One Pan Mediterranean Rice with Sausage, Lemons and Olives {GF, DF}

Mediterranean rice with sausage, lemon and olives is going to be your new favorite dinner meal. Hearty and rich, packed full of protein and hidden veggies with a deep and complex flavor profile this is the perfect dinner party meal. You only need one pan, one knife and one cutting board. Minimal clean up required. Gluten Free and Dairy Free too. Mediterranean rice recipes like this one is so delightful to make, especially because it’s in one pan. I absolutely love making one pan meals. Minimal clean up and no fuss. I mean if you’re anything like me and the kitchen always looks like a tornado has rolled through as soon as you’re done cooking, the less pots and pans you dirty the better. I mean somehow the floor is always covered in some sort of kitchen scraps that seem to slip past my fingers and the stove top cooking surface (and sometimes the wall behind it) is covered in kitchen splatters.

I just can’t help it. I try, I really do, but my clumsy kitchen hands let me down every time.

I’m definitely the kind of person that needs to be wearing an apron while cooking. If there’s even the smallest possibility of hot oil splashing onto my shirt, it’s going to happen.

And so I love cooking with friends. Friends love it when I cook for them and they always feel inclined to help in some way, and I can never turn down clean up or dish duty help. The same used to apply with my maternal grandmother. We were a great kitchen team; wherever I was done making my mess, she was right there behind me with a kitchen rag to scoop it all up.

That’s what I need in the kitchen – my personal cleaning assistant. At my parent’s house, the dog, Gera, does a pretty good job of keeping the floor clean up to a minimum but the kitchen counters he hasn’t quite mastered.

With this one pan Mediterranean rice with sausage, lemon and olives you hopefully won’t need too much clean up help. We’re talking one pan, one cutting board and one knife. That should be all you need.

In this Mediterranean rice recipe the prep happens while you cook – don’t you just love that? No need to get everything ready from the beginning. While the sausage cooks you can start to prep the next ingredient, throw that in and continue with the next. This has got to be my favorite way of cooking. Since my kitchen is always a mess you can imagine I don’t exactly keep a neat and tidy prep station so it’s always easiest for me to chop up an ingredient throw it in the pan and continue with the next.

Don’t you just love this style of cooking?

Everything in this dish cooks together with the rice, slow flavoring it. Think paella, or jambalaya, or plov. Lots of countries and region seem to have their own take on one pot rice dishes but the premise is the same – the base ingredients cook together before the rice and stock or water is added. That gets covered with a lid and you just wait for the rice to be infused with that magical mix of flavors from all the other ingredients.

I’ve made similar dishes numerous times in the past (one pot rice with sausage,  one pot rice with sausage, squash and peas, one pot spicy chicken sausage rice) but for this Mediterranean rice recipe we’ve got both sausage and shredded leftover rotisserie chicken (totally optional but a great addition if you have it) as well as olives and lemons for a Mediterranean twist.

I am a huge fan of olives. Their salty briny taste is ahmaaaazing if you ask me. And I love to get the ones with the pits – I personally like my food to come with a bit of a challenge (think, cracking sunflower seeds) it slows me down in the process of eating, and drags out the fun.

For this one pan Mediterranean rice I chopped up some olives and then sprinkled some whole ones on top. Chopping up pitted olives is definitely a bit easier – with the pits still in I just cut off the sides, and popped the rest of the olive in my mouth. Then of course I had to pour myself a glass of wine (or two), to complete the experience; so you can see why I was in quite the chipper mood by the time this dish was done.

The combination of flavors in the Mediterranean rice dish is perfect. And this is my new favorite rice dish. The oils from the sausage add a ton of flavor to the rice and the shredded chicken adds a nice texture. With the olives and lemons this dish takes on a Mediterranean flavor complex and therefore must be served with a glass of wine, preferably on a summer terrace (in Greece).

Though it brightens a dimly lit florescent bulb dining room too.

This one pan Mediterranean rice is a great low fuss, minimal clean up hearty and rich summer meal. Perfect for a dinner party to feed a big group!

Or just make a whole pan of Mediterranean rice for yourself, because you’ll be happy to be eating these leftovers for days!

If you love cooking with sausage check out these other recipes:

• One Pot Sausage Rice for a Dairy Free Dinner Recipe {GF}
• Dry Lentil Stew with Sausage and Squash {GF, DF}
• One Pot Sausage Rice with Squash and Peas {GF, DF}
• One Pot Spicy Chicken Sausage and Rice Recipe {GF, DF}
• Simplified Chorizo Jambalaya {GF, DF}

How to make Mediterranean rice

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One Pan Mediterranean Rice with Sausage, Lemons and Olives {GF, DF}

Prep Time

15 mins

Cook Time

35 mins

Total Time

50 mins

 

This one pan mediterranean rice with sausage, lemon and olives is going to be your new favorite dinner meal. Hearty and rich, packed full of protein and veggies with a deep and complex flavor profile this is the perfect dinner party meal. You only need one pan, one knife and one cutting board. Minimal clean up required. Gluten Free and Dairy Free too

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: Mediterranean

Servings: 4

Calories: 796 kcal

Author: Vicky

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 pound raw gluten free chorizo sausage casings removed (or other pork sausage)
• 1 onion diced
• 4-6 cloves garlic chopped
• 2 cups diced tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon herbs de provence optional
• 1 tablespoon smoked paprika optional
• 1 tablespoon oregano optional
• 2 cups butternut squash diced
• 2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken optional
• 1/4 cup green olives sliced
• 1 cup long grain rice
• 2 - 2 1/2 cups chicken broth or water
• 1 lemon thinly sliced
• salt/pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Heat olive oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add chorizo, breaking it up with a spatula. Cook for 5-10 minutes until browned.
2. Add onions, and garlic. Cook for a couple minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Add diced tomatoes, herbs de provence, paprika and oregano. Mix. Cook for a few minutes.
4. Add butternut squash and shredded chicken. Mix. Cook for a few minutes.
5. Add green olives. Mix. Add rice. Mix. Add salt and pepper to taste.
6. Add broth (or water). Place lemon slices on top, evenly around the pan. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, covered for 15-20 minutes until rice is cooked through.

Nutrition Facts

One Pan Mediterranean Rice with Sausage, Lemons and Olives {GF, DF}

Amount Per Serving

Calories 796 Calories from Fat 405

% Daily Value*

Fat 45g69%

Saturated Fat 13g81%

Cholesterol 134mg45%

Sodium 924mg40%

Potassium 1099mg31%

Carbohydrates 58g19%

Fiber 5g21%

Sugar 6g7%

Protein 40g80%

Vitamin A 8640IU173%

Vitamin C 44mg53%

Calcium 149mg15%

Iron 5.3mg29%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.