Two cups of rice, seven sliced hot dogs and one pot: that is arroz con salchicha (ah-ROHS kohn sahl-CHEE-chah), everyday Colombian rice cooked in a tomato-and-onion sofrito and tinted orange-gold with annatto and cumin. The hot dogs are the same mild frankfurters Colombians put in buns, folded through at the end. It is weeknight food, cooked in one pot, and closer to Latin yellow rice than to an American sausage skillet.
What is Colombian rice with sausage, and how do you make it?
How do you make Colombian rice with sausage? Brown 12.7 oz (360 g) of sliced hot dogs and lift them out. In their fat, cook a sofrito of onion, pepper, garlic, tomato, annatto and cumin, toast 2 cups of rice with carrot, then add 4 cups of hot water, salt and green beans. When the water vanishes from the surface, lay the sausage on top, cover for 12 minutes on low and rest 3. 52 minutes for 6 servings.
The one thing that separates a good pot from a sad one is timing the sausage. Boiled in the water for 20 minutes, hot dogs swell and turn pale; browned first and steamed on top for the last 12 minutes, they stay crisp at the edges, and the rice cooks in the fat they render.
Cuba and Puerto Rico have a close cousin, arroz con salchichas, made with canned Vienna sausages. The Colombian pot uses fresh-pack frankfurters and a fuller sofrito, and in Venezuela, where I grew up, it is also made with sweet peppers in the base.
Who it suits. Families with kids, anyone feeding 6 on a budget, and lunchbox planners. Who it doesn’t. Anyone watching sodium: about 995 mg a plate, most of it from the sausage. For a dinner-party rice, cook Colombian chicken rice instead.
Shopping list, US and UK swaps
Sausage. Colombian salchicha is a mild, precooked frankfurter, often sold in packs of seven. Any hot dog or frankfurter works, beef or mixed; smoked sausage such as kielbasa makes a smokier pot. Raw sausages are not a swap: British bangers, Italian sausage or fresh Mexican chorizo must be cooked whole to 160°F (71°C) in the center before slicing.
Annatto. Colombians buy ground annatto as color in small bags. In the US, look in the Latin aisle for ground achiote; the seasoning packets built on annatto work too, but they contain salt and MSG, so leave out the teaspoon of salt and taste at the end. In the UK, ½ tsp turmeric gives a lemon-yellow color and a faint bitterness.
Rice. American long-grain white rice, not basmati or jasmine, which are softer and more fragrant. Short-grain or paella rice turns creamy and sticky.
Vegetables. UK readers: the scallions are spring onions and the cilantro is coriander. Frozen peas or sweetcorn, 1 cup, can replace the green beans and go in with the water.
Equipment. A wide, heavy pot, 9½ to 10 in (24 to 26 cm), with a tight lid. If steam escapes, lay a clean kitchen towel under the lid.
The ratio, 2 cups of water to 1 of rice
Measure 1 cup of long-grain rice to 2 cups of hot water with the same cup, the ratio of our Colombian white rice. The tomato cooks down in the sofrito and the beans add almost no water, so the ratio holds. Hot water brings the pot back to a boil in about 3 minutes, so the grains do not sit soaking in lukewarm water. The cup here is the US 240 ml cup; with a 250 ml metric cup, use the same cup for both and the ratio still works.
The game plan, minute by minute
Make ahead. Slice the sausage and chop the vegetables the night before and keep them covered in the fridge. On the day it is 42 minutes from lighting the stove.
How to tell each stage is right.
- Sausage, 5 minutes → toasted, slightly curled edges. If it sweats instead of browning, the pot was not hot enough or too crowded.
- Sofrito, 8 minutes → no visible tomato pieces, red oil shining at the edges.
- Toasting, 2 minutes → the grains turn glossy and rattle as you stir.
- Time to cover, about minute 37 → no water on top, little holes between the grains, the rice still shiny and moist.
- Done → after the 3-minute rest the grains separate with a fork and the bottom has not caught.
Mistakes that ruin the pot
- Pale, puffy sausage. It boiled in the water. Brown it apart and put it back at the lid stage.
- Mushy or gluey rice. Too much water, or the lid went on before the surface water was gone.
- Hard centers. Short on water or a leaky lid. Add ¼ cup (60 ml) of hot water, cover and give it 5 more minutes.
- Too salty. Smoked sausage or a seasoning packet plus the full teaspoon of salt. Halve the salt with either.
- Scorched bottom. Heat left high after covering. Covered means the lowest flame.
- Stirring after the boil. It breaks grains and releases starch.
