Simple and straightforward, this dish of Baked Sausage, Peppers and Onions packs a punch of flavour and makes a stupendously quick and satisfying weeknight dinner.
Baked Sausage, Peppers And Onions
The much-loved Italian classic combination of sausages, peppers and onions has stood the test of time for a reason: It offers big flavour with minimal fuss, and it’s utterly delicious.
Hardly a recipe, just toss a heap of peppers and onions with olive oil, salt and pepper, spread them on a sheet pan with your favorite sausages, then bake in a really hot oven.
While the sausages brown and crisp, their savoury juices seep into the peppers which both infuses them with flavour and tones down their sweetness. After 30 minutes or so, the sausages are beautifully seared and the vegetables soft, caramelized, and fragrant.
Tuck everything into rolls, or spoon it all over pasta, rice, or mashed potatoes for the easiest weeknight dinner that everyone will enjoy.
Why You Will Love This Recipe
- It’s fast and easy – There’s a bit of veggie chopping, but not that much. Once that is out of the way, this sheet pan sausage dish comes together fast making it the perfect for busy weeknights.
- Very adaptable – You can use any sausage you’d like, including a plant-based alternative.
- Leftovers are fantastic! The sausage and pepper mixture reheats perfectly so it’s a great dish to make ahead for meal prep. We use it for lunches next day, or for making entirely new meals throughout the week.
- Great flavor — There is something about the pepper and onion mixture that makes this simple meal taste outstanding.
- One pan! Nothing beats a sheet pan dinner and this one pan sausage, peppers and onions is always a huge git. You could also add some tiny baby potatoes to make it a complete, easy meal.
Ingredients And Notes
How wonderful that aside from olive oil, salt and pepper, the ingredient list for this dish of baked sausage, peppers and onions is in the title. Truly, the most delicious and quick recipe to have in your arsenal.
- Sausage – I pretty much only buy chicken sausages at the moment. With a lot less fat, chicken sausages are a bit healthier but I also really enjoy the flavour. I like Italian spicy or mild, or flavoured with fennel, or ginger and sage. But any fresh sausage will work. If all you have is pre-cooked sausage, you will have to reduce the cooking time by almost half.
- Bell peppers – Any colour of bell pepper will work. Use your favourite. The peppers will reduce a lot when cooked in the oven so I like to use at least half a pepper per person. In the photos you will notice my peppers were a bit crowded in the pan. This helps prevent them from charring too quickly since the sausages need more time to cook. But if you are using more than 3 peppers, you may need to use 2 sheet pans.
- Red onion – You can use any onion you like but I really enjoy the more flavourful red onion in this dish.
- Olive oil – We toss the peppers in olive oil for flavour and to encourage browning.
- Seasoning – I keep it simple with just salt and pepper. You can add other spices or seasonings you’d like such as dried oregano, thyme, or an Italian seasoning mix.
How To Make Baked Sausage, Peppers And Onions
This is one of my favorite sheet pan dinners. Here’s the simple steps to make it:
- Cut a few shallow slits on the top of each sausage. This prevents them from bursting open.
- Place the sliced peppers and onions on a large baking sheet and toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Nestle in the sausages and slide the pan into a preheated oven.
- Bake for 20 minutes, remove the pan from the oven, flip the sausages and give the peppers and onions a quick toss. Bake for another 15 to 20 minutes, or until the sausages are fully cooked and the peppers and onions are tender and slightly charred.
Tip: If you’d like, you can line the baking sheet with aluminum foil or parchment paper for easier cleanup, but the sausage, peppers and onions will not brown as quickly.
You can find the exact measurements and instructions in the recipe card below.
What If My Peppers And Onions Burn Before the Sausage Is Cooked?
The only tricky part of this recipe is making sure your sausage is fully cooked without burning the peppers and onions. I rarely have this problem but depending on how hot your oven runs, or if you are using less peppers and onions than this recipe calls for, the vegetables might cook and char pretty quickly. If this is the case, pre-cook the sausages 15 minutes before adding the peppers and onions to the pan.
If you are using a good amount of peppers but they still charred too quickly, remove the pan from the oven and transfer the vegetables to a platter. Return the sausages to the oven and continue baking until fully cooked.
To re-heat the vegetables before serving, add them back to the sheet pan a few minutes before the sausages are done baking.
