80 Easy Ways To Cook Rice (That Prove It's Way More Than A Side Dish)

In this vegan recipe, spiced cauliflower joins forces with a bright and fresh tomato salad, crunchy toppings, and a homemade vegan halal cart-style sauce. You won't miss the meat!

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Inspired by the popular Japanese onigirazu, this is like a cross between sushi and a sandwich. We filled ours with spicy salmon, seasoned sushi rice, cucumber, pickled cabbage, carrot, and avocado—then wrapped it in nori to make it extra portable. Serve it with plenty of the sriracha-soy mayo on the side!

Get the Sushi Sandwich (Onigirazu) recipe.

Textures are the key to giving this dish complexity: A crunch from the almonds, a freshness from the herbs and lemon, and a sharp, briny punch of feta all combine for the perfect bite. This pilaf recipe has enough going on to be the main event, but is also great as a side for chicken or fish.

Get the Lemon-Herb Rice Pilaf recipe.

To make these, ground beef gets simmered in hearty spiced tomato sauce, then layered into a flour tortilla with refried beans, rice, and a blend of Monterey Jack and cheddar cheese. Even though the goal is to get these wrapped and in the freezer for a future snack, we won’t judge if you eat one right away.

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Here at Delish, we’re big fans of stuffed peppers—they're the perfect vessel for countless combinations and ingredients. While we love to experiment with countless variations, this classic recipe is hard to beat.

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Paella might seem intimidating, but it's not! As long as you have your mise en place—meaning all your ingredients are prepped and ready to go before you start cooking—it'll be smooth sailing. Just whip up a pitcher of red sangria, and you've got a killer Spanish meal in the comfort of your own home. Salud!

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When we're craving a chicken dinner (or packed lunch), we often turn to this peanut chicken bowl. With a homemade peanut dressing, sliced chicken, sweet potato, spinach, and avocado, this healthy dinner is one we love to meal prep at the beginning of the week, then assemble and feast on all week long.

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All Creole cuisine packs a flavor punch that keeps you coming back for seconds, but red beans and rice are in a league all their own. The red beans soak up the smoky, porky, spicy, and earthy flavors and release some starch to create a rich gravy that’s perfect for spooning over steamed white rice.

Get the Louisiana-Style Red Beans & Rice recipe.

This easy one-pot dish comes together in under an hour and is good enough to be a complete meal. Deglazing the pan with the pickling liquid from the pepperoncini helps really flavor the rice. It feels a lot like the grown-up version of broccoli-cheese rice, and we want to make it every single night.

Get the One-Pot Pepperoncini Chicken & Rice recipe.

Why grill your stuffed peppers? Because it’s summer and we want to be outside! Don’t stay indoors and turn on the hot oven. Instead, step outside to the grill and take advantage of the great weather and the nice smoky charred flavor grilling brings to this classic comfort dish.

Get the Grilled Stuffed Peppers recipe.

If you have leftover rice hanging out in your fridge, then classic fried rice is a no-brainer. There are countless ways to bulk up this staple dinner, from beef fried rice to kimchi fried rice to pineapple fried rice. One of our favorite variations? Classic chicken fried rice. Shake up your weeknight chicken dinner by recreating the take-out staple right at home. With our easy recipe, it’s easy to make craveable fried rice at home—just how you like it.

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You could make basic burgers for your cookout, but where's the fun in that? When we're looking for a standout recipe for our BBQ, we turn to these paella-inspired party packs. Filled with Spanish rice, chicken thighs, chorizo, frozen peas, and roasted red peppers, these packs take inspiration (with many creative liberties) from one of our favorite centerpiece meals—paella. If you're craving the classic meal but need something more hands-off, then these foil packs are here for you.

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Jambalaya is a wildly popular dish that originated in New Orleans and was inspired by flavors from around the world—Spanish, West African, and French to name a few. It's spicy, hearty, and incredibly flavorful. And as with most things, the better ingredients, the better the end result will taste.

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We know everyone has a soft spot in their heart for their favorite type of fried rice (we see you, shrimp fried rice-heads), so this recipe is as classic as you can get, perfect for personalizing however you like.

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Packed with simple, everyday ingredients, this dish brings together chili-spiced rice, black beans, corn, peppers, and a salsa-and-cheese-topped chicken for a complete meal, all neatly wrapped up and grilled. For best results, use small chicken breasts to guarantee they’ll cook all the way through in the same time as all your other ingredients.

Get the Santa Fe Chicken Foil Packets recipe.

While we've included many risotto recipes, this is our basic, how-to guide when it comes to cooking up the creamy dish. All you need is an hour, some arborio rice, good-quality chicken broth, a little butter, cheese, and wine, along with your favorite aromatics like onion, garlic, and basil.

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This totally delicious mashup of coconut rