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Slow Cooker Italian Sausage and Ravioli is the perfect weeknight dinner. Mild Italian sausage is slow cooked with sweet Italian Peppers in a hearty rich sauce and served over tender cheese filled ravioli. A delicious and easy meal the whole family will love!

Slow cooker recipes are always welcome at this Nest and especially this time of year! With the weather changing and the upcoming Holidays this is my favorite time of year to break out the crock pot. 

Not only does my slow cooker do the majority of the work, it fills my Nest with the most amazing smells! Especially when that pot is filled with an Italian recipe! 

A few weeks ago I went digging around my freezer. Up popped a package of cheese stuff ravioli and a package of Mild Italian Sausage. It was like they were begging to be thrown together! (Just call me Reverend Mama Ital i-an-o)

Never one to disappoint…I decided to create a delicious Slow Cooker Italian Sausage Recipe with a rich tomato sauce base, delicious spices, and lots of sweet Italian Peppers. It’s a great recipe and one I know your tribe will love!

So…let’s get cooking!

How To Make Slow Cooker Italian Sausage and Cheese Ravioli

Begin by browning the sausage links in a large skillet, over medium high heat, with a splash of olive oil. One package with five sausage links will be plenty for this recipe. 

TIP: Remember…this is just to brown the sausage, cooking them all the way through is not necessary. We will slow cook these in the sauce for several hours where they will finish cooking in the slow cooker. That’s a good thing. All the delicious flavor from the sausages will release into the sauce adding lots of extra flavor!

Once brown on one side, turn over and brown the other side. Don’t they look beautiful! (Yes I said “beautiful”)

Slow Cooker Sauce

In the bottom of your slow cooker add 1/2 cup chopped white onion and 3/4 cup sliced sweet Italian Sausage. 

Let’s get a little Emeril Lagasse and “Bam” a bit of garlic into this dish! 2 teaspoons of minced garlic to be exact. Hey, if you’re going to add garlic…make it count! (I could insert a “Count” Dracula pun right now…but I won’t…too cheesy!)

Add two cans of petite diced tomatoes, 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce, and 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste.

Time to spice things up! Add 1 teaspoon ground black pepper, 1 teaspoon oregano, 1 teaspoon dried basil, 1 teaspoon crushed rosemary, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon onion powder, and 1 teaspoon salt. Next add 1 Tablespoon sugar and 1 Tablespoon dried parsley.

I also added 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper, however this is optional. Red pepper does add a good KICK to this sauce. So add with caution! 

Give all the ingredients in the slow cooker a good stir and add 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese.

TIP: The addition of grated Parmesan not only adds extra flavor…but it also helps to thicken the sauce. It’s a great addition in this dish!

Add browned Italian Sausage to the sauce…

Slow Cooking Sausage and Sauce

Cover and cook on low for 6–8 hours. 

The house is going to smell AMAZING! So many various scrumptious flavors come together in this dish! All of them brilliant in their own right…but combined with the Italian Sausage…WOWZA!

After cook time, remove sausage from slow cooker with tongs. Allow to rest for 5–10 minutes and then carefully cut into bite size pieces.

Add sliced sausage back into the slow cooker. Give everything a good stir. 

TIP: Note how the sauce has reduced in the slow cooker in the photo below? The sauce thickens as it slow cooks and creates a delicious rich thick sauce for whatever type of pasta you decide to serve it on. However, I do recommend the Ravioli!

Cooking Pasta for Slow Cooker Sausage and Sauce

It’s Pasta time! I made this recipe with Ravioli, thus the title…however, you could serve this sauce over any type of pasta you prefer. Slow Cooker Sausage Sauce pairs perfectly with cheese ravioli…but again, get creative. Do your own thing. This is a No judgment zone. I just want you cooking in your kitchen!

In a large pot bring 8 cups of water to a boil. Add cheese ravioli and cook 5–8 minutes until tender. 

Drain ravioli and place in a large casserole dish or serving bowl.

Finishing the Dish

Scoop heaping spoonfuls of the Slow Cooked Italian Sausage over the ravioli.

That is one beautiful sauce my friends! The sausage is so tender after slow cooking all day and the flavor of that sauce…so delightfully yummy!

Top with more grated Parmesan cheese and dried parsley. Garnish with fresh basil.

This is a mouth-watering dish! The sausage soaks up all that flavor from the sauce, and in turn, the sauce soaks up all the flavor from the sausage. It’s truly a match made in heaven! (One of my better success stories!)

It’s great served with a loaf of crispy garlic bread and a side Caesar Salad!  A magnificent meal and the slow cooker did all the work! (Now if it could just do the dishes!)

As is the case with most Italian dishes… It’s even better the next day…if there’s any leftover. (That’s the real trick…not getting the family to polish it off!) 

If you love this Slow Cooker Recipe you may also enjoy these Slow Cooker Recipes

• Slow Cooker Layered Chicken Enchilada Casserole
• Slow Cooker Copy Cat Cafe Rio Chicken 
• Slow Cooker Beef Stew
• Slow Cooker Teriyaki Chicken
• Slow Cooker Meatballs with Sauce

You can never go wrong with a slow cooker meal, and you can never ever go wrong with a great Slow Cooker Italian Recipe like this one! Enjoy!

Happy Nesting!

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