Rice dishes are actually among the easiest and simplest to prepare.
But you do need a bit of creativity and imagination to make your creations transcend the ordinary.
If you are looking for easy rice dishes with only a few ingredients required, these recipes should be perfectly suited for your needs.
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Easy Rice Dishes
Rice is one of those ingredients that can be utilized in most any region’s culinary recipes. From Asia to the Mediterranean, from Europe to the Caribbean–and even to Africa and Latin America–rice has been a mainstay on countless tables for thousands of years.
Forget what you know–or what you think you know–about rice and how plain and tasteless it is. All you need is a fair bit of imagination and a few choice ingredients, and you can be serving up fabulous rice dishes that will leave you and your guests impressed.
All the recipes we provide here use ingredients that you can commonly find in most groceries or health food stores. Basmati rice is recommended for most recipes, although you could pretty much use any type of rice you wish.
Perhaps one of the best things about these recipes is that they can all be cooked up in under an hour, using only a single pot. There is very little slicing or dicing involved, and you won’t have to sauté any ingredients, render fat, or stir a huge pot of broth for hours. And if you have an automatic rice cooker, cooking up any one of these dishes becomes even easier.
So if you are looking for the quickest, simplest, and easiest to prepare rice dishes possible, try out any one of these recipes. We guarantee you will be serving up a delectable meal like a pro with your first attempt!
Easy Rice Dishes with Few Ingredients
Herb Lemon Rice
Serves: 4
Calories: 207 per serving
Ingredients
1 cup rice (recommended: basmati rice)
1 tablespoon coconut oil
¼ teaspoon salt
½ lemon zest
1 teaspoon basil (dried)
1 teaspoon oregano (dried)
2 cups chicken stock (vegetable may also be used)
Juice of half a lemon (for after cooking)
Instructions
Place all the ingredients in a rice cooker, except for the lemon juice that you will add after cooking. Turn on your rice cooker to the “white rice” setting, or cook until the rice is tender. Stir in the juice of half a lemon and serve.
You may also cook this on a stove top in a medium pot. Combine all the ingredients except for the lemon juice, and bring to a boil with the lid on. After it has begun boiling, reduce the heat and simmer for another 15 minutes with the lid on. Remove the pot from the heat and set aside to continue cooking for 10 more minutes before stirring in the lemon juice.
More details from foodiecrush.com
Coconut Rice
Serves: 6
Calories: 267 per serving
Ingredients
1 ½ cups rice (recommended: basmati rice)
13.5 ounces coconut milk
1 tablespoon sugar (You may use coconut sugar or brown sugar)
½ teaspoon salt
2 ¼ cups water
Instructions
In a rice cooker, combine the rice and all the other ingredients. Set your rice cooker to the “white rice” or “regular” setting. Cook until done, and fluff up the rice with a fork.
You can also cook this dish in a stove top, in which case you simply combine all the ingredients in a medium pot. Bring the pot to a boil while lidded, and then reduce the heat for another 15 minutes of simmering. Remove the pot from the heat and set aside for 10 minutes. When done, fluff up the rice with a fork.
More details from Today.com
Saffron Rice
Saffron is one of the most distinctive and most enigmatic spices available, and it lends this rice dish a unique flavor that will have you back for seconds. Good quality saffron is a bit pricey, but don’t skimp by using the cheap stuff. You need only a pinch to impart its subtle flavor to the entire pot, and the results will definitely be worth it.
Serves: 4
Calories: 204 per serving
Ingredients
¼ cup boiling water
⅛ teaspoon saffron
1 cup basmati rice
1 tablespoon coconut oil
½ teaspoon onion powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 ¾ cup chicken stock (You may use vegetable stock instead)
Instructions
Boil ¼ cup of water in a rice cooker and sprinkle in the saffron. Let it steep for 5 minutes. Add the rice and the rest of the ingredients. Set your rice cooker to the “white rice” or “regular” setting. Cook until done, and then fluff up the rice with a fork.
On a stove top, sprinkle the saffron into boiling water and let it steep for 5 minutes. Add in the rice and the other ingredients. Cover the pot and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and set aside for another 10 minutes to cook. Fluff up the rice and serve.
Mexican Rice
Bring the rich and distinctive flavor of Mexico to your table with this subtly spicy rice dish. Not nearly as complicated and time consuming to prepare as most traditional Mexican fare, this recipe saves you a lot of time and effort by using premade salsa.
Serves: 4
Calories: 262 per serving
Ingredients
1 cup rice
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 cup salsa
½ teaspoon cumin
¼ teaspoon chili powder (recommended: chipotle chili powder)
¼ teaspoon salt
2 cups chicken stock (You may use vegetable stock instead)
Instructions
This can be cooked in a rice cooker or on a stove top. In a rice cooker, combine all the ingredients together. Set to “white rice” or “regular” and cook until done. Stir the rice so that all the ingredients are combined evenly, then fluff.
On a stove top, combine the ingredients in a medium pot. Bring to a boil while covered, then reduce the heat and simmer for 15 more minutes. Remove the pot from the heat then set aside for 10 more minutes. Stir and fluff up the rice when done.
Cilantro Lime Rice
This lime and cilantro-flavored concoction perfectly complements Asian and Mexican dishes. Of course, the distinctively bright and vibrant flavor of cilantro may not be to everyone’s tastes. If you can’t get enough of the herb however, this amazingly easy to make rice recipe is sure to be a hit!
Serves: 4
Calories: 199 per serving
Ingredients
1 cup basmati rice
1 tablespoon coconut oil
¼ teaspoon salt
1 lime, zested
2 cups water
½ cup chopped cilantro (after cooking)
½ lime, juiced (after cooking)
Instructions
Prep your rice cooker with a bit of spray oil beforehand. Combine the rice, coconut oil, water, lime zest, and salt. Set your rice cooker to the “white rice” or “regular” setting. Cook until done, and then stir in the cilantro and lime juice.
If you are cooking on a stove, place the rice, coconut oil, water, lime zest, and salt in a pot. Bring to a boil while covered, then reduce the heat and simmer for another 15 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and set aside for 10 minutes more to continue cooking. Stir in the cilantro and lime juice.
More details from allrecipes.com
Pesto Green Rice
As you can imagine, this goes well with a variety of Italian and Mediterranean dishes. Feel free to use your own pesto recipe if you wish, although it will taste just as fabulous with any good-quality jarred pesto.
Serves: 4
Calories: 258 per serving
Ingredients
1 cup basmati rice
1 tablespoon coconut oil
¼ cup pesto
2 cups chicken stock (You may use vegetable stock instead)
Fresh basil (garnish)
Sliced almonds (garnish)
Instructions
In a rice cooker, combine all the ingredients except the basil and almonds. Set the cooker to the “white rice” or “regular” setting and cook until done. Fluff up the rice and serve with basil and almonds.
On a stove top, combine all the ingredients except the basil and almonds. Bring the pot to a boil and then reduce heat for 15 minutes of simmering time. Remove the pot from the heat and set it aside for 10 more minutes, and then serve with basil and almonds.
More details at thechunkychef.com