The Cozy Cookbook is here! 
This Sausage and Rice Recipe is easy to make in just one pot with juicy bell peppers and creamy, cheesy rice. It also makes a great freezer meal!
Sausage and Rice
I have a weakness for creamy, cheesy rice, and nothing beats the flavors in this sausage. I happened to use chicken Sausage with Roasted Peppers and Asiago, but you can use any kind that you want, even ground sausage will work!
I love making casserole-style recipes like this, especially because it makes great freezer food for a quick lunch during the week.
Let’s get into everything you need to know so that you can get this one the table ASAP. Your family will love it.
How to Make It
See recipe card below this post for ingredient quantities and full instructions.
Slice sausage into 1/2-inch slices and cook sauté according to package instructions. Remove and set aside. Add butter and onions to the pan, sauté until softened. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute.
Add chicken broth and rice. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Cover tightly and cook for 10 minutes.
Add bell peppers and replace cover, refrain from stirring. Cook for 5-10 more minutes. (Refer to package for total cooking time.) Remove from heat and let sit with the cover on for 10 minutes to allow any rice on the bottom of the pot to release.
Return to low heat and add sour cream, milk, cream of chicken soup, and shredded cheddar. Stir to combine.
Add sausage and heat until warmed through. Serve!
PRO Tips for This Recipe
How to Prevent Rice from Sticking to the Pot:
- Place the rice in a strainer and rinse in cool water for 1 minute to remove excess starch, which will help to keep it from sticking.
- Adding 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the chicken broth prior to adding the rice.
- Don’t mix the rice while it cooks as this releases starch and makes it stickier.
- Make sure the lid is on tightly to prevent steam from escaping.
- Let the rice sit for 10 minutes after steaming to allow any rice on the bottom to release.
Ingredient Variations
- Chicken, Ham, Ground Beef, or Steak all make excellent meat choices in this casserole.
- Different types of rice may be used. Refer to package for liquid measurements and cooking times as this will vary. *Note: I don’t recommend minute rice as it is much sticker, less creamy, and less nutritious.
- Other vegetable options in include broccoli, asparagus, mushrooms, froze corn, peas, carrots, and more.
- Condensed cream of mushroom, cream of broccoli, cheddar cheese soup, or broccoli cheese soup can also be used.
Be sure to check out my make-ahead rice casseroles with chicken and broccoli, ground beef and mushrooms, ham and broccoli, or chicken cordon bleu casserole!
Storage
Store in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months. This recipe does freeze and reheat very well for quick & easy lunches.
Try These Next
-
- Ranch Chicken
-
- Ground Beef and Noodles
-
- Pork Chops in Gravy
-
- Ground Beef and Broccoli
-
- One Pot Spaghetti
Get My Free Meal Plan
I’ve got a Free Meal Plan with 7 of my super popular recipes (complete with grocery list)! Sign up for my email list and I’ll send it over now along with weekly dinner recipes!
And follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest!
Tried This Recipe?
Leave a review, I love hearing your feedback! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Sausage and Rice - One Pot!
Ingredients
- 3 Tablespoons olive oil, separated
- 11 oz. sausage, see notes
- 2 Tablespoons butter
- ½ cup yellow onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 ½ cups chicken broth
- 1 ¼ cups white long grain rice, uncooked
- 1 small red bell pepper, sliced
- 1 small green bell pepper, sliced
- 10.75 oz. cream of chicken soup
- ½ cup sour cream
- ¾ cup milk
- 1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
- 1 pinch red pepper flakes, optional
Instructions
- Note: This recipe is designed to allow you to prepare all of the casserole ingredients in one pot. Before you begin, refer to your rice package for the amount of liquid (we'll use chicken broth) and cooking time. If preferred, cook the rice separately and skip the broth ingredient. You'll need 3 +3/4 cups of cooked rice to combine with the other casserole ingredients. I use white long grain rice and the cooking times below work perfectly.
Cooking Instructions
- Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil to a large pot over medium heat. Slice the sausage into ½-inch thick slices and cook according to package instructions. Remove from the pot and set aside.
- Melt 2 tablespoons butter and add the diced onions. Cook until softened, about 5 minutes.
- Add the garlic and cook for one more minute.
- Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to the pan along with the chicken broth. Run a silicone spatula along the bottom of the pot to lift the brown remnants from the sausage, which will give the dish more flavor.
- Bring to a boil and add the rice. Bring back to a boil and cover tightly.
- Reduce to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes.
- Add the bell peppers and close the lid, don’t stir. It will release starch and make the rice stickier. Cook 5-10 more minutes. (Refer to package for total cooking time.)
- Turn off the heat and leave it covered. Let it sit for 10 minutes. Any rice left on the bottom will release during this time.
- Return to low heat. Add the cream of chicken soup, sour cream, milk, and cheese. Stir to combine.
