Bourbon Sausage and Peppers

As easy as it is delicious, this Bourbon Sausage and Peppers recipe comes together in a flash, and is great for potlucks, tailgates, parties or just a super casual dinner for friends and family. The rich and smoky flavor of the bourbon, the sweet from the brown sugar and the heat from the sausage and red pepper flakes really sets this dish apart from your traditional sausage and peppers recipe.

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A twist on an Italian-American classic, this isn’t your grandma’s sausage and peppers (sorry, grandmas). This is sausage and peppers gone on a boozy journey. Infused with the bold flavors of Bourbon Whiskey and brown sugar, it’s sweet, it’s spicy, it’s tangy, it’s savory- it’s delicious!

The story behind the sausage

Going back at least 10 years, I was tasked with coming up with the main dish for a buffet style party/fundraiser for a friend. I immediately thought of sausage and peppers, as the friend is a huge fan of sausage- but I wanted to put my own personal stamp on the dish. Recalling a friend who once grilled sausages for a BBQ with whiskey in his marinade (genius!), I decided to concoct a one-pot dish with a similar flavor profile- enter Bourbon Sausage and Peppers. I love, love, LOVE cooking with booze, so Bourbon Sausage and Peppers was a no-brainer.

Just Bourbon Sausage and Peppers- not dishes!

Aside from being SUPER easy to make, this dish is also great on the wallet, helping you feed a lot of people for very little scratch. Just chop up a few ingredients, stir them up, and let the oven do all the work, while you, I don’t know.. drink some delicious bourbon cocktails? Bonus points for avoiding dishes by using a disposable foil pan. Sunday Funday here you come!

Can I leave out the hot sausage?

Sure! If you are not a fan of the heat, you can use all sweet sausage and remove the red pepper flakes.  

Can I use chicken sausage instead of pork sausage for the Bourbon Sausage and Peppers?

You could sub in chicken sausage if you like, but be sure to use the raw kind, not the fully cooked varieties that are available so that the final texture is comparable and it doesn’t dry out.

Can I make this in advance/reheat it?

You sure can! This dish reheats great, and can be made a day in advance and set to warm in a foil pan/Sterno situation, or in a crockpot.

Want to give this recipe a try?

If you make my Bourbon Sausage and Peppers, please be sure to leave me a comment! I would love to hear from you, and value your feedback! Lastly, if you make the recipe and love it, please tag me on Instagram! I love to see your photos!

Looking for more great recipes? Why not try my Instant Pot Honey-Chipotle Pulled Pork Sandwiches, South Philly Pork Burgers, Easy Crockpot Carnitas, or Rueben Egg Rolls!

Print Recipe

Bourbon Sausage and Peppers

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time1 hr 20 mins

Total Time30 mins

Course: Dinner, game day, Main Course

Keyword: bourbon, brownsugar, food for a crowd, game day food, sausage, sausage and peppers

Ingredients

• 5 sweet Italian sausage links, sliced*
• 5 hot Italian sausage links, sliced
• 10 cloves crushed garlic
• 3 red, yellow or orange bell peppers, sliced
• 2 green peppers, sliced
• 2 large onions, sliced
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp fresh ground black pepper
• 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup bourbon whiskey, plus 1 tbsp
• Hoagie/sub or club rolls, for serving

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

  2. Grease a 9×12 (or larger) glass, ceramic or metal baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.

  3. Slice sausage links, and place into a large mixing bowl (each link should yield about 5 even slices).

  4. Slice peppers into thin strips and onions into half-moon slices of even width and place into mixing bowl with the sausage. No need to worry about extra thin slices or perfection here- everything is going to be well and cooked down.

  5. Press 10 cloves of garlic with a garlic press and add to mixing bowl.

  6. Add in salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, ½ cup bourbon and ¾ cup brown sugar and mix all ingredients together. Transfer to greased dish and bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, undisturbed.

  7. After 30 minutes, remove the dish from the oven and stir well. Place back into over and bake an additional 30 minutes.

  8. After baking an additional 30 minutes, remove from oven, add final 1 tbs of bourbon and stir well. Return to oven for final 20 minutes of baking.

  9. Remove dish from oven and serve on long or party size hoagie/sub rolls. Great for transferring to a crockpot set on warm, or a foil pan warmed with a Sterno for a great self-serve dish parties!

*Substitutions:

If you want the dish to be less spicy, you can use all sweet sausage.

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