This hearty vegan sausage and peppers recipe is easy to make, it's ready in just 45 minutes, and it’s loaded with so much flavor! This healthy vegan comfort food meal features satisfying brown rice that's seasoned with smokey and spicy tomato sauce, sweet bell peppers, and slices of meat-free sausage.
This vegan sausage and rice recipe is extremely delicious and so flavorful, it's ready in 45 minutes, and it makes a large amount so you'll have plenty of super tasty leftovers to enjoy for dinner tomorrow night too!
This dish combines meatless sausages with sweet bell peppers and nutty brown rice that has soaked up the most delicious smokey and spicy tomato sauce. If you're craving comfort food, you should definitely give this easy recipe a try, it always hits the spot!
What is Vegan Sausage Made of?
Meatless sausage contains no animal products, the filling is usually made of wheat gluten, pea protein, or soy protein, in combination with vegetables, herbs, and seasonings. The sausage casing is plant-based too.
What is the Best Vegan Sausage?
Field Roast vegan sausages are my favorite to use for this recipe. The texture is great and all three flavors are delicious! I usually use the vegan Italian sausage for this recipe or the chorizo if I'm in the mood for something spicy. Most grocery stores have the Field Roast sausages, but I got them at Whole Foods. You can see my personal Whole Foods vegan grocery list, here.
If you can't find Field Roast sausages, the Beyond Meat vegan sausages are very tasty too and would be delicious in this recipe.
How to Make Vegan Sausage and Peppers
First, start cooking the brown rice in a separate pot while you cook the rest of the meal so everything is ready at the same time.
In a large pan, saute the diced red onion until it's soft and translucent. Add the tomato paste, garlic, and dried seasonings. Stir to combine, and let it cook until fragrant. (Photos 1 & 2). Add the sliced bell peppers and vegetable broth to the pan and bring it to a low simmer. Reduce the heat and let it cook until the peppers have softened (Photos 3 & 4).
Next, slice the meatless sausages and add them to the pan with the peppers and onions (Photo 5). Mix it all together and let it cook for a few minutes or until the sausages are hot all the way through. Add all of the cooked brown rice to the pan (Photo 6) and combine the rice with the peppers and sauce. Let it cook for a few minutes on low heat until the rice absorbs all of the tomato sauce.
What Goes With it?
I like to serve a big salad along with a tray of roasted vegetables as a side dish. Some of my favorite vegan vegetable side dishes are:
- Roasted Maple Dijon Brussels Sprouts
- Roasted Broccoli & Mushrooms
- Roasted Lemon Garlic Asparagus
- Lemon Tahini Courgette Salad
- Roasted Cauliflower
How long Does it Last in the Refrigerator?
Store the meatless sausage, peppers, and rice in an airtight container in the fridge and it will stay fresh for 3-5 days.
Can You Freeze it?
Yes, it freezes and reheats perfectly! Store the sausage, peppers, and rice in a freezer-safe container and then you can freeze it for 5-6 months.
Pro Tip: Field Roast sausages freeze perfectly, I often wait until they go on sale and then I'll buy a couple of packages and put them directly in the freezer (in their original packaging) until I want to make this meatless sausage and peppers recipe. Let the package defrost in the fridge for 24 hours the day before you want to cook them.
How to Reheat it
From the Freezer: Take the container out of the freezer and put it in the fridge to defrost for 24 hours. Then you can reheat it in the microwave or on the stovetop.
From the Fridge: Put the brown rice and sausage mixture into a bowl and warm it up in the microwave for a few minutes, or you can reheat it in a pot on the stovetop. You may need to add a little bit of water to the pot if the mixture is dry so it won't stick to the bottom of the pan.
Ways to Adapt this Recipe
My family loves this vegan sausage and pepper recipe just like this, but I also like to switch it up and serve it in a few different ways. You can:
- Skip the Rice: The spicy tomato sauce, bell peppers, onions, and plant-based sausage would be delicious mixed with pasta if you're not in the mood for rice.
- Use Spicy Vegan Chorizo: Add some heat to this sausage, peppers, and rice skillet by using spicy vegan chorizo (I like the Field Roast and Trader Joe's vegan chorizo) and you could add more cayenne pepper to taste.
- Make it Low-Carb: If you want to make a low-carb version of this recipe, you can substitute cauliflower rice for all of the brown rice or do half brown rice and half cauliflower rice. Trust me, no one will even know there's cauliflower in the dish. It's so delicious and it's such an easy way to add extra hidden veggies to your plate.
Substitutions & FAQ
- Gluten-Free: This recipe is not gluten-free because of the brand of plant-based sausages that I used. To make this recipe gluten-free, you need to buy or make gluten-free vegan sausages. The brown rice and bell pepper mixture (without the sausage) is naturally gluten-free, dairy-free, and oil-free.
- Bell Pepper Substitutions: You could use poblano peppers, carrot sticks, or zucchini sticks instead of bell peppers.
- Sausage Substitutions: Instead of plant-based sausage slices, you can use vegan sausage crumbles, vegan chicken strips, soy curls, crumbled tempeh, chipotle jackfruit, great northern beans, or black-eyed peas.
- Brown Rice Substitutions: You can use basmati rice, white rice, or cauliflower rice.
