Springtime Oven Baked Rice. Fresh spring asparagus & peas are a great addition to super easy, hands off baked rice dish. This rice dish is the perfect side all spring and summer long. Oven baked rice is fool proof and you don’t have to worry at all about undercooking it or scraping rice off the bottom of your pan. As winter ends there is something about all of the GREEN and amazing produce that is popping up. I am dying for fresh green vegetables, bright lemon and all of the herbs from my herb garden.
Long Grain Rice
I used simple and basic long grain rice. I think this dish would be perfect with all different kinds of rice, even orzo pasta. But cook times will vary for each different kind of rice so keep that in mind!
Springtime Produce
Produce is starting to get EXCITING now. Fresh local asparagus is popping up all over Philadelphia and I have to grab it all up. Not to mention, spring is the season for peas. Peas are one of my most favorite vegetables in the world. They are bright, fresh, green, filled with fiber and protein. Peas add so much texture to every dish – little pops of snap and crunch with creamy pastas or pasta salads. If you follow me on Instagram you know that I have them like three nights a week for dinner, and this is no surprise.
My point is: I love peas. But you can use any green vegetable to make this rice. You could add spinach during the last few minutes of cooking. You could also add very finely chopped broccoli or maybe even toss with some arugula at the end for a different flavor.
From the Kitchen
Weeknight Dinner
We have rice with dinner very often. And I am always looking for any possible shortcut I can think of when it comes to making dinner. I know how hard it can be to make a good, healthy dinner after you have worked all day or week and don’t feel like being in the kitchen. This is crazy hands off and takes 30 minutes to come together. Make a steak or throw chicken on the grill. I think this would be absolutely perfect with your favorite salmon. I even think it would be great to meal prep because we love making a huge batch and having it all week with different proteins.
When you make this Springtime Oven Baked Rice please let me know your thoughts in the comments. What did you make with it? Or if you like taking pictures, tag me on Instagram @quartersoulcrisis
Looking for something similar?
Springtime Oven Baked Rice w. Peas & Asparagus
Equipment
- 8-9 inch baking dish or cast iron
Ingredients
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 3 tbs butter
- 1 & 1/4 cup long grain rice
- 2 & 1/2 cup vegetable broth
- 1-2 fresh lemons
- salt
- 1 cup asparagus
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 1/4 cup fresh basil* + more to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°. Rinse rice in a fine mesh strainer and set aside. Add minced garlic and butter to the baking dish. Bake 5-10 minutes until very fragrant and garlic is beginning to get golden. Carefully remove from oven.
- Bake Rice: Add rice to the melted butter and cooked garlic & toss to mix it all together. Zest lemon over the rice I use zest of the whole lemon. Add juice of 1/2 lemon. Add pinch of salt. Cover with vegetable broth and give a gentle stir. Cover gently with foil. Bake 25 minutes.
- Add vegetables: Carefully remove the rice from the oven and remove the foil. Add asparagus & bake 3-5 minutes depending on the size of the asparagus. Add peas and bake 3 more minutes or until peas and asparagus are both cooked through.
- Season to taste: Add chopped basil & toss the rice and vegetables. Add more lemon zest or juice to taste or more salt & basil.
Home Cook’s Notes
- This is a perfect vegetable herb garden dish. You can use any herbs or combination of herbs that you’d like. This would be delicious with dill, chives or both.
- Dish can be doubled easily.
- It is great reheated in microwave (30 second increments) or oven (350 until warmed through) and can be stored in an airtight container up to 3 days
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