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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.
Wow...yummy...im enjoying it right now!! Thumbs up and thanks!
You are very welcome! Glad you liked the recipe!
Use beef and pork combo.
That's a good idea!
Thanks for the recipe!
Loved the sun dried tomatoes in the cream sauce in this recipe the best I've ever made .
came to pa from fl to visit my mom....... i made this for my mom and we loved it...... that was last month..... i'm back and looked up the directions..... mom wants it again
I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe!
Hi do you add cream to this dish ? If so what cream ? We going try this tomorrow looks yummy z
Just follow the recipe steps. You add cream (or half-and-half) in step 3, towards the end.
Made it, loved it...perfect for a Friday night dinner!!!
So glad to hear that!
Can you use more than 18 oz I bought a jar it's 24 I can't wait to make this tonight
Yes, you can use 24 oz of the marinara sauce. Reduce the amount of water, though. Use 1 1/2 cups of water and add more water towards the end of cooking, if needed.
we all gota change a little..... i used hot italian sausage (of coarse i skinned it)..... a large onion of coarse ,,,, a really good shake of italian seasoning..... spinich at the end sounds good.... it smells so good
Using hot Italian sausage sounds delicious! And adding spinach is a great idea!
It says marinara sauce. What kind did you use?
I used a store-bought marinara sauce. Just use any type of marinara sauce or any type of tomato pasta sauce that you can find in the store.
Looks good!
Enjoy!
This looks delicious, I want to try it
Enjoy!
Can you use Italian sausage instead of pork sausage
Yes, you can!
What is exactly 18 oz. of water and marinara. About 2 cups?
Yes! 16 oz is 2 cups, and 18 oz is a little bit more than 2 cups.
18 oz is 2 1/4 cups. However, if the jar of marinara is 18 oz just fill that up with water for the recipe.
Hi! Just found your blog and love it!!! For the 1 lb. breakfast sausage, are you meaning like a Jimmy Dean sausage roll? Or from the butcher department? Also, I looked for a place to sign up for emails but couldn't find it. Can you help?!! Thank you!!
Yes, Jimmy Dean sausage roll - that's exactly what I used! Of course, you can also use the sausage from the butcher department if you like.
I made this recipe for dinner tonight. Everyone loved it. I served it with fresh homemade Rosemary and Olive Oil bread that I made in my bread machine during the same day. Thank you for a wonderful recipe. I actually added a few substitutions. I put spinach and cremini mushrooms in mine along side the other ingredients that the recipe called for. I diced up and saluted an onion along with the spicy Italian sausage. I cooked mine in a Dutch Oven. I will definitely make this for my family again. Cheers.
Thank you, Michelle! I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe! Spinach and mushrooms are great additions! Serving this mac and cheese with the homemade bread sounds so good!
Great recipe. Now that we are gluten-free what changes would we need to make?
To make this gluten free, use gluten free pasta. I have successfully used brown gluten-free rice elbow pasta in this recipe. Also, just to be on the safe side, make sure all other ingredients are gluten-free.