Versions to make
- Weeknight, with leftover rice, 15 minutes → brown 4 or 5 sliced hot dogs in a skillet for 4 minutes, add a quick sofrito of onion, garlic, tomato and annatto for 5, then 4 cups of cold cooked rice, broken up by hand, and stir-fry 5 to 6 minutes until piping hot, 165°F (74°C) in the center. Serves 3 to 4. The idea is the same as Colombian calentado, and as in Colombian fried rice, cold rice fries without clumping.
- For 12 → double everything, 4 cups rice to 8 cups (1.9 liters) water, 1½ lb (720 g) hot dogs, in a 12 in (30 to 32 cm) pot.
- For 20 → 6⅔ cups (1.23 kg / 2¾ lb) rice, 13⅓ cups (3.2 liters / 3⅓ quarts) water and 2⅔ lb (1.2 kg) hot dogs, split between two 12 in (30 cm) pots so the rice sits 1 in (2 to 3 cm) deep. The uncovered stage runs a little longer; go by the holes, not the clock. Hold it covered above 140°F (60°C) if guests are late.
- Lighter → half the sausage, 6.3 oz (180 g): about 385 kcal and 700 mg sodium a plate.
- Vegetarian → browned plant-based sausages, or 1 cup cooked chickpeas and 1 cup sweetcorn with the water.
Rice safety, kids and allergens
Cooked rice carries spores of Bacillus cereus that survive cooking. Left at room temperature for hours, they produce a toxin that survives 250°F (121°C) for 30 minutes, so reheating cannot rescue rice left out overnight. Get leftovers into shallow containers and into the fridge within 2 hours, or 1 hour if the kitchen is above 90°F (32°C); I always do it within the hour and eat it the next day. Reheat once, to 165°F (74°C).
Kids. This is a pot children clear. For under-4s, I cut the sausage coins into quarters, because a whole round coin is exactly the wrong size for a small throat.
Heat. None. Put Colombian ají picante on the table for anyone who wants it.
Allergens. Rice is gluten-free, but many hot dogs contain soy, milk or wheat, and seasoning packets may contain MSG. Read the label for allergic or celiac guests.
What it costs to make
At US supermarket prices from August to October 2026, the rice, tomato, onion, half a red pepper, scallions, garlic and cilantro come to about $4.62 for the pot of 6. The hot dogs are the main cost and vary widely by brand, so add your pack price; carrot and green beans add little. In Bogotá the same pot comes to about 3,266 pesos a plate, with the sausage almost 80 % of the bill.
Serving and storing
Serve it in shallow bowls with sliced avocado and fried sweet plantains, the way I put it on the table. Expect separate grains, a cumin-and-tomato base and sausage with crisp edges.
| How long | How | |
|---|---|---|
| Fridge | 24 hours | within 1 to 2 hours of cooking, shallow covered containers, 40°F (4°C) or below |
| Freezer | up to 3 months | flat freezer bags; thaw in the fridge |
| Opened hot dog pack | 1 week | fridge; unopened, 2 weeks |
| Reheat | once | skillet with 1 tbsp water, covered, 5 minutes, or microwave in 1-minute bursts, to 165°F (74°C) |
If your crowd wants sausage with fries instead of rice, that is Colombian salchipapa, and the same frankfurters go into a Colombian hot dog with pineapple sauce.
Frequently asked questions
How much water for rice with sausage? 2 cups of water for every cup of long-grain rice, measured with the same cup: 4 cups for 2 cups of rice.
Can I use hot dogs for arroz con salchicha? Yes. Colombian salchicha is a frankfurter, so any precooked hot dog is the right swap.
When does the sausage go in? Browned at the start, then back on top of the rice when the lid goes on, 12 minutes before the heat goes off.
What gives the rice its yellow color? ½ tsp of ground annatto (achiote) fried with the tomato. Turmeric works, with a lemon-yellow tone.
Can I make it with leftover rice? Yes, in a skillet in 15 minutes, as long as the rice went into the fridge within an hour of cooking and is less than a day old. Heat it to 165°F (74°C).
How much do I need per person for a crowd? About ⅓ cup (62 g) of raw rice and 2 oz (60 g) of sausage per person.
Can I freeze it? Yes, up to 3 months in flat bags. Thaw in the fridge and reheat once.
Nutrition per serving
One sixth of the pot, about 11.5 oz (330 g), calculated ingredient by ingredient with meat-and-poultry frankfurters:
- Calories: 468 kcal
- Protein: 12 g
- Carbohydrates: 61 g
- Fat: 20 g, of which 5 g saturated
- Fiber: 3 g
- Sugars: 6 g
- Sodium: 995 mg
The sausage brings 166 kcal and 586 mg of sodium per plate; the teaspoon of salt, another 388 mg.
I used to drop the sausage into the water with the rice because it seemed quicker, and the whole pot tasted boiled. Five minutes of browning first fixed it, and the rice soaks up the fat the sausage leaves behind. Josnaisis.