One pot wild rice with turkey sausage and broccoli is an easy recipe perfect for a weeknight family dinner! This hearty combination is topped with Parmesan cheese and sure to satisfy!
It's officially back-to-school season in our area. We've got a week and a half until my kids start back, but I'm trying to get my head around school supplies, new backpacks and lunchboxes and water bottles.
And I'm going to do a clothes inventory this afternoon. I feel like I'm always behind in that area and they move to a new size and all of a sudden, we are without any clothes that fit.
So I'm trying to get ahead of things and get organized so we're ready come the first day.
(We're also traveling quite a bit the next couple of weeks before school starts so that's adding to my time crunch. Nothing like pressure to get you moving!)
I'm also doing a little prep for my son's birthday, which is tomorrow. We already had the big party but we're having a small family party tomorrow and I want to make his actual birthday special.
(Fun fact: His original birth day also fell on a Friday the night he was born, 6 years ago tomorrow. It was a Friday night party in the labor and delivery room. )
Enough of that though, let's talk some easy dinners for this busy back-to-school time of year.
Today’s recipe is a slight twist on these easy wild rice sausage kale bowls that I love making!
I wanted a different version with broccoli and I decided to do it as a one-pot recipe this time.
(If you love one-pot recipes, too, check out this turkey sausage, sweet potato and Brussels sprouts skillet for another easy dinner.)
The turkey sausage cooks in the pan first, then it gets moved out and reserved. Next goes in the wild rice to cook almost all the way through. Then finally the chopped broccoli goes on top to steam while the rice finishes.
(I use that trick for my one pot broccoli cheese brown rice too. )
The result is this one-pot wild rice with turkey sausage and broccoli. It's a delicious mixture of nutty wild rice, meaty turkey sausage crumbles, tender broccoli pieces and some seasonings and Parmesan cheese to tie it all together.
All things we love, all together in one dish.
(You might also like these turkey sausage and veggie flatbreads for another easy recipe using turkey sausages.)
This also makes for a really hearty, filling bowl to serve up. Perfect family eats!
Now, I’ve got some additional notes, tips and substitutions coming up for this recipe. Just tryin’ to be helpful.
If you want to jump on down to the recipe, simply scroll through the rest of the text. The recipe card is near the bottom of the page, above the comments section.
Notes on one pot wild rice with turkey sausage and broccoli:
- I use a wild rice blend for this recipe (from a big package I buy) but you could substitute a small boxed wild rice like Uncle Ben’s. I’ve done that before but will say I didn’t think one of the small boxes made enough rice for the amount of sausage and broccoli here, so you may want to use two boxes.
- Also, you can use the seasoning packet and skip the seasonings here if you want to make it even easier.
- The cook time for wild rice blends varies wildly, from 25 to 45 minutes. Follow your package instructions. My instructions below are just based on adding the broccoli with 5 minutes remaining, and it shouldn’t matter for this recipe how long the original cook time is for your particular rice.
- You can use either a mild or hot Italian turkey sausage, whichever you prefer. You can also substitute pork sausage if you’d rather. Just be sure to drain any extra grease if you have a lot.
- I love these bowls topped with a little Parmesan cheese, but that’s optional.
Broccoli, of course, is a key part of this bowl.
But if your family isn’t a big fan, you may want to swap it out.
I think frozen, thawed peas are the best bet for a veggie substitution here. You can add them at the same time as the sausage, after the rice is already done, and just stir both of them in to get them warmed through.
You could also try this with some baby spinach to wilt and stir into the mixture at the end too.
Finally, this is designed to be a one-pot recipe.
However, if you need to speed things up, you can certainly cook the sausage in a separate pan while the wild rice cooks. You’ll shave a good 10 minutes off the total time of this recipe.
In fact, if you want to cook everything separately — the wild rice, turkey sausage and broccoli — and just stir it all together or serve it all together, that would work too. (Or do some roasted broccoli to mix in instead of steaming it.)
You know I like to give you options.
I hope your back-to-school season goes smoothly this month. And I hope you have lots of easy recipes on hand for one less thing to worry about.
Enjoy!
XO,
Kathryn
P.S. Check out my 15-minute chicken recipes and 30-minute chicken recipes for more fast weeknight dinner solutions!
You can also sign up for free e-newsletter to get all of my new recipes delivered straight to your inbox. I’ll even send you my free e-cookbook, Healthy Weeknight Dinners, as a thank you!
One pot wild rice with turkey sausage and broccoli
Ingredients
- 1 lb. Italian turkey sausage (hot or mild), casings removed
- 1 ¼ cups wild rice or wild rice blend
- 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 small head broccoli, cut into florets and chopped small
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ⅛ teaspoon onion powder
- ⅓ cup grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Heat a large pot over medium high heat.
- Add turkey sausage and sear on one side. Then flip over and continue cooking, breaking up the sausage into small crumbles as it cooks.
- Once the turkey sausage is fully cooked, remove it to a bowl and cover to keep warm.
- In the same pan, add the chicken broth and bring to a simmer. Add the wild rice, stir the mixture, then cover the pot and reduce heat to medium low. Follow the package directions for the wild rice cook time (usually about 25 minutes).
- With 5 minutes left to go in the wild rice cook time, remove the lid and add the chopped broccoli. You can just put it on top; no need to stir it in yet. Return the lid to the pot and continue cooking for the remaining 5 minutes.
- Once the rice cook time is up, turn off the heat and leave the bot on the burner, covered, for 5 minutes.
- After 5 minutes, stir in the chopped broccoli with the cooked rice. Add the salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder. Return the cooked crumbled sausage to the pan and stir it in. Cover the pot and let it all sit for an additional 5 minutes. Season to taste with extra salt and pepper.
- Serve the wild rice, turkey sausage and broccoli sprinkled with Parmesan cheese and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
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