If you're looking for an easy and delicious one-pot meal, look no further than this Italian Sausage and Rice Skillet. It is absolutely packed with flavour, cooks mostly hands off and makes some of the best leftovers!
I have to be honest with you. This recipe happened by accident. It happened when we were supposed to be having Chorizo Rice Skillet (another tasty one-pot meal that you have to try!) but...
I bought Spicy Italian Sausage by mistake.
A fortuitous mistake it was, though! With a few changes to the spices, switching up the colour of the beans and adding a bit of spinach, another tasty recipe was born.
Try them both and let me know if you have a favourite!
The Ingredients
- Spicy Italian Sausage (Hot Italian Sausage)-You need uncooked sausage for this recipe. If it is in casings, remove the ground meat from the casings prior to cooking. Since the sausage is the base of the recipe, make sure you pick a good quality one. The one that I used was simply pork and spices.
- Red Onion- A white or yellow onion will also work.
- Bell Pepper- Any colour will work or you can leave it out if preferred.
- Long Grain Brown Rice
- White Beans- Such as navy beans, cannellini beans or Great Northern beans. You could also substitute kidney beans, black beans or chickpeas or leave them out altogether.
- Canned Diced Tomatoes- If you have a lot of fresh tomatoes on hand, you can use those instead! Substitute with 1 and ½ cups diced.
- Dried Italian Herbs- Use a premixed blend or any combination that you have on hand of parsley, basil, thyme, rosemary, sage, oregano, savory, etc.
- Garlic Powder- Freshly minced garlic will also work. Use 2 cloves (about 2 tsp) and add them to the pan in the last minute of cooking the onions and peppers.
- Sea Salt
- Red Pepper Flakes
- Water
- Spinach- Kale or chard can be used instead but remove the stems and cook them at the same time as the onions and peppers.
The Method
1. Cook sausage. Remove sausage from casings and cook over medium high heat. Stir and crumble with a wooden spoon or spatula until cooked through. Drain excess grease.
2. Sauté onions and peppers. Add the onions and peppers to the cooked sausage and cook until softened, stirring often.
3. Add remaining ingredients. Stir in the seasonings, rice, beans, tomatoes and water.
4. Simmer. Reduce heat to medium, cover and cook for 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5. Add spinach. When most of the water is gone and the rice is nearly tender, stir in the spinach a few handfuls at a time until wilted. Cover and cook for 2-5 more minutes until rice is cooked through and water has evaporated.
6. Serve.
Leftovers
To Store: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
To Reheat: Warm in the microwave until heated through.
Make It Your Own
- Use White Rice- If you would like to use white rice instead of brown, reduce the water to 3 and ½ cups. Cook time will be about 10 minutes less.
- Try it with Sweet Italian Sausage- For a different but equally delicious twist use sweet Italian sausage in place of spicy!
- Make it Cheesy- At the end, stir in 1 cup of shredded mozzarella and then sprinkle an additional 1 cup on top. Or try topping it with Parmesan.
Serving Suggestions
To add more vegetables to this meal, it would be delicious alongside a Mediterranean Salad or Baked Herb Tomato Zucchini. Or try serving it with a piece of garlic toast made on some Honey Oat Bread.
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And if you liked this recipe...
...you might also like:
- Lemon Herb Shrimp Rice Skillet
- Bruschetta Chicken Sheet Pan
- Cajun Shrimp Rice Skillet
- Easy Weeknight Turkey Spaghetti Sauce
- Tomato Basil Chicken and Rice Skillet
Recipe Card
Italian Sausage Rice Skillet
Ingredients
- 1 lb spicy Italian sausage removed from casings
- 1 medium red onion diced (1 cup)
- 1 bell pepper diced (1 cup)
- 2 cups long grain brown rice
- 1 (19 oz) can white beans drained and rinsed
- 1 (14 oz) can diced tomatoes do not drain
- 2 teaspoon dried Italian herbs
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 5 and ½ cups water
- 6 oz fresh spinach about 6 cups
Instructions
- Place the sausage in a large skillet and heat over medium, stirring and crumbling until cooked through, about 5-10 minutes.
- If there is a lot of grease, drain most of it off, and then add the onion and pepper. Cook, stirring often, until the vegetables have softened, about an additional 5 minutes.
- Add the rice, white beans, tomatoes, seasonings and water and stir to combine. Cover and allow to simmer for about 40 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the rice is nearly tender and the water has mostly evaporated.
- Stir in the spinach a few handfuls at a time, allowing it to wilt. Cover and allow the rice to finish cooking and then remove from heat.
- Serve warm.
Notes
Nutrition
More One Pot Meals!
Cam says
this meal was perfect for a busy weeknight throw together! even easier that it is all made in one pot. It turned out so delicious, I can't wait to make it again!
Janessa says
I'm glad you liked this recipe, Cam! Thank you for your kind review.
Michelle says
The perfect one pot dish -- super flavourful and came together really quickly! Will make it again soon!
Janessa says
I'm glad you enjoyed this recipe, Michelle!
Shweta says
So easy to put together and absolutely delicious!
Janessa says
Thank you for your kind review!
Tayler says
We had this rice skillet for dinner last night and it was amazing! Thanks so much for sharing the recipe!
Janessa says
I'm glad you enjoyed this recipe, Tayler!
Toni says
This is seriously amazing!! Such a really comforting meal! Thank you for the recipe!
Janessa says
Thank you!!
Allison says
This is a delicious dish and so easy to make and love that I can freeze some for later too!!
Janessa says
Thank you for your kind review, Allison!
Christina says
Everyone loved it and it was so easy.
Janessa says
I'm glad you liked this recipe! Thank you for your kind review, Christina.
John Rhoads says
Was looking for something to cook for the family and luckily had all the ingredients except the beans. Came out great! Thanks for this excellent recipe!
Janessa says
I'm glad you enjoyed this recipe, John! Thank you for your kind review.
Lisa says
I made this but used pasta instead of rice and cut the sausage into rounds rather than using ground sausage. It was very tasty. Will definitely make this again. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
Janessa says
That sounds delicious, Lisa! Thank you for your kind review.
Karlie says
Can you change out white beans for brown beans ? Or leave beans out ?
Janessa says
Hi Karlie, you can definitely leave the white beans out or sub black beans. By brown beans, if you are referring to plain pinto beans, those would also work but if they are flavored and saucy, I wouldn't use them.
Baylin says
Will this recipe cook good in a stock pot or must it be a skillet? I plan to double the recipe and I'm afraid my skillet is not deep enough for the amount of water the recipe calls for. Thanks!
Janessa says
Hi Baylin, I have cooked a single batch in a large pot so it doesn't have to be a skillet. I'm not sure how well doubling it will turn out as I would be concerned that with that volume some of the rice may turn out a bit mushy before the other rice has a chance to cook. For best results, make sure that you stir it often. Good luck and let me know how it turns out!
Gabriele says
Very Tasty and simple to make.
Janessa says
I'm glad you liked this recipe, Gabriele! Thank you for your kind review.