Anna Louise Sausage and red pepper casserole is the one-pan dinner that proves you do not need expensive ingredients or elaborate technique to make something genuinely excellent.
Good quality pork sausages, sweet red peppers, a robust tomato sauce built from scratch with smoked paprika and red wine — thirty minutes of active cooking and forty minutes in the oven — and the result is deeply flavoured, completely satisfying, and the kind of dinner everyone is glad to see.
The red peppers are the element that makes this casserole specifically good rather than generically pleasant. Peppers cooked in a tomato sauce for forty minutes in the oven become almost completely soft — sweet, slightly silky, melting into the sauce and giving it a sweetness that balances the acidity of the tomatoes and the richness of the sausages.
This is the weeknight dinner that requires almost no thought, uses a single pan, and produces something that smells extraordinary from the moment the sausages start to colour.
Ingredients for Mary Berry Sausage and Red Pepper Casserole
For the Casserole
- 8 good quality pork sausages
- 3 red peppers, deseeded and cut into 3cm strips
- 1 yellow pepper, deseeded and cut into 3cm strips
- 2 red onions, cut into thick wedges
- 4 garlic cloves, finely sliced
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp sweet smoked paprika
- ½ tsp hot smoked paprika (optional — for more heat)
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 2 tbsp tomato purée
- 400g tin chopped tomatoes
- 150ml red wine or chicken stock
- 1 tsp caster sugar
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar — added at the end
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
To Finish
- Fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
- Extra virgin olive oil for drizzling
To Serve
- Crusty bread, creamy mashed potato, or rice
How to Make Mary Berry Sausage and Red Pepper Casserole
Step 1 — Brown the Sausages
Heat one tablespoon of the olive oil in a large, deep ovenproof casserole over a medium-high heat. Add the sausages and cook for six to eight minutes, turning regularly, until evenly browned all over. Remove and set aside. Do not pierce the sausages — piercing releases the fat that keeps them juicy and flavourful.
Step 2 — Cook the Vegetables
Reduce the heat to medium. Add the remaining tablespoon of oil to the same casserole. Add the red onion wedges and cook for five minutes until beginning to soften and colour. Add the pepper strips and cook for a further five minutes, stirring occasionally, until beginning to soften.
Add the sliced garlic, sweet smoked paprika, hot paprika if using, and dried oregano. Cook for two minutes, stirring, until fragrant.
Step 3 — Build the Sauce
Add the tomato purée and cook for one minute. Add the red wine or stock and let it bubble for two minutes, scraping up the base. Add the chopped tomatoes and sugar. Season generously. Stir to combine.
Step 4 — Combine and Oven Bake
Preheat your oven to 180°C / 160°C fan / Gas 4.
Nestle the browned sausages among the peppers and onions in the casserole — they should sit in the sauce rather than on top of it.
Transfer to the oven uncovered. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes until the sauce has reduced and deepened, the peppers are completely soft and silky, and the sausages are cooked through and slightly darker from the oven heat.
Step 5 — Finish and Serve
Stir in the red wine vinegar — it brightens and sharpens the sauce beautifully. Taste and adjust seasoning. Scatter fresh parsley over the top. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil. Serve from the casserole with crusty bread, mashed potato, or rice.
My Top Tips For Perfect Sausage and Red Pepper Casserole
Do not pierce the sausages. The fat inside a sausage is what keeps it juicy during browning and baking. Piercing releases this fat into the pan and gives dryer, tougher sausages. Leave them intact throughout.
Use good quality sausages. This is a simple casserole and the sausage is the centrepiece. A good quality high-meat-content pork sausage — from a butcher or a reputable brand — gives a completely different, considerably better result than a cheap supermarket alternative.
Cook the peppers for the full time. Forty minutes of oven time is what takes the peppers from crisp and slightly sharp to completely soft, sweet, and silky. Removing the casserole early — when the peppers are still slightly firm — gives a pleasant but less wonderful dish.
Smoked paprika in two layers. Sweet smoked paprika in the sauce base gives depth. Hot smoked paprika gives heat. Both are worth using — the combination gives more complexity than either alone.
Red wine vinegar at the end. One tablespoon stirred in immediately before serving brightens and focuses the entire sauce in the same way it does in the chicken Provençal and the chicken cacciatore. It is a small addition with a disproportionate effect.
Serving Suggestions
With crusty bread for mopping the sauce — the sauce is extraordinary. With creamy mashed potato. With rice. With soft polenta. The sauce needs something to absorb it.
How to Store
In the fridge: Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Reheat gently on the hob or in a 160°C oven covered with foil.
In the freezer: Freeze in portions for up to 3 months. Defrost overnight in the fridge and reheat gently.
Mary Berry Sausage and Red Pepper Casserole Recipe
Ingredients
Method
- Brown sausages in hot oil 6–8 minutes, turning regularly, until evenly golden all over. Do not pierce. Remove.
- Cook red onion in same casserole over medium heat — 5 minutes. Add pepper strips — 5 minutes until beginning to soften. Add garlic and both paprikas and oregano — 2 minutes until fragrant.
- Add tomato purée — 1 minute. Add wine or stock — bubble 2 minutes. Add tomatoes and sugar. Season generously. Stir.
- Preheat oven to 180°C / 160°C fan / Gas 4. Nestle sausages among peppers in the sauce. Transfer to oven uncovered. Bake 35–40 minutes until sauce is reduced and deep, peppers are completely soft, and sausages are cooked through.
- Stir in red wine vinegar. Taste and adjust seasoning. Scatter parsley. Drizzle olive oil. Serve from the casserole.
Notes
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use Italian or fennel sausages?
Yes — Italian pork and fennel sausages give a more herbal, more specifically Italian character. Merguez gives a spiced, North African flavour that works extremely well with the peppers and paprika.
Can I add cannellini beans?
Yes — a drained 400g tin of cannellini beans added with the tomatoes gives extra body and protein. They absorb the sauce and become extraordinarily flavoured.
Can I make this on the hob rather than in the oven?
Yes — after adding the tomatoes, return the sausages and cover. Cook over the lowest possible heat for 35 to 40 minutes until the sauce is thick and the peppers are completely soft. Stir occasionally.
Can I use chicken sausages?
Yes — chicken sausages give a lighter result. They are more prone to drying out so reduce the oven time to 25 to 30 minutes and check them early.
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