Oven Baked Italian Sausage with Tomato Sauce

A close up image of a chunk of Italian sausage in red sauce on a white plate with a toothpick sticking out of it.

Oven Baked Italian Sausage with Tomato Sauce

This easy oven baked Italian sausage is a simple and delicious recipe that makes an awesome appetizer. You can throw it together in minutes and let the oven do the rest of the work — and can even double it for a crowd! Want it for a meal? Just serve over pasta!

Course Appetizer, Main, Main Course, Main dish

Cuisine Italian

Diet Gluten Free, Low Lactose

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 1

Servings servings

Calories 11kcal

Author Jessy Freimann

Equipment

Ingredients

Cooking spray
1 ¼ pounds Italian sausage links, cut into thirds, spicy or sweet
28 ounces canned crushed tomatoes
¼ cup dry white wine
½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
½ teaspoon Kosher salt
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper (or more if you prefer it spicy)
1 cup bell pepper sliced thin (around 1 medium pepper)
½ cup diced onion
3 cloves garlic, minced

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and spray an 11" x 7" baking pan with cooking spray.
In a large bowl mix crushed tomatoes, wine, Italian seasoning, salt and crushed red pepper until well combined. Stir in peppers, onions and garlic until well combined.
Place sausage chunks into prepared pan and spread sauce evenly over the sausage.
Bake uncovered for 1 hour or until the sausage is cooked through to 165 degrees internal temperature. Serve immediately.

Video

Notes

I prefer to cut my sausage links into thirds to make them more appropriate for an appetizer (and generally easier to eat). You can always keep them whole if serving as an entree. Just double-check the internal temp before serving to make sure they're cooked through, as smaller ones tend to cook a bit faster (the cook time may vary).

I like to whisk all the sauce ingredients together in a large bowl and then stir in the vegetables. It's so much easier than trying to mix in the baking dish.

Be sure to spray your baking dish down with olive oil cooking spray to avoid sticking.

You'll bake this uncovered so that the sauce thickens slightly as it cooks.

Ingredients to prep ahead: Cut the sausage, dice the onion, slice the bell pepper, and peel the garlic in advance to save some time.

Leftovers and storage: Store any leftover oven baked sausage and peppers in an airtight container in the fridge for the best results. It will keep for about 3-4 days. You can use your microwave or stovetop to reheat.

Nutrition