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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 30 minutes and is made in one pan!
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!
Mac and Cheese with Sausage and Bell Peppers (30-Minute, One-Pan Recipe)
Ingredients
- 1 lb pork sausage
- 2 bell peppers diced
- 8 oz elbow macaroni uncooked
- 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
Nutrition Disclaimer:
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.
Seriously - I thank you from the bottom of my heart for this recipe. Comfort food with style. Easy to make on wintery work nights and unbelievable flavor. Made this for dinner tonight obviously! Saw it on Facebook and have saved it. It is one of those wonderful "keeper" recipes.
We made this a few nights ago and it was fantastic. It was quick and super easy but I did have to make one simple change. We found it lacking in salt because the pasta was uncooked prior to making which is where it would have been made in salted water. So next time I think I will add a tsp or so of salt because I really hate salting food at the diner table. Thanks for sharing a great recipe.
I am so glad you liked it! Salt is very important for bringing all the flavors together, so, yes, add salt to your taste.
I've made this so many times. It is always perfect and its just me and my fiance eating and everytime the whole pot is gone by the end of the night. It is soooo good! I also substituted mozerella with american cheese because it was all i had on hand and it made it feel more of like cheesy mac and cheese . Thankyou for this recipe.
You are very welcome, Abby! Happy to hear you and your fiance have been enjoying this recipe!
Lost power and had chicken sausage to cook up .so I found your recipe. Used extra green bell pepper, not having red peppers. Did not have half and half and used spaghetti sauce, stillTurned out great . Dished up to safe for next night and I may add crushed red pepper to spice it up a little. Saved this recipe. thank yOu.....
You're welcome! Glad you enjoyed the recipe even without half and half! 🙂
Hi,just would like to know what 1/2and 1/2 meant in this recipe??
Yum! I made it with vegetarian sausage and it was a family hit...even with my 3 and 9 yr olds. Thanks!
I've made this dish a few times now and I love it. It's so simple and quick. I use hot Italian ground sausage, I add onions, and I use 24 ounce garlic onion tomato sauce, with the 18 ounce water. I also add the peppers and onions in just before my sausage is finished cooking. It's so yummy I love it. Thanks for sharing!
Nicole, I am glad you have enjoyed this recipe! 🙂
Made this last night. I did use mild Italian sausage. It was tasty good and easy.
Thank you, Terri! So glad you liked it! 🙂
I recently made this recipe with a few edits: mixing 2 savory spaghetti sauces instead of using marinara and a pack of shredded Italian 3 cheese & sweet Italian ground sausage. I also added spices like basil near the end and grated parmesean on top. Everything else was by instruction and it was DEVINE! Such a fast and easy mid-week meal and made for great left overs. Everyone wanted more!
So glad you liked it! This recipe works with all kinds of red spaghetti sauces and most types of shredded cheese!
I made this the other night, it was delicious! Forgot the cream at the store so just added a bit of milk but didn't really need it, would of been good either way. So easy!!
Thank you, Donna, so glad you liked it! Good to hear it worked even without the cream!
Very easy. ..will be making again and again and again. ..lol
Thank you, Danielle! It is a pretty easy recipe, isn't it! So glad you liked it.
This is a very quick and easy supper. My family loved it. I did have to improvise a bit. I was out of macaroni so I used small shell pasta, I was out of mozzarella so I used Mexican blend, and lastly of course I was out of half and half so I used butter and milk. lol thanksgiving dinner whipped out my grocery supply. I would normally have all these ingredients on hand. Next time I will try the recipe but for today my substations were perfect.
Thank you for taking your time and leaving such a detailed feedback! WOW, you are quite resourceful. Once, I ran out of half and half and heavy cream, and there is no way I would've been able to make half and half out of butter and milk. So just used cream cheese and milk instead.
Ground beef with the addition of some paprika and fennel seed, makes a good stand in for the pork sausage... Such a great recipe! Thank you
Great suggestion - thank you!
I used fennel with this recipe and it was fantastic! I love cooking and Julia and Christine, this was great!
Thank you, Anny, so glad to hear you liked the recipe! And thank you for your time to leave a comment - I really appreciate it! Good to know fennel tastes good in this recipe. 🙂
Does "dried" macaroni mean uncooked, or does it mean cooked and dried off? The word "dried" would indicate that it was once wet, i.e. cooked and then dried out.
Uncooked. Straight from the box
Hello,
What kind of marinara sauce would you recommend for this recipie?