Fluffy seasoned rice and oven roasted vegetables, all baked in one pan? YES YOU CAN! The veggie juices drip down into the rice while it’s baking so it absorbs all that extra flavour. It’s like free vegetable broth. While this Oven Baked Rice and Vegetables is great as a side, I usually have it as a meal!
And the next free eCookbook is….. drumroll please….. ASIAN TAKEOUT AT HOME!!! I’m trying to ramp up the excitement, but it won by quite a margin and everyone could see the results of the poll at anytime. So rather than a drumroll, a more appropriate sound effect was probably pfffffffff ( <– The sound of a deflating balloon, totally obvious, no? 😉)
It will largely be a collation of recipes already on my site, but I’ll add some extras that I haven’t published. And for everyone on my mail list, this new eCookbook will be emailed to you once it’s done! (And if you’re not yet on my email list, you can join at anytime. It is 100% free, always will be, no strings attached, and I pay a premium service provider too much money to protect the email details of everyone on my list so no one can ever use it. Except me – to send you recipes. And free e-Cookbooks. ❤️)
I probably should be sharing an Asian recipe to be on theme, but I’m so overdue on this Oven Baked Rice and Vegetables, I must share it today! This is a reader request – well, I should say readerS. After sharing my Oven Baked Chicken and Rice earlier this year, I had an astonishing number of people requesting a vegetable version. So here it is!
When it comes to this Oven Baked Rice and Vegetables, there is only one rule – you have to use LOTS of veggies. And I’m not just saying that to sound cheeky, I’m being serious. Because you need enough to cover the rice entirely while it’s baking. This serves 2 purposes:
- Acts as a cover for the rice, allowing it to essentially “steam” like it does when cooked on the stove; and
- The juices that drip from the veggies while they are roasting on top adds flavour to the rice. It’s like free vegetable broth that is all sucked up by the rice.
I used carrots, zucchinis, corn, capsicum/bell peppers, onion and cauliflower, all of which are standard for my weekly shop. I’m sure you can make yours much more exciting than mine. 😉
When you bake the rice and roasted vegetables in one pan, the reality is that there is only so much veggies that get the benefit of the beautiful oven roasting char. So when you are spreading the veggies across the top of the rice, make sure to be fair! Get a bit of each type of veggies on the surface so you get some char.
And for those veggies that can live without being roasted, like carrots, broccoli and peas, cook them IN the rice, rather than on the surface, or shove them down under the other veggies. Leave the surface for veggies that really benefit from being browned in the oven – in my world, that includes: onions, zucchinis, cauliflower, capsicum / bell peppers.
As for the rice?
It’s seasoned. It’s fluffy. It’s sucked up all those vegetable juices.
Frankly, it’s the best part of this recipe. 😉 But we must eat our veggies! – Nagi x
PS I expect many people may think of this as a side dish to pair with a protein, but in all honesty, I have it as a meal. I don’t think I’ve ever made it as a side.
PPS You won’t need a sauce with this if you serve it fresh. The roasted veggies are juicy and the rice is flavoured. But if you want a sauce, a simple yoghurt + lemon one would pair great with this. Recipe in the notes.
PPPS Those who are fans of the Oven Baked Chicken and Rice may notice that this recipe doesn’t call for the step to “oven saute” onions before adding the rice. The reason is because this recipe gets extra flavour from the veggie juices that drip into the rice while baking. 🙂
- 1 ½ cups long grain rice (or basmati or jasmine) (Note 1 for other rice types)
- 1 ½ cups / 375 ml chicken or vegetable broth (I use chicken)
- 1 ¼ cups / 315 ml water
- 2 garlic cloves , minced
- 2 medium carrots , cut into 1 cm thick slices, larger pieces halved
- 30g / 2 tbsp unsalted butter (optional)
- 1 red onion , halved and cut into wedges
- 1 capsicum / bell pepper , cut into 2.5cm / 1" pieces
- 1/2 small cauliflower , broken into florets
- 2 zucchini , cut into 2cm / 4/5" chunks
- 2 corn cobs , each cut into 3 (6 small cobs)
- 1/4 cup olive oil , plus more for drizzling
- 1 ½ tsp paprika
- 1 1/2 tsp thyme or other dried herb of choice
- 1 tsp garlic powder (or onion powder)
- 1 tsp salt (Note 3 for low sodium)
- 1 tsp pepper , plus extra
- Finely chopped parsley
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Preheat oven to 200C/390F (standard) / 180C/350F (fan / convection).
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Mix Spice Mix in a small bowl.
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Place Rice ingredients in a baking dish (including the carrots), about 23 x 30 cm / 9 x 13". Add 1 1/2 tsp Spice Mix. Stir, cover with foil, bake for 20 minutes.
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Meanwhile, place Roasting Vegetable ingredients in a large bowl, drizzle with 1/4 cup olive oil. Sprinkle over remaining Spice Mix. Mix well - hands are best for this.
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Remove rice from oven.
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Turn oven UP to 220C/430F (standard) / 200C/390F (fan / convection).
