This easy Italian Sausage Sandwich delivers a meaty festival food feeling with sausage, peppers, onions, beer, marinara and provolone on a toasted ciabatta bun. The perfect mix of flavors and easy to make on the griddle or in a skillet, this sausage and peppers combo is great for a quick lunch or weeknight dinner!
Easy Italian Sausage Sandwich
Sausage and peppers with marinara sauce is a classic combination… And when you combine those simple ingredients into a sandwich, it’s even better!
Store-bought jarred marinara sauce makes this sandwich even easier to make, and it provides the perfect amount of Italian flavor to create one juicy, delicious quick sandwich recipe. Combine that with melty provolone cheese, beer-steamed sausages and bell peppers, and the perfect light and airy ciabatta buns, and you have the makings of a fantastic griddle sandwich!
In fact, when I made this Italian sausage and peppers marinara recipe recently for some friends, a few of them commented that they absolutely LOVED it, and they don’t even like bell peppers…I guess that’s what happens when you stew them in beer though!
One quick tip – Don’t skip the ciabatta buns!
Although most Italian sausage sandwich recipes are made with deli-style hoagie rolls, the ciabatta buns offer a totally different mouth feel, especially for this type of juicy hot sandwich. The marinara and sausage juices seep down into the nooks and crannies, flavoring the bread so it’s not just an afterthought.
*And be sure to check out some of our other favorite sausage recipes for the Blackstone: Bratwurst Sliders with Peppers and Onions and Smashed Meatball Sliders.
Ingredients for Italian Sausage Sandwiches
- Bell Peppers – We used red, green, and orange for some added color, but you can choose whichever you prefer.
- Onion – A fairly large yellow onion works well.
- Italian Sausage – Mild Italian, Bratwurst, or Kielbasa are all great choices for this sandwich.
- Marinara Sauce – A jar of store bought marinara is perfect. Remember this is an easy griddle sandwich.
- Sliced Provolone Cheese – Thin sliced provolone for sandwiches, from the deli is best if at all possible.
- 1 Can of Beer – A classic ingredient for cooking sausages or bratwurst. This adds a flavorful steam to the sliced veggies.
- Seasoning – We used our own Shake That All-Purpose Seasoning on the veggies to give them a pop of flavor. You can substitute a simple blend of salt, black pepper, and garlic powder.
- Ciabatta Buns – These are the foundation of the whole sandwich. The Italian-style ciabatta rolls are perfect for the sausage and peppers marinara.
Making the Italian Sausage Sandwich
Here’s a look at the step-by-step process for making this fantastic griddle sandwich. Full instructions are provided in the recipe card at the end of this post.
Prep the Ingredients
To begin, heat your griddle or skillet over medium heat, and slice up three colorful bell peppers and an onion. Have your sausages ready to go and be sure that your buns are already sliced if they didn’t come that way.
Step One: Heat the marinara and brown the Italian sausages.
Place a small sauce pot on the griddle and add just enough of the marinara sauce in your saucepot to cover the bottom of your sandwiches.
While the grill is still heating up, lay your sausages on the grill because they’ll take the longest to cook. But be careful not to cook them all the way at this point, because they will continue to cook with the peppers and onions later.
Step Two: Cook the veggies.
After squirting some avocado oil and hearing that beautiful sizzle, you can add all your chopped veggies to the griddle. Sprinkle your seasoning mixture on the vegetables.
Step Three: Cook the Italian sausages and veggies together.
Next you can gently create a nice little nest of your vegetables to lay your sausages on. You’re going to move your sausages onto the pile of onions, red, green, and yellow peppers.
Then, crack open the can of beer and pour gently over the sausages and vegetables, directly on the grill. You only want to add a small amount, just to the point where you can see the reduction on the sides. You can always keep adding if you need more, but you shouldn’t need more than half a can.
The added liquid will create steam and help to flavor the ingredients and cook the sausage and veggies more quickly. If needed, you can also cover with a melting dome to trap the steam and speed up cooking time.
Step Four: Toast the ciabatta buns.
While the Italian sausages and peppers continue cooking, butter and toast the ciabatta buns on the griddle. The nooks and crannies that are in those buns are what provide that really great chew, almost like a pizza dough, and the butter lends a richness that’s just delicious.
Step Five: Melt the provolone over the veggies.
When the Italian sausages are cooked through (165°F internal temp), transfer to a cutting board to rest. While the sausages rest, make small piles of the sautéed veggies, about the size of your buns. Top each pile with a slice of provolone to melt.
*TIP – If needed, you can add a small pour of the beer to each pile of veggies to create steam. Then immediately add the sliced provolone. The added steam helps melt the cheese.
Step Six: Assemble the Italian sausage sandwiches.
After resting, cut the sausages into medallions on the bias. Then build the sandwiches. Spread some of the reduced marinara sauce on the bottom bun, top with the sliced sausage, then the pepper and onion mixture.
Crown with the other half of the toasted ciabatta bun and slide it all over to the one you love! They’re going to enjoy every bite.
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Italian Sausage Sandwich with Peppers and Marinara
Ingredients
- 1½-2 cups marinara sauce *Use your favorite store-bought marinara sauce.
- 5 Italian sausage links
- 1 tablespoon cooking oil
- 3 bell peppers sliced
- ½ medium sweet onion sliced
- all-purpose seasoning *Or substitute salt and pepper.
- ½ can beer
- 4 slices provolone cheese
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 4 ciabatta buns
Instructions
- Heat the griddle on medium heat to about 350-400°F. Pour the marinara sauce in a small saucepan and set the pan on the griddle. Heat the marinara, stirring occasionally, until it has reduced and thickened.
- While the marinara is reducing, place the Italian sausage links on the heated griddle to begin browning. Cook on the first side until nicely browned, then flip and continue to cook until sausage is about 50-60% cooked through. You may need to flip a few additional times for even cooking and browning.
- While the sausage is cooking, add about 1 tablespoon of cooking oil to a clear space on the griddle and spread it around with your spatula. Add the sliced bell peppers and onions to the oiled griddle. Sprinkle with the all-purpose seasoning or salt and pepper. Sauté veggies until about 50% done.
- When veggies and sausage are about 50-60% done, lay the sausages on top of the vegetables. Continue to cook the sausage and vegetables another 2-3 minutes. Then slowly pour about ½ can of beer, a small amount at a time, evenly on top of sausage and veggies pile. *The beer will create steam, flavoring the sausage and peppers and helping to cook them.
- While the sausage and vegetables cook, butter your ciabatta buns and put them cut side down in a clear space on the griddle to toast.
- When sausages are fully cooked (165℉ internal temp), transfer to a cutting board to rest and cool a bit.
- When veggies are done to your liking, separate into 4 equal thin piles on the griddle, shaping each pile so it's the same size as the bun. Add a tiny amount of beer (about 1 tablespoon) to each veggie pile to create steam. Immediately lay a piece of provolone over each pile of veggies.
- Assemble the sandwiches: While cheese is melting, apply thickened marinara sauce to the bottom bun for each sandwich. Slice slightly cooled Italian sausage into medallions on the bias, and then lay the slices directly on the marinara layer. Remove the melted provolone, peppers, and onions mixture from the grill and slide it all on to the sausage. Crown with the other half of the ciabatta bun. Serve immediately.
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