Tender, juicy, and oh, so delicious sausages are just a few minutes away once you learn how to cook Italian sausages on the stove. No need for fancy kitchen gadgets or complicated cooking techniques with this 20-minute recipe Italian sausage dinner recipe that is a WHOLE LOTTA YUM!
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How to Cook Italian Sausage: Stovetop Recipe!
With two adult kids, dinner is often just for two in our home, so we are always looking for options that are quick, simple, and full of flavor. Pan frying Italian sausages is one of our go-to options because in just a few minutes we can cook up what we need. And if the kids happen to pop over unexpectedly, it's super easy to add another Italian sausage or two to the pan and still have plenty of time to catch up.
Once you learn how to cook Italian sausages on the stove an entire world of delicious, quick, and easy dinner options opens right up. Add cooked sausage to a plate of peppers and onions. Serve alongside roasted vegetables, salad, or rice. Or make sausage rolls using your favorite hoagie roll and all the veggies you love. No matter how you serve these pan fried Italian sausages, you are going to love it!
Why you'll love to Cook Italian Sausage on the Stove
- Once you learn how to cook Italian sausages on the stove you will always have a quick dinner option for your meal plan schedule as the entire dish is ready in less than 20-minutes!
- Always a healthy choice, pan fried Italian sausages work for a variety of common dietary meal programs including keto, low-carb, gluten-free, and dairy-free.
- A super easy recipe to follow, cooking Italian sausage on the stove is perfect for beginner cooks.
- Serve your cooked Italian sausages in a variety of ways including with peppers, in rice, or on a roll.
We love Italian sausage recipes in our home and would love you to check out some additional ideas that are quick and easy! With options such as Italian sausage in the oven, Italian sausage bake, crockpot sausage and peppers, and air fryer sausage, it's easy to see how many different ways you can serve Italian sausage for dinner.
Ingredients for Cooking Italian Sausage on the Stove
Grab your favorite brand of sausage and let's learn how to cook Italian sausage on the stove.
- Italian sausages - uncooked, either sweet Italian or hot Italian sausages can be used
- olive oil
Diet Adaptions to Cook Italian Sausage
While most Italian sausage varieties will comply with food-restrictions including gluten-free and low carb, we do recommend you read the label and consult the nutritional facts on the packaging to ensure compliance and to weed out potential additives and artificial ingredients you may not want to consume.
How to Cook Sausage on Stove: Step by Step
A quick searing to get the outside nice and brown, then a simmer in some water will finish off your sausages. Who knew it was so easy to cook Italian sausage on the stove?!
Prep Ingredients
- In a large skillet, heat the pan over medium-high heat until it's hot.
- Add a drizzle of olive oil, which is about 1 Tbsp.
Sear
- Place the Italian sausages in the pan and brown them on both sides for about 3 minutes on each side.
- The sausages will NOT be cooked through yet on the inside.
Simmer & Serve
- Turn the heat down to medium-low.
- Add a ½ cup of water to the skillet and cover the pan.
- Simmer the Italian sausage until it's cooked through and reaches an internal temperature of at least 160F, which will take an additional 4-6 minutes.
- Total cooking time is 10-12 minutes.
- Discard any remaining water in the pan.
- Serve your pan fried Italian sausages with sauteed peppers and onions, roasted vegetables, salad, pasta, polenta, or rice.
Enjoy!
Recipe tips for How to Cook Sausage Links
- Preheating your pan until it is nice and hot will help the sausages to brown nicely.
- For best results, we don't recommend using non-stick cookware. However, if you do, you probably won't need any olive oil and your Italian sausages will not brown up as well.
- Your Italian sausages cooked on the stove are done when they reach an internal temperature of 160F. They will still be delicious and juicy up to 180-190F. Any higher and they will begin to dry out. For the most accurate reading, we do recommend you use a digital meat thermometer.
- Some people prefer to brown the sausage in a pan first, and then simmer in a bit of water to finish cooking while others like the method of simmering sausage first, letting the liquid evaporate, and then browning the sausage to your liking. Honestly, either method will work well. The main thing is to not overcook the sausages since they'll taste tough and chewy if you do.
What goes well with Cooking Italian Sausage?
Serve the Italian sausage with the following side dishes:
- Peppers and onions
- Roasted vegetables
- A simple green salad
- Pasta
- Gnocchi
- Roasted potatoes
- Marinara sauce
How to Cook Italian Sausage FAQs
Now that you know how to cook Italian sausages on the stove it's time to decide what to serve them with. Air fryer peppers and onions is always a great choice, as are roasted vegetables, polenta, rice, or on a hoagie roll.
You can cook hot Italian sausage on the stove using the same method - brown them in a pan with oil and then simmer in a small amount of liquid to finish cooking to an internal temperature of 160F.
Boiling sausages before your fry them is a common method to prevent serving undercooked sausages. But, by growing and then simmering right in one pan you can ensure your Italian sausages are cooked thoroughly and help them maintain their moisture.
How long it takes to cook Italian sausage depends on the type of sausage and also the cooking method. Italian sausage can be purchased as whole links or as ground sausage, ground Italian sausage cooks faster than Italian links. Regarding cooking method, the fastest way to cook Italian sausage is actually in the air fryer. It only takes 11-12 minutes to air fry Italian sausage at 360 F, baked Italian sausages take 25 minutes at 400 F, and sautéed Italian sausages cook in 26-28 minutes in a skillet.
You do not need oil to cook pork sausage links since they contain grease than helps to keep them from sticking to your pan. If you’re cooking chicken sausage links you might need to add a touch of natural cooking oil to the skillet to prevent sticking. A non stick skillet is also a great option for cooking sausage links on the stove since no oil is necessary regardless of the type of sausage type you’re using.
More Sweet Italian Sausage Recipes
Looking for more sausage recipes?
- Crockpot Italian sausage and peppers
- Instant Pot Italian sausage and peppers
- Italian sausage bake
- Air fryer Italian sausage
More favorites from Whole Lotta Yum
Cooking Italian Sausage on Stove
Ingredients
- 1 lb Italian sausages, raw
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
Instructions
- In a large skillet heat the pan over medium-high heat until it's hot. Add a drizzle of olive oil, which is about 1 Tbsp.
- Place the Italian sausages in the pan and brown them on both sides for about 3 minutes on each side. The sausages will not be cooked through yet on the inside.
- Turn the heat down to medium-low. Add a ½ cup of water to the skillet and cover the pan. Simmer the Italian sausage until it's cooked through and reaches an internal temperature of at least 160F, which will take about 10-12 minutes. Discard any remaining water in the pan.
- Enjoy! Serve with sauteed peppers and onions, roasted vegetables, salad, pasta, polenta, or rice.
Notes
We used Johnsonville Italian sausage for this recipe, we also love to buy the Trader Joes sweet Italian sausage links. Chicken Italian sausage or hot Italian sausage can cook using this same method.
You can use a non-stick skillet to cook the sausage and skip adding the olive oil, but it might not get as brown as a cast-iron skillet.
While the internal temperature of sausage is done at 160F, because of the fat content, sausage tastes delicious and juicy up to 180-190F. Cooking sausage higher than that can lead to chewy and overcooked sausages.
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Matti says
Please try the other way round:
Saute them in water first to cook. Then finish by frying in a little oil and butter. Any caramelized residue can also be used to make a sauce.
With your method, you are washing away the glaze and losing the slight crispness.
Carol Westfall says
Can I cook the italian sausages totally the day before my reunion? I wont have time the next day.
WholeLottaYum says
Yes! They can be cooked in advance and reheated the day of. Just simmer them in a little broth the day of if you have time or bake them on a sheetpan.