, swap the pepper colors, or even add extra red pepper flakes to make it extra spicy.

The recipe is forgiving and hard to mess up.

If you end up with leftovers, serve them over some pasta instead of having bread for a change of pace.

More Italian favorites: Italian Bruschetta / creamy Italian Dressing / Italian green beans / penne bolognese

and this southwest chicken stuffed peppers and this quick pickled asparagus.

A classic sausage and pepper sandwich topped with sautéed onions and tomato sauce is served on a plate with potato chips. Nearby, a bowl of extra chips and a sprig of parsley rest on a light table.

Ingredients & substitutions

  • Italian sausage – Any style of Italian sausage will do here. Sweet, mild or spicy – they all cook the same. We like to use sweet because I love the extra fennel flavor.
  • Bell peppers – The recipe calls for one red and one green, but feel free to use any combination. Red, orange, and yellow peppers are sweeter; green is more savory.
  • Crusty rolls – You want something firm enough to hold up to the saucy peppers and onions. We have a hard time finding good crusty rolls where we live, but I’ve found that substituting a baguette works perfectly, or you could toast up some submarine/hoagie roll.

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.

Five browned sausages are arranged on a round white plate, glistening from cooked juices. Perfect for making sausage and pepper sandwiches, they’re evenly spaced and appear freshly cooked with a golden-brown, crispy exterior.
A skillet filled with browned sausages simmering in a tomato-based sauce with sliced red and green bell peppers and onions, perfect for piling onto fresh rolls to make classic sausage and pepper sandwiches.

Melissa’s tips & tricks

  1. Browning the sausages first before adding the peppers and onions gives them better color and flavor.
  2. Don’t rush the peppers and onions — letting them sauté until the onions are soft and translucent makes a big difference in the final flavor.
  3. Slicing the sausages lengthwise at the end lets them soak up the sauce and makes them easier to eat in a sandwich.
Three sausage and pepper sandwiches rest on a white plate, each filled with sautéed onions, bell peppers, and Italian sausage, garnished with fresh parsley and served with potato chips in the background.

Frequently asked questions

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.

A classic sausage and pepper sandwich roll filled with sausage, sautéed onions, and red peppers sits on a white plate surrounded by potato chips. A sprig of parsley and a gray napkin complete the scene on a light-colored surface.
Two hoagie rolls filled with sautéed onions, bell peppers, tomatoes, and savory sausage make up these classic sausage and pepper sandwiches. Garnished with fresh parsley on a white plate, with a gray napkin and bowl of chips in the background.
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5 from 3 votes

Sausage and Pepper Sandwiches

By: Melissa Belanger
These sausage and pepper sandwiches are packed with sweet peppers, savory Italian sausage, and a rich tomato sauce served on a crusty roll. They're simple to make, easy to customize, and they'll leave you with just the right amount of mess on your plate!
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes
Servings: 5 servings
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Ingredients 

  • 5 Italian sausage links, about 1 1/4 pounds
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 green bell pepper, sliced
  • 1 red bell pepper, sliced
  • 1 medium sweet onion, sliced
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 3/4 teaspoon dried basil
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 3/4 cup beef stock
  • 1 15- ounce can diced tomatoes with juice
  • 1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
  • 4 rolls, for serving

Instructions 

  • Sear the sausage. 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.
  • Sauté the vegetables. 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 and serve. 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.

Notes

Nutrition information is calculated without the bread.

Nutrition

Calories: 500kcal, Carbohydrates: 15g, Protein: 19g, Fat: 41g, Cholesterol: 85mg, Sodium: 1545mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 8g, Vitamin C: 66mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Like this? Leave a comment below!

Recipe adapted from Food Network.

Hi! I'm Melissa.

I create easy, dairy free recipes because I know how hard living without milk can be. I believe you can live a completely satisfying life without dairy, and I want to teach you how.

Read more about me

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5 from 3 votes

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13 Comments

  1. Fawn @ Cowen Park Kitchen says:

    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!

    Reply
    1. Melissa Belanger says:

      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!

      Reply
  2. Kellee Bass says:

    5 stars
    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!!

    Reply
    1. Melissa Belanger says:

      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 🙂

      Reply
  3. Dani says:

    Thank you for sharing! Everyone loved it!

    Reply
  4. Ella says:

    5 stars
    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!

    Reply