This Sausage and Rice Casserole is a quick one pot dinner recipe that punches way above its weight in terms of effort vs results. Smoked sausage is the trick! It adds a ton of flavour that’s absorbed by the rice. I’ve used kransky, but any type will do – kielbasa, chorizo, etc.
Tastes like Jambalaya, minus the cajun flavours, and much faster to make!
One Pot Smoked Sausage and Rice
Like the “dump and bake” Fried Rice I shared a few weeks ago, this rice casserole recipe was conceived as a quick and low-effort dish. What makes this recipe tick is the use of smoked sausages. An under-utilised yet economical ingredient sold at all supermarkets, smoked sausages like kransky and kielbasa (Polish sausages) pack a ton of flavour thanks to their smoky taste and the generous seasoning in the sausage itself.
They pan fry to a beautiful golden colour, leaving behind a stack of tastebud-tickling good stuff in the oil which then forms the primary flavouring for this rice meal.
And therein lines the beauty of this recipe: the exact flavour you end up with in the rice depends on the sausages you use. All are slightly different, some smokier than others, with slightly different seasonings.
One dish, different tastes!
Ingredients in this Smoked Sausage and Rice
Feel free to change up the vegetables in this recipe to whatever you want, as long as they will hold up to 20 minutes cook time on the stove.
Smoked sausages – I’ve used kransky sausages here but any smoked sausage will work here. Other smoked sausages you may know include andouille, kielbasa and smoked chorizo. They are well-seasoned so they leach a ton of flavour into the oil which then flavours the whole dish.
What exactly are smoked sausages? Smoked sausages are sausages that have exposed to burning wood smoke, which imparts a fabulous smokey flavour. They are commonly cooked sausages like Polish kielbasa, andouille, and the kind you see in American barbecue. However sometimes you will see salami-like sausages which are cured, dried and cold-smoked (meaning they’re technically uncooked).
Smoked sausages can be sliced neatly, as depicted in the photo of kransky sausages below, unlike fully raw sausages.
It doesn’t matter whether the smoked sausages you get are cooked or uncooked because they get cooked through in this recipe.
Raw sausages – Even raw sausages will work in this recipe because they too leave a ton of flavour in the pot! You can’t really slice them though because the meat is raw and squishy, so just cut into small chunks. They end up looking like mini meatballs – it’s so good!
Rice – This recipe is best made with long grain rice for this one pot cooking method because it’s the least sticky, so you get the nicest texture once cooked. Other rice types that work:
– Basmati rice – same fluffy texture but you get the basmati aroma (which is lovely!)
– Medium and short grain white rice – works perfectly but the rice is a bit stickier (that’s the way these rices are) so don’t expect the same loose rice texture you see in the video. It will clump a little more.
– Jasmine rice – reduce water by 1/4 cup (water to rice ratio is lower than other rices.The recipe won’t work as written for: brown rice, paella or risotto rice, wild rice, quinoa or other speciality rices. I’d need to figure out liquid/rice ratios and cook times.
Onion and garlic – Essential aromatics for the flavour base.
Smoked paprika – The spice used to flavour the rice. We don’t need much flavour added into this dish because the smoked sausages add so much!
Chicken broth/stock – Be sure to use low sodium to ensure the dish doesn’t get too salty. Vegetable stock can also be used.
Capsicum / bell peppers – I used one of each red and yellow in this recipe. Lovely colours!
Other vegetables that will work include: carrots, corn, celery, zucchini, green beans, broccoli, cauliflower (though broccoli and cauliflower will get a bit softer than ideal).
How to make Sausage and Rice
All made in one pot – nice and easy!
Cook sausages first to make them nice and golden, and to flavour the oil which is then used to flavour the whole dish. Do not underestimate how much flavour comes out of smoked sausages!
Once the sausages are golden, remove from the pot and set aside. We will add them back in later.
Sauté garlic and onion. Essential aromatics that virtually every savoury dish on this website starts with!
After we get the garlic and onion going, add the capsicum. I add it later because it cooks slightly faster.
Add uncooked rice and stock – Once the vegetables are softened, add the raw rice, stock, paprika, salt and pepper. Then add the cooked sausages back into the pot.
No need to rinse rice first unless you’re concerned about rice cleanliness (rice in packets at (grocery stores should be fine, I never rinse). If you rinse, reduce stock in the recipe by 2 tbsp – because this is roughly the amount of water that will cling to the rice and will make the cooked rice a tiny bit more mushy / wet than intended.
