Slow Cooker Rice with Sausage and Peppers cooks in the slow cooker in a few hours and only needs 25 minutes of prep time! And this has a lot of sausage and peppers and not too much rice, so it only has about 10 net carbs if you eat it for a side dish.

PIN Slow Cooker Rice with Sausage and Peppers!

Slow Cooker Spicy Brown Rice with Sausage and Peppers close-up photo of finished dish

If there’s one thing I’ve learned in many years of food blogging, it’s that the photo can make or break a recipe! I made this completely delicious Slow Cooker Rice with Sausage and Peppers a few years ago, and even though I loved the recipe (and made it a few more times since then) I never felt like the original photo showed how tasty this dish really was.

I’m so glad to finally have new photos to show off this recipe a little better! And if you’re someone who usually doesn’t like slow cooker recipes where you have to brown the ingredients before they go into the slow cooker, I hope I can still convince you to give this one a try. Seriously, this dish of rice with sausage and peppers was so easy and good. 

It only takes about 25 minutes to cut up and brown the sausage and chop the veggies and then it cooks for two hours in the slow cooker while you’re busy doing other things.

What ingredients do you need?

(This is only a list of ingredients; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

How to make this slow cooker rice dish lower in carbs:

If you limit this recipe to a small side-dish serving, it comes in at about 10 net carbs per serving. If you want to make it even lower in carbs to have a bigger serving, I’d double the amount of sausage and peppers and keep the amount of rice the same.

Can you make slow cooker rice with sausage and peppers with pork sausage?

I confess to having a strong preference for turkey Italian sausage, but lately the turkey sausage is getting hard to find in Utah. And you’re browning the sausage separately so there is no danger of getting too much grease in the finished dish, so I think pork sausage will be fine for this recipe.

Can you use other vegetables for the slow cooker rice?

You can definitely switch out the green pepper for red bell pepper if you prefer that. Other veggies that I think would work here include celery, shredded cabbage, chopped kale or swiss chard, or green peas.

What size slow cooker did I use?

I used my favorite 3.5 Quart Slow Cooker (affiliate link) for this recipe, but any slow cooker that’s about 3-4 quarts will work.

More Rice in the Slow Cooker:

Slow Cooker Spicy Brown Rice with Sausage and Peppers process shots collage

How to Make Slow Cooker Rice with Sausage and Peppers:

(This is only a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

  1. I used my favorite Hot Turkey Italian Sausage; squeeze sausage out of the links and brown it while you chop up the green pepper and onion. (Use pork sausage if you don’t find the turkey sausage.)
  2. Put the sausage in the slow cooker and saute the green pepper and onion for 2-3 minutes before adding to the slow cooker.
  3. You’ll need one cup of Uncle Ben’s Brown Rice and 2 cups of chicken broth or stock.
  4. Stir the rice and stock into the sausage, peppers, and onions that you’ve added to the slow cooker, along with the Spike Seasoning (affiliate link) or another all-purpose seasoning, salt, and cayenne pepper.
  5. Cook on high for 2 hours and you’ll have perfect Spicy Brown Rice with Sausage and Peppers.
  6. Garnish the Slow Cooker Rice with Sausage and Peppers with sliced green onions (or parsley) if desired and serve!

Slow Cooker Rice with Sausage and Peppers shown in two serving bowls with forks.

Weekend Food Prep:

This recipe has been added to a new category called Weekend Food Prep where you’ll find recipes you can prep or cook on the weekend and eat during the week!

More Slow Cooker Recipes with Rice:

Slow Cooker Spicy Brown Rice with Sausage and Peppers close-up photo of finished dish
Yield: 6 servings

Slow Cooker Rice with Sausage and Peppers

Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 2 hours
Total Time 2 hours 25 minutes

Slow Cooker Rice with Sausage and Peppers cooks in the slow cooker in a few hours and only needs 25 minutes of prep time!

Ingredients

  • 2 tsp. + 1 tsp. olive oil
  • 19.5 oz. (5 links) hot turkey Italian Sausage (see notes)
  • 1 green bell pepper, finely chopped
  • 1 medium onion, finely chopped
  • 2 cups chicken broth (see notes)
  • 1 cup Uncle Ben’s Brown Rice (see notes)
  • 1 tsp. Spike Seasoning (or other all-purpose seasoning blend)
  • 1/2 tsp. salt (more or less to taste)
  • 1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper (see notes)
  • sliced green onions or chopped fresh parsley for garnish (optional)

Instructions

  1. Heat the 2 teaspoons of olive oil in a frying pan, squeeze the sausage out of the links, and brown the sausage well, breaking up with a turner and stirring until it’s brown on all sides. 
  2. Put sausage into slow cooker.
  3. While sausage browns, finely chop the green bell pepper and onion.
  4. After you remove the sausage, add the last teaspoon of olive oil to the pan and saute the pepper and onion 2-3 minutes; then add to the slow cooker.
  5. Add the chicken broth, rice, Spike Seasoning (affiliate link), salt, and Cayenne pepper and stir to combine.  Cook on high for 2 hours, or until rice is tender.
  6. Serve hot, sprinkled with sliced green onions or chopped fresh parsley to garnish if desired.
  7. This freezes well, so if you have  a large slow cooker you might want to double the recipe.

Notes

I used my favorite Hot Turkey Italian Sausage, but you can use any Italian Sausage you prefer.

I used a can of chicken broth and added water to make 2 cups. But definitely use homemade chicken stock if you have some!

I'm a huge fan of Spike Seasoning (affiliate link) but use any all-purpose seasoning you have on hand. I used 1/2 teaspoon Cayenne, but my sister would have preferred it a little less spicy so adjust to your heat tolerance.

If you don't have Uncle Ben's Brown Rice (affiliate link) you can use other long-grain brown rice, but cooking time might vary.

Recipe adapted from Crock-Pot 365 Year-Round Recipes. (affiliate link)

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

6

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 540Total Fat: 27gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 15gCholesterol: 226mgSodium: 2378mgCarbohydrates: 11gFiber: 1gSugar: 2gProtein: 60g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.

Did you make this recipe?

Did you make this recipe? Please leave a star rating (under the PRINT button in the recipe) or share a photo of your results on Instagram! THANKS!

Square image for zSlow Cooker Rice with Sausage and Peppers in two bowls with forks.

Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions: 
Brown rice, turkey Italian Sausage, green peppers, and onion are healthy ingredients that make this recipe suitable for Phase 2 or 3 of the original South Beach Diet. For other carb-conscious eaters, the recipe has a lot of sausage, peppers, and onions for the amount of rice, so it might work for low-carb diets if you limit serving size. If you want to make it even lower in carbs, I’d double the amount of sausage and peppers and keep the amount of rice the same.

Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Slow Cooker Recipes to find more recipes like this oneUse the Diet Type Index to find recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.

Historical Notes for this Recipe:
This sausage and pepper loaded Slow Cooker Rice was first posted in 2013. The recipe was last updated with more information in 2023.

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