One Pan Sausage and Rice
Scented with warming Mexican spices and savory enchilada sauce, this one-pan meal boasts tender pork, fluffy rice, and caramelized vegetables. There’s an incredible amount of flavor in every delicious bite!
This one-pan meal is ridiculously easy! Everything is added to the pot and allowed to simmer together, which means flavors evolve and escalate over time. And although it’s a short amount of time, it’s enough to create an intensely flavorful dish. And you have just one pan to clean after dinner!
The rice cooks in the sauce, so it’s deeply flavorful! As the rice cooks, it absorbs the flavors of the spices, herbs, and enchilada sauce. Each grain is plump, colorful, and wildly tasty.
You can make this dish as spicy as you want. There are two ways to add/reduce heat in this dish. First, is the enchilada sauce – you can choose mild or hot. Second is cayenne pepper; the recipe calls for 1/2 teaspoon, but you can add more or less to suit your tastes.
I used long grain white rice, but basmati, brown, and jasmine rice work too. Choose your favorite rice variety, or use what you have on hand. Just note the cooking time; brown rice may take longer to cook that white rice varieties.
One Pan Sausage and Rice
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground pork sausage, casing removed if you’re using links
- 1/2 cup chopped onion
- 1 bell pepper, any color, seeded and chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or more/less to taste
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 cup long grain white rice
- 10- ounce can red enchilada sauce, mild or hot
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1/2 cup shredded Mexican cheese
- Chopped green onions for serving, optional
Instructions
- Brown the sausage in a large skillet over medium-high heat, breaking up the meat as it cooks. Add the onion, bell pepper, and garlic and cook for 3 minutes, until soft. Add the chili powder, oregano, cumin, cayenne pepper, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper and stir to coat. Stir in the rice and cook for 1 minute.
- Add the enchilada sauce and chicken broth and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for 15 to 20 minutes, until the rice is tender and the liquid is absorbed, stirring occasionally.
- Season to taste with salt and black pepper. Top the mixture with the cheese and remove the pan from the heat. If desired, place the pan under the broiler to brown the cheese.
- Top with green onions and serve.