Frequently Asked Questions
Adding potatoes to the sheet pan is a great idea! Add about 10 more minutes to the overall cooking time and use very small baby potatoes, or chop them small, so they cook quickly. You may also want to split the ingredients between two sheet pans so everything has room to brown properly.
You can absolutely make this recipe with frozen sausage. I recommend baking the sausage for 15 minutes before adding the peppers and onions.
Baked in a 400ºF oven, a sausage will likely be cooked through in 30 minutes but it is best to give it another 10 minutes or so for more browning. Fo the sausage to be cooked through, an instant-read thermometer should read at least 160°F.
This baked sausage and peppers recipe freezes beautifully. Place in a freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating on the stovetop.
Serving Suggestions
Incredibly versatile, you really have a lot of options to round out this meal of baked sausage, peppers and onions. Here’s a few of our favourites:
- With mashed potatoes. Combined with the juicy sausages, peppers and onions there is hands down nothing better.
- Creamy polenta. Okay I lied, this is as good or better than mashed potatoes.
- In a sandwich. For obvious reasons, a huge kid favourite. Use a large, lightly toasted soft bun and pretend you are at a street fair in Italy. So good.
- Cauliflower mash. Want to keep it light but delicious? Serve it with this very awesome cauliflower puree.
- With pasta. Chop it up, mix it with pasta noodles, and watch everyone devour it and beg for more.
- With brown or white rice. Easy peasy and so good!
Storage Tips
- To Store: You can store leftovers of the baked sausage with peppers and onions in an airtight container for up to 4 days in the refrigerator.
- To Reheat: Place in a small skillet over medium-low heat until warmed through. I sometimes chop up the sausage so it reheats faster.
- To freeze: Sausage, peppers, and onions will freeze well. Place in a freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating on the stovetop.
Other Sausage Recipes You Might Enjoy
Baked Sausage, Peppers and Onions
Ingredients
- 3 medium red or yellow bell peppers (or a mix) seeded and sliced into 3/4-inch strips
- 1 large red onion peeled and sliced into 1/2-inch strips
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
- 1 pound (about 4 links) fresh sausage such as mild or hot chicken (or pork) Italian sausage
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
- Place the sliced bell peppers and onions on a large sheet pan. Drizzle with the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Toss to coat then arrange the vegetable mixture in a single layer. Nestle in the sausages between the vegetables.
- Using a small sharp knife, score the sausages in a few places on just one side, making sure the cut is very shallow. Transfer the sheet pan to the oven and bake for 20 minutes.
- Remove the pan from the oven, flip the sausages and give the peppers and onions a quick toss. Bake for another 15 to 20 minutes, or until the sausages are fully cooked and the peppers and onions are tender and slightly charred on the edges.
Notes
- To Store: You can store leftovers of the baked sausage with peppers and onions in an airtight container for up to 4 days in the refrigerator.
- To Reheat: Place in a small skillet over medium-low heat until warmed through. I sometimes chop up the sausage so it reheats faster.
- To freeze: Sausage, peppers, and onions will freeze well. Place in a freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating on the stovetop.
Nana G
Very good and easy. Would suggest baking in with deeper sides, lined with foil. Sausages, which I cooked ahead of peppers had a tendency to splatter into the oven. Can put on bun for Italian sausage sandwich if desired, or eat by itself covered in peppers. For a side made a nice Italian pasta salad.
Sandra Valvassori
So glad you enjoyed this! Great tip about cooking the sausages in a deeper pan though I don’t find mine splatter too much because I use chicken sausages which are less fatty. And I definitely must try it as an Italian pasta salad – Yum! Thank you for writing and sharing 🙂
James
So simple and so GOOD. My favorite dish.
Sandra Valvassori
Fantastic to hear this, James! One of our favourite dishes, too. Thank you for writing and letting me know 🙂
Erin
Simple, perfect recipe for a stress free weeknight dinner. Adding to the regular rotation… thank you!
Sandra Valvassori
So happy to hear this, Erin! Thank you so much for taking the time to rate and review the recipe, really appreciate it 🤗
Beth Latshaw
Hello 👋
Can I use canola oil instead of olive oil?
Thank you, Beth
Sandra Valvassori
Hi Beth, yes you can absolutely use canola oil!
mario BucacciPezzullo
I suggest you use olive oil for a more robust flavor…
Sandra Valvassori
Hi Mario, the recipe does call for olive oil.