Italian Sausage, Peppers & Onions Skillet — 💛💚❤️ Wondering what to make with hot Italian sausage? This EASY one skillet recipe combines Italian sausage and peppers with sweet Vidalia onions and rice to make a QUICK dinner that’s ready in 30 minutes!
Table of Contents
One-Skillet Italian Sausage with Peppers and Onions
I’m all about easy, one-skillet dinners that are ready in 30 minutes. My family is all about flavor and just cares about how something tastes. We were all happy with this dish and the big flavors.
Juicy sausage, sweet Vidalia onions, a hint of garlic, crisp-tender bell peppers, and tender rice.
Rather than yet another chicken and rice dish, I swapped out the chicken and instead used Johnsonville Fresh Italian Hot Sausage Links.
I used hot sausage because I wanted something to stand up and pop against the rice and it wasn’t too hot, but use mild sausage if you prefer.
Ingredients for Skillet Sausage, Peppers and Onions
So many Italian sausage recipes include pasta, but I wanted to pair this flavorful protein without something different. If you’ve been looking Italian sausage recipe without pasta, you’re going to love this skillet!
To make the Italian sausage with peppers and onions and rice, gather the following:
- Olive oil
- Johnsonville Fresh Italian Hot Sausage Links
- Vidalia onions
- Bell peppers – use any color(s) you like
- Garlic
- Instant rice
- Chicken broth – use reduced sodium since Italian sausage often contains salt as well
- Fresh parsley
- Salt and pepper
What Type of Italian Sausage Should I Use?
Although I used sausage links for this recipe, Johnsonville also offers Italian sausage in a ground version, which is so convenient if you don’t want to de-case sausage links. Johnsonville’s links and ground Italian sausage — as well as their meatballs and breakfast sausage — come in a variety of flavors and spices, giving you more flavor and saving you time in the kitchen.
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How to Make Sausage, Peppers & Onions
This Italian sausage meal comes together in about 30 minutes and requires minimal prep. Here’s a rough overview of how the recipe comes together:
- Cook the sausage (removed from its casings) and diced onion in a little olive oil until the sausage is cooked through and the onions are golden.
- Add the peppers and garlic to the skillet and cook for a couple more minutes.
- Stir in the instant rice and chicken broth.
- Cook until the rice absorbs all the liquid, then stir in the fresh parsley and season with salt and pepper, if needed.
Recipe FAQs
I haven’t tried it myself, so I can’t say for sure. You probably can, but you’ll have to play around with the amount of liquid you add to the skillet as well as the cook time.
Or, simply add pre-cooked or leftover rice to the skillet.
Of course! If you don’t have Italian sausage on hand, feel free to substitute another type. Just keep in mind that the sausage I used is fresh, not pre-cooked, which is why I browned it together with the onions.
This sausage and rice recipe reheats well and will keep in the fridge for up to 5 days. I recommend reheating this dish in a skillet with a tablespoon or two of water or broth, just to keep the rice from drying out.
Of course! I specifically wanted to make this Italian sausage recipe without pasta, but you may omit the rice and boil pasta on the side if desired.
I am a huge fan of All-Clad skillets, specifically this All-Clad 3-quart stainless steel skillet with a lid. It’s been a trusty workhorse in my kitchen for 10+ years!
Recipe Video Tutorial
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Italian Sausage, Peppers & Onions Skillet
Equipment
- 1 large skillet (4 quart) OR
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 pound Johnsonville Fresh Italian Hot Sausage Links, de-cased (Johnsonville Fresh Italian Hot Ground Sausage or mild sausage may be substituted)
- 2 cups sweet Vidalia or yellow onion, peeled and diced small (about 1 large onion)
- ⅔ cup red bell pepper, seeded and diced small
- ⅔ cup yellow bell pepper, seeded and diced small
- 3 to 4 garlic cloves, peeled and finely minced
- 2 cups dry/uncooked minute or instant rice
- 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- ⅓ to ½ cup fresh Italian flat-leaf parsley leaves, finely minced (stems discarded)
- ½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
- ½ teaspoon pepper, or to taste
Instructions
- To a large skillet, add the olive oil, sausage, onion, and sauté for about 8 minutes over medium-high heat, or until sausage is cooked through and onions are lightly golden browned. Stir and flip intermittently.
- Add the peppers, garlic, and sauté for 1 to 2 minutes. Stir intermittently.
- Turn the heat to medium-low, and add the rice, chicken broth, and cook covered for about 5 to 10 minutes or until rice is tender, done, and all liquid has been absorbed.
- Turn off the heat, add the parsley, and stir to combine.
- Taste dish and add salt and pepper, to taste. Serve immediately. Dish will keep airtight in the fridge for 5 days. Reheat gently as necessary.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Post is brought to you by Johnsonville. The recipe, images, text, and opionions expressed are my own. #SausageSunday #JohnsonvilleSausageSwap
Ok Averie, I am making this right now because I had a packet of leftover Brown Rice with Quinoa from Aldi and needed to use it up. I also had a three pepper bag of red, orange and yellow peppers , some green onions and lovely hot italian sausage. It schmells wonderful! Hubs will LOVE it and I will too! So easy and quick! Thanks much! First time I am reviewing but have your website bookmarked extensively! You have some great recipes!
My husband is very hard to cook for. I had country sausage in the freezer. Zero hour was coming fast so I googled recipes for country sausage and came across this recipe. I used red and green peppers. To my surprise he actually liked it! I will be making it again with sweet Italian sausage. Thanks for a great recipe!
Thanks for the 5 star review and I’m glad that this was a winner for your husband and you will make it again!