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Take off foil. Spread the Roasting Vegetables on top of the rice. Make sure there's a bit of each type of vegetable on the surface. Push corn mostly under.
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Drizzle with more oil (optional), sprinkle with more pepper.
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Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven, rest for 5 - 10 minutes.
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Sprinkle with parsley if desired. Push vegetables aside, fluff rice and toss it through the vegetables a bit (rice gets more flavour). Serve!
1. This recipe is best made with white long grain rice because it's less sticky than short and medium grain. Basmati and jasmine will also work - same cook time. Risotto and paella rice are not suitable. Brown rice will take about 1 hr 10 minutes in the oven. So bake covered in foil for 40 minutes, then spread over vegetables and bake for a further 30 minutes.
2. OTHER VEGETABLES: You can use any vegetables that you want for this recipe that are suitable for roasting, but you'll need to cut them to size so they roast in 30 minutes. Or you could add them with the carrots at the beginning of the recipe, in which case they need to be able to hold up to a full 50 minutes baking time.
When choosing veggies, bear in mind that there is only so much surface area and only those veggies on the top will get charred like traditional roasted veggies. That is why I choose to cook the carrots in the rice and to push most of the corn under - they are tasty even without being browned from the roasting.
For vegetables that cook quickly like asparagus and green beans, toss them on top for the last 15 minutes of bake time (otherwise they'll be a soggy mess).
3. If you would like to lower the sodium in this, use low sodium broth and reduce the salt to 1/2 tsp and increase the garlic powder and thyme by 1/2 tsp each.
4. YOGHURT SAUCE: The roasted veg are juicy and the rice is seasoned so I don't need a sauce with this. However, if serving the next day, the rice does tend to be drier so a sauce is nice. I normally just use a mix of yoghurt + lemon + olive oil.
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
Oven Baked Rice and Vegetables recipe video!
LIFE OF DOZER
His current favourite toy. I bet this doesn’t surprise anyone.
Greetings from Denmark – and a big THANKS for all the fantastic recipes!! Please please keep up the good work :- )
You’re most welcome Anne! So glad you’re enjoying them! N xx
Just loving the sound of this one pot recipe and so easy too huh. Love it.
BRING ON THE ONE POT MEALS! 😂
You bet Negi – love the one pot meals SO much.
I am such a dog person, I have to comment on Dozer! How old is he? In so many pictures he looks like a pup while in others he looks like he’s definitely a grown up dog. The picture with today’s post is an example of him looking so young that he could be a pup. And what a wonderful toy! My now-deceased wonderful Teddy, springer spaniel mix, loved and treasured his toys; many of them were soft, baby toys. He lived to be 16 years old and was my best friend. My current dogs, on the other hand, feel the need to rip any toy to bits. I gave Andie, my cocker mix, one of Teddy’s toys and she promptly ripped an ear off and chewed a hole in the body. It got confiscated pronto. I carry that fuzzy ear in my robe pocket as a dear memory of Teddy.
The recipe looks quite delicious, by the way.
So sad to hear Ted is no longer with us 🙁 But how wonderful he lived so long, I do hope I have Dozer for 16 years! He is 5 years old, he behaves like he is 5 months old 🙄 I love that you keep the torn off ear ❤️
Thank you, Nagi, for your kind words. And, as always, your continuing commitment to bringing us wonderful recipes. My dogs are now 5 years old (besides Andie I have Alice, an Australian Shepherd) and I think that it’s a great age for dogs. Did you know that Australian Shepherds have no history in Australia?
I didn’t know that!!! My friend Jo from Jo Cooks has one, I visited her in Calgary a couple of months ago. It’s a puppy still, adorable bundle of energy!
Hi Nagi, I
We’ve been away for a few weeks, but now ready to get back into my kitchen and this looks absolutely yummy especially for when the times come to clear out the frig for then next weeks “fresh” fruit and veg. Thanks again for all your wonderful recipes as i look forward to seeing your site come up all the time. And as for Dozer, he looks like one of the cheekiest dogs around.
Welcome home Josephine! It’s nice coming home, isn’t it? I always miss homemade meals when I travel 🙂 As for Dozer? Cheeky is his middle name, and you know it. 🙂 N x
Love this recipe Nagi – and that spice mix must be delicious with the vegetables. It looks well seasoned and who doesn’t love a one pan meal! Speaking of Asian takeout – we’re spending a couple of weeks in Sydney and I was wondering if you have a favorite Asian restaurant you would recommend. We had amazing xiao long bao at Mr. Wong’s downtown – almost as good as we had in Shanghai! This is a gorgeous city and the weather is amazing. Walked all over the Royal Botanical Gardens yesterday and shopped at The Rocks today.
Hi Tricia! Gosh YES, lots! Shoot me an email and I’ll send you a list! N x
Thank you Nagi. Can’t wait to try this as I’m always looking for delicious easy vegetarian recipes. It’s also gluten and dairy free. Perfect for catering for people with food intolerances. 😊
You’re welcome Helen! Hope you enjoy it! 🙂 N xx
Great recipe and one I definitely would eat on its own Just the way I do Chinese stirfried vegetables and rice about once a week:) ! This is even healthier: well, I guess I would add some ‘real’ onions and garlic 🙂 !! Not surprised about Dozer: that toy squeaks, does it not . . . . ?
