Smoked Sausage Rice Skillet
This cheesy Sausage Rice Skillet is an easy one-pan dinner packed with smoked sausage, tender sweet peppers, crunchy broccoli, fluffy rice, and melty cheddar cheese. Ready in 30 minutes, it's a hearty family favorite!
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Looking for a quick and satisfying weeknight dinner? This Sausage and Rice recipe is a one-pan wonder that’s bursting with smoky, cheesy flavor. It's as easy and filling as sheet pan meals like my Sheet Pan Sausage and Peppers are.
Why You'll Love This Sausage Rice Skillet
It's hearty and filling and comes together fast- we're talking thirty minutes kind of fast, which means it's perfect for those busy weeknights when the whole family has to be in various places at the same time, but everyone still needs to eat.
It's super customizable, you can easily change the sausage, use different veggies, and swap out the rice. This complete meal is family-approved. Who doesn't love cheesy sausage and rice?! Even those picky eaters will enjoy a big scoop of this flavorful dish.
Let's Gather The Ingredients
- Oil: olive oil, avocado oil, or vegetable oil will work.
- Dairy: butter and shredded cheddar cheese
- Vegetables: diced onion, sliced red bell pepper, and frozen broccoli that's been thawed and cut into bite-sized pieces
- Cooked rice: Use whatever type of rice you prefer. It could be leftover white rice, brown rice, or whatever long-grain rice you prefer
- Smoked sausage: Any cooked sausage will work.
- Herbs and spices: minced garlic, smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and red pepper flakes
How To Make Sausage Rice Skillet
- Step 1: Add oil and butter to the skillet and heat it up. Add diced onions and peppers and cook until soft.
- Step 2: Add sliced sausage and cook until lightly browned. Add garlic to the sausage and veggies and cook until fragrant.
- Step 3: Dump cooked rice, broccoli, garlic powder, salt, onion powder, and red pepper flakes into the pan and stir to combine. Cook for a few minutes until the whole thing is warm.
- Step 4: Remove the sausage skillet from the heat and add the shredded cheese. Stir to melt the cheese. Serve and enjoy this super-easy meal.
Recipe Tips
- Use day old rice for the best texture. Freshly cooked rice can be too soft for this cheesy rice and sausage dinner.
- Slice sausage into even pieces for quicker, consistent cooking.
- Don’t skip browning the sausage, it adds extra flavor.
- Try swapping vegetables or adding extra veggies. Add zucchini, mushrooms, peas, orange pepper, green bell peppers, or canned corn.
- Swap cheddar for pepper jack, mozzarella cheese, or gouda.
- For best results, store leftovers in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3-4 days.
- You can freeze leftovers of this delicious dinner for later. Transfer leftovers to a freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight before reheating.
Recipe Faq's
Yes! Just steam or cook the broccoli for 2-4 minutes before adding, so it softens properly.
Smoked sausage, andouille sausage, smoked kielbasa sausage, chicken sausage, other pork sausage, Cajun sausage if you like more heat, or even beef sausage, all taste great in this skillet.
1 cup long-grain white rice (like jasmine or basmati works too)
2 cups water (or broth for more flavor)
½ teaspoon salt (optional)
Place rice in a fine-mesh strainer and rinse under cold water until the water runs clear. This removes excess starch and helps prevent sticky rice.
In a medium saucepan, bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Add the salt and butter/oil if using.
Stir in the rice, then reduce the heat to low. Cover tightly with a lid.
Let the rice cook, covered, for about 18 minutes (for long-grain) or until the water is absorbed. Avoid lifting the lid while it cooks.
Turn off the heat and let the rice sit, covered, for 5 minutes. This allows the steam to finish cooking it.
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Smoked Sausage Rice Skillet
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 small onion diced
- 1 cup red bell peppers sliced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 12 ounce pkg smoked sausage sliced (see notes)
- 4 cups cooked rice
- 2 cups frozen broccoli thawed cut into bite sized pieces
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 cup cheddar cheese shredded
Instructions
- Heat olive oil and butter in a large skillet on medium high heat and the onions and red peppers and cook until soft about 3 minutes.
- Add in the sliced sausage and cook until sausage starts to brown about 2-3 minutes, then add in the garlic and cook another 30 seconds.
- Reduce the heat to medium high heat and add in the cooked rice, broccoli, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and red pepper flakes and mix until combined. Cooke 5-6 minutes or until heated through.
- Turn off the heat and add in the shredded cheese and mix.
- Serve!