- Add the sausage, and red pepper flakes. Stir and cook until heated through. Remove from heat and serve!
Notes
Consider using unsalted butter and reduced sodium chicken broth/condensed soup if preferred.
Condensed cream of mushroom, cream of broccoli, cheddar cheese soup, or broccoli cheese soup can also be used.
Other types of rice may be used, refer to package for liquid measurements and cooking times as this will vary.
Other meat options include chicken, steak, ground beef, and ham.
Could I add water for the milk?
Hi Leanne! It would have less flavor and be the consistency would be a little thinner, probably not ideal.
Ok I have to say I love your recipes!! I tried this tonight and my husband and I loved it!!! I added chicken and chicken sausage just because I had to use it up and added black beans! So delish and pretty easy considering I’m not a good cook ❤️❤️❤️
Nice work Emily! I’m so happy you’re enjoying the recipes, thanks so much for your support!❤️
I love how easy it was to make. I felt like it was just a little bland. Maybe next time I will add some spices.
Have you frozen this? I cook for two and would like to 1/2 and freeze 1/2.
Yes, it freezes really well! 🙂
We made this last night for dinner and it was a huge hit!! I’ve been recovering from surgery and haven’t been able to get to the grocery store so I was looking for a recipe to use some of the ingredients we had in the house. This was so good! Will definitely make it again!
The only thing I would do differently is I’d dice the peppers and stir them in some when at that step. (Perhaps I should have stirred but I didn’t feel that was a step in the instructions) thanks for the great recipe!!
I’m so glad that you loved the recipe Cari!! There is a definite temptation to stir the rice, but that releases starch and actually makes it very sticky and more likely to stick to the pot. It also allows more steam to escape, and that liquid is needed to finish cooking the rice 🙂 If you’d prefer for your peppers to be cooked more, you can add them sooner, and dicing them is a great option too! Thank you so much for the review!
A fabulous One-pot! Mind, all recipes make dishes and I am a kitchen destroyer with a dish for each ingredient, but this was awesome! I forgot to remove the sausage before starting the onions, so I may have diluted the flavor a bit. Also, I made my own cream of mushroom starting with a basic roux white sauce, adding in a lovely white wine, and chopped and sauteed mushrooms. I’m sure folks appreciate the convenience of canned soups and I hear it is a great thickener. We aren’t fancy here by any means, we just can’t tolerate the preservatives for health reasons, so we have learned to do it the ” hard” way. Thank you Stephanie for a great recipe.
lol, I’m such a kitchen destroyer too, but my husband is even worse! One pots really are the perfect solution. I’m so happy you enjoyed it Sharon, thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review!❤️
I held back giving this recipe a 5 only because of the calories. I had to make a couple of changes, one was using brown rice in place of the white to make it a little healthier, and I added a can of red kidney beans because I didn’t have any bell peppers on hand. I also added some Italian herbs to the Italian pork sausages as they cooked, and used sharp cheddar cheese. I’m not a seasoned cook, pun intended, so I wasn’t sure if this dish would even be edible after my changes, but it was. When I make it next time I will stick with the brown rice even though it adds about 30 extra minutes to the cook time, as well as the kidney beans as they added to the lovely, silky consistency. I may also have added a bit more than a pinch of crushed red pepper but, yum!!
P.S. Probably because I’m not a seasoned cook, the “one pot” classification was a bit wasted on me. In addition to the one pot, I ended up with a couple (prep) bowls and 3 measuring cups to wash up 😉 But still worth it, so thank you!
I just made this for dinner and Wow! It’s so good. I will definitely be making this again and again.
PERFECT! I’m so happy that you loved it Sandra, thank you so much for the review!! 🙂
I’ve made this one pot sausage and rice probably about 5 times now. It is so easy to prepare. I love a one pot dish. It’s pure comfort. My husband loves rice with anything. He loves this recipe. I like to use the precooked chicken sausage and try different varieties. Sometimes I switch up the vegetable. Tonight was chicken Italian sausage with peppers as written in the recipe. I might have had a heavy hand with the cheese. It was so tasty. Stephanie’s tips for cooking the rice were spot on. Perfectly cooked and not stuck to the bottom of the pan. We won’t mind the leftovers tomorrow. Thanks, Stephanie!
You’re very welcome Renee! I’m so happy you’re enjoying it so much. I’m with you, you can’t beat an easy One Pot recipe. Thanks so much for the great comments!🩷
I made this for my family last night and it turned out perfect. They all want it again! I stuck to the recipe except I used 15 oz of sausage (local pork Oktoberfest) instead of 11, because that’s what I had. I added the optional pinch of chili flakes, as well as a pinch of fleur de sel and fresh cracked pepper on each plateful. Belly-warming and delicious!
I’m so happy it was such a success Ali! One of my favorite one pot meals. My husband would appreciate the added heat. Thanks so much for the great review!😋