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.
I make this recipe about once a month. We love it at our house. I use hamburger instead of sausage because my husband doesn’t care for sausage
Roxanne, I am so glad this is a regular recipe in your house. Thank you for taking the time to share this wonderful feedback! 🙂
Have made this about three times, my husband loved it! So east to put together, making it again tonight to take to my son and grandsons
Margie, I am so happy you made it 3 times and that it was a success! And, thank you for the 5-star review! 🙂
Would I be able to use Spaghetti Sauce instead of marinara for this?
As long as it's red tomato spaghetti sauce - you can use it in this recipe!
I’m going to make this dish tonight wish me luck
I hope you loved it!
I'm going to make this for the first time tonight but I noticed that the beginning you had the green bell pepper in there the red bell pepper but I wasn't sure what the green was is that onions
Tracy, you can use both green and red bell peppers in this recipe. What you see in the end on top of the dish as a garnish are chopped green onions! They are delicious!
Made this tonight and it was very good…a perfect weeknight dinner! Easy and fast!
I used ground beef so added chopped onions, 2 cloves chopped garlic, Italian seasoning, salt & pepper. Was a big hit!!
Thank you!
Sorry I didn’t see a star rating before posting! Definitely 5 Stars !!
Jane, thank you so much for the 5-star rating! 🙂
Jane, I am glad you gave this recipe a try and enjoyed it! Thank you for this wonderful and detailed feedback! 🙂
Does this freeze well?
Yes, this freezes well.
It’s one of my husbands favorite meals! I use hot Italian sausage! I love one skillet meals and this is one I make a lot!! Super easy and tasty!!!
Vicki, your comment made my day! 🙂 Thank you for taking the time to share such a positive comment!
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.
Can I use condensed milk instead of half and half?
Most condensed milk is sweetened, so that would not work in this dish. It’s also very thick and half and half is not.
Maybe you meant evaporated milk. That would work for half and half.
Quick, easy and very tasteful. Family enjoyed it with a side salad and garlic bread. One for the recipe library.
I modified this recipe to use up a couple of leftovers in my freezer. The first was about a cup and a half of tomato sauce that was cooked with ground sausage. I added my leftover shredded chuck roasted that was slowed cooked in a tomato base. I added a small can of tomato sauce and the chopped peppers. since I was out of mozzarella I used a mexican style cheese blend. I also substituted almond milk for the half and half because that was all I had and added some baby spinach at the end to get in additional vegetables. Got rave reviews.
I just made this recipe and we really enjoyed it. I used tomato sauce instead of marinara, and a little diced tomatoes.... Because that's what I had on hand. I also used sour cream and cheddar cheese and added duces green peppers as well. My family loved it. Thank you for sharing this great recipe.
Why can't people pin your recipes?