This one-pot Sweet and Spicy Sausage with Peppers and Onions is super easy to make with only four main ingredients, and delicious served over cooked rice or quinoa! It's sweetened with just a touch of honey and has a kick from crushed red pepper.
2tablespoonsfresh cilantrochopped, plus more for serving
cooked rice, quinoa, cauliflower rice, or other grain for serving (optional)
Instructions
Melt butter (1 tablespoon) with olive oil (1 tablespoon) over medium-high heat in a large skillet.
Add peppers, onions, and sausage, with a pinch of salt. Stir to coat in oil and salt, then sauté for about 20 minutes, stirring only every 5 minutes or so in order to develop good color. It will seem like too much, but don't worry- the vegetables will cook down a lot.
Meanwhile, cook up rice/quinoa for serving, if necessary.
Once peppers and onions are softened and browned, add the water (1/2 cup) to the pot, stirring with a wooden spoon to scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot.
Add the honey (1 tablespoon), crushed red pepper (1/4 teaspoon), and canned diced tomatoes with their juices. Stir and turn heat to low. Continue cooking until some of the liquid has evaporated and you are left with a thick sauce.
Turn off heat and stir in cilantro (2 tablespoons). Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Serve over cooked rice or other grain or grain substitute, garnished with extra cilantro if desired.
Notes
Smoked sausage comes fully cooked. You can use uncooked Italian sausage, or any other sausage you like. If you do this, cook the sausage in the skillet before adding the peppers and onions, to ensure it cooks fully.
This is a great meal for kids, but if your kids don't like spicy, feel free to leave the red pepper out, or serve it on the side with dinner.
For a gluten-free version, make sure the sausage you buy is gluten-free.
The provided nutrition information does not include any added sodium from seasoning to taste, any optional ingredients, and it does not take brands into account. Feel free to calculate it yourself using this calculator or by adding the recipe to Yummly.