Bring to simmer – Give it a stir, then bring to simmer. Once the surface is bubbling, lower the heat to low (or medium low if you have a weak stove) until the surface is bubbling gently.
Cook 20 minutes – Place the lid on and simmer for 20 minutes.
Add peas – Add the thawed peas on to the surface of the rice, then put the lid back on. Work quickly here, to minimise the loss of heat. The residual heat in the rice will cook the peas.
Rest 10 minutes – An essential step with any rice recipe which allows the rice to finish cooking through evenly.
Fluff and serve! Use a fork to fluff the rice, stir the parsley through (if using, it’s 100% optional) and serve!
The rice is juicy and has absorbed the flavour left in the pot from cooking the sausages. Actually, it tastes almost like a simpler version of Jambalaya or Paella. There’s a small range of seasonings in the dish, but overall, the same amount of flavour! If that makes sense?!?!
A one pot meal!
This recipe serves 4 to 5, and contains 2 onions, 2 capsicums, and 2 cups of peas which I think is just enough vegetables per serving to make this qualify as a complete meal.
For a quick way to up the veg quota in this, stir through a few handfuls of baby spinach when fluffing the rice. The steamy heat will wilt the spinach in seconds! – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
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Smoked Sausage and Rice – easy one pot dinner!
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 5 garlic cloves , finely minced
- 2 onions (medium), chopped (or 1 large)
- 1 yellow capsicum , cut into 1.5cm / 1″ squares
- 1 red capsicum , cut into 1.5cm / 1″ squares
- 400 g/ 14oz (~3) kransky or other smoked sausages , sliced 0.5cm thick / 1/4" thick
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 3/4 tsp smoked paprika (sub normal paprika)
- 1 1/2 cup long grain white rice , uncooked (Note 2 other rices)
- 2 1/2 cups chicken stock/broth , low sodium (or veg stock)
- 2 cups frozen peas , thawed
- 2 tbsp parsley , chopped (optional)
Instructions
- Cook sausage: Heat 2 tbsp oil in a large heavy based pot over medium high heat. Add sausages and cook until golden. Remove with a slotted spoon.
- Cook onion and garlic: Add remaining 1 tbsp oil. Add garlic and onion, cook for 2 minutes. Add capsicum and cook for 2 minutes until onion is translucent.
- Add rice and liquid: Add rice, chicken stock, paprika, salt, pepper and the sausage. Stir, bring to boil, then reduce heat to low so it's simmering very gently.
- Cover and cook: Cover with lid, cook 20 minutes.
- Add peas and rest: Remove pot from stove. Working quickly, remove lid, add peas, then quickly put the lid back on. Rest 10 minutes – the residual heat with cook the peas.
- Fluff and serve: Add parsley. Use a fork to fluff the rice. Serve immediately!
Recipe Notes:
- Basmati rice – same fluffy texture but you get the basmati aroma (which is lovely!)
- Medium and short grain white rice – works perfectly but the rice is a bit stickier (that’s the way it is) so don’t expect the same rice texture you see in the video (it will clump a little more).
- Jasmine rice – reduce water by 1/4 cup (water to rice ratio is lower, see here for cooking plain jasmine rice).
Nutrition Information:
Life of Dozer
I’m sorry Dozer. You cannot help with taste testing these chocolate muffins. Chocolate is bad for you!!
Absolutely love this recipe and my husband scarfed it down and ate ALL what was left for lunch the next day! Couldn’t find the kransky sausage so used my favorite smoked sausage, Conecuh Hickory Smoked Sausage. Added some small diced carrot. Think next time I’m going to have to make the full sized recipe if I’m to get any leftovers the next day!
I looove kransky. I looove 1 pot rice. What a perfect recipe, so easy, quick and delicious! Will become a family weekly favourite! x
This was, like all of your other recipes, absolutely bang on! LOVE LOVE LOVE. My family enjoyed it so much. Will definitely make it again. Another home run Nagi. We love you!
I made this recipe using Dutch smoked sausage and it was really good! Hubby polished up all the leftovers and licked the spoon. I replaced some of the peas with diced carrot as the kids don’t like peas apparently. The kids both gave it a thumbs down despite fiddling with the veg as they don’t like things mixed on the plate. So from our family, two thumbs up and two down from the picky eaters!
