Looking for easy rice recipes? We've got 'em. From paella and rice pilaf to cozy rice soups, we've rounded up dozens of recipes that put this grain to good use.
35 Easy Rice Recipes
Stuffed Pepper Soup
There are 2 whole cups of cooked long-grain rice in this stuffed pepper soup, so it’s a very filling and hearty dinner. You can serve it with slices of bread, but the large amount of rice really negates the need for another carb.
Shrimp Risotto
Shrimp risotto feels so fancy, but the technique couldn’t be simpler. You’re basically standing over the stove and slowly cooking the rice as you stir, adding hot stock a little at a time. Once the risotto is done, you’ll add the shrimp. The shrimp cooks quickly, and the whole dish is finished in under an hour.
Pork Bowl
If you’re simply looking for a main dish to serve over rice, this pork bowl is an excellent choice. The pork pressure-cooks in a gorgeous sauce, and there’s a lot of that umami-rich sauce left to spoon over the rice.
Spanish Rice
I seriously make this Spanish rice once a month. It’s perfect served with a flaky white fish that’s baked with lemons and paprika, but seasoned chicken breasts would be great with it too.
Herbed Rice Pilaf
Serving rice pilaf is like serving a slightly elevated version of a regular bowl of rice. Let me explain: All you’re doing is sauteing the rice with a few aromatics, then cooking it all with some chicken stock. It’s like regular rice but better, and it’s almost just as easy.
Chicken Biryani
There are so many awesome flavors in chicken biryani that I can’t even list them all here. Whatever the chicken can’t soak up, the rice does, so none of the aromatic ingredients go to waste.
Jambalaya
Making a dinner with three different meats can get expensive, so a big serving of rice allows jambalaya to stretch a little further. Make sure to pour some of that spice-spiked stock right over the plain white rice.
Chicken, Rice and Beans
Chicken, rice and beans is a classic dish for a reason. It’s easy, protein-packed, fiber-rich and so dang delicious. Here we did a southwestern-inspired bowl with lots of chili powder, cumin, salsa and corn.
Korean Beef and Rice
This Korean-inspired dish is a riff on bulgogi, with all the same great flavors but with lean ground beef instead of thinly sliced beef. The rice bulks up the dish and soaks up any leftover flavors dripping from the ground beef.
Spanish-Style Paella
I love how the rice cooks right in with all the other ingredients in paella, soaking up the flavors instead of just boiling in water. Paella typically uses a short-grain rice like bomba, but if you can’t find it, arborio works in a pinch.
Coconut Rice
Boiling jasmine rice with coconut milk makes a pot of the most creamy and decadent rice ever. Coconut rice can be served with savory components like chicken, seafood, fish and vegetables, or with sweet mango and cinnamon as a dessert.
Wild Rice Soup
I love turning so few ingredients into something truly special, and that’s what we did here with this wild rice soup. The wild rice adds a wonderfully nutty flavor and toothsome texture, which pairs perfectly with the decadent backdrop of creamy soup.
Rice and Bean Enchiladas
These completely meat-free enchiladas are warm, filling and abundant in flavor. Brown rice adds a bit more fiber to the dish than white rice would. Paired with the black beans, there’s a good amount of fiber here too.
Avgolemono Soup
There’s 1/2 cup of rice hiding in this bright lemony soup! It’s just one of the many pantry staples that make this traditional Greek dish so simple but so tasty.
Lemony Turkey Rice Soup
Got turkey leftovers from Thanksgiving? Use them toward this lemony turkey rice soup. Leftovers, plus a can of condensed cream of chicken, make this soup so fast to prepare. Long-grain rice helps bulk out the rest of the meal.
Cilantro-Lime Rice
So you’ve picked out your main, and now you’re looking for an awesome side to stretch it out. Cilantro-lime rice is the perfect thing. It’s as easy as cooking up a pot of rice and fluffing it with minced cilantro, fresh lime juice and a pinch of nutmeg.
Sirloin Strips over Rice
This hearty meal cooks sirloin strips with peppers, onions, tomatoes, beef broth and red wine. A bed of brown rice is all it needs.
Vegan Burritos
I seriously think it’s quicker (and maybe even easier?) to make these vegan burritos at home than to go pick up the dish at a fast-food restaurant. All we’re doing here is cooking rice, stirring it with black beans and veggies, and rolling the mixture into a flour tortilla.
Chicken & Wild Rice Strudels
Here’s an unexpected way to use up your ready-to-eat rice! Just mix it with a shredded rotisserie chicken and fold it into store-bought phyllo dough. The crackly, buttery pastry pairs perfectly with the soft, hearty filling.
Cabbage Rolls
Cabbage rolls are relatively inexpensive to make, due in part to rice stretching the ground pork and beef filling. If you want to make these vegetarian-friendly, substitute lentils, mushrooms and onions for the meat.
Arroz con Pollo
Is there a more perfect weeknight meal than arroz con pollo? To make it, line uncooked rice on the bottom of a baking dish, then place uncooked chicken breasts on top. Pour a mixture of tomato sauce, picante sauce, chicken broth and a whole lot of aromatics all over, and bake until everything is done.
