Follow our complete, step-by-step, instructions to make this delicious Sausage and Rice Casserole. Your friends and family will love this combination of ground sausage, peppers, onions and rice. Perfect for a family supper or a dish for your next church social.
Sausage and Rice Casserole
A good casserole dish is one of the favorite things of about all good Southern cooks. It’s normally fairly easy to prepare, and it’s a very versatile dish in that it can be served as a weeknight family meal, or for a special Sunday type dinner.
It’s versatile in that it can be easily transported to a family reunion, church social, or to a bereaved family whichever the situation may be.
I mention it below, but I’m using some fresh ground sausage that I picked up while I was near Kenbridge, Virginia. I saw a road side sign advertising fresh sausage and Virginia Hams. Signs like that seem to always catch my attention for some reason.
A regular pack of your favorite store bought sausage will work just as well though. And, while I prefer a mild sausage, you could use a Hot variety if that is more to your liking.
I’m topping the dish with some grated cheese, picked up in 2017 on a trip up near Cuba, New York. I prefer to buy my cheese in blocks and grate it at home as needed.
Once you get the rice cooking, you can prepare everything else, then bring it all together to complete the recipe. I like this, because it’s really easy to prepare, and tastes great. I think you and the family will really enjoy it if you’ve never tried one before.
If you’re ready to find out, then let’s head to the kitchen, and… Let’s Get Cooking.
Sausage and Rice Casserole, you’ll need these ingredients.
Cook your rice according to the directions on your package. Place the cooked rice in a large mixing bowl and set aside for now.
The printable recipe below calls for one cup of uncooked rice which should produce about three cups of cooked rice.
Lightly grease the inside of your baking dish.
I’m using butter for this, and using a 3 quart casserole dish. Set this aside for now.
Place a skillet over Medium heat on your stove top. Add the sausage to the pan.
I’m using a pound of fresh sausage that I picked up on a trip up near Kenbridge, Virginia recently. I had passed a convenience store that had a sign out front advertising fresh sausage and Virginia Hams.
The owner of the store said he made fresh sausage in the store once a week.
Crumble up the sausage once it begins to cook, and let it continue to cook until it’s lightly browned.
When the sausage has browned, use a slotted spoon and scoop the sausage from the skillet and add it to the bowl with the rice. Leave any grease from the sausage in the skillet.
Slice the celery into about 1/4 inch slices.
Place the celery in the skillet with the leftover sausage grease.
My sausage had a minimal amount of fat, about a good Tablespoon full. If you have more, remove the excess grease and discard it, leaving about a Tablespoon or so in the skillet.
Add the frozen peppers and onions into the skillet.
Let this cook, stirring often, for about three to five minutes. Do this just long enough to thaw out the frozen vegetables and to lightly cook the celery.
Add the peppers, onions, and celery to the bowl with the sausage and rice.
Add the milk.
Add the can of mushroom soup.
Add the salt.
Add the black pepper.
Stir everything together until it’s fully combined.
Spread the mixture into your casserole dish.
Grate the cheese.
I prefer to buy a block of cheddar cheese and grate it myself. The grated cheese you find in the grocery store has cornstarch or something on it to keep it separated. It’s so easy to grate what you need at home.
I’ve had this package in the refrigerator for almost a year. It’s one of the last two I had picked up on a trip to Cuba, New York. I bought a case pack of 12 one pound packages while I was there in 2017.
These folks don’t know me, but they make a very good cheese in my opinion. You can visit them online by clicking here: Cuba Cheese Shop
Spread the grated cheese over the top of the mixture.
Place the dish, UNCOVERED, in a pre-heated to 350F degree oven.
Let the mixture bake until it is heated all the way through and the cheese has started to brown slightly. This will take about 35-45 minutes, depending on your oven.
Enjoy!
Remove the dish from the oven and sit it on a folded towel to let cool slightly. Serve it while it’s still warm.
Just be careful, the dish gets hot.
