14 Quick and Easy Rice Recipes

By Rosa L. • May 20, 2024

Warm, tender, and perfectly seasoned rice is the perfect complement to any meal. Add a few extra ingredients or flavors and rice can even take center stage! Try one of these 14 Rice Recipes the next time you have some rice on hand, and you need a side dish (or a main!) fit to impress and comfort.

1. Rainbow Rice

It may not have all the colors of the visible light spectrum, but golly it comes close! Rainbow Rice is bursting with vibrant hues and equally vibrant flavors. The warm, delicately seasoned rice is paired with yellow tropical pineapple, bright red peppers, spicy green jalapeños, and a little cayenne seasoning for a touch more heat! Yes indeed, all that Rainbow rice is really missing is blue and purple, but hey! The flavor is perfect, so why worry?

2. Mama Lou's Red Beans & Rice

Now, don't see "beans and rice" and just click right on by. Mama Lou's Red Beans & Rice are so much more than you're giving them credit for! You can expect big flavors from all the meat, veggies, and spices these legumes are soaked in. And when we say soaked, you must know that they are simmering for hours and hours to ensure every one of those little guys is infused with all that savory goodness. Serve this heavenly concoction over some fluffy seasoned rice and you've got yourself an unlikely main you'll be craving time and time again. Mama Lou's Red Beans & Rice aren't your mama's beans and rice... they're way better!

3. Unstuffed Egg Roll

It's like a classic egg roll from your favorite Chinese restaurant in reverse! The Unstuffed Egg Roll is a delicious mix of pork, veggies, garlic, and soy sauce, stir-fried into a hot and hearty wonder that's perfect for laying over rice. Unstuffed Egg Roll is easy and speedy to make and doesn't require frying, so clean-up is even easier. This is an amazing, aromatic, and attractive meal you'll make whenever you're tempted to order out; after all, why would you order out when you can make the best dish at home?

4. Thai Fried Rice

Thai Fried Rice differs from other similar dishes thanks to its distinctively spicy flavor: this dish is sure to delight those who like a little heat! But there's so much more than spice to be found here: the rice is savory, rich, aromatic, and filled with fresh vegetables and juicy chicken. Stir in fluffy scrambled eggs and you have an instant classic. Plus Thai Fried Rice only takes 15 minutes to make, so busy schedules are no obstacle to enjoying this scrumptious supper. Get your taste buds ready because this is going to shake things up!

5. Easy Beefy Broccoli Fried Rice

Easy Beefy Broccoli Fried Rice is a quick, simple solution for your suppertime saga! When time is tight, but your tummy is tingling, turn to this fried rice that is mixed with hearty ground beef, tender broccoli, and a sweet and tangy sauce you'll want every drop of! Don't fret, Easy Beefy Broccoli Fried Rice is coming to rescue you from your hunger in a jiffy!

6. Copycat Cilantro Lime Rice

No trip to Chipotle® would be complete without loading your burrito with their delicious cilantro lime rice. Now you can enjoy that same fantastic food foundation without having to leave your kitchen! Copycat Cilantro Lime Rice has the same fluffy, hearty texture perfect for soaking up tender seasoned meats and beans, with the same herbaceous and citrus tart flavor. Best of all, Copycat Cilantro Lime Rice takes less than half an hour to make, so you can actually save time by making this fresh in your own home. Taco night just got all the more tantalizing!

7. Spring Risotto

When you are searching for a dish that is simply elegant yet bursting with grand flavor, we may have found perfection. Stroll on into Spring Risotto for the best there is! Tender Arborio rice is joined with sweet peas in an amazing cheese sauce of impeccable proportions. Add a budding, new favorite to your side dish list with Spring Risotto. It's easy and full of great taste... this little sprout is everything!

8. Big Easy Rice

Live the free and easy way! This Big Easy Rice celebrates the soul of the South. It effortlessly brings together some tender rice and a bulk of hearty meats for a creamy, cheesy, crispy way to get down to delicious at dinner! Don't sweat it. Kick your feet up and live a little. The Big Easy Rice way!

9. Life-Saving Fried Rice

When the week starts truly getting hectic, you need a meal that you can make without breaking a sweat (or the bank). Life-Saving Fried Rice only asks that you pour the ingredients in a baking dish, stir, and bake. The result is a fluffy and hearty rice dish with crispy bacon and the savory, tangy, and sweet flavors of fried rice — without the frying pan. Mixed with tender vegetables, Life-Saving Fried Rice is a complete meal in one dish, so you can be a hero at dinnertime while staying on top of your schedule!

10. Nana's Chicken & Rice

You don't even notice the impeccably lined trinkets, the ravishing, flowered wallpaper and the stylish 1970s-era curtains once you step into her door and get a whiff of what's for dinner! Nana's Chicken & Rice is an unforgettably old-fashioned yet fashionable meal that gets even better over time! Lavished with tender chicken breast pieces, swanky carrots, roasted red peppers, sweet peas, and the beauty of brown rice, this dish is adorned with melted mozzarella cheese that never goes out of style. Yummy! No matter where you are, Nana's Chicken & Rice will fill your senses (and your tummy) and leave you very satisfied. Nana's got great taste and it's a beautiful sight!

11. Bacon Mango Fried Rice

Bacon Mango Fried Rice is fried rice like you’ve never tasted before! This scrumptious dish puts an exciting twist on classic fried rice, with the sweet, tart, tropical fruit paired with crispy fatty bacon in a fluffy bed of fried rice. This dish is easy and quick to make, and it’s both hearty and refreshing. You’ll gobble up this Bacon Mango Fried Rice in no time!

12. Romance-Me Risotto

Valentine's Day is right around the corner, and you need to practice your romantic dinner making to really impress your partner! Here's a good suggestion; Romance-Me Risotto! Creamy, flavorful, rich, and loaded with so much goodness! Bright lemon and nutty, sharp parmesan with bursts of garden-fresh peas mingle with the poultry flavor of the broth soaked into the tender rice! Nothing says "Happy Valentine's Day" like Romance-Me Risotto!

13. Schezwan Fried Rice

There's no longer any need to pay restaurant prices for Schezwan Fried Rice! This time-tested dish is sure to wow your taste buds. It includes an irresistible combination of fluffy rice, fresh veggies like spring onions, carrots, and celery, and homemade spicy Schezwan sauce. Schezwan Fried Rice is hearty, savory, and scrumptious — it's a dish you'll want to make again and again! And you will!

14. Southwest Layered Rice

When a craving for some Southwest flare is on your mind, add a side dish that will enhance your meal in a whole new direction. Southwest Layered Rice is the perfect choice for your next meal adventure that's headed out West. Tender rice is layered between seasoned sour cream and cheddar cheese to form layers upon layers of the great tastes you love! Southwest Layered Rice rounds out what's been missing with your otherwise exceptional Tex-Mex menu. Let's dig in!