This Italian sausage, peppers and onion recipe is easy, simple, and absolutely delicious. This Italian recipe is from my mother and is always a hit for parties, family get togethers, and holiday meals.

I’m sharing this sausage peppers and onions recipe with you so you too can use it as a must-have in your go-to stash of recipe favorites.
The flexibility of this recipe makes it a great accompaniment to larger meals such as a pasta bake, lasagna, or even with eggplant cutlets (one of my favorite recipes)!
It can also be a main meal with its own side dishes.
We still use this recipe in our family today, and it will certainly satisfy any meat lover. It’s one of those dishes that smells so delicious as it cooks the sausage, onions and peppers all together.
What’s in an Italian Sausage, Peppers and Onions Recipe?
Everything for this recipe can be bought at a store. It only takes 45 minutes from start to finish with most of the time being in the oven cooking.
Here are the three main ingredients below, but there are many variations – just check out my reader’s comments!
Italian Sausage

Italian sausage can be bought in a variety of flavors. You typically have the option of sweet Italian sausage or regular Italian sausage. Either one is fine to choose so don’t fret if you’re wondering which one is best, they both are winners.
Green Peppers
The recipe I grew up with uses mostly regular green peppers, onion and sausage together. You can add in yellow, orange or red, but keep in mind these peppers are sweeter than green peppers.

The green peppers compliment the sausage best in my opinion, but adding some extra other peppers can help with variety and certainly add a nice splash of color in the presentation!
My recommendation is simply to have more green peppers than others.
In the end, it’s totally up to you. Some people don’t like green peppers at all, in which case don’t use them. This recipe is so flexible as you’ll see in the many comments below as people share their own variations.
Onion

Nothing earth-shattering here with the onions, just basic yellow onions. If you try vidalia onions, they will be sweet which some people love. I prefer the yellow onions personally as I think it blends perfectly for a sausage peppers and onions recipe.
[mailerlite_form form_id=4]How to Cook Italian Sausage, Peppers, and Onions
My family recipe has a step that some people like to skip, and that’s frying the sausage, peppers and onions on a stove prior to cooking them in the oven.
You can jump straight to my recipe steps here if you’re all ready to get started. If you prefer to skip the frying, make sure to read the next section since the cooking requirements will change.
In a nutshell, following my initial recipe which includes frying, you chop the ingredients fairly equal in size.
First add in the peppers and fry in a hot frying pan in olive oil over medium heat for 5 to 10 minutes, then remove the peppers and add the onion and sausage which you cook until the sausage is thoroughly cooked through. You can cook the sausage whole or cut them up into smaller chunks.
Then you transfer everything to an oven proof baking dish and bake at 375F for 10 minutes until evenly heated and cooked through.
How to Cook Sausage, Peppers and Onions in the Oven with No Frying
I’m not going to fault anyone who prefers not to fry the ingredients. In this case you simply drizzle with olive oil (don’t need a lot) enough to lightly coat the ingredients, and bake everything at 375F for about 45 minutes or until the internal temp of the sausage reaches 165F.
I do think you lose a little bit of flavor without frying, but honestly, it will still taste and smell amazing.
Sausage and Green Pepper Substitutions/Alternatives
Green peppers, sausage, onion, and olive oil are all you need for this recipe. But you can make some substitutions if you’d like. For example, you can use both green and red peppers. Many people like the sweetness red peppers have.
You can also opt out of pork sausage.
If you are concerned with using pork sausage, I can relate. Although I love the taste of regular sausage, that doesn’t change the fact that it is really hard on the digestive system and loaded with saturated fat.

So what I’ve done in the past is make a simple variation/substitution which is slightly healthier by using chicken sausage or turkey sausage. However, make sure to still go with organic brands to avoid the unnecessary use of chemicals, nitrates and the like.
Regardless, this recipe holds its own with its easy preparation, simple ingredients, and quick cooking.
The steps are below for you to follow. I grew up with my mother making this sausage peppers and onions recipe and there were never any leftovers!
I’ll bet it will be the same with you!
Similar Recipes You May Enjoy
Here are some additional Italian recipes you may also really like to try.

Fried Zucchini is perfect for warm summer months and can even be reheated!

If you love meats, check out this article to learn what is Tripe and how to eat it.

If anyone loves this pepper, sausage and onion recipe, they’ll also love a meat-filled antipasto tray. Learn how to make an antipasto platter everyone will love!

If you love peppers, try this recipe for Italian stuffed cubanelles.
I hope you’ve enjoy this recipe for Italian sausage, pepper, and onions. It’s a delicious recipe! Let me know if you try it and if you make your own modifications. I’d love to hear from you!

