Hello, new favorite! I think of this Cajun Sausage and Rice Skillet kind of like “jambalaya light”. It has similar flavors and ingredients as jambalaya, but it’s a slightly scaled back, simplified version, perfect for quick weeknight dinner. And the best part? The leftovers are SO GOOD. So feel free to add this tasty skillet to your meal prep rotation!
What Kind of Sausage Do I Use?
To make this skillet meal taste the best, try to find Andouille sausage, which is a smoked pork sausage commonly used in Louisiana cooking. If you can’t find any in your area (I’m not sure how readily available this is outside the southern U.S.), you can use any smoked sausage in its place. If you want to go so far as to special order some to get the full experience, check out the selection from Cajungrocer.com.
Is Cajun Sausage and Rice Spicy?
It can be, depending on the ingredients you use. I used a “medium” heat Andouille sausage, which had a good amount of spicy heat, as well as a little cayenne pepper in my Cajun seasoning blend. If you want to make this dish mild, make sure to get a non-spicy smoked sausage, and you can skip the cayenne pepper in the spices listed in the recipe.
Can I Use Store Bought Cajun Seasoning?
The recipe below includes a half batch of my homemade Cajun seasoning, minus the salt because the other ingredients in the skillet contained enough salt that I didn’t need to add more. The total amount of spices used is about 1 tablespoon. If you’d like to use a store bought Cajun seasoning blend, first check to see how much salt it contains. Many store bought Cajun seasoning blends contain a lot of salt and are used more like a seasoning salt, or table seasoning, and probably will not work well for this recipe. If the blend you have is mostly just herbs and spices, I would use about 1 Tbsp for this recipe.
Can I Use Brown Rice?
Brown rice requires more liquid and a much longer cook time than white rice, so you will need to take these into account if you attempt to substitute brown rice for the white rice in this recipe. While I haven’t tested a brown rice version, I would probably add at least another cup of chicken broth and increase the simmer time to closer to 40 minutes.
You might also love my One Pot Lemon Garlic Shrimp and Rice!
Cajun Sausage and Rice Skillet
Servings 4 1.5 cups eachIngredients
- 14 oz. Andouille sausage* ($3.99)
- 1 Tbsp cooking oil ($0.04)
- 1 bell pepper ($0.89)
- 1 tsp smoked paprika ($0.10)
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano ($0.05)
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme ($0.05)
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder ($0.02)
- 1/4 tsp onion powder ($0.02)
- 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper ($0.02)
- 1/8 tsp freshly cracked black pepper ($0.01)
- 1 15oz. can fire roasted diced tomatoes ($1.00)
- 1 cup long grain white rice ($0.62)
- 1.5 cups chicken broth ($0.20)
- 2 green onions, sliced ($0.20)
Instructions
- Slice the sausage into ¼-½ inch thick slices. Add the sausage and cooking oil to a deep skillet or Dutch oven and sauté over medium heat until the sausage is well browned. Don't worry if the sausage begins to brown on the bottom of the skillet. That's extra flavor that will cook into the rice later.
- While the sausage is cooking, dice the bell pepper. Once the sausage is browned, add the bell pepper to the skillet and continue to sauté for about one more minute.
- Add the spices (smoked paprika, oregano, thyme, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne, and black pepper) to the skillet with the sausage and bell pepper and continue to sauté for one minute more to toast the spices.
- Add the fire roasted diced tomatoes (with juices), rice, and chicken broth to the skillet. Stir to combine and dissolve any browned bits off the bottom of the skillet.
- Place a lid on the skillet, turn the heat up to medium-high, and allow the broth to come to a full boil. Once it reaches a boil, turn the heat down to low and let the skillet simmer for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, remove the skillet from the heat and let it rest, with the lid on, for an additional 5 minutes.
- After the skillet has rested, remove the lid, and fold the sausage and rice to redistribute the rice and sausage throughout. Top with sliced green onions and serve!
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Notes
Nutrition
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How to Make Cajun Sausage and Rice Skillet – Step by Step Photos
This is the Andouille sausage that I used. Andouille may not be readily available in all areas, so if you can’t find any, just try to get a smoked pork sausage of some sort instead. You really want that smoky flavor!
Slice the Andouille into medallions and add to a skillet with a tablespoon of cooking oil. Sauté over medium heat until the sausage is well browned. Don’t worry if the bottom of the skillet turns brown. That’s just extra flavor that will soak into the rice later!
While the sausage is browning, dice one bell pepper. Add it to the skillet and continue to sauté for about a minute. Then add the Cajun seasoning: 1 tsp smoked paprika, ½ tsp dried oregano, ½ tsp dried thyme, ¼ tsp garlic powder, ¼ tsp onion powder, ⅛ tsp cayenne pepper, and ⅛ tsp freshly cracked black pepper. Continue to sauté the spices for another minute.
Next, add one 15oz. can fire roasted diced tomatoes (with juices), 1 cup long grain white rice, and 1.5 cups chicken broth to the skillet. Stir to combine and dissolve those browned bits off the bottom of the skillet.