Chicken and Rice Dinner
Rice isn’t a side supporting character in this weeknight dinner. Well, not really. Sure, it’s the bed underneath the juicy, crispy chicken, but it’s made better by being cooked with milk and a yummy poultry seasoning mix.
Ham and Rice
On weeknights where dinner needs to be ready, like, now, this ham and rice dish will save the day. All you need is 25 minutes, start to finish. Best of all, it’s an amazing meal for anyone feeding picky eaters at home.
Pineapple Shrimp Fried Rice
There’s a lot going on in this stir-fry recipe: Juicy pineapple, succulent shrimp, crunchy peanuts and an array of vegetables are stirred into precooked rice. It feels like a restaurant-worthy dinner that’s ready in minutes.
Wild Rice Stuffing
OK, we can all admit it: Stuffing is the best Thanksgiving dish. So why do we save it only for the holiday? If your answer is “because it’s not very healthy,” I invite you to swap in nutritious wild rice for the usual dry bread cubes.
North African Chicken and Rice
You’ll really want to serve North African chicken with a big bed of rice. Why? The recipe is so abundantly flavorful and downright delicious that you’ll want to stretch it as far as it can go. This is one of my favorite rice recipes from this collection.
Sausage, Rice and Broccoli
One pot, ready in 25 minutes, and the perfect balance of starch, protein and vegetables? Yup, this sausage, rice and broccoli dish might just be the best weeknight dinner imaginable.
Grilled Peach, Rice & Arugula Salad
I always find that as much as I want to eat a salad, I need a carb in there so I’m not hungry an hour later. Enter this grilled peach, rice and arugula salad. The ready-to-eat rice negates the need to spend 20 minutes cooking a pot of rice, and it makes this salad so much more filling. Win-win!
Spicy Rice Casserole
Don’t you just love those all-in-one recipes? Ya know, the ones that cook everything in one pot and cover the three main components of a meal: the starch, meat and vegetable. This spicy rice casserole is all that and more, but I always like to serve a few more greens on the side. It’s already so inexpensive and easy that I don’t mind buying a head of broccoli to go with it.
Vegan Red Beans and Rice
This plant-based dinner simmers red beans with the Cajun holy trinity (green bell peppers, onions and celery) and a whole lot of Cajun seasoning, tomato paste and garlic, so it has to be delicious. Served over a bed of rice, this is a great meatless Monday meal or inexpensive dish whenever you need it.
Cajun Pork Chops
A big helping of rice cooks right along with the pork chops and flavorful broth in this hearty meal. Just set aside 20 minutes of prep time and let the slow cooker take care of the rest.
Asian Chicken Rice Bowl
Feel free to use your favorite type of rice here. It’s the base for all the juicy chicken, crunchy vegetables and zippy dressing, slowly soaking up their flavors so every bite of rice is equally as delicious.
Northwoods Wild Rice Salad
Serve this super-tangy wild rice salad with rich, succulent and salty meats to cut some of the heaviness. I love the wild rice for its color and nuttiness, but you can use any type of long-grain rice you prefer.
Slow-Cooker Spinach & Rice
This cheesy, creamy rice is packed with spinach, so there’s a lot of protein in every serving. That’s not even counting the main! Serve this rice dish with salmon, steak, chicken or pork chops and one more vegetable for a little more fiber.
Glazed Cornish Hens with Pecan-Rice Stuffing
It’s hard to compete with bronzed Cornish game hens, but the curry, raisin and pecan rice stuffing does its very best. Get started on the rice right after you brush the hens with the tangy-sweet apple, honey and Dijon glaze, and everything will come out at the same time.
Rice Recipes FAQ
How do I make perfectly fluffy rice every time?
To make perfectly fluffy rice every time, always rinse your rice, never stir it while cooking, avoid peeking while the rice steams and let the rice rest after cooking. These rules apply whether you cook rice on the stove, in a rice cooker or in a microwave.
What are some protein-rich rice dishes?
Our protein-rich rice dishes include our stuffed pepper soup, shrimp risotto, pork bowls, jambalaya, Korean beef and rice, avgolemono soup, sirloin strips over rice, arroz con pollo, chicken and rice dinner, ham and rice, pineapple shrimp fried rice, North African chicken and rice, Cajun pork chops, Asian chicken rice bowl and glazed Cornish hens with pecan-rice stuffing. All these dishes have at least 20 grams of protein per serving.
Can I freeze rice-based recipes?
The ability to freeze rice-based recipes depends on the dish. Meals like casseroles and soups can be frozen as normal: cooled to room temperature in under two hours, transferred to an airtight container and placed in the freezer. However, to freeze leftover rice that isn’t baked in a casserole or cooked in a soup, it must be cooled down extremely quickly to prevent bacterial growth. Rice is very prone to bacterial growth. Spread the rice on a baking sheet and allow it to cool at room temperature for about 20 minutes. Scoop it into a bag; label the bag with the date, time and rice type; then store it in the freezer.


































