One Pan Sausage and Rice, served with Sweet Peppers

Colorful and tasty, straightforward one pan sausage and rice makes a simple weeknight dinner that is satisfying and speedy. Our family loves it and we're sure yours will, too!

At a glance

What stands out: This skillet dinner is simple and straightforward, with no fancy ingredients.

How long it takes: 40 minutes
Equipment you’ll need: large skillet with cover
Servings: 4 (generous)

This is one of those dinners that should be in everyone’s recipe collection. One pan sausage and rice with peppers is so straightforward to mix, with just a short list of ingredients. It’s flavorful, and cooked in one pan, rice and all, making it a reliable weeknight dinner.

Does this ever happen to you? You find a recipe that everyone in the family is crazy about, you make it all the time for a year or so, and then somehow totally forget about it. A few years later, you happen upon that old recipe and remember how good it is, and you think, why has it been so long since we made this? You can hardly wait to revisit it and it always lives up to your expectations.

That’s what happened with this recipe. We always LOVED this sausage and rice and then somehow we just stopped making it. When we ran across the recipe again, we knew we had to make it again. It was just as we remembered: so good and so stinkin’ straightforward! Hmmm, maybe we could make it tonight!

Colorful peppers, rice, and meat — all you need for a well-balanced meal and you can have it on the table in 40 minutes! Half of that time, dinner is cooking in the pan and you don’t have to do a thing. Just let it simmer while you take care of other things.

What You’ll Need

• Italian Sausage: Buy bulk sausage, whatever kind you like best. The tubes of sausage keep well in the fridge for at least a couple of weeks so it’s a handy meat to have on hand, no thawing necessary if you forget to take anything out for dinner. We know it’s saved us more than once! You can use pork or turkey sausage, spicy or mild, or even breakfast sausage in this recipe.
• Long Grain White Rice: Brown rice unfortunately will not work in this recipe because it has a much longer cooking time.
• Sweet Bell Peppers: Any color will work, but we love using an assortment for visual fun!
• Celery: Make sure to dice it nice and small so it doesn’t stay too crunchy!
• Onion: Always, right? Any kind will work just fine.
• Fresh Parsley: This brightens up the flavors at the end!

How it comes together

We'll get you started on the how-tos for this straightforward one pan dinner right here.

Let’s get started. You’ll need a large skillet that has a cover, a cutting board and a sharp knife.

Begin by browning the sausage in the skillet, breaking up the chunks.

Add the chopped veggies, salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until they are softened, five minutes or so.

Add a cup of rice and one and a half cups of water, bring to a good simmer, and cover.

Turn the heat down, and cook fifteen minutes until the rice is cooked. Try to resist peeking often because the steam helps cook the rice. We usually give it just one stir during the cooking time.

Tada! Dinner is ready! Sprinkle each serving with parsley to brighten it up, or stir the parsley right in. Shredded cheese is totally acceptable, too. Everyone, dig in!

If you’d like to serve a side or two, try a simple green salad with from-scratch dressing or this bright and juicy citrus salad.

Make It your own

Because it’s so simple, you can vary it easily. Here are a few suggestions:

• Use a different kind of sausage, or even ground beef or ground turkey.
• Sprinkle with cheese after cooking. Cheddar, Monterey Jack, or Mexican blend would all be tasty.
• Add greens. Stir in chopped spinach leaves when the rice is done. Allow it to wilt for a couple of minutes before serving.
• Add garlic or other seasonings you like. Cajun seasoning or southwest spice blend are great additions.
• Stir in a can of pinto or black beans, rinsed and drained well.
• Looking for a casserole? Try this deconstructed stuffed pepper casserole. It’s similar to this skillet dinner.

Keeping leftovers

Refrigerate: This tasty dinner is actually just as good the next day! If you happen to have any left over, store it in a covered container in the fridge for up to three days. Although we haven’t tried it, we would think that it would freeze well, too. To be honest, we rarely have any left over!

Reheat: Individual portions can be reheated in the microwave or larger amounts on the stove.

Leftover Love

Sausage and rice makes a great lunch. Try wrapping the warm mixture in a flour tortilla and add a dab of sour cream or shredded cheese. Yum!

Free Meal Plan

Interested in a weekly meal plan (it’s free!) that includes this one pan recipe? Take a look at our Meal Plan #43. You’ll find a wholesome recipe for each weekday plus a categorized grocery list. Let us do the planning for you this week! We add a new meal plan weekly.

Browse Meal Plans

• Yield: 4 servings
• Prep: 10 minutes
• Cook: 30 minutes
• Total: 40 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 lb. fresh ground Italian sausage, any variety
• 2 celery stalks, diced small
• 2 medium bell peppers, any color, diced small
• 1 small yellow onion, diced small
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 cup long grain white rice, uncooked
• 1 ½ cups water
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves

Method

1. In a large skillet with tight fitting cover, brown sausage, breaking up clumps.
2. Add celery, peppers, and onion and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring often, until vegetables soften, about 5 minutes.
3. Stir in rice and water and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce to a simmer, and cook until rice is tender, fifteen to eighteen minutes..
4. Remove pot from heat and let stand, covered, 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork and stir in parsley.

Notes

Use a different kind of sausage, or ground beef or turkey.

Sprinkle with shredded cheese after cooking. Try cheddar, Monterey Jack, or Mexican blend.

Stir in chopped spinach leaves when the rice is done. Allow it to wilt for a couple of minutes before serving.

Add garlic or other seasonings you like.

Stir in a can of pinto or black beans, rinsed and drained well.