Crockpot Sausage and Vegetables

Easy Crockpot sausage and vegetables with peppers recipe that is packed with protein and gluten free! Made with a jar of spaghetti sauce or barbecue sauce, this comes out full of flavor and cooks all day in your slow cooker.

Crockpot Sausage and Peppers Recipe

I am all about making a crock pot recipe like this year round! I am a busy mom who works full time and quite frankly I’m tired. If I can throw in a protein and veggies in the morning and return at the end of the day with dinner done, I’m all about it.

The flavors just mature and grow as time goes on with this. There is no work required from me really at all other than a bit of prep. Just choose a tray of your favorite links and NO need to blanch bell peppers in this case, the pot does all the work!

Let’s talk a little bit about slow cooking shall we?? First off I have a few different varieties and I love them all. Each one has an occasion to be used like….

1. This is my favorite 6 quart programmable one with a locking lid so it’s great for bringing to a potluck too.
2. I prefer not to use liners, but rather just spray olive oil inside before adding my food for easier cleanups.

Let me give you a peek of my pretty thang I bought recently. It goes with my kitchen so I can just leave it out on the countertop all the time. 😉

If I can make something packed with veggies my family likes it’s a real plus, make it under $20 to feed all 5 of us and it gets an extra plus too!

Packed with lots of flavor from the sausage, sauce, and the vegetables it is so yummy by itself or with a side of Ninja Foodi rice. If you’re looking for a yummy gluten free slow cooker recipe this hits that mark too. Let us know what you think!

Ingredients

1. 1 jar barbecue sauce – this style is great and has a little spice
2. 5 or so Italian sausages – refrigerated style links that are raw at the beginning
   1. smoked sausage or turkey sausage work too
   2. these were raw with skins removed, cooked sausage wouldn’t take as long
3. Lots of vegetables – we always use bell peppers and onions.

Variations and Substitutions

You can use a jar of spaghetti sauce if you want more of an Italian flavor. As far as the add ins go all out. You could add cherry tomatoes as well as squash and/or zucchini but just know those will get tender rather fast so you may want to add halfway thru the cook time.

Remember that the smaller your vegetables are sliced the softer they will become. I like it to keep their shape and still have texture to them, not mushy, so mine are kept somewhat on the larger side. You could make a batch of Crockpot brussel sprouts with links too.

Seasonings aren’t really necessary because the meat has a lot of it already. Could add red pepper flakes for heat or salt and pepper if desired. This really is a dump and go kind of meal that you can make with as many different vegetables as you like.

If cherry tomatoes are in season get a few more of those, squash doesn’t look good. Just omit this time. Using what is in season is key to making it taste super fresh and flavorful. The fresher the ingredients the yummier it is!

You can use your favorite bottled barbecue sauce, or make your own. I added a link to my suggestion above. 😉

Can you cook frozen sausage with sauce in slow cooker?

Yes and the cook time is the same (as long as you separate them from one another when added). Just throw it all in, and your dinner will be ready for you in 4 hours if you’re in a hurry or 6 if you’re willing to wait. I like it on low for a slow and lengthy cook time. You can find everything you need at your local grocery store. If you want to thin out the sauce a bit just use water or chicken broth.

How to Cook Sausage Peppers and Onions in Crockpot

• Put sausage links on bottom of your slow cooker. Cut into cubes or dice all of your vegetables. Mix vegetables with your barbecue sauce in a bowl, then pour on top of your sausages.
• Cover and cook for 3-4 hours on high or 5-6 hrs. on low. Serve on rolls or over rice.

You can make this a lot faster though in a pressure cooker too. If you did forget to put this together in the morning do not fret. You can use basically the same ingredients and have it done in just 6 minutes!! That is right, throw the sauce, links and peppers inside and cook on high pressure in no time. Follow our Instant Pot sausage and peppers recipe for those instructions.

How to save leftovers

With either of these if you have leftovers they will keep quite well if stored properly. Use airtight containers or pint size freezer bags ideally. When everything is room temperature just spoon it in with as much sauce as possible to keep it moist.

Push all of the air out of the bag and seal well. Reheat and enjoy again up to 3 days later. If you don’t think you’ll eat it that fast it is better to freeze it. Then when you’re ready put it in the fridge to thaw out. Once it isn’t hard anymore put into a microwave safe dish and heat for 1 minute, stir and then 30 seconds to 1 minute more until warmed.

Slice into bite size pieces and you can stir it into some freshly steamed rice like our pressure cooker jambalaya creation. With some seasonings it is like a different meal with the same ingredients as the day before. Here’s the printable recipe for this crockpot sausage and vegetables dish:

Other sausage recipes you’ll love

If you’re looking to make smoked sausage with sauce in under 30 minutes. Try our Ninja Foodi sausage, Italian sausage air fryer and air fryer sausage recipes. Both turn out fantastic and much different from this one. This is because these three machines will make the outside nice and crispy. Some prefer that and others would rather have them soft, up to you.