Craving easy comfort food? These slow cooker sausage and peppers come together in minutes, then go straight from the freezer to the crock pot.
I’ll readily admit that over the past two years I have become more than a little obsessed with freezer cooking, and with developing new recipes that my kids and husband will love. But seriously, what’s not to love? Not only are they quick & easy to throw together, but they also save us a ton of money on groceries (and especially on eating out.) Better yet, they make our sometimes hectic weekdays SO much simpler! There is nothing better than knowing at the end of a crazy day that dinner is waiting for us in the crockpot!
So yes, I’m obsessed. You’re just going to have to bear with me.
To be perfectly honest, I was a little nervous about how these slow cooker sausage and peppers would turn out, but they were a HUGE hit. There is some prep cooking required for this recipe but it is so worth it!
To make it as part of a freezer cooking day, just split the sausage, sauce, peppers & onions into multiple bags, then throw it right into the freezer.
Here is what you need:
2-3 20 oz. packages mild Italian sausage 2 large onions, sliced 4-5 green bell peppers, sliced 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes 29 oz can tomato sauce 28 oz can crushed tomatoes 4-6 tablespoons butter salt and pepper 1 drop Oregano Vitality Essential oil (optional) Italian bread (cooking day only)Step 1: Chop onion and set aside.
Step 2: Slice green peppers into strips; set aside.
Step 3: Brown sausages in a pan with 2 tablespoons of butter. Then remove sausage from pan and cut into thirds and set aside.
Step 4: Place 2 more tablespoons in pan and add peppers saute until softened. Then add last 2 tablespoons of butter and saute onions till softened.
Step 5: In a large bowl, mix together sauce, crushed tomatoes, red pepper flakes, Oregano Vitality Essential oil and peppers and onions.
Step 6: Divide sausage into 2-gallon size freezer bags ( be sure to label bags first.) Divide sauce mixture over top sausage.
Step 7: Thaw if frozen; cook in crockpot on low for 5-6 hours or high for 3-4 hours; until sausage is cooked all the way through. (Note-don’t worry if your sausage isn’t all the way thawed. It can also cook from frozen, it might just take a little longer.)
Step 8: Serve with sliced Italian bread and enjoy!
Preparation time: 5-10 minutes. Cooking time: 5-6 hours on low in crockpot or 2-3 hours on high. Number of servings (yield): 4-6.
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View Comments
Can I put sausage in the crock pot frozen?
Yes, you can.
Can I remove casings, butterfly the sausage, brown them and then freeze until I am ready to cook in crockpot?
Yes, you could. Just be sure to cool sausage before freezing. And they might fall apart once cooked in crockpot.
I make sausage onions and peppers in the crock pot. I put it all in the crock pot , drizzle a little oil (very little because sausage is greasy)salt & pepper and a little water. let it cook on low for about 5 or 6 hours. you can add tomato if you like. ( if you add tomatoes ,omit the water) also Once it is cooked it can be frozen and heated later.
Do the peppers and onions have any bite left in them?
They are pretty soft once cooked in slow cooker. :) But this meal is delicious.
Browning my sausage now and it looks like a lot of butter/grease in the pan. Should I drain it or just add the peppers to it without adding more butter?
Just add peppers without adding more butter. :)
This looks amazing! I wish my husband weren't in the middle of a gout attack so that I could make it for him. I love my slow cooker. I don't know where I'd be without it. I guess I'll save it for when gout man can handle it :)
I just saw a unsafe tip about cooking meat from frozen. I hope that no one does that in the slow cooker as it doesn't cook to the temperature that a oven does and could lead to food poisoning or even worse
I no longer freeze Italian sausage as I have found that some of the seasonings are spoiled by freezing. If it's only for a week or so it may be OK, but be careful of longer storage.
The recipe really looks tasty. We like sausage & peppers. I'm concerned though about the safety of partially cooking the sausage and then freezing it; then finish cooking it at a later time. Could the freezer bags be made from uncooked ingredients and then fully cooked in the slow cooker?
The USDA food handling guidelines suggest placing raw fresh sausage in the freezer as long as it is before the expiration date. Frozen sausage can last about 1-2 months in the freezer. You can make the sauce with the peppers and onions, then divide and freeze. Keep the sausage in it's original package and freeze. Once you are ready to use,follow recipe.
Thanks. I'll try it that way.
I make a very similar freezer meal, with diced tomatoes and sweet bell peppers and smoked paprika and garlic instead of oregano. The Costco mild Italian sausages are perfect for it! We slice them after cooking and serve ladled over rice. Our whole family loves it.
Not only does this recipe look delicious, I'm dying to try making some freezer meals. I've been reading about yours for awhile so I'm finally going to try it this week! Thanks for the great idea!