Smoked sausage and peppers is a classic savory dish that brings together the robust flavor of Italian sweet sausage with the natural sweet flavor of fresh bell peppers and sweet onions.
Our easy-to-make smoked sausage, peppers, and onions offer a delicious smokey flavor in every bite.
The contrast of the hearty Italian sausage along with the tangy sweet flavor of the onions and peppers creates a flavor combination your whole family will love!
Smoked sausage, peppers, and onions will make a delicious addition to your next family barbecue or game day get-together and are perfect for those busy weeknights when you don’t have time to cook.
If you love smoked meats for sandwiches, make sure to check out our smoked hot dogs and smoked pork butt recipes.
Ingredients to make Smoked Sausage, Peppers and Onions
Let’s start by gathering the ingredients we need to make my smoked sausage, peppers, and onions recipe. In Chef Speak, this is called the Mise en Place, which translates into Everything in its Place.
Not only does setting your ingredients up ahead of time speed the cooking process, but it also helps ensure you have everything you need to make the dish.
Can I smoke other types of sausage?
Absolutely. Chicken sausage, chorizo, kielbasa, bratwurst, and even breakfast sausage can be smoked.
How to make Smoked Sausage, Peppers, and Onions
Preheat your smoker to 250 degrees.
*once your smoker has reached 250 degrees F., add your favorite wood chips to the smoker tube. We used hickory wood chips for this recipe.
While the smoker is preheating, remove the sausage from the refrigerator, giving it time to come to room temperature.
- Cut the peppers and onions into pencil-width slices.
- Place the cut peppers and onions into a foil pan that will go into the smoker.
- Add the olive oil, kosher salt, black pepper, and garlic powder to the pan.
- Mix to combine.
- Cover the pan with aluminum foil.
- Place the sausage links in a single layer in another foil pan, lightly coating them with olive oil. Leave this pan uncovered.
*Cooking them separately for the first hour allows the sausage to get more of the smoked flavor, while the peppers have a lighter, smoky flavor.
Place the uncovered sausage pan, and the covered peppers mixture in the smoker and cook for one hour.
- Remove the aluminum foil from the peppers and onion mixture, then stir to mix them. Then, place the sausage links on top of the pepper and onions.
- Return the pan to the smoker uncovered and cook for an additional hour or until the sausage has reached an internal temperature of 165 degrees F.
*For a smokier flavor, add more wood chips to the smoker tube.
Smoked sausage, peppers, and onions can be served as a sandwich on a hoagie roll or over pasta, rice, or just as is. It’s a delicious dish your whole family will love!
Save any leftovers refrigerated in an airtight container or well sealed with plastic wrap or aluminum foil for 2-3 days.
Recipe FAQ’s
Depending on the sausages you choose, larger sausages like Italian sweet sausage and bratwurst will take 2 to 3 hours to smoke. Thinner sausages will take 1 ½ to 2 hours.
Cooked sausages, found in the prepared meats section, should only be smoked for 30 to 45 minutes.
Although some recipes suggest poking holes or scoring the casings, it’s not something I recommend. Poking holes will let the juices come out of the sausage during the cooking process, making it drier.
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Smoked Sausage, Peppers, and Onions
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 lb sweet Italian sausage
- 1 large green pepper
- 2 large colored peppers
- 1 large sweet onion
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ tablespoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
- Preheat your smoker to 250 degrees.*once your smoker has reached 250 degrees F. add your favorite wood chips to the smoker tube. We used hickory wood chips for this recipe.
- While the smoker is heating, remove the sausage from the refrigerator giving it time to come to room temperature.
- Rinse the peppers with cold water, and pat dry with paper towels. *I like to use a variety of colors for a more colorful and vibrant dish. But you can use any color peppers you like.
- Cut the peppers in half, then remove the stem and seeds. Slice the peppers into strips about ½ inch wide.
- Remove the outer layer of the onion, then cut it in half and slice it into pencil width slices.
- Place the cut peppers and onions into a foil pan that will go into the smoker.
- Add the olive oil, kosher salt, black pepper, and garlic powder to the pan and mix to combine.
- Cover the pan with aluminum foil.
- Place your sausage links in a separate foil pan and lightly coat them with olive oil. Leave this pan uncovered.*Cooking them separately for the first hour allows the sausage to get more of the smoke flavor. The peppers will have a lighter smoke flavor making for a nice contrast.
- Place the uncovered sausage pan, and the covered peppers mixture in the smoker and cook for one hour.
- Remove the aluminum foil from the peppers and onion mixture, then stir to mix them.
- Place the sausage links on top of the pepper and onions.
- Return the pan to the smoker uncovered and cook for an additional hour, or until the sausage has reached an internal temperature of 165 degrees F.*For a smokier flavor, add more wood chips to the smoker tube.
- Remove the sausage, peppers, and onions from the foil pan using a slotted spoon or tongs so any extra juices will not carry over to the serving dish.
- Serve as is, or on a hoagie roll. The sausage can be sliced or left whole.
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