Use your oven to make the best Italian Sausage Sandwiches with peppers, onions and sauce! They'll be ready in just over an hour. Don't miss my easy method!

I've taken my famous roasted sausage, peppers and onions recipe and turned it into an Italian Sausage Sandwich with a delicious tomato sauce on broiled hoagies!
Top it with ribbons of fresh basil and an optional sprinkling of Parmesan for the best sausage sandwich of your life!
But, wait...there's more! You can cook the tomato sauce right in the oven along with the sausage, peppers and onions, once they've had a chance to brown a bit.
Read on for all the details of our many experiments for the best way to cut the sausage, the best pan to use, how to get the most flavorful sauce and the best bread to use for these Italian Sausage Sandwiches!
Recipe ingredients
Italian Sausage: I always use sweet Italian sausage, but feel free to use hot sausage instead. Buy the links. We'll be cutting them in half.
Feel free to substitute chicken sausage, kielbasa or chorizo. And don't miss this pasta with rapini and sausage!
Buns: You'll need something larger than hot dog buns. Go to the bakery section of the grocery store and look for fresh hoagies, subs, heroes or Mexican bolillo rolls, which is what I've been buying at Giant Eagle in the Cleveland area. They toast up crispy on the outside and tender on the inside!
Peppers: I love using a combination of red, yellow and orange bell peppers for this Italian sausage sandwich. They're sweeter than green peppers, but you could use those if you prefer.
Onion: Red onion provides a hint of sweetness with a delicious, savory flavor. You could substitute a sweet yellow onion or go for the stronger flavor of regular yellow or white ones.
Crushed Tomatoes: We'll doctor up a 28-ounce can of crushed tomatoes and pour it into the pan in the oven at the halfway mark. We're not adding olive oil to the tomatoes, because there is enough oil in the pan and fat from the sausage.
You could use my pasta sauce instead if you have some made, but note that you'll have a greasier sauce after baking it with the sausage.
How to make Italian sausage sandwiches
See the card at the end of this post for the full recipe, but here's an overview.
- Place the sausage halves in a greased, dark roasting pan, with the peppers, onions, seasonings and olive oil.
- Mix the seasonings and bay leaf into the can of crushed tomatoes.
- Par-bake the sausage, peppers and onions for 30 minutes, then stir and add the crushed tomato mixture. Bake for another 30 minutes.
- Split open the hoagies without cutting them all the way through. Broil them on an ungreased sheet pan for 1-2 minutes or until lightly toasted.
If using a dark roasting pan
I prefer using a dark roasting pan (affiliate link) for baked sausage and peppers, because it browns everything nicely. It turns out, it works wonderfully to cook the tomato sauce in the oven too!
Here's what we discovered during our testing:
- The dark pan cooks down the sauce, reducing it to a thicker texture with noticeable sausage flavor, especially when we cut the sausage in half the short way before baking.
- The sauce had the best flavor when we sliced the sausage into rounds first and baked them in the dark roasting pan, but the sausage slices were difficult to eat in a sandwich. It was really messy!
- Leaving the sausage links whole during baking didn't lend enough flavor to the sauce, even in the dark pan.
Our recommendation: If you have a dark roasting pan, use it for this Italian sausage and peppers sandwich recipe for the best flavor. See below if you need to use a half-sheet pan instead.
If using a sheet pan
We made sure to test this recipe using a half-sheet pan (affiliate link), since we know many people own one of these and might not have a dark roasting pan.
Here's what we discovered:
- The tomato sauce turns out thinner and with a greater volume of liquid since it doesn't cook down as much as in a dark roaster. Don't slice the sausage into rounds before baking it in a sheet pan, because it will produce even more liquid, and the pan will be too full.
- The sauce turns out bland when added uncooked to the sheet pan, even when using sausages cut in half.
- But, after 2-3 days in the refrigerator, the leftover sauce stored with the sausage and peppers became more flavorful.
Our Recommendations:
- If using a sheet pan to make this recipe to serve the same day, cook the crushed tomato mixture in a pot on the stove for about 20 minutes before adding it to the pan of partially cooked sausage and peppers. This will produce a more flavorful sauce.
- If you're making this ahead of time to serve 2-3 days later, you don't need to cook the sauce on the stove first. You can just add the crushed tomato mixture to the sheet pan of par-baked sausage, peppers and onions and let it finish cooking in the oven. The sauce will become infused with the flavor of Italian sausage if refrigerated in the same container as the meat and peppers.
Recipe tips
- Roast the sausage, peppers and onions in the oven for the best flavor, instead of making them on the stove. Let them roast for 30 minutes first without the sauce so they can brown.
- Broil the buns so you don't have a soggy sandwich. You need the bread to be sturdy enough to hold the sauce, sausage, peppers and onions.
- A dark roasting pan works best for this recipe, enabling the Italian sausage to get brown and the tomato sauce to develop a savory, sausage flavor when added right to the pan after the first 30 minutes.
- Slicing the Italian sausage links in half the short way allows the sauce to take on some sausage flavor while keeping the sandwich manageable to eat.
- But, if you know you want to serve the saucy sausage, peppers and onions over pasta, slicing the sausage into rounds before baking will provide the most flavorful sauce. (More of the fat from the sausage seeps out into the tomato sauce, making it extra tasty and yielding a greater amount of sauce. Be sure to use a deep roasting pan instead of a shallow sheet pan.)