Once everything is combined, place a lid on the skillet, turn the heat up to medium-high, and allow the broth to come up to a boil. Once it reaches a boil, turn the heat down to low and let the skillet simmer for 20 minutes. (Pictured: before simmering)
After simmering for 20 minutes, remove it from the heat and let it rest for an additional five minutes (with the lid on). After resting, it will look like the photo above.
Fold everything together to redistribute the sausage, rice, and bell peppers. OMG it looks so good at this point I just want to dive in!
Top the skillet with sliced green onions and serve! It’s rich, spicy, smoky, and all-around DELICIOUS.
Wow this is crazy good! My husband was blown away! We added some sour cream to our bowls because I added a bit much of the cayenne pepper and it was fairly spicy. But otherwise what great flavor and texture. Yum!!
Amazing recipe! It’s so easy but it tastes amazing! If I wanted to add red beans to this dish, would I add them around the same time the rice is added?
Yep! :)
Would I need to add additional broth or water if adding beans? Or just as much as package would state?
If you’re talking about dry beans, that wouldn’t work here because of the quick cook time. If you want to add canned beans, you can just drain them and stir them in with the rice and everything before the simmer, no extra water or broth is needed. :)
This is such a yummy recipe!
Thank you so much for sharing the recipe. It turned out so good… jammed packed with flavour. I subbed the canned tomatoes with fresh minced tomatoes and about 2tbsp of tomatoe paste that needed to be used up
I bought andouille sausage to try for the first time and found this recipe. I didn’t have the fire roasted tomatoes so I just used regular diced ones. I used Basmati rice as that’s what I had on hand. I cooked the sausage first and when it was almost browned, I added chopped white onion and cooked it down a bit. Mostly I followed the recipe but added in chopped red bell pepper and chopped garlic. This was so amazing that I was craving it and had to make it again two days later. Absolutely one of my favorite dishes and I’m adding shrimp to it tonight. My husband loved it too!
Wow, this turned out much better than expected. I was looking for recipe to use up the andouille chicken sausage bought at Costco. It was very easy to make and turned out delicious! I stuck with the recipe, but maybe will try it with brown rice next time.
This is so great Beth! My husband doesn’t like my excellent gumbo because (he says) it’s too spicy – I’ve been wondering if it’s the andouille I use so instead I used Target brand andouille chicken sausage which was much better than expected. I have a bumper crop of sweet banana peppers so used those and also have a lot of fresh cherry tomatoes that I halved/broiled and used instead of canned tomatoes. With my cookware I always have to add more water to your one pot rice recipes – but next time I will add a handful of frozen sliced okra instead and I think the water that gives off will be enough.
Still cooking this more than six months later.
I use frozen garden peppers, have used either smoked chicken andouille or regular andouille, and now also like to add a drained can of cannellini beans and half a bag of frozen okra. The best!!
I love when I can find an easy weeknight meal that I can add to my dinner inventory and make ahead of time. This was a win tonight for my family! We used regular diced tomatoes, turkey keilbasa, and minute rice, plus we didn’t have green onions and it was still a win. Thanks for the recipe!
Fantastic recipe made just as written, though I used low-sodium chicken broth (6%) because that’s what I always use. Could definitely add or substitute chicken or shrimp. I suspect this one is going to become part of my regular rotation; it’s fast, easy, and delicious – the perfect recipe!
Turned out great! I only had diced tomatoes with green chilies so I used that instead of the fire roasted. I also added half an onion with the bell pepper.
How would I adjust the cooking time if I wanted to make a double batch?
Same cooking time – 20 min is for the rice and the flavors to meld. Happy cooking! :-)
Could you use beef broth instead of chicken? Would it change the flavor much?
I feel like beef broth has a much heavier flavor, so I think it would definitely change the outcome, but whether or not the change is palatable is probably just a matter of personal preference.
I made this for dinner using regular smoked sausage. It’s a winner. 10/10 will make again. The fam loved it too. I served it with Bush’s grilling beans steakhouse recipe and some Louisiana hot sauce for the sausage and rice. Thank you so much for such a good dinner recipe.
Could I use Cauliflower Rice for a lower carb option?
The recipe would have to be adjusted quite a bit because cauli rice does not absorb liquid like regular rice does, so I’d need to do some testing to figure out how to reduce the liquid without losing the flavor that the broth provides.
Loved this recipe! Do you think it would freeze well?
Yes, dishes like this usually freeze very well. :)
How would you recommend reheating this? I am looking to make a few freezer meals for a friend who just had a baby! :D
I usually just freeze it in single-portion containers so they can be reheated using the microwave. :)
We make this recipe several times every month. It is so delicious, but also super quick and easy to make. Thanks so much for sharing this!
I made this with Aidell’s chicken sausage (roasted garlic flavor) and eliminated the cayenne and black pepper because I have toddlers. It was nice and mild for them, and I just added some hot sauce to my bowl. I also reduced the rice to 1/2 cup and broth to 1 cup and stirred in a bag of frozen riced cauliflower. It worked well, but needed a little extra salt at the end. Delicious! We’ll make it again!