Comfort food gets a healthy twist in Cheesy Vegetable, Turkey Sausage and Rice Casserole! This fresh, filling, gluten free casserole recipe comes together on the stovetop before being transferred to a baking dish, buried under a blanket of cheese, then briefly broiled to melt it. It’ll give you all the warm and fuzzy feelings of eating a casserole without having to wait for an hour or two to bake.
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Fresh and Light Casserole Recipe
When I think casseroles I usually think heavy, eat-your-feelings-type meals that are perfect for the darkest of nights in the season that shall not be named. This casserole, in contrast, is cheesy — yes — but light and filled with vegetables.
Sauteed zucchini, peppers, onions, garlic, and sweet corn are combined with rice, turkey sausage, and an easy, 3-minute homemade cheese sauce. The mixture is scooped into a casserole dish, topped with more cheese, then broiled until bubbling. It is unbelievably good. This is one of those meals you have to force yourself to walk away from, otherwise you’ll keep going back for more and more and more, and before you know it half the pan is gone. Or so I’ve been told…
Anyway, this casserole also reheats beautifully. Make and enjoy for dinner then pack up the leftovers for easy lunches all week long.
The ingredient list for this recipe might look a touch long but many are fridge and pantry staples – rice, broth, milk, seasonings, and gluten-free flour to name a few – plus the dish makes a TON of food. Nobody’s going hungry or unhappy when this casserole is what’s for dinner!
How to Make This Recipe
Start by adding long grain white rice and chicken broth to a small saucepan. Bring to a boil then place a lid on top, turn the heat to low, and cook for 10 minutes. Note: the broth should just barely be at a simmer! After 10 minutes, remove the pan from the heat then let sit with the lid on for 5 additional minutes before fluffing rice with a fork. Set aside.
Meanwhile, brown gluten-free Italian-style turkey sausage in a large skillet over heat that’s just a touch above medium. Scoop the sausage onto a plate then set aside.
This is the turkey sausage I use – LOVED the flavor!
While the turkey is browning, prep the vegetables. You’ll need a red bell pepper, yellow onion or jumbo shallot, zucchini, and sweet corn (fresh or frozen.)
Add a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil to a large skillet then add the peppers and onions, season with seasoned salt, and saute until the vegetables begin to soften, 5 minutes. Add the zucchini and sweet corn then season again and saute until all the vegetables are tender, 5-6 additional minutes. Finally, add minced garlic then saute for 1 minute. Set the vegetables aside.
Last step is to make the cheese sauce which takes 3 minutes – that’s it!
To a saucepan whisk together gluten-free flour (or all-purpose if you don’t need to eat GF,) and milk (any kind – I used skim.) Turn the heat to a touch above medium then whisk until the milk is thick and bubbly, 2 minutes. Turn the heat off then add shredded gouda cheese and stir until smooth. You can use any kind of cheese you like for this dish, really. Pepper jack, cheddar, gruyere, or even fontina are all great options!
Everybody into the pool! To the skillet with the vegetables add the cooked rice, sausage, and cheese sauce then mix until everything is well combined.
Scoop the mixture into a nonstick sprayed casserole dish then top with additional shredded gouda cheese and broil until melted.
That’s all she wrote! Scoop the casserole onto plates, top with a sprinkling of freshly chopped basil for freshness, then dig in. I hope you love this comforting, summery dish – enjoy!
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Cheesy Vegetable, Turkey Sausage and Rice Casserole
Description
Cheesy Vegetable, Turkey Sausage and Rice Casserole cheesy and decadent tasting, but packed with vegetables. This healthy and filling casserole recipe will be a hit with the whole family.
Ingredients
- 1-1/2 cups long grain white rice
- 2-1/2 cups chicken broth
- 8oz gluten-free Italian-style turkey sausage (I use Honeysuckle brand)
- drizzle extra virgin olive oil
- 1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
- 2 small zucchini, chopped
- 1 cup sweet corn kernels
- 1 large shallot or 1 small yellow onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- homemade seasoned salt (see notes)
- 1-3/4 cups milk, any kind (I use skim)
- 3 Tablespoons gluten-free flour
- 8oz gouda cheese, shredded then divided
- chopped fresh basil for topping (optional)
Directions
- Add rice and chicken broth to a small saucepan then bring to a boil. Place a lid on top then turn heat down to low and simmer for 10 minutes (broth should just barely be bubbling.) Remove pan from heat then let sit with the lid on for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork then set aside.
- Meanwhile, brown sausage in a large, 12” skillet over heat that’s just a touch above medium. Once cooked, remove sausage to a plate then set aside.
- Add a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil to the skillet then add bell pepper and shallot or onion, season with seasoned salt, and then saute until vegetables begin to soften, 5 minutes. Turn heat up slightly then add zucchini and sweet corn, season with more seasoned salt, then continue to saute until all the vegetables are tender, 5-6 more minutes. Add garlic then saute for 1 more minute. Turn the heat down slightly and/or add more extra virgin olive oil at any point. Taste vegetables then add more seasoned salt if necessary, and then set aside.
- Add flour to another small saucepan then whisk while adding milk to get rid of any lumps. Turn heat to medium then whisk until milk is thickened and bubbly, 1-2 minutes. Remove pan from heat then add 3/4 of the shredded cheese and stir until smooth. Taste and add salt if necessary.
