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!
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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
I wanted to try a new one-pot recipe, so I googled one that uses ground italian sausage. This one caught my attention. I loved the ingredients ot called for & the cooking method. I love color in my food too. It was a hit with my family. I cooked it a Presto Big Kettle electric pot.
Thanks for the 5 star review, Maria, and I am glad you had everything on hand and that it was a hit with your family!
Have made this numerous time & recommended to friends. Lots of different variations I like to add some grated cheese on top of mine as it’s being served and also it works well with smoked sausage or kielbasa.
Thanks for the 5 star review, Jill, and for recommending the recipe to your friends! I am glad too that you’ve added some of your own touches and variations – like cheese!
Fast & easy recipe… I made it exactly like recipe & it turned out delicious… I used frozen peppers & onions too…. Simple & quick… Only need one pot…
Thanks for the 5 star review, Kim, and I’m glad it was simple, fast, and it turned out delicious!
This is a second review as I made a mistake on the first one. I followed the directions but use regular rice not minute rice. Next time I’ll cook it separately from the main dish but overall it came out great. So please ignore my previous review
Yes you do need to use minute rice as stated in the recipe for it to come together in the alloted time, or use another rice and cook it separately like you said. But I am glad it came out great overall!
I didn’t have minute rice so cooked Jasmine rice on the side and added soy sauce instead of salt so I’d have a broth. Tasted great! Good recipe!
Thanks for the 5 star review, Pam, and I’m glad you were able to make this work with what you had on hand and that it tasted great!
Made this dish last night. It was a great family dinner that I will be putting in my rotation. Everyone loved it. So good on a cold day. We had no leftovers. Thank you for this recipe. It will be one I will use over and over again.
Kelly
Made this dish last night. It was a great family dinner that I will be putting in my rotation. Everyone loved it. So good on a cold day. We had no leftovers. Thank you for this recipe. It will be one I will use over and over again.
Kelly
Thanks for the 5 star review and I am glad that it was good enough that it’s going into your rotation and everyone loved it!
EASY ONE-SKILLET SAUSAGE AND PEPPERS WITH RICE I made this tonight with a little different take. I thought that I had instant brown rice, but I did not. I did have yellow rice and so I made the rice separate from the rest of the recipe because it was not minute rice. I made the sausage, peppers and onions with the garlic like the recipe called for. I just didn’t use the chicken broth and add the rice together with the sausage and peppers. We dished out our rice and put the sausage and peppers over the rice. It was absolutely AMAZING! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. We will definitely be making this again.
EASY ONE-SKILLET SAUSAGE AND PEPPERS WITH RICE I made this tonight with a little different take. I thought that I had instant brown rice, but I did not. I did have yellow rice and so I made the rice separate from the rest of the recipe because it was not minute rice. I made the sausage, peppers and onions with the garlic like the recipe called for. I just didn’t use the chicken broth and add the rice together with the sausage and peppers. We dished out our rice and put the sausage and peppers over the rice. It was absolutely AMAZING! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. We will definitely be making this again.
Thanks for the 5 star review and it’s always great to read when someone improvises based on what they have on hand and make things work with what you have! Glad it was amazing!
This turned out great! Only addition was a few cherry tomatoes that needed used soon. This will be a go to for me!! Thanks
This turned out great! Only addition was a few cherry tomatoes that needed used soon. This will be a go to for me!! Thanks
Thanks for the 5 star review and I am glad it turned out great and you were able to use up your cherry tomatoes, too!
My teen son walked through the door and said” it smells that that really good dinner we like”. It’s a family favorite here. We likes things really spicy so I add red pepper flakes. Easy, tasty, and I love that it has veggies.
My teen son walked through the door and said” it smells that that really good dinner we like”. It’s a family favorite here. We likes things really spicy so I add red pepper flakes. Easy, tasty, and I love that it has veggies.
Thanks for the 5 star review and I am glad that this is a family favorite dinner! I love adding red pepper flakes too to so many dishes for some extra spiciness!
I think I will try to use about half cooked regular rice. I may have to add a little less liquid, I’ll just wing it and let you know!!
Made this for my husband one night and needless to say it’s on the menu again this week. Thank you, it was very easy and most of all delicious.
Made this for my husband one night and needless to say it’s on the menu again this week. Thank you, it was very easy and most of all delicious.