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One Pot Cajun Sausage and Rice is super flavorful and simple to make! It has similar flavors to jambalaya but in a quicker and easier to make recipe that’s perfect for a weeknight dinner.
Why We Love this Recipe
- One Pot – The entire recipe is made in just one skillet for easy clean up!
- 30 Minutes – This easy rice skillet cooks up in just 30 minutes.
- Jambalaya Inspired – With this Cajun rice recipe you get the flavors of Jambalaya with less ingredients and less cooking time.
Ingredients for Cajun Sausage and Rice
It only takes a handful of simple ingredients to make this easy one-pot dinner.
- Sausage – Spicy Andouille sausage is a common choice in Cajun cooking, but if it’s a little too spicy for you, can use any smoked sausage you wish.
- Vegetable Oil – Or other neutral cooking oil.
- Yellow Onion – I prefer the mild flavor, but white or red also works.
- Bell Pepper – One green and one red is preferred for color, but feel free to use whatever you have on hand or different colors if you have a preference. Sweet peppers are also quite delicious.
- Cajun Seasoning – Instead of using store bought Cajun seasoning you can also make your own using a few common spices.
- Canned Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes – You can swap in regular diced tomatoes, if needed.
- Long Grain White Rice – it’s important to use long grain white rice in this recipe, because that’s what the cook time represents. If you use a different kind of rice you’ll need to adjust the liquid amounts and the cooking time.
- Chicken Broth – You can use water instead, but broth adds SO much flavor.
- Green Onions – sliced for a garnish.
How to Make Cajun Sausage and Rice
Cajun sausage and rice takes only a few minutes to prep and just 30 minutes to cook.
- Cook Sausage – Start by slicing the sausage into ½-inch thick slices and chop up the onion and bell pepper. Heat up a large, deep skillet or dutch oven over medium heat and add the oil. Once hot, add the sausage and onion, cooking for about 5 minutes until browned then add the peppers and cook for another 1-2 minutes.
- Add Remaining Ingredients – Add the rice and Cajun seasoning to the skillet with the sausage and cook for another minute to toast. Next add in the tomatoes (with juices), rice, and broth. Give everything a good stir to combine and scrape up any bits from the bottom. Those browned bits have so much flavor!
- Cook Rice – Increase the heat to medium-high and bring the skillet to a boil. Cover the skillet with a tight fitting lid and reduce the heat to low. Allow to simmer for 20 minutes then turn off the heat and let rest (with the lid still on) for 5 minutes.
- Fluff and Serve – Finally just remove the lid and fluff up the rice. Sprinkle with sliced green onions or fresh chopped parsley.
Frequently Asked Questions
I like to use a spicy andouille sausage for this Cajun rice recipe, but you can use any smoked sausage. Kielbasa sausage is another great choice! The key is to use a sausage that is already cooked. If you use an uncooked sausage, you’ll need to fully cook the sausage before slicing.
As written, this Cajun rice is a low-medium spice level but it’s very customizable. Just adjust the amount of Cajun seasoning to suit your spice preferences.
Brown rice and white rice use different liquid amounts and have different cook times. If you swap in brown rice, you’ll need to add additional liquid based on the rice package directions and increase the cook time until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is cooked.
Serving Suggestions
This dish is best served warm soon after making it. I like to top each serving with some sliced green onions. I love that this recipe is a complete meal on its own, but you can also serve it with a garden salad on the side or oven roasted veggies.
Storage and Reheating
Storage – Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Reheating – For best results, reheat in a pan on the stove. You can add a splash of water or broth to moisten the rice again. You can also reheat in the microwave for 60-90 seconds, stirring midway through.
Stir Well Before Cooking Rice – After you add the rice and liquids to the skillet, make sure to give everything a good stir to remove any stuck bits on the bottom and evenly incorporate the rice. This helps with flavor and helps keep the rice from sticking to the bottom.
Lower Heat to Simmer – When you put the lid on to cook the rice, make sure the heat is low enough so it just simmers. If it is too high, the rice could burn and stick to the bottom.
More Recipes with Smoked Sausage
- Smoked Sausage and Zucchini Skillet – Delicious served over steamed rice.
- Sheet Pan Smoked Sausage and Potatoes
- One Pot Cheesy Smoked Sausage Pasta Skillet
- Smoked Sausage & Apple Sheet Pan Dinner
- Smoked Sausage and Rice
One Pot Cajun Sausage and Rice
Ingredients
- 14 ounces smoked sausage or spicy Andouille
- 1 tablespoons vegetable oil
- ½ cup diced yellow onion
- 1 small green bell pepper
- 1 small red bell pepper
- 1 tablespoon cajun seasoning
- 15 ounce can fire roasted diced tomatoes
- 1 cup long grain white rice
- 1 ½ cups chicken broth
- 2 green onions sliced, for garnish
Instructions
- Slice the sausage into ½-inch thick pieces. Chop onion and bell pepper into bite sized pieces; discard seeds and membrane.
- Heat olive oil in a large, deep skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the sausage and onion and saute for several minutes, stirring occasionally as the sausage browns; about 5 minutes.
- Add the peppers to the skillet and saute for 1-2 minutes.
- Stir in the rice and the cajun seasoning and cook for an additional minute.
- Pour in the tomatoes (with juices), rice, and chicken broth. Stir to combine, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the skillet.
- Turn the heat up to medium-high and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes.
- After 20 minutes, turn off the heat. Let rest for 5 minutes with the lid on.
- Remove the lid, stir and fluff the rice. Garnish with sliced green onions and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer Kristin Maxwell of “Yellow Bliss Road” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. For accurate calorie counts and other nutritional values, we recommend running the ingredients through your preferred online nutritional calculator. Calories and other nutritional values can vary depending on which brands were used.