- Add cooked rice, sausage, and cheese sauce to the skillet with the vegetables then mix until well combined. Scoop mixture into a nonstick-sprayed 9x11” baking dish (or similar sized baking dish) then top with remaining shredded cheese and broil until top is golden brown. Sprinkle with fresh basil, if using, then scoop onto plates and serve.
Notes
- Click here for my homemade seasoned salt recipe >
- You can swap brown rice for white rice - follow cooking instructions on package to determine how much additional chicken broth and time you'll need for cooking.
This recipe is courtesy of Iowa Girl Eats, http://iowagirleats.com.
What is the nutrition information?
Made this for my family tonight and it was a HUGE success. I made two small adjustments, and everyone went back for seconds. 1) I added about 1 TBSP of worcestershire sauce to the veggies while they were cooking. 2) I had carrots that needed to be used up but the family “doesn’t like” carrots. So I pureed the carrots and added them to the cheese sauce. They couldn’t even tell ?Overall this will absolutely become one of our go to recipes.
Wow this was amazing, thank-you for the recipe!
I used wild leeks instead of onion and didn’t have zucchini. Also used Breakfast style turkey sausages and it was absolutely amazing!!
Was good just need a bit of zip so I added Italian spice blend 1 tsp -family members requested it be made again.
This was so yummy! I had lots of compliments! I will definitely make it again.
You need to correct the cook time for the rice. It states to boil for 10 minutes when it should be 40 minutes (according to the directions on the bag). I made the Gouda cheese sauce but used sharp cheddar on top to give it more flavor. Other than that the dish is pretty tasty ?.
The brand of rice I used and showed in the pictures needs to be cooked for 10 minutes. It sounds like maybe you used brown rice which definitely takes much longer to cook. Glad you enjoyed the dish!
Hi Kristin,
Did you thaw the corn before you added it to the skillet?
This is such a nice recipe and it’s SO flexible! I can easily adjust it for 2, 3 or 4 people or make it more or less veggie-loaded, or make it with other veggies with excellent results. I’ve made it with frozen peppers because I didn’t have any fresh. I’ve made it with small-chop asparagus, with yellow squash, with a big handful of spinach cut small and just barely wilted (very pretty addition!) I think the only vegetable that might not work are the very hard root veggies like carrots. I’ve also made it with brown rice instead of white and fontina cheese instead of gouda. It’s just such an easy to make and reasonably healthy one-dish meal. Thanks, Kristin!!
Love that you’re able to make it work for you in a variety of circumstances, Anne! Thanks so much for your feedback and recipe rating. :)
Comfort food! Made it to take to a friend recovering from surgery, and it travels well. Used 1/2 cup Vidalia onion, chicken sausage, and cheddar cheese as that’s what I had on hand. I really like all the veggies, especially if you don’t overcook them…that crispness is really nice. I didn’t have any basil. I did use fresh summer corn, but I think frozen would probably work as well. Thanks for a great recipe.
So glad you love the recipe and made it work with what you had on hand, Maret! Thanks so much for your feedback and recipe rating!
I made this last night and we LOVED it! I used brown rice and only used one cup as I didn’t need quite as much casserole but the same amount of broth yielded perfect brown rice after about 45 minutes. The cheese sauce comes together SO easily. Best part of all is that I can load this up with veggies! To your recipe I added some asparagus cut in 1/2 inch lengths, but I can see how you could add all sorts of things like turnips, cauliflower, squash or even chopped kale. I’m not too sure about the strong flavored veggies like carrot or broccoli. I ended up with about 3 cups of veggies and we really enjoyed the final product. This goes in the “Keep” file!
Loved it!
[…] made this cheesy rice casserole this week and it was SO GOOD. Full of veggies and cheese. […]
I just made this last night and let me tell you this is delicious! I made it with cheddar cheese since I already had that in the fridge. It was great. I also want to try the gouda. Thanks for sharing this recipe!
I’m so glad you were able to make it work with what you had! This is one of my favorites too!
This is AWESOME!!! A new family favorite. Do you have any suggestions for making ahead and taking to new moms or ill friends and family?
Oh I’m so glad to hear it, Michelle!! If you don’t want to take this to a new mom/sick friend fresh for them to eat right away, I’d actually portion into individual servings in gladware containers so they can reheat one serving at a time – this casserole reheats in the microwave super well!
This recipe is yummy! My daughter and I decided to make it on a day that got up into the 50s and now has a possibility of freezing drizzle and slippery roads. Temp will be in the teens later tonight. We really enjoyed it. Thanks.
[…] Cheesy vegetable, turkey sausage and rice casserole from @iowagirleats this is a one pot meal that I cannot wait to try! […]
Kristin, this recipe is a winner! I made a big casserole for our church circle meeting, using Aidells Italian style smoked chicken sausage w mozzarella cheese, for the meat. It was delicious. Fortunately there was more than fit in the casserole dish, so I stuffed yellow bell peppers with it for supper tonight
I made this early in the day to heat up later. How long do you think I need to heat it up and at what temp?
This has become my go-to meal to bring people. It has also turned my anti-casserole husband into a casserole believer. It is so easy to double this recipe, so I will often make one for us when making one for a family in need. The other great thing about this casserole? It is the BEST baby-fed weaning dish – my 9 month old inhales this! Thanks for such a great, easy, delicious meal!