Oh COURSE it squeaks annoyingly. 🙄
Always remember to wash rice to remove hulls and whatever else may be in there! Then soak it for a few hours in water before cooking. Cooks and tastes better.
Thanks for the tips Duane! 🙂 N xx
I feel like I’ve seen some recipe somewhere, where the rice and veg/meat were baked in one dish, except the veg/meat were ELEVATED over the casserole dish by a cooling rack or wire grid type of thing to allow air flow and heat around it, while still allowing the yummy drippings to cook with the rice. I suppose there’d be some evaporation of that precious liquid, though.
Am I imagining that such recipes exist? And how would this method mentioned above, affect your recipe?
Hi Mo! I did a baked meatballs recipe where the meatballs were elevated over the sauce, and I’ve mentioned a pork roast where the roast was elevated over roasted vegetables 🙂 The concept sounds great, but to use that method, you’d need to use more water as the rice would need to be uncovered for the whole baking time to catch the juices from the chicken, then later the vegetables. 🙂 N xx
Ah, okay…makes sense that I would’ve seen a recipe like that here, since I don’t really read food blogs anymore (video’s better for my learning style)! 🙂
I knew you’d have an answer regarding the opportunity costs…you always work out the logistics so well.
Hi Nagi,
Sticking with my principle of cooking with the fewest ingredients, quickly and without too much effort, this recipet will be one my top favourites.
Thanks again.
I love hearing that Henry! 🙂 N x
Hey Nagi, I’m super excited to make this dish; it looks so tasty and all your recipes have turned out well for me. Can you tell me what size baking dish you used? It looks like a 9inx13in, so I’m going to go ahead and try it. Sorry if I missed it in your recipe.
Hi Rosalyn! yes it’s about 9 x 13″, sorry I’m not home at the moment so I can’t check! 🙂 N xx
This really looks amazing. We have a lot of veggies from our garden that have been begging us to do something wonderful with them, and here we are. 🙂 One question, though. Last month I made a big batch of shellfish stock using shells from lobster tails and shrimp. It’s incredibly good. (I used The Barefoot Contessa’s recipe “Seafood Stock”) Since we’ll be serving this veggie/rice dish with grilled salmon, would it be okay to use the shellfish broth instead of chicken or veggie broth? Not sure if we would lose the flavor of the veggies. We have all the ingredients for your recipe except for cauliflower (we will sub fresh broccoli) and red onions (we will use sweet Walla Walla onions because that’s what we grew). Other than that, no changes, although we might get adventurous and use smoked paprika instead of sweet. If you think any of my changes would be detrimental to the dish, please let me know. Thanks, Nagi.
Kin (from the very HOT Puget Sound)
Gosh YES to seafood stock! That will make the rice taste amazing! (I want some! 😂)
Hi Nagi, Can’t wait to try this as I love rice and veggies, and, there is really no need for proteins. we’re hoping to cool down soon here in Tucson and I bet you’re starting to heat up down under. Summer here in the states and, actually, all over, has been really hot, above our usual temperatures for the summer. Hope your upcoming summer is more “gentle” for you.
Going to Chicago next week to see family and friends so will be out of contact for a couple of weeks.
Hugs to you and Dozer.
Arleen Carramusa
HI Arleen! Hope you have a wonderful trip to Chicago – have FUN! 🙂 N x
That looks beautiful and what a great way to use up the end of garden veggies this time of year.Will definitely make this. P.S. I made your Red Velvet cake for company this weekend. It was amazing.
Oooh I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed the Red Velvet Cake Beth! 🙂 N xx
This looks totally yummy…thanks
Thanks Lyn! 🙂 N x
What a good idea. We love baked rice, so this is a natural. I’m thinking it needs a nice piece of grilled salmon, but it certainly looks filling on it’s on.
Does Dozer’s new toy only stick it’s tongue out when Dozer bites it??
NO, it’s always sticking it’s tongue out – at ME obviously… 😂
This looks so good! Do you think it would work with a rice-quinoa mixture? Maybe 1/3 quinoa 2/3 rice?
Hi Megan! Am sure that will be great, I use the same liquid ratios for quinoa 🙂
Doesn’t using so much liquid for the amount of rice, make the rice soggy?
Hi Norma! That’s a great observation 🙂 No it doesn’t because rice cooked in the oven requires more liquid because you lose some to evaporation, noting that baked rice takes about 3 times as long as stovetop rice 🙂 N x
Hi Nagi All those gorgeous vegetables sitting pretty on top of the rice; I love this dish! I’m with you, no need for a protein. This is a meal all on its own.
AGREED! 🙂 I love roasted veg – I can inhale an enormous pile of them! N x
It’s looking very yummy and so colourful recipe, thanks for sharing this delicious recipe.
Thanks Aria! 🙂