How to Cook Italian Gravy with Sausage in a Slow Cooker (Recipes Kids Should Know Before Leaving Home)
Have you heard of Italian Gravy?
If you answered yes, that probably means you are either an Italian-American from certain parts of the United States or grew up among Italian-Americans in certain parts of the United States. I grew up in New Jersey and was very familiar with the phrase “gravy” among my Italian-American friends, which referenced what most people (including descendants from Italy) call “sauce.”
That’s right, not the gravy made from meat drippings but delicious, homemade Italian tomato sauce, oftentimes cooked with meat.
Whenever I hear someone refer to “Italian gravy,” it makes me smile and takes me back to my small hometown in New Jersey filled with Italian last names, pizza joints, and three Catholic churches. (If you are interested in the “sauce vs. gravy” linguistics debate, click here and read this fun article!)
Author Rana DiOrio is one of my Italian-American friends who calls tomato sauce “gravy” and is the one who taught me how to cook Italian gravy with sausage in a slow cooker.
Rana’s version of Italian gravy with sausage, peppers, and onions is incredibly simple to make and oh-so-delicious. Seriously, the “sauce” (oh, I mean gravy!) that comes out of your slow cooker is amazing and the sausage– after cooking for seven hours –breaks up easily, leaving nice big chunks as well as small pieces spread throughout the sauce.
Whether you call it “gravy” or “sauce,” you’re going to love this recipe. Easy, simple, classic, and homey. Enjoy!
PrintHow to Cook Italian Gravy with Sausage in a Slow Cooker
For our series of Recipes Kids Should Know Before Leaving Home, here’s one for how to cook Italian Gravy (or sauce) with sausage in a slow cooker. I learned this version from my friend Rana DiOrio.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds uncooked sweet or hot Italian sausage
- 1 yellow onion, chopped (Rana uses 2 onions, I actually only use 1)
- 1 orange bell pepper, chopped
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped
- 1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
- 2 bay leaves
- 4 cloves of garlic, minced or pushed through a garlic press
- One 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes (San Marzano if you can find them)
- 1/2 cup dry red wine
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 4 fresh basil leaves, or 2 Trader Joe’s frozen basil cubes, or 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
1. Put half of the chopped onions in the bottom of a slow cooker. Layer half of the bell peppers on top of that.
2. Put a large skillet on the stove and turn on to medium-high heat (around 7 on a dial that goes from 1-10). Let the pan heat up for about 3-5 minutes. Add a bit of oil to the pan and swirl it around.
3. Add the whole sausages to the pan and cook for about 5 – 10 minutes, rotating the sausages very couple of minutes until the outsides are nice and browned. Remove sausages from the skillet and put in the slow cooker on top of the first layer of onions and peppers.
4. Return skillet to stove and reduce heat to medium (5 on a dial that goes from 1-10). Add the canned crushed tomatoes, red wine, parsley, oregano, basil, garlic, salt and pepper to the skillet. Mix well. Turn off the heat.
5. Add the other half of the chopped onions to the slow cooker on top of the sausages. Then add the rest of the bell peppers on top of the onions. Place the bay leaves on top.
6. Pour the tomato mixture on top of the sausage, onions and peppers in the slow cooker. Put on the lid and cook for 7 hours on “Low.”
7. When cooking time is done, remove the bay leaves. Taste the sauce and add salt and/or pepper if needed.
8. You can serve the sausages whole with the gravy or you can remove the sausages, slice into discs, then add back into the gravy, stir, and serve over pasta.
More Recipes Kids Should Know How to Make Before Leaving Home:
1. How to Make Lasagna
2. How to Make Spaghetti and Meatballs
3. How to Make Homemade Tomato Sauce
