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. ๐
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. ๐ 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. ๐
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
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Oven Baked Rice and Vegetables
Ingredients
Rice:
- 1 1/2 cups basmati or jasmine rice , uncooked (Note 1 for other rice types)
- 1 1/2 cups (375ml) chicken or vegetable broth (I use chicken)
- 1 1/4 cups (315ml) water
- 2 garlic cloves , minced
- 2 medium carrots , cut into 1 cm thick slices, larger pieces halved
- 30g (2 tbsp) unsalted butter (optional)
Roasting Vegetables (Note 2):
- 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
Spice Mix:
- 1 1/2 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
Garnish (optional):
- Finely chopped parsley
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200C/390F (standard) / 180C/350F (fan / convection).
- Mix Spice Mix in a small bowl.
- 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.
- 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.
- Remove rice from oven.
- Turn oven UP to 220C/430F (standard) / 200C/390F (fan / convection).
- 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.
- Drizzle with more oil (optional), sprinkle with more pepper.
- Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven, rest for 5 - 10 minutes.
- Sprinkle with parsley if desired. Push vegetables aside, fluff rice and toss it through the vegetables a bit (rice gets more flavour). Serve!
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
LIFE OF DOZER
His current favourite toy. I bet this doesn’t surprise anyone.
Helen says
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. ๐
Nagi says
You’re welcome Helen! Hope you enjoy it! ๐ N xx
Eha says
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 ๐ !! Not surprised about Dozer: that toy squeaks, does it not . . . . ?
Nagi says
Oh COURSE it squeaks annoyingly. ๐
duane says
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.
Nagi says
Thanks for the tips Duane! ๐ N xx
Mo says
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?
Nagi says
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 ๐ 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. ๐ N xx
Mo says
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)! ๐
I knew you’d have an answer regarding the opportunity costs…you always work out the logistics so well.
Henry Rodrigues says
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.
Nagi says
I love hearing that Henry! ๐ N x
Rosalyn says
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.
Nagi says
Hi Rosalyn! yes it’s about 9 x 13″, sorry I’m not home at the moment so I can’t check! ๐ N xx
Kin says
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. ๐ 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)
Nagi says
Gosh YES to seafood stock! That will make the rice taste amazing! (I want some! ๐)
Arleen Carramusa says
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
Nagi says
HI Arleen! Hope you have a wonderful trip to Chicago – have FUN! ๐ N x
Beth says
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.
Nagi says
Oooh I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed the Red Velvet Cake Beth! ๐ N xx
Lyn says
This looks totally yummy…thanks
Nagi says
Thanks Lyn! ๐ N x
Ron says
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??
Nagi says
NO, it’s always sticking it’s tongue out – at ME obviously… ๐
Megan Stephan says
This looks so good! Do you think it would work with a rice-quinoa mixture? Maybe 1/3 quinoa 2/3 rice?
Nagi says
Hi Megan! Am sure that will be great, I use the same liquid ratios for quinoa ๐
Norma says
Doesn’t using so much liquid for the amount of rice, make the rice soggy?
Nagi says
Hi Norma! That’s a great observation ๐ 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 ๐ N x
Dorothy Dunton says
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.
Nagi says
AGREED! ๐ I love roasted veg – I can inhale an enormous pile of them! N x
Aria Smith says
Itโs looking very yummy and so colourful recipe, thanks for sharing this delicious recipe.
Nagi says
Thanks Aria! ๐