Deana’s Sausage, Peppers & Onions

Who doesn’t love sausage, peppers & onions? It is an all time American Favorite! How much would you love a healthier version of sausage, peppers and onions that is easy to make and always a fan favorite?

I am here to give you just that! I got this recipe from my friend Deana (who also loves to cook) and customized it to make it a bit more colorful and jam packed with flavor!

NUTRITION

Usually I use regular sausage from Costco but this last time I switched it up and used Aidell’s Chicken Sausage (pineapple & bacon – see photo below). It was delicious! The red onion helps to tone down the sweetness of the pineapple sausage and the colorful peppers give you all that yummy goodness that each color brings to the table. Each serving has 280 calories, 18g carbs, 17g fat and 15g protein (based on 8-10 servings and NOT including the bun). The best part of this recipe is that all of the flavor comes from the natural juices and no added fat, calories, carbs to make it tasty.

CROCK-POT

This recipe is made in the Crock-Pot! It is super easy to make and doesn’t require a cooking degree to get this recipe right. I brown everything before I throw it in the crock-pot but if you don’t have time for that you can skip that step. (I usually like to brown all of my meat before cooking in the Crock-Pot, it locks in all the flavors). I set my crock-pot for low on 4 hours BUT please note that halfway through I take the sausage out and let it rest for 10 minutes (Deana does 30 min) and then slice the sausage. I then throw the sausage back into the crock-pot and stir. Let it cook for approximately another 2 hrs and let all the flavors meld together. Voila! Deliciousness is served!

TO BUN, OR NOT TO BUN

I usually make this when we are having people over so I have buns at the ready. I like the Orowheat hot dog buns because they are a little bigger and 180 calories. If I can’t find those I find other hot dog/hoagie buns like shown in the photo below.  If you use regular hot dog buns you aren’t going to be able to fit anything in it. This last time, I had some white rice left in the fridge. I threw the leftover sausage, peppers and onions over it and it was fantastic!

SERVE WITH

I serve this with grilled corn on the cobb or cornbread or a nice summer salad (click here to get my berry salad recipe). I love to top it with sweet and spicy mustard (also shown below). I am not a mustard fan in the slightest but I LOVE the sweet and spicy!

Products I love to use when making this recipe:

Hamilton Beach Crock-Pot

Cooling Racks

Flexible cutting boards

Calphalon Knives

5 from 1 vote

Print

Deana's Sausage, Peppers & Onions

Prep Time

20 mins

Cook Time

4 hrs

Resting Time

10 mins

Total Time

4 hrs 20 mins

 

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Servings: 8 -10

Calories: 280 kcal

Ingredients

• 10 sausage links (I used Pineapple/Bacon Chicken Sausage)
• 1 large red onion, sliced
• 5 colored bell peppers, sliced & halved
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper (to taste, to season peppers/onions)

SERVE WITH

• Buns
• sweet and spicy mustard

Instructions

1. heat a skillet over med-high heat. lightly spray with cooking spray. Add sausage links to pan and brown on all sides. Approximately 4 minutes total. 

   

2. while sausage is browning start slicing the peppers and onions. 

   

3. over medium heat, heat olive oil in a saute pan for about 30 seconds. add minced garlic for another 30 seconds. Add peppers and onions and saute for about 4 minutes. (might have to do in 2 batches depending on your saute pan size). add salt and pepper to taste (I did about 1/8 tsp each)

   

4. add sausage to crock-pot. top with peppers and onions. 

   

5. set crock-pot to low for 4 hours. 2 hours in, take sausage out and let it rest for 10 minutes on a cutting board or cooling rack. 

   

6. slice sausage and add back to crock-pot. Stir. 

   

7. serve on a bun, solo or with a cornbread side. top with sweet and spicy mustard. Enjoy!