I have made this recipe several times now and figured I should leave a review. I have used different kinds of sausages and every time it is delicious! My picky eaters have no complaints and clean up there plates. Thanks!!
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad that even your picky eaters clean their plates!
Love this recipe! been using it for awhile now and has alot of flavor. And love its all in one pan.
Thanks for the five star review and I’m glad you’ve been using this recipe for awhile!
My whole family loved this. Everyone had seconds even my pickiest eater. I did have to tweak the recipe because I did not have instant rice. I used 1 cup of Jasmine rice and 1 and 1/2 cups of broth. Also, we added grated cheddar to the top which was yummy, but it did not need it. Thanks for the recipe!
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad this was a hit even with your pickiest eater!
How long did you cook for using the Jasmine rice ? Usually making normal it is like 20 mins. Thats what I have at home and was thinking of making this.
I am making this recipe right now. I happened to have some Italian sausage on hand and I did not know what to do with it and I didn’t want to make meatballs and spaghetti cuz that’s so cliche so I Googled Italian sausage recipe and I came to this website and found your recipe and from the looks of it it looks delicious already I did not use fresh green peppers and yellow peppers I used a stir fry blend with the onions and since I’m cooking for men in my family my teenage boys I mean so I double the rice and double the broth use the whole bag of stir fry peppers and onions and I added some tomato bouillon and made extra broth no fresh parsley but I have parsley and for the garlic I had some minced garlic in a jar from the Dollar Tree I can’t wait for the family to eat oh and I made a that of Jiffy corn muffin and I put cheddar cheese in the batter
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad you were able to find a use for your Italian sausage!
How can I use regular rice instead of the instant rice?
I don’t know for this recipe since it’s designed to work with minute/instant rice. You’d have to experiment with things on your own and come up with a solution that’s going to work.
I have made something similar to this before. I would just use leftover cooked rice.
I’m going to make this for dinner. I will be using leftover rice so do I need as much broth as the recipe calls for?
Definitely not, no, because this recipe assumes you’re using dry/uncooked minute rice which is why you need an equal part of liquid to dry rice. In your case, you will need very little broth, if much of any is my guess.
This was delicious! Although I used a frozen 3 pepper and onion blend and regular rice because that’s what I had. It came out perfect! This recipe is a keeper for sure. My 18m old loved it and even asked for more.
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad you loved it!
Hi! Would this still be good with a green pepper instead of red and yellow? I only have green in the fridge right now ?
Yes that would be fine I’m sure.
I did this with some ground sausage that herbs and garlic mixed in already. Instead of rice however, I added cauliflower rice (paleo-friendly). It was delicious. I added a couple chopped jalpenos towards the end to give it a bit more of a kick.
It was a perfect meal to take for lunches this week. Thanks a lot!
Sounds like a winner with the cauli rice (great idea) and I love the addition of jalapeños! I love heat as well! Glad this was a perfect meal-prep recipes for lunches for the week!
My son had such a rough week. 13 years old, he was physically assaulted & had a knife pulled on him Tuesday. When he asked if he could make dinner for the family tonight, and gave me the ingredients he’d like to use, I typed them in and your recipe popped up. I had most of the ingredients, and shopped for the rest. This was his first “big dinner” tonight. It is simple and delicious. Thanks for posting this. I’m fighting back tears, and I want you to know you helped him gain some confidence this evening.
Oh my God I am so sorry for this horrifying act of violence against your son. Seriously as a parent of an almost 11 year old girl, I cannot even imagine how distraught and sad and in pain you and your whole family are over this senseless violence. I express my deepest sympathy for your family. As a mom, my heart breaks hearing this.
As a blogger, I am glad I could help. I am also extremely!! impressed that after the week your son had, he wanted to cook dinner! I am super impressed by his cooking skills and his tenacity in life. You are doing an amazing job as a parent! Hang in there :)
This was a huge hit tonight for dinner… kids went back for seconds.. and it was so easy to make.. even the baby at it! wondering about the caloric and nutritional info on it? (I’m tracking calories)
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you! For stats check out https://https://www.averiecooks.com/faq/ Item #4
Delicious! Thank you for such a simple delicious work night meal. Leftovers will be great for lunches for the week. I came across the recipe because I needed to cook something different with my husband’s venison ground hot sausage! I did not add one spice not even salt and pepper and the sausage flavored it enough along with those delicious peppers and onions of course! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for trying the recipe and glad it came out great for you! The reason I made this recipe is that I too was set with the task of creating something new and different with sausage. Glad you have leftovers for lunches for the week, too!
This was sooooo good! I made it for lunch today, a day off work because of the ice storm outside. It was super quick, used ingredients I already had, though I improvised a little. I used kielbasa sausage, sliced up, instead of an italian sausage. I also didn’t have any minute rice, only long cooking rice. I cooked the rice for only 10 minutes, then added it into the recipe at the same place the minute rice was added, and it worked perfectly. Thank you for such a quick and easy recipe for a weekday lunch!
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you! Glad you were able to improvise with what you had on hand and didn’t have to venture out in the storm!
Hi – this looks amazing. I don’t have any minute rice.. could I use uncle bens 8 minute rice?
I think most minute rices are about 8 to 10 minutes. You just don’t want the regular, ‘long cooking’ rice that takes 20+ minutes.
Hi Averie, I tried your sausage rice skillet dish and it was great. Does the recipe require two cups cooked rice or 2 cups uncooked rice? Also, do you have caloric information per serving? I used 2 cups uncooked but wasn’t sure if this was correct.
Thank you
Don’t have nutrition stats and you want 2 cups minute or instant rice that’s uncooked. Glad you enjoyed the recipe!