Loved this! Soooo tasty and EASY!!! Had all the ingredients in the fridge and pantry so super easy! Thanks Nagi!
One of my favourite Nagi dishes, so simple and so full of flavour. Have made this with chorizo and Kransky and both have turned out wonderful. My 14 month old loves it too!
Sooo yummy! Made as is, using smoked Turkey sausage (3 packages), but left out peas (hubby isn’t a fan.) The dish packed so much flavor. I’ve never made a bad recipe from you!! Everything is always so tasty.
Yummy! I made this, but didn’t have onions and bell peppers on hand. I used 3 stalks of celery, and substituted the peas with frozen mixed veggies. I also used turkey smoked sausage, added grapeseed oil to the pot before sautéing the celery. Delicious!
Delicious as always! I made it with fresh chorizo sausages from our butcher (made a huge mess trying to cut them up!) and added some mushrooms for extra veg.
The only frustration was the inaccuracy in the timing – the 30 minutes only accounts for the rice cook and 10 minutes rest, not the cooking of the sausages and veg. Overall, you need more like 40 minutes for this (which makes the difference when you have evening commitments to get out to!)
I am stumped on some of the reviews saying this had no flavour. I ended up cutting up spicy Italian sausages which turned into little meatballs. I added a bit more salt at the end and it was beyond addictive! I wanted to eat the whole pot! 😂 Yet another Nagi recipe on weekly rotation.
Hi Nagi. What a brilliant recipe! So flavourful. I used chorizo and added some fresh asparagus at the saute stsge, wow, I am amazed how easy and full of flavour such a simple dish can be. As always you are a number 1 hit in our household. Can I freeze leftovers? There is only 2 of us, we will have again tomorrow night, but have enough left for another meal, would be great to be able to pull it out of the freezer and just reheat. Thanks, x
Omg, this is delicious! So full of flavour and simple to make. Thanks for sharing Nagi another winner in our household 👌🏻
just a thought if you don’t have smoked sausages I’d spice it up a notch with sriacha I’m going to try it with Sriacha next time or Thai chili sauce.
just a thought if you don’t have smoked sausages I’d spice it up a notch with sriacha I’m going to try it with Sriacha next time or Thai chili’s.
Thank you so much for the idea. You saved my dinner!!
for the seaoning I used paprika and a packet of Knor Spanish sofritas and I used chilian mercan ground chili. about a tea spoon each. came out wonderfull.
Made this tonight with cheese kranskies, my young family demolished it. Very tasty. Thank you!
I was really disappointed with this recipe – only the second recipe of yours in 6 years that I haven’t liked. It’s lacking in any real flavour. Such a shame.
I’ve read some other comments saying it’s full of flavour and I’m confused what they are talking about. I should’ve realised from the ingredients that there just wasn’t enough ooomph there.
Try it again Lisa but maybe with a different sausage. It tastes different every time depending on which one you use. If you use a nice strong smoky one, it really is delicious. Promise!
Sadly I agree with your sentiment. Unless you eat sausage in every bite, there is no flavour. I fixed mine by drenching it with sriracha. Next time I’ll caramelise the onions and use more garlic/chilli to actually have a savoury base for my rice to cook in!
This was so SO delicious and quick as well. Thank you for another wonderful recipe 🙂
I always male the SAME dish with my smoked sausage, but wanted to try something different for dinner tonight. I came across your post, and it sounded amazing, and I am going to go for it. So many people have so many of these things on hand, and I do as well… to a point. So, I am going to try what I have, and I am hoping that it all comes together just as beautifully. I thought I would share, just in case anyone else shares the same set backs that I do. And if you have any advice, I gladly welcome it. First of all, my husband and I are avid hunters, so pretty much all of the meat we have is venison of all versions lol.
So the smoked sausage I will be using is a jalapeño cheese venison smoked sausage. Instant white rice, frozen chopped onions, frozen chopped bell peppers, corn, broccoli, paprika, bell pepper seasoning, zesty Italian seasoning, minced garlic, a little red wine and balsamic vinegar (to cook the sausage and garlic in. I always cook my sausage in the skillet that way, and gives it great flavor)
Maybe sprinkle just a small amount of cheese on top
I freeze our stock in big cubes and I accidentally mistook one of the lime juice cubes for chicken stock. Actually really great with the lime juice! Will have to try the original recipe next time haha.