Think of a simplified paella or jambalaya, this One Pot Sausage Rice is a Dairy Free Dinner Recipe where everything cooks together fusing the delicious flavors of onions, garlic, sausage, red peppers, tomatoes, rice and chicken broth. A one pot recipe and a low fuss meal that the whole family will love. Gluten Free too.ย
This sausage rice is on my go to easy dinner recipe and has been for years. While I have hundreds of recipes on this food blog, there are probably only a couple dozen that I go back to almost weekly. I love variety in my cooking, but when I hit on a golden recipe I just cannot help making it regularly.
And my husband literally just told me that he could eat this every single day for every single meal – and that’s a lot, coming from a man who normally refuses to eat leftovers twice in a row.
That’s not the only reason to love this recipe though.ย Since I always make a huge mess in the kitchen I am super thrilled when a recipe requires only one pot for cooking and one cutting board where you just dice up the ingredients in order and neatly toss them into the pan before chopping up the next one. A nice little process going on here with this sausage rice recipe. The less clean up the better.
First you cook up the sausage, toss in the onions, garlic, bell peppers and tomatoes and by then the whole pot is steaming and incredibly aromatic. Then comes the final touch, the rice and chicken broth. As the rice cooks it absorbs the flavors from everything in there and you end up with a delicious potful of rice, and sausage in a veggie packed, reduction.
This recipes takes a bit more time than some of my other one pot meals (hint – my 15 minute vegan couscous) but it is worth all the effort, and you can prep the ingredients as the other ones cook, so you get through the prep quickly and then sit back and wait for the broth to be absorbed by the rice.
Not a ton of hands on time needed with this one pot sausage rice recipe!
While some people love to have everything prepped before they even start cooking, that’s not me. I like to be able to prep as I go, when the cooking process has already started. That literally means that the prep and cooking time are happening simultaneously, essentially shortening your time spent in the kitchen.
Since this recipe only has a handful of ingredients the key is really to seek out high quality ingredients. You’ll want to pick up some high quality (preferably organic) sausages, some juicy and aromatic tomatoes and top everything off with bone broth (either store bought or home made).
I love love love making home made chicken broth and find that is it always so much more flavorful than anything you can buy in a carton, but I recognize we don’t all have time for home made broth, in which case I highly recommend buying organic bone broth.
Bone broth has recently flooded the supermarket scene and is now well known for its essential superfood status and trust me it truly makes a world of difference in recipes. Bone broth is richer and more flavorful than regular broth.
Here are some recipes tips to make this the best one pot sausage rice you’ve ever had.
Recipe Tips For My One Pot Sausage Rice:
- Use basmati rice, and make sure to soak it first and rinse it until the water runs clear
- Use a high quality chicken broth – the best would be homemade bone broth, but if you are looking for store bought go for an organic chicken bone broth
- Add the ingredients one at a time, allowing the meat to brown before adding the onions, letting those soften before adding the peppers, etc.
- No stirring once the water comes to a boil – just cover the pot with a lid and back away!
Recipe Substitutions:
- Instead of raw pork based Italian sausage you can used chicken sausage, or cooked/cured sausage which just needs to be diced before cooking
- Instead of fresh tomatoes you could use canned tomatoes
- If you don’t have any broth on hand just use water
- Feel free to add your favorite spices – crushed red pepper flakes, oregano, garlic powder, etc.
Step By Step Photos of How to Make my Sausage Rice:ย
Let me know what you think of my One Pot Italian Sausage Rice in the comments below. I hope you love it as much as I do!
Think of a simplified paella or jambalaya, this one pot sausage rice dish all cooks together fusing the delicious flavors of onions, garlic, pork sausage, red peppers, tomatoes, rice and chicken broth. A one pot low fuss meal that will please everyone. Both gluten-free and dairy-free too.
- 1 pounds sweet or hot italian sausage casings removed
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 cup yellow onion diced (about 1 onion)
- 1 tbsp garlic minced
- 1 cup red bell peppers diced (about 1 pepper)
- 1 cup tomatoes diced (1-2 large tomatoes, or a handful of small ones)
- 1 cups basmati rice soaked and rinsed until water runs clear
- 2 cups chicken broth (best to use bone broth)
- 1 teaspon cumin
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon salt
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Heat oil in pan over medium-high heat. Add sausage and cook until the browned, breaking up the pieces with a spatula. Add salt and spices.
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Add onions and cook for a few minutes.
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Add bell peppers and cook for a couple minutes.
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Add garlic and cook for a minute.
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Add tomatoes and cook for a few minutes.
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Add rice and cook, stirring until rice is lightly toasted (few minutes)
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Add broth (if the tomatoes have created a lot of liquid that has not yet cooked off, only add 1.5 cups of the broth, otherwise add 2).
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Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, covered, until rice is cooked through - about 15 minutes. Serve garnished with diced parsley and lemon zest.
Lila Asnani says
This looks delicious and easy! Can’t wait to try it since it’s great cold weather comfort food! I love California too. I lived in San Diego and have never lived anywhere else with such perfect weather and ambiance. ๐
Vicky says
San Diego seriously seems to have the best weather ever! And the most gorgeous coastline too : ))
Christine says
This recipe is fabulous. It may take time but wasnโt hard. I didnโt buy enough sausage so I added shredded chicken for half the sausage after the bell peppers. That turned out good too. One caveat – this makes much more than six servings. We had 8 people for dinner and still had leftovers. Not that Iโm complaining. The reheated leftovers were good too.
Vicky says
Glad you enjoyed the recipe! Adding shredded chicken is a great idea! I’ll fix the servings in the recipe — guess I was feeding a super hungry crowd!
Allison says
This is good stuff and looks delicious!
Rachael says
Looks delicious! How many servings does it make?
Vicky says
This recipe makes 6-8 servings
Kenny says
“And my husband literally just told me that he could eat this dish every single day for every single meal โ and thatโs a lot, coming from a man who normally refuses to eat leftovers twice in a row.”
I don’t know, I bet your husband could eat a lot of leftovers. He can certainly generate them.
Vicky says
: )
Lydia says
Sooooo yummy!!!!!! A family favorite!
Vicky says
So happy to hear that Lydia! Family favorite here too – I literally make this once a week and it’s gone immediately!
Michelle says
When using canned tomatoes, do you drain them? Trying this tonight.
Vicky says
I have not tried making this with canned tomatoes – only fresh, but if you are going to use canned tomatoes I would drain them (or add less broth if you are not going to drain them)