This Spicy Southern Sausage and Rice recipe is so delicious and so easy with just one pot and 30 minutes and dinner is served!
You guys. This spicy sausage recipe.
It’s perfect + and I love it.
Whenever I don’t have anything planned for dinner, I start digging around in my freezer to search for inspiration.
I’m not great at remembering to actually thaw things in advance, and I loathe defrosting meat in the microwave. It grosses me out and I think it ruins the texture of the meat.
Maybe I’m just doing it wrong. If you are awesome at microwave defrosting, please tell me your secrets.
Anyway, I love keeping sausages like Kielbasa in the freezer because they are pre-cooked and thaw really quickly in a bath of warm water.
Look, I know that *technically* you’re only supposed to thaw meat one of two ways (in the fridge or in the microwave), but I really don’t like either of those methods.
What I usually do is put the meat in a zipper-close bag, submerge it in a warm water bath in the sink, and leave the faucet dripping as slowly as possible.
I read somewhere that because the droplets disrupt the surface of the water, bacteria doesn’t have the opportunity to grow. You should definitely do your own research and follow food safety guidelines and all that, but I’m just saying… I’ve never gotten sick.
Please don’t start throwing rocks at me.
Well, that got a little off-topic, didn’t it?
The point of that whole sidebar was that frozen sausages thaw really quickly and are perfect for those nights when you forgot to make plans for dinner.
Phew! I think I got my point across.
Okay, so now I’m thinking about sausage dinner ideas.
You probably have some rice lurking in the back of your pantry, snuggled up next to a can of diced tomatoes.
You can use up whatever vegetables you’ve abandoned in your crisper, and that lone onion resting on your kitchen counter.
You can adjust this sausage rice recipe to suit your spice preferences by using more or less jalapeno and red pepper flakes. If you go the spicy route, be sure to pour yourself a large glass of milk (or crack open a chilly lager).
Oh, yeah, I almost forgot. This whole dinner is made in ONE POT which is a miracle in my opinion. Yep, that’s right; the rice cooks in there, too.
Plus, it’s a 30 Minute Monday recipe, so you know it’s going to be quick, easy, and on the table in less than a half hour, making it one of the greatest sausage and rice recipes.
Okay, get to it!
Here’s What You’ll Need:
A four-to-six quart pan or pot with a tight-fitting lid. I either use this Cuisinart pan or my trusty Dutch oven.
Remember, you may need to use a little extra oil if cooking with a pan that isn’t nonstick-coated for this rice sausage dinner.
Here’s the Recipe!
One Pot Spicy Southern Sausage and Rice Recipe
RECOMMENDED PRODUCTS
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 13-ounce fully-cooked Kielbasa sausage*, cut on the diagonal into coins
- 1 red bell pepper - chopped
- 1 green bell pepper - chopped
- 1 medium yellow onion - chopped
- 1 jalapeno pepper - sliced
- 1 14 ounce can no-salt-added diced tomatoes, with juices
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tablespoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 1/2 cups dry long-grain rice
- 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat until nearly smoking. Add the sliced Kielbasa and arrange in a single layer as much as possible. Allow to cook, undisturbed, for 90-120 seconds, until browned. Flip the sausage pieces and brown on the other side.
- Add the peppers, onions, and jalapeno to the pan**. Saute 3-4 minutes until the vegetables start to brown. Pour in the can of diced tomatoes (do not drain), and add the bay leaves, thyme, oregano, and red pepper flakes. Stir well.
- Turn the heat down to medium and add the uncooked rice to the pan along with the chicken broth. Let the contents come to a boil and allow the liquid level to reduce until the rice starts peeking out of the top.
- Once the liquid is below the rice (about 5 minutes or so), cover the pan and turn the heat to low. Let the rice steam for 15 minutes before uncovering and stirring the contents. Discard the bay leaves and serve hot.
NOTES
Nutrition
This sounds alot like jambalaya just without the chicken.
I did a double batch. Immediately I saw that 4 bell peppers and 3 cups of rice was going to be way too much of both so I used 3 bell peppers and 2 cups of rice. The dish cooked well. The seasoning was spot on. I probably could have used all 4 bell peppers, but 3 worked out just fine. Although I used only 2 cups of rice instead of 3 there was still WAY too much rice! There was so much rice the dish dried out to the point that the rice wouldn’t finish cooking and it turned into a casserole.. I had to add 2 cups of water to loosen everything up so the rice could absorb the moister and finish cooking.
I will cook this again! Next time I will use 1/3rd the amount of rice. I bet that will work without turning the entire dish white.
The thyme and oregano are way too overpowering! This is not southern food. I was looking for something other than the usual for dinner. I will not be making this again.