What to serve with them
To serve, use a slotted spoon or tongs to place two of the sausage halves in a straight line inside each toasted bun. Top with some roasted peppers and onions and add a little extra sauce, if desired. Sprinkle on some basil ribbons (so good!) and add grated Parmesan, if desired.
If you want to add some shredded mozzarella or provolone, you can, but we found it almost masked the savory flavor of the sausage. We much preferred adding Parmesan or skipping the cheese topping altogether.
This makes a great meal to enjoy with a simple tossed salad, roasted red potatoes or Italian pasta salad with sun-dried tomatoes.
What to do with leftovers
Trade the buns for pasta! Slice the sausage into rounds first and reheat the leftovers to enjoy over rigatoni or penne with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
You also could serve the leftovers on pizza. This beer pizza dough is the best!
How long to store leftovers
Store leftover sausage, peppers and onions in sauce in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to four days. I don't recommend freezing them, because it will affect the taste and texture of the sausage.
If you have leftover broiled hoagies, you can keep them in a sealed container at room temperature for up to three days. You may want to reheat them in the oven to crisp them up again before using them.
More recipes like this
- Spaghetti Squash Lasagna Boats with Sausage
- Italian Roasted Peppers with Garlic
- Italian Stuffed Bell Peppers
- Italian Sausage Breakfast Casserole
- Beef Bolognese with Sausage
And don't miss my other pork recipes!
Enjoy!
If you try this Italian Sausage Sandwich recipe, please leave a comment and a rating!
Italian Sausage Sandwiches
Ingredients
Sausage, Peppers & Onions
- 2 pounds sweet Italian sausage (or hot)
- 4 bell peppers (Use red, yellow and orange. Can fit up to six in a dark roasting pan.)
- 1 large red onion (or yellow, white)
- 3 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 pinch black pepper
- 1 dash garlic powder
Sauce for Sausage Sandwiches
- 28 ounces can of crushed tomatoes (see notes if you have marinara)
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 1 bay leaf
Buns
- 8 fresh hoagies (or bolillo rolls, submarine buns, heroes)
Toppings
- fresh basil leaves
- grated Parmesan cheese (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Spray a dark roasting pan (preferred) or a sheet pan with cooking spray. (See notes about the pans.)
- Prepare the sauce by stirring the garlic powder, salt, red pepper flakes and bay leaf right into the opened can of crushed tomatoes. Let it sit to absorb the flavors.
- Prepare the peppers by rinsing and patting them dry with a paper towel. Cut a circle around the stems to remove them. Cut each pepper in half and remove the seeds and membranes. Cut the halves in half again. Then slice each one into strips about ½ inch wide.
- Prepare the onion by cutting off the ends, peeling off the skin, and cutting the onion in half. Then cut each half into vertical slices.
- Cut the sausage links in half the short way and place them in a single layer in the greased pan. Add the peppers, then onions.
- Drizzle olive oil on each row of sausage. Lightly sprinkle salt on each row. Then sprinkle on pepper and garlic powder, again being sure to season every row.
- Bake, uncovered for 30 minutes initially. If you're using a sheet pan for the sausage, you'll need to heat the sauce on the stove during this time. (See next step.) If using a dark roasting pan, you don't need to heat the sauce.
- If you're using a sheet pan instead of a dark roasting pan for the sausage, you'll need to cook the tomato sauce on the stove for 15-20 minutes so it will be ready to add to the pan of sausage. Place the crushed tomato mixture in a medium saucepan or 12-inch skillet. Heat on medium-high, and when it comes to boil, lower the heat to a simmer. Stir as needed to keep the sauce from sticking.
- Remove the pan of sausage and peppers from the oven and stir the food around, making sure to turn the sausage over. Pour the crushed tomato mixture (or prepared marinara sauce) on top. Return the pan to the oven and bake for another 30 minutes, uncovered.
- Split open the hoagies without cutting them all the way through. Broil them face-up on an ungreased sheet pan for 1-2 minutes or until lightly toasted. (If you don't toast them, the sandwich will be soggy.)
- To serve, use a slotted spoon or tongs to place two of the sausage halves in a straight line inside each toasted bun. Top with some roasted peppers and onions and add a little extra sauce, if desired. Sprinkle on some basil ribbons and add grated Parmesan, if desired.
- Store leftover sausage, peppers and sauce in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to four days.
Notes
- Slicing the Italian sausage links in half the short way allows the sauce to take on some sausage flavor while keeping the sandwich manageable to eat.
- If you leave the links whole, the sauce will be bland.
- Don't slice the sausage into rounds before baking it unless you intend to serve it over pasta instead of in a sandwich. (It's too messy to eat in a sandwich.)
- A dark roasting pan works best for this recipe. It enables the Italian sausage to get brown and the tomato sauce to develop a savory, sausage flavor when the crushed tomatoes are added right to the baking pan after the first 30 minutes.
- The dark pan cooks down the sauce, reducing it to a thicker texture.
- The sauce will be thinner than if using a dark roasting pan.
- The sauce will be bland if you just add it without cooking it on the stove first. So cook it for about 20 minutes first if you intend to serve this the same day or the next day.
- If making this ahead of time to serve 2-3 days, later, you can just add the crushed tomato mixture to the sheet pan of par-baked sausage, peppers and onions and let it cook in the oven. Refrigerate the food when it has cooled. The sauce will become infused with the flavor of the sausage if stored in the same container for 2-4 days.
Nutrition
(Recipe Source: Cooking with Mamma C)
Robert says
This is absolutely delicious!!
Mamma C says
Hi Robert - I'm so happy you enjoyed this recipe!