Take a break from chicken and try baked rice seasoned with Italian sausage, vidalia onions and corn on the cob, great for a weeknight meal.

Sometimes I feel like all I ever eat is chicken so I’ve been trying to come up with non-chicken dishes lately. Instead of chicken and rice, I went with Italian sausage. The rice is seasoned with vidalia onions and then you add Italian sausage and chicken broth and bake it.
While baking, the rice is infused with the flavors from the Italian sausage. Before putting the dish in the oven, I added corn on the cob that was cut into 1-2 inch cylinders. The corn makes the dish look interesting but we weren’t sure how easy it would be to eat. It was actually fun to pick up the little cobs and eat them with your fingers.
How do you make baked rice with Italian sausage
Step 1: Brown the sausages on all sides in an oven proof skillet and remove to a plate.
Step 2: Add sliced onions and garlic to the pan and sauté until soft.
Step 3: Add Arborio rice and chicken broth along with the browned sausages back to the pan and bring to a boil. Add corn, cover and bake.
What is Arborio rice
Arborio rice is a short grain rice that is typically used to make risotto. It is higher in starch then other types of rice which results in a chewier and creamier rice. Due to its high starch content it absorbs the fluid in this dish and is infused with the flavor from the sausages and onions.
Do you have to use Vidalia onions
Any onions will work with this recipe, if I can’t find Vidalias then I’ll use a yellow onion.
The dish is not soupy so your fingers don’t get too messy, no more so than if you were just eating corn on the cob. Who doesn’t like eating food with their fingers. Of course you could cut the corn off the cob and mix it in with the rice if you want to be a little more prim and proper.
What I like so much about this baked rice recipe is how the rice absorbs the flavor from the sausage and onions. This recipe has no butter, cream, cheese or milk but is still amazing. My lactose intolerant friends will love that.
I cooked this in a Le Cresuet pan that has a lid. You’ll need some type of oven proof dish with a lid to keep all the flavors in while baking. If you don’t have one, then cover tightly with aluminum foil. I use this pan more than any other pan that I own. It’s so versatile and I love the way food cooks in it.
Pro Tip: When it’s time to clean your Dutch oven, learn some cool tips for cleaning it without scrubbing.
Looking for some other recipes you can bake in just one pan, here are some you might like
- Guinness Beef Pie
- Lemon Mustard Chicken with Potatoes
- Tater Tot Casserole
- Tex-Mex chicken and rice
- Queso Chicken
- Taco spaghetti
- Sloppy joes
- Parmesan meatballs
Need an after-dinner treat
- Chocolate pudding cake
- Strawberry cobbler
- Peanut butter brownies
- Lemon chiffon pie
- Chocolate pecan pie
If you make Baked Rice with Italian Sausage and Corn, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to also tag me on Instagram! I would love to see your creation.
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Baked Rice with Italian Sausage and Corn
Ingredients
- 1 lb Italian sausage sweet/spicy
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 small vidalia onion thinly sliced
- 3 cloves garlic 1 tablespoon
- 1 ⅓ cups arborio rice
- 3 cups chicken broth
- salt and pepper
- 2 ears fresh corn on the cob cut into 1 to 2 inch rounds
- cilantro
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375º.
- Pierce sausage all over with the tip of a knife. In a large ovenproof skillet with a lid, heat 1 tablespoon of oil over medium-high. Add sausage and brown, turning occasionally, about 3-5 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
- Add 2 tablespoons of oil to the skillet and add onion and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally until onion is translucent, about 3 minutes. Stir in rice and then broth. Season with salt and pepper add sausages back to pan and bring to a boil. Add corn, cover and bake until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed, about 25 minutes. Let rest for 10 minutes before serving.
You have almost all the boys’ favorite foods in one dish! Looks delicious!! The Browns will be trying this this week!
I didn’t however put it in the oven I cooked on the stove judt cooked meat longer and used frozen corn…put a Bay leave in and some bazia complete…tastes fabulous!
Thank you
That sounds wonderful!
How many servings does this make?
This will easily feed 6 people.
My wife and I loved this dish. I am no chef, but this dish came out just as advertised.
We must be big eaters because I don’t see how we will barely have enough left over for another two servings.
Five stars in my book. I will definitely try this one again. Thanks.
Thanks so much, I’m glad it was a hit, it’s one of our favorites.
Can I bake this in a Dutch oven?
Yes, a Dutch oven will work great for this recipe.
This was a wonderful dish except sadly I made it with the hot sausage. Very spicy. Two of us could not eat it. The other two loved it. Next time I will try it with sweet sausage. Very easy to put together. Hope the sweet sausage will be the key!
There’s nothing other than the sausage that is spicy so sweet sausage should be perfect.