This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
This Slow Cooker Sausage & Peppers recipe is a great pasta crockpot meal! Italian sausage, sweet bell peppers, and rich marinara sauce with perfectly al dente pasta, all covered with a decadent cheesy layer. Serve with crusty garlic bread, and you have Italian night!
🍝 This recipe strikes the perfect balance between sophisticated Italian flavors and kid-approved comfort food. The sweet bell peppers become tender and mild, while the creamy sauce coats everything in pure deliciousness!
My 2 Best Tips For Making Slow Cooker Sausage and Peppers
Brown the Sausage Properly: Don’t skip the browning step – it creates incredible flavor! Cook the sausage until it’s well-browned on all sides – those golden bits add so much depth to the final dish. Break it into bite-sized pieces as it cooks for the perfect texture.
Choose the Right Pasta Shape: Penne and rigatoni are your best friends here. Their hollow shapes trap the creamy sauce, and their sturdy structure holds up beautifully during slow cooking. Avoid delicate pasta shapes like angel hair or thin spaghetti – they’ll turn to mush.
🩷 Melissa
This is a 15-minute prep meal that can be left to cook slowly in the crockpot for several hours and then finished off when you’re about ready to serve.
Pasta is sometimes a tough ingredient to work into slow cooker recipes, but this one turned out just right – al dente, flavorful from the sausage, peppers, and seasonings, and, of course, cheesy!
A great meal when you have a few minutes in the morning and a few near dinnertime but not so much in the middle of the day.
Slow Cooker Sausage and Peppers With Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 pound Italian sausage, mild or spicy
- 1 large onion, diced
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 can crushed tomatoes, 28-ounce can
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 8 ounces penne pasta, uncooked
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 can tomato sauce, 15-ounce can
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- Cooking spray, for greasing the slow cooker
Instructions
- Spray the inside of your slow cooker with cooking spray.
- In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook the sausage, onion, and bell peppers until the sausage is browned and cooked through, about 7–9 minutes, breaking up the sausage into pieces as it cooks.
- Add the garlic and oregano, and cook for 1 additional minute, until fragrant.
- Stir in the crushed tomatoes, heavy cream, uncooked pasta, salt, and pepper. Mix well to combine.
- Pour the mixture into the slow cooker. Spread the tomato sauce over the top without stirring.
- Cover and cook on HIGH for 3 hours, or until the pasta is tender. (Note: I do not recommend cooking this recipe on low. The pasta needs the high heat to cook properly!)
- Gently stir the pasta. If the sauce is too thick, stir in a bit of hot water to loosen it to your liking.
- Sprinkle the mozzarella cheese on top. Cover and let sit for 5–10 minutes, or until the cheese is melted.
- Serve warm, garnished with fresh basil or parsley if desired.
Notes
- Use penne, rigatoni, or ziti. These pasta shapes hold up well in the slow cooker and don’t turn mushy.
- Want more heat? Use spicy Italian sausage or add a pinch of red pepper flakes.
- Make it extra creamy by adding more cream or a dollop of ricotta cheese before serving.
- You can add lots of of other vegetables to this dish if you’d like. Mushrooms, spinach, and zucchini would all be great additions to this dish.
Nutrition
How To Make Slow Cooker Sausage and Peppers With Pasta
Step 1: Spray the inside of your slow cooker with cooking spray. Brown sausage in a large skillet over medium-high heat with the onion and bell peppers until the sausage is browned and cooked through.
Step 2: Add the garlic and oregano, and cook for 1 additional minute, until fragrant. Stir in the crushed tomatoes, heavy cream, uncooked pasta, salt, and pepper. Mix well to combine.
Step 3: Pour the mixture into the slow cooker. Spread the tomato sauce over the top without stirring. Cover and cook on HIGH for 3 hours, or until the pasta is tender.
Step 4: Gently stir the pasta. If the sauce is too thick, stir in a bit of hot water to loosen it to your liking. Sprinkle the mozzarella cheese on top. Cover and let sit for 5–10 minutes, or until the cheese is melted. Serve warm
Recipe FAQs
Yes, frozen bell peppers work wonderfully in this recipe. No need to thaw them first – just add them directly to the skillet when browning the sausage. They might release a bit more liquid, but the slow cooking process will concentrate those flavors beautifully.
You can substitute the heavy cream with half-and-half, whole milk, or even cream cheese for extra richness. If using milk, add it during the last 30 minutes of cooking to prevent curdling.
I don’t recommend cooking this on LOW because the pasta tends to become mushy with longer cooking times. The HIGH setting for 3 hours gives you perfectly tender pasta with just the right texture. Trust me on this one – I’ve tested it both ways!
More Dreamy Pasta Recipes To Try
Chicken Recipes
Slow Cooker Creamy Chicken & Vegetables
Chicken Recipes
Garlic Parmesan Chicken and Pasta (One Pot!)
Pasta Dishes
Easy Slow Cooker Vegetable Lasagna
Pasta Dishes
Pumpkin Alfredo
Did you make this recipe? Leave a ⭐️ review and share it on Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest!
