Homemade mac and cheese with sausage and bell peppers smothered in marinara sauce and cream. This skillet mac and cheese is a perfect weeknight family dinner as it takes only 45 minutes to make!
In this mac and cheese recipe, everything is cooked in one skillet: sausage, bell peppers, and even pasta! The clean-up after dinner is super easy! This dish will become your family's favorite!
I've made this homemade mac and cheese with sausage and bell peppers a couple of weeks ago as my lunch to take to work - and it was so good and easy to make!
How to make skillet mac and cheese
First, start by cooking sausage on medium heat, in a large skillet until the meat is brown. Drain off fat. Then, add diced bell peppers:
Next, add dried elbow macaroni, marinara sauce, and water:
Bring to boil; reduce heat to simmer. Simmer, covered, for about 20 minutes until macaroni is tender, occasionally stirring. Add half and half, sprinkle with cheese, and mix everything well. Remove from heat, cover and let it sit for about 2 minutes or until the cheese melts:
Your pasta is ready to serve: only 45 minutes from start to finish!
Skillet Mac and Cheese with Sausage and Bell Peppers
Ingredients
- 1 lb pork sausage
- 2 bell peppers , diced
- 8 oz elbow macaroni , dry
- 18 oz marinara sauce
- 18 oz water
- ⅓ cup half and half
- ⅓ cup mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- In a large skillet cook sausage on medium heat, until meat is brown. Drain off fat.
- Add diced bell peppers, dried elbow macaroni, marinara sauce, and water. Bring to boil; reduce heat to simmer. Simmer, covered, for about 20 minutes until macaroni is tender, occasionally stirring.
- Add half and half, sprinkle with cheese, and mix everything well. Remove from heat, cover and let it sit for about 2 minutes or until cheese melts.
Notes
Nutrition
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed. It should not be used as a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
I made this and me and my husband loved it! I would like to make it again as a freezer meal since I have a baby coming. What would you suggest for freezing?
This should freeze well. Use an airtight container. When reheating, reheat gently on low-medium heat and add extra liquid (milk, half-and-half, or heavy cream) to thin out the sauce.
I made this for supper tonight and it was absolutely delicious. I used ground beef instead of sausage meat, otherwise I followed your ingredient list. Will definitely be making this on a regular basis. Thank you.
Sandra, I am so glad you tried this and liked it! Thank you for the 5-star review - I really appreciate it! 🙂
I planned this for dinner, found I didn’t have marinara sauce so I used pizza sauce. It was delicious — a keeper!
So glad you liked it! Good to know pizza sauce worked!
Really enjoyed this! I subbed a bell pepper for two jalapeños. I also did 24 oz marinara, but cut the water down to 12 oz to balance it out. Mixed in some kale at the end (I love kale) and it gave it some extra color. Really pleasantly surprised with how well this turned out.