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 (and check the 200+ reviews below to see how much everyone else loves it, too!)
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“I love this recipe!! It tastes amazing, it’s simple to make, and relatively inexpensive!! I’ve made this multiple times, swapping out the types of sausage, adding black beans, adding some greens, and it always hits. Thank you!!”
Katheryn
One-Pot Cajun Sausage and Rice Skillet
For me, this skillet is all about the smoky Andouille sausage paired with bell pepper and a bold mix of Cajun spices. When everything simmers together with fire-roasted tomatoes, rice, and chicken broth, it turns into the MOST flavor-packed, easy rice dish that’s actually seasoned well and tastes amazing. And I’m always down to make a dinner that comes together in one pan…fewer dishes equals a happier me.😉
Recipe Success Tips & Suggestions
- 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.
- 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. To make this dish mild, use a non-spicy smoked sausage and skip the cayenne pepper.
- This recipe uses a half batch of my homemade Cajun seasoning without the salt, since the other ingredients already add plenty. It comes to about 1 tablespoon total. If you’re using a store-bought blend, check the label first—many are heavy on salt and won’t work well here. If your store-bought seasoning is mostly herbs and spices, I’d use about 1 tablespoon.
- Brown rice requires more liquid and a much longer cook time than white rice, so you’ll need to take these into account if you substitute the white rice for brown. 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.
- Want to double this recipe for Cajun sausage and rice? I’d use a larger skillet and double the cook time. You can also double the ingredients and split them between two similarly sized skillets (no need to alter the cook time this way).
Cajun Sausage and Rice Skillet
Cost $7.08 recipe / $1.77 serving
Ingredients
- 14 oz. Andouille sausage ($3.56*)
- 1 Tbsp cooking oil ($0.04)
- 1 bell pepper ($0.89)
- 1 tsp smoked paprika ($0.10)
- ½ tsp dried oregano ($0.05)
- ½ tsp dried thyme ($0.05)
- ¼ tsp garlic powder ($0.02)
- ¼ tsp onion powder ($0.02)
- ⅛ tsp cayenne pepper ($0.02)
- ⅛ tsp black pepper (freshly cracked, $0.01)
- 15 oz. fire roasted diced tomatoes ((1 can) $1.30**)
- 1 cup long grain white rice (uncooked, $0.62)
- 1½ cups chicken broth ($0.20)
- 2 green onions (sliced, $0.20)
Video
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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Equipment
- Deep Stainless Steel Skillet*
- Chef’s Knife
- White Cutting Boards
- Measuring Cups Spoons
Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!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!
Brown the sausage: Slice 14 oz. Andouille into medallions and add to a skillet with 1 Tbsp 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!
Combine the ingredients: 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.
Simmer: 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!
Serve: Top the skillet with sliced green onions and serve! It’s rich, spicy, smoky, and all-around DELICIOUS.
What Else Can I Add?
This skillet meal really has everything you need, but I’ll never stop you from adding a little extra to make it your own! Here are some easy add-in ideas to try:
- Add onion and celery with the bell pepper (this is known as the Cajun Holy Trinity in cooking)
- Sauté sliced mushrooms with the bell pepper
- Mix in cooked shredded chicken at the end for a meatier dish
- Add drained canned beans (black beans, kidney beans, chickpeas, etc) with the rice and broth
- Stir in frozen peas or corn 5 minutes towards the end to heat them through
- Top with a fried egg or sour cream (as recommended by a reader!)
Storage & Reheating
This Cajun rice and sausage skillet recipe is PERFECT for meal-prepping. The flavors keep developing as it sits and becomes even more flavorful. Store your leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days. You can also freeze this one for up to 3 months. Let it thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating. I usually reheat dishes like this in the microwave with a splash of water to avoid drying out the rice.
Go to recipe in my house for easy dinner!! I make this with brown rice (cook longer + add a little more liquid), throw in a can of kidney beans for extra fiber, and it is INCREDIBLE with a little cotija cheese melted in to serve. Literally going to go make it right now.
Made this tonight on a whim since I’m so over just sausage and peppers. WOW!! Total hit from my husband and 1.5 toddler. I did it a little different – Italian sausage (what I had in the house)
Orange pepper, onion, celery, black beans. (Found in the notes of add ins) I would totally add this to me biweekly meal dish it was that good. I’m excited to have it for lunch tomorrow !
Love this recipe! Such an easy one pot meal. It’s a staple in out house. We often do it w whole grain rice and it just takes longer to cook but great all around
I just saw the update and don’t think I’ve left a review on this one yet! This is one of my classic weeknight recipes that I make at least once a month. The ingredients are affordable and it’s super easy and has some vegetables, which I’m lacking as a 25 year old living on my own for the first time. I often substitute regular kielbasa since that’s what they have at my ALDI and it works great.
I have made this a few times. I love how truly quick and easy it is. Pro-tip, this is a great vegan meal if made with Field Roast sausage or some other substitute.
This is a delicious recipe, and I was surprised that it was even better the second day! Next time, I will add some shrimp for the texture that I love. I used to work for a Cajun restaurant, and this really reminds me of the food there. The seasoning is spot on.
I made this info my instant pot. I was able to saute the meat and peppers and then add everything else as the recipe states. Cook high pressure 6min with 10 NR and it turned out absolutely delicious. The flavors marry together perfectly. Another great way to cook up flavorful rice. Thank you
I needed to stir mine about halfway through, it started to stick. But that may just be my stovee
I made mine in the instant pot for 6 mins with a 10 min NR and it turned out fabulous
This was great! Made it as is but added 2/3 can of red kidney beans at the same time as the rice. One of my kids has recently decided he wants to eat vegetarian so he picked the sausage out of his portion and still had enough protein with the beans. Will be adding this to are regular rotation! Flavorful and delicious!
This was really delicious. I definitely will be making this again
I’ve been making this recipe for years and is one of the few leftovers my son has ever happily eaten. He’s now gone away to college and I want to make this for him to keep in his freezer so he has something that reminds him of being home.
Do you know if this will freeze well? Has it ever been tested?
We haven’t personally tested it but I know a lot of readers have with success!
can I use longazza sausage for this recipe
That should work!
Hi, I wanted to make this with rice, quinoa, and lentils. How could I do this to make sure it comes out well?
Is this a pre-made blend? If so, the good news is that it should all finish cooking at the same time. I would just use 1 cup of the blend, equal to the rice the recipe calls for. Check the instructions on the back of the bag and that should give you an idea of if you should adjust the broth amount or change the cooking time at all, but it should be roughly the same.
I’ve made this several times for my husband and I. Even tweaking some ingredients I didn’t have, it still comes out amazing! We love Cajun style food so we keep this bad boy on rotation! Thank you so much for posting this!
Just made this tonight. So delicious! Basically a quick and easy Jambalaya. I added 3 cubed boneless-skinless chicken thighs before cooking the sausage, onions with the sautéed green bell pepper and added a can of roasted green chiles with the tomatoes. Chef’s kiss! Thank you for this recipe, it’s in my rotation now.