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This Sausage Rice Skillet is a hearty, one-pan meal packed with smoked sausage, rice, and simple seasonings. It’s an easy weeknight dinner that comes together in one skillet in just minutes.
When you need dinner to be simple, filling, and made with ingredients you probably already have, this sausage rice skillet delivers every time. It’s a cozy, no-fuss meal that cooks in one pan, making it perfect for busy nights when you don’t want a sink full of dishes.
This sausage and rice recipe is great because it all comes together in one pan. You brown the sausage and onions together, then add in the tomatoes and chicken broth and let is all cook together. As soon as the rice is cooked, dinner is done! One pan, 20 minutes….time to eat!
I love that this sausage and rice recipe is budget-friendly, you can customize it to what you have on hand, and the leftovers are great too.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Be sure to scroll to the bottom of the post for the FULL PRINTABLE recipe card.
- Oil
- Smoked Sausage – any type of kielbasa or smoked sausage works great. It can be pork, turkey etc.
- Onion
- Garlic
- Long Grain White Rice – if you use brown rice the cook time will be much longer, and you may need to adjust the liquid.
- Chicken Broth – you can use low sodium to cut down on the salt
- Rotel Tomatoes
- Paprika
- Cayenne Pepper
- Salt & Pepper
Sausage & Rice Skillet
Video
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoon olive oil
- 12 oz smoked sausage
- 1 cup onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 1/2 cup uncooked long grain white rice
- 2 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 10 oz Rotel tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add oil swirling to coat. Add sausage and diced onions to the pan. Cook for 5-7 minutes until the onions are soft and the sausage is starting to brown.2 Tablespoon olive oil, 12 oz smoked sausage, 1 cup onion
- Mix in garlic and let cook for 1 minute until fragrant.3 cloves garlic
- Mix in rice, chicken broth, tomatoes, paprika and cayenne pepper. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat to simmer. Cook for about 20 minutes or until liquid is absorbed and rice is fully cooked.1 1/2 cup uncooked long grain white rice, 2 1/2 cup chicken broth, 10 oz Rotel tomatoes, 1 teaspoon paprika, 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- Season with salt and pepper to taste before serving.salt and pepper to taste
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
How to Make Sausage & Rice
- Brown Sausage. Add the oil to the pan to get hot and brown the sausage and onions until golden brown and the onions are soft.
- Garlic. Add the garlic and cook for just 1-2 minutes until you can start to smell it. You do not want to burn the garlic or it will give that flavor to the entire dish.
- Rice. Stir in the rice, chicken broth and all of the seasonings and mix everything together. Bring the mixture to a boil, cover and reduce the heat to a simmer.
- Stirring. You want to stir a couple times during the approximate 20 minutes it will take the rice to cook. Make sure it doesn’t stick to the bottom and there is enough liquid it is cover all of the rice.
- Serve. Once the rice is tender, remove from the heat and it is ready to serve.
Recipe Tips & Suggestions
- Sausage. You really can use any type of sausage you like for this. I like smoked sausage or kielbasa, but you could use Italian sausage, Andouille sausage or whatever you have! It can be beef, pork, chicken etc.
- White Rice. The liquid and cooking time is based on long-grain white rice. If you want to use brown rice you will need to adjust the broth and cooking time accordingly.
- Veggies. You can absolutely mix in veggies to make this a full meal. Bell peppers, broccoli, spinach or even black beans could be a great addition.
- Stir The Rice. When making this, I like to stir a couple times during the cooking process. You want to make sure the rice stays in the liquid so it cooks evenly. But you want to leave the lid on as much as possible because the steam also helps cook the rice properly.
- Add Cheese. If you want to stir in a little bit of cheese after the rice is cooked that would be a delicious addition!
Serving Suggestions
This is a great hearty meal, but you can definitely round it out with veggies or even just add them in.
- Mix in broccoli in the skillet to make it a complete meal
- Roasted Asparagus
- Southern Style Cornbread
- Easy Biscuits
Storage
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. You can reheat in the microwave until it is warmed through. Adding a splash of chicken broth can help loosen it up as you reheat it.
Freezing
This is great for meal prep or making ahead. You can freeze individual portions for a grab and go option. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Let it thaw in the fridge overnight before reheating.
So if you are struggling with how to get dinner on the table on those busy weeknights, look no further, this sausage and rice skillet with surely come in handy. You can get this just as fast as getting delivery or going through the drive through, and it is so much better!
Can’t wait to try it! I’ll double the recipe. How are leftovers the next day?
We love the leftovers, always makes for a great lunch.
When you say rotel tomatoes do you mean the rotel tomatoes with green chilies
Rotel is a brand of diced tomatoes with green chiles. You can use any brand you like, I prefer Rotel.
We make this all the time!! One of our absolute favorites and even tastes amazing the next day….. if there is any left!!
Thanks so much!!!
Thank you for this recipe! It was an easy one pot meal and delicious. My rice rarely comes out right on the stovetop, but this time it did. I didn’t add Cayenne as I don’t like that spice, but I sauteed a green pepper and an onion with the sausage and garlic and it came out just spicy enough. I cook for one and this made a ton, so I froze some and after 3 meals, I threw in some rotisserie chicken and a bit of roasted garlic tomato sauce, heated it up and it made a different but yummy meal.