What To Serve With Jollof Rice
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When I served the Delish test kitchen this recipe, the room went quiet. It’s filling, fascinating, and truly a standout thanks to a balance of heat, sweet (from the tomatoes and peppers) and spice profile. Plus, it’s not too spicy—this is the rice you can serve at all your parties without fear of burning someone’s taste buds. It’s a must-try option for Thanksgiving, Kwanzaa, or Christmas, but is so delicious, it shouldn’t be reserved for only holidays. Weeknight dinner comfort, here you come.
While traditionally this dish is cooked completely on the stovetop, I know that can scare folks. Finishing this in the oven makes it practically foolproof. So, before we get started, preheat your oven and grease a baking dish with cooking spray.
Next, get out your blender, and add your tomatoes, Scotch bonnet pepper, half of your sliced onions, and the bell peppers. Blend until you have nice smooth consistency, then set your tomato-pepper puree aside.
Add the other half of your onion (the roughly chopped pieces) to a large pan on the stovetop with oil, and sweat them out to bring out their natural sweetness and soften them up. Season with salt, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Then add your spices—we’re going to bloom them to give a more pungent flavor that you’ll be able to taste throughout the rice. Add the tomato paste, and stir everything together for around 2 minutes more.
Add the tomato-pepper mixture to the pot, stirring over medium heat. Cook until the mixture has reduced by about half, and is nice and thick. Your kitchen should smell divine right about now.
Add 1 cup of stock (or water) to the pot, and bring the sauce to a boil before adding your rice. Stir in the rice and butter, then season with salt to taste.
Now, being very careful (the pot will be very hot), transfer the mixture to your prepared baking dish. Cover it tightly with foil, then place in the oven.
You’re going to bake until the rice is tender. This should take around 40-50 minutes, but I recommend checking around the 30 minute mark. If it looks dry or if the rice is still hard, add more water or stock. Once your rice is perfectly tender, remove from the oven, and fluff with a fork before serving.
Full list of ingredients and directions can be found in the recipe below.
This is a vegetarian recipe that I love to serve alongside meat or fish, but you can easily add your chosen protein to make it your own. Lamb or chicken would be great choices. Want to up the spice? Leave the seeds in your chosen pepper.
Cooking spray
medium tomatoes
Scotch bonnet or habanero pepper (seeded for less heat)
medium onion, 1/2 coarsely chopped, 1/2 sliced
red bell peppers, cored, roughly chopped
chicken stock or water, or more or less if necessary
vegetable oil
Kosher salt
bay leaves
curry powder
sweet or smoky paprika
dried thyme
ground ginger
garlic powder
onion powder
freshly ground black pepper
tomato paste
long-grain rice, rinsed, strained until water runs clear
unsalted butter
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