- Can I Use Frozen Bell Peppers? You can use fresh or frozen, sliced, or diced bell peppers (any color). Look for the best produce deal, the flavor will taste the same.
- Can I Use Regular Paprika? You can use regular paprika instead of smoked paprika, but smoked paprika adds a unique smokey flavor that you just don't get from regular paprika.
- How Do You Make Vegan Sausage From Scratch? To make homemade meatless sausages, try this gluten-free vegan sausage recipe, here.
Success Tips
- Make sure to use a large pan (I used a 5-quart braiser pan) to make this recipe. When you add the rice it will look like the pan is very full, but the rice will absorb all of the tomato sauce and it should all fit perfectly without spilling over.
- Save money by using frozen bell peppers instead of fresh peppers. They taste the same and are usually more affordable.
- Be careful not to overcook the plant-based sausage because the slices can get a little chewy if you cook them too long.
- If you want the sausage to have crispy edges, you can saute the sliced sausage in a separate pan before you add them to the rice, pepper, and onion mixture.
- If you don't like spicy food, you should omit the cayenne pepper and don't use spicy vegan sausage.
- Store-bought meatless sausages tend to be a little high in sodium, so try to use no salt added tomato paste and low-sodium vegetable broth to reduce how much salt is in the recipe.
- You can store leftovers in the fridge for up to 3-5 days or freeze it for a future meal.
More Vegan Meat Recipes You'll Love!
Vegan Lentil Meatballs and Spaghetti
Slow Cooker Vegan Pulled Pork Jackfruit Sliders
Best Ever Jackfruit Enchiladas
Vegan Sausage and Peppers with Rice
Equipment
- Large Saute Pan
- Small Pot
Ingredients
- 2 cups uncooked brown rice (6 cups cooked)
- 3-4 tbsp low-sodium vegetable broth (to saute)
- 1 medium red onion diced
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 5 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tbsp smoked paprika
- 1 tbsp Italian seasoning
- ¼ tsp cayenne pepper (add more to taste)
- ¼ tsp himalayan pink sea salt (add more to taste)
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 2 large bell peppers sliced (or (1) 16 oz bag of frozen peppers)
- 2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
- (1) 4-pack vegan sausages sliced into ¼ inch rounds
- 1 tsp dried parsley garnish
Instructions
- Start by cooking the rice in a separate pot while you cook the rest of the meal so everything is ready at the same time.
- In a large pan over medium heat, saute the diced red onion in 3-4 tbsp of vegetable broth (add more if it gets too dry) for 10 minutes or until soft and translucent.
- Add 4 cloves of minced garlic, 5 tbsp tomato paste, 1 tbsp smoked paprika, 1 tbsp Italian seasonings, ¼ tsp cayenne pepper, ¼ tsp salt, and ¼ tsp black pepper to the pan. Stir to combine the seasonings with the onions and let it cook for 2-3 minutes or until fragrant.
- Add the (fresh or frozen) sliced bell peppers and 2 cups of low-sodium vegetable broth to the pan and bring it to a low simmer. As soon as it starts to bubble, reduce the heat to medium and let it cook until the peppers have softened, about 5-8 minutes.
- Slice the vegan sausages into ¼ inch rounds and then add it to the pan with the peppers and onions. Mix everything together and let it cook for 2-3 minutes or until the sausages are hot all the way through. (Be careful not to let it overcook because the sausages can become rubbery.)
- Add 6 cups of cooked brown rice to the pan, stir it to combine the rice with the tomato sauce and peppers. Let it cook for a few minutes or until the rice absorbs all of the liquid in the pan. Garnish with dried parsley to serve.
Notes
- Be careful not to overcook the plant-based sausage because the slices can get a little chewy if you cook them too long.
- If you want the sausage to have crispy edges, you can saute the sliced sausage in a separate pan before you add them to the rice, pepper, and onion mixture.
- If you don't like spicy food, you should omit the cayenne pepper and don't use spicy meatless sausage.
- You can store leftovers in the fridge for up to 3-5 days or freeze it for a future meal.
Nutrition
*This recipe was originally posted on 5/1/18 but I updated it with better recipe instructions and process shots on 6/27/20.
Love this recipe. Tastes great and easy to make. Thanks for sharing.
I'm so happy you liked it!
Very tasty meal, and easy to make. I used peppers from the garden, which were hotter than red peppers so omitted the cayenne. Thanks for offering vegan recipes - spare the animals!
Thank you, Carrie! I'm so happy you enjoyed it!
Tastes great! I made it in one pan as you would a risotto and it came out perfect.
So glad you enjoyed it!
Hi Stacey, last night made this dish for the second time after discovering it a couple of weeks ago. We LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it!!! I added in quatered mushrooms after 'sauteing' the onions and peppers for a little time, and added quartered artichokes with the sausages at the last minute. It is definitely one of our regular staples now! Thank-you so much for this delicious recipe and I am now planning to make your Spinach and Artichoke Lasagne later this week or so. Your recipes are AWESOME!!! 🙂
Hi Ro! I'm so glad you enjoyed the recipe! Two of my favorite foods (mushrooms and artichokes!), that's such a great idea to add to the mix! Thank you for the feedback and enjoy the lasagna! =)