Ready in 30 minutes using one pan this healthy cabbage, rice and sausage skillet is the perfect quick dish to make for dinner. Wonderfully flavorful and slightly spicy, you should wonder no more what to make when you have a lot of cabbage and some leftover rice…This easy recipe with cabbage, sausage and rice is what you’re looking for!
Cooked with a few pretty cheap ingredients in one skillet you will love how easily this simple sausage and cabbage recipe comes together. But what you’ll enjoy even more is how good this simple dish can taste when you make it for dinner. It is one of the most satisfying main-dish cabbage recipes ever and it’s gluten-free and dairy-free.
What’s In This Cabbage, Rice and Sausage Skillet
Cabbage. Cabbage is cheap, super healthy, low in calories and it’s so versatile. Use whatever type of cabbage you have, they will all work for this recipe. However, if the type of cabbage you have is white cabbage or red cabbage – these will be best, as they have more crunch and are sturdier. These varieties won’t wilt as easily as Chinese or savoy cabbage would for example when cooked.
Sausage. We had some frozen spicy sausage from a local butcher that we had bought for a barbecue party during summer, so I just used that. You can use whatever type of sausage you enjoy most. And guess what, if you’re vegan – you can probably make this dish with vegan sausage too.
Cooked rice. I’m currently determined to clean out the fridge, so whenever I see leftover rice, it goes into a skillet like this one. Again, use any variety of leftover rice you have to make this tasty healthy dinner.
Spices. Like paprika, hot paprika or crushed red pepper and cumin. These actually do so well in this dish.
Peppers. I love love love red peppers in dinner skillets like this one! Did their job again.
Garlic. And, yes, measure that with your heart…but put at least 3 garlic cloves in. Don’t play small.
Salt, pepper and olive oil. What you would usually need to make an easy one-pan meal like this!
How To Make This Cabbage, Rice and Sausage Skillet
Making this healthy cabbage and sausage recipe for dinner is pretty straightforward. Аll you need to be doing is put things into a hot skillet one after another and stir occasionally. Here’s what you’ll do:
- Chop the sausage, cabbage and peppers.
- If the sausage you got needs to be cooked – start with that. Mine was the type that needs to be grilled before consumption, so I just cut it up and cooked for a 2-3 minutes flipping as well as possible.
- Then add in the cabbage, 3 cloves of garlic, and spices. Stir really well and then cover the skillet for 2-3 minutes to allow the cabbage to cook and absorb the spices better.
- Add in the chopped peppers, olive oil if needed and stir occasionally for 3-4 minutes.
- Lastly, stir in another clove of garlic, add a pinch of salt and the rice. Once stirred through, have a little taste and add salt as needed. Stir occasionally for 2-3 more minutes.
And that’s it! Your quick healthy dinner with cabbage, rice and sausage is ready to serve!
How To Serve This Cabbage Dinner Skillet
Serve the cabbage skillet just as is for dinner or if you need more spice – sprinkle some chili flakes or crushed red pepper on top! I don’t really feel it needed anything else, to be honest with you.
Meal Prep
This healthy dish will last for 2-3 days in the fridge and can be reheated on the stove or in the microwave. It’s perfect if you want to have some meal prep recipes ready in the fridge for dinner. Make sure to adjust the servings to as many as you’d need.
How To Store This Cabbage, Sausage and Rice Skillet
As with most cooked dinner ideas, the best way to store this sausage, rice and cabbage skillet is in an airtight container in the fridge.
Cabbage, Sausage and Rice Dinner Skillet Variations
There are many things you can change about this cabbage recipe if you don’t have a certain ingredient:
Use ground turkey, chicken or beef instead of sausage. You will need to add a bit more spice, but other than that – the recipe will work great and the cooking method will be the same (starting with the ground meat). I actually have a somewhat similar recipe over here.
Add in another pre-cooked grain instead of rice. My choice here would be a grain of similar size. Something like bulgur or barley will be great in this recipe too.
You can probably also change the vegetable (cabbage) for cauliflower rice or broccoli, but I love the cabbage!
More Healthy Dinner Ideas With Cabbage
I hope you enjoy this healthy cabbage, rice ans sausage skillet for dinner and if you do, make sure to also check out these other cabbage recipes:

Cabbage, Rice and Sausage Skillet
This simple cabbage, rice and sausage skillet is gluten-free, wonderfully flavorful and slightly spicy. It’s one of the best main-dish cabbage recipes to make for a quick dinner. You’ll love how easily it comes together and how good it tastes!
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups cooked rice
- 4 cups cabbage, chopped
- 8oz/220g sausage for grilling, chopped
- 1 red pepper, chopped
- 1 tbsp crushed red pepper
- 1 tbsp paprika
- 1 tsp cumin
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1 tsp olive oil
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Chop the sausage, cabbage and peppers.
- Add the sausage to a nonstick pan and cook at medium/medium-high for about 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Stir in the cabbage, 3 cloves of garlic, the paprika, crushed red pepper and cumin. Mix well, then cover for about 3 minutes to allow the cabbage to absorb the flavors.
- Stir in the chopped peppers and some olive oil if needed. Keep stirring occasionally for 3-4 minutes.
- Add in the garlic, a pinch of salt and the cooked rice. Stir through to heat up, have a taste and adjust for salt if needed.
- Stir for 2-3 more minutes and then remove from heat.
- Serve immediately!
Nutrition Information
Yield 3 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 420Total Fat 23gSaturated Fat 7gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 13gCholesterol 45mgSodium 822mgCarbohydrates 40gFiber 6gSugar 8gProtein 15g