9 Crockpot Sausage Dinners

These crockpot sausage dinners are built on the one meat that comes out of the package already seasoned.

From sausage and peppers on a roll to kielbasa with potatoes, a pot of zuppa toscana, and a jambalaya that feeds a crowd, they need less help than any chicken or beef recipe I own.

Here are the nine we eat!

Half of these use smoked kielbasa and half use raw Italian sausage, and the two cook differently.

Kielbasa is already cooked and just needs to heat through, so it goes in whole or sliced with no browning, and raw sausage gets a few minutes in a skillet first so the casing doesn’t turn rubbery in the crock.

1. Sausage and Peppers

Italian sausage links cook in marinara with sliced bell peppers and onions until the peppers are soft and the sauce has taken on all of the sausage flavor.

Pile it into toasted rolls with provolone melted over, or serve it over pasta or polenta when you’re out of rolls.

I make it whenever people are coming over and I don’t know how many!

The leftovers, chopped up, become a pasta sauce the next night.

2. Kielbasa and Potatoes

Sliced kielbasa, baby potatoes, onion, and a little butter and garlic, and four hours on low turns it into the kind of dinner my grandmother would have made.

The potatoes soak up the smoky fat from the sausage, which is the whole appeal.

A handful of green beans added late makes it a full plate, and a little grainy mustard on the side wakes it up.

3. Polish Sausage with Sauerkraut and Potatoes

The same idea as above, with a jar of sauerkraut and a spoonful of brown sugar, and it’s a completely different dinner.

The sauerkraut mellows over the cook and the potatoes turn a little tangy, and the sausage sits on top and steams.

Rinse the sauerkraut if you want it milder, and don’t if you don’t.

Rye bread and mustard, and it’s an October dinner I make in any month.

4. Zuppa Toscana

The Olive Garden soup, made at home for a quarter of the price, with Italian sausage, potatoes, kale, and a creamy broth.

Brown the sausage first, then everything but the cream and kale goes in for six hours, and those two get stirred in at the finish.

Spicy sausage is the right call here, because the cream needs something to push against.

Crusty bread, and a lot of it.

5. Sausage Tortellini Soup

Creamy tomato broth, Italian sausage, spinach, and cheese tortellini, and my kids call it “the dumpling soup” and ask for it weekly.

The tortellini goes in near the end so it doesn’t dissolve, and the cream and spinach go in with it.

Refrigerated tortellini works better than frozen, and either is fine in a pinch.

Parmesan on top, and it’s a full dinner in a bowl.

6. Jambalaya

Andouille sausage, chicken thighs, peppers, celery, onion, and tomatoes cook all day with Cajun seasoning, and the shrimp and rice go in near the end.

Cook the rice separately if you’re nervous, because rice in the crock is a timing game, and stir it in at the end instead.

The andouille is where the New Orleans flavor comes from, so don’t substitute kielbasa here even though it’s the same shape!

Hot sauce on the table, and green onions on top.

7. Cajun Chicken and Sausage Pasta

Chicken and andouille in a creamy Cajun sauce with peppers, and the pasta cooks right in the crock at the end.

It’s the jambalaya above turned into a creamy pasta, and my family likes it more.

Dry penne goes in with half an hour left and a splash of extra broth, and the cream and parmesan finish it.

A little more Cajun seasoning on top, and a green salad to cut the richness.

8. Kielbasa and Cabbage

Sliced kielbasa and a whole head of chopped cabbage with onion, butter, and a little broth, and the cabbage cooks down sweet and soft around the sausage.

It’s a cheap dinner, a low-carb one, and a good one, which is a rare combination.

The cabbage shrinks to a third of its size, so fill the crock and don’t worry.

Mustard on the side, and boiled potatoes if you want the carbs back.

9. Tuscan Sausage and White Bean Soup

Italian sausage, cannellini beans, kale, tomatoes, and garlic in a broth with a splash of cream, and it’s zuppa toscana without the potatoes, for the weeks I want beans.

Canned beans and the kale go in during the final hour so the beans hold their shape.

A rind of parmesan dropped in at the start makes the broth taste like it simmered for a week.

Garlic bread alongside, and the leftovers improve overnight.

Notes on Sausage in a Slow Cooker

Raw Italian sausage gets browned in a cast iron skillet for a few minutes before the crock, either as links or crumbled, or the texture goes soft and the fat pools on top.

Kielbasa and other smoked sausages go in straight from the package, sliced into coins or left whole, and they’re done as soon as they’re hot.

Most of these are four hours on low, and the soups can go six, so they suit an afternoon better than a full workday.

Smoked sausage gives off salt as it cooks, so wait until the end to season anything it’s cooked with.

A 6-quart slow cooker handles a full pound of sausage with the vegetables around it, and the soups fill it to the top.

I slice kielbasa on a big cutting board on the bias so the coins have more surface to brown if I do sear them.

The soups freeze fine, and the potato dishes don’t, because the potatoes go mealy.

A good ladle for the soups and a slotted spoon for the rest, and that’s all the equipment.

More Crockpot Dinners on the Site

The quick crockpot dinners with ten minutes of prep post has a kielbasa recipe that started my whole sausage habit.

My hearty crockpot beef stew with root vegetables is the other soup-adjacent dinner I make every week in winter.

And the slow cooker chicken and dumplings is what I make when I want the comfort without the sausage.