Italian Sausage, Peppers and Onions and Recipe
Ingredients
- 2-3 green peppers chopped
- 1 package sausage depends on how much you want to make
- olive oil
- 1 onion chopped in large chunks
Instructions
- Wash peppers thoroughly.
- Cut peppers in strips.
- Fry in olive oil 5 – 10 minutes over medium high heat.
- Add onion.
- Remove peppers.
- Add sausage and fry until brown and cooked through.
- Mix everything together in oven proof baking pan.
- Bake at 375F for 10 minutes or until meat reaches an internal temp of 165F.
Notes
- This is a great recipe for cookouts and picnics. It is magnifico!
- Side dishes for this are Italian breads, macaroni salad, pasta salad, tomatoes and olive oil, bruschetta, salad, spinach, grilled vegetables with balsamic vinegar (yum!), roasted potatoes, potato salad.
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Mouth watering!!! Thank you for the recipe!!!
Glad you enjoyed it!
I will try it using Maltese sausages and omit frying the pepoers but baking them
Hi Brigitte, sounds delicious! Let us know how it turns out!
Made this recipe and added pasta sauce,with the left over the next day I made sausage over pasta
Great idea! I bet it tasted amazing!
Added sundried tomatoes and served on top of pasta and leftovers on cheesy garlic bread. Amazing!!
That sounds so good! I love the idea of the roasted tomatoes!
Can I make in a crock pot?
Hi Florence, I have not made it in a crock pot actually. I think it would probably taste very good though! Let me know how it turns out if you do it this way. Thanks!
I’m going to make these as an appetizer with 1/2 strips of peppers and onions and serve for my church’s Super Bowl party sunday
Great idea!
Added potatoes!
I bet that tasted awesome! Thanks for sharing!
Made this tonight and everyone loved it! Thanks for a simply terrific recipe!
Thanks Julie for letting me know and I am so glad it was a hit!
Fo you cut the sausage up before frying?
Yes, absolutely!
I added mushrooms and 1/4 of Rao’s spaghetti sauce before putting it in the oven. Served with avocado salad and cauliflower rice. Delicious. Thank you.
So glad you liked the recipe and modified it to make it your own with the sauce! Thanks for sharing!
I made it today i substituted tomato paste for tomato sauce and reduce the broth amount excellent .
Sounds great Hollie!
Do you fry the sausage whole or cut it into chunks first
Hi Kelly,
I suppose either way would work, but I cut it up first to fry. Hope that helps! 🙂
How much olive oil should you use, and do you add salt and pepper at all?
It depends on how much you are making, but enough olive oil to brown the pieces. Maybe start with 3 Tablespoons and add more if needed. Yes you can add salt and pepper but I dont think it really needs it.
I know this may sound strange, but my Italian Mom always added a little ketchup instead of sauce. It made it a little sweeter. It tasted amazingly good.
Thanks so much for sharing!!
This was delicious! I made it for a Sunday dinner, no sauce or pasta but with rice, collards and cabbage. Cornbread probably would have been a nice addition too.
I am so glad it turned out! Sounds delicious (and healthy) with your additions!
I added mushrooms and cut up 2 garlic cloves it was delicious we had it in Italian rolls.
Oh wow…in a nice Italian roll sounds more than delicious! Thanks for sharing!
I add some garlic and Italian herbs – 1 or 2 tsp of a dried blend if I don’t have fresh on hand – and serve it over polenta, topped with a sprinkle of shredded Parmesan. One of my family’s favorite meals!
Will definitely try it with chicken or turkey sausage, and some of the other suggestions, which all sound wonderful.
Serving over polenta sounds delicious! Thanks for sharing!
Looks good and should be great with any sausage. Thanks. I am going to try with a good brand turkey sausage.
I have used chicken sausage too and that is good. Turkey sausage will probably taste good too! Thanks for sharing!
Can I prep the night before and bake them the next day?
Yes that should be fine although I have not done that myself. Let us know!
I made it today and it was so amazingly delicious! I added chopped garlic with the onions, and I added a little bit of wine with the bell peppers. I used Italian sweet sausage. Thank you so much both my husband and I loved it!!!
Hi Therese,Thank you so much for sharing! I love the idea of adding the wine!
Can you just fry everything in the pan Without using the oven?
This was delicious! I cooked the sausage whole first with no oil. Then I cooked green red and yellow pepper strips and onion in a small amount of olive oil and added garlic. The peppers were still a bit firm when I took them out of the pan. I put the sausage and peppers and onions in a 9 x 13 pan with no additional olive oil but sprinkled fresh grated Parmesan cheese on top. Baked for 15 minutes at 375. Peppers were perfect. Soft but not mushy! Served with summer sides. Whole family loved it!
Yes, but I’m not sure you’d get the same level of flavor throughout all the ingredients.
So glad to hear it Sandy!
I used chicken sausage and it came out delicious!
So glad to hear it! I only use chicken sausage!
I will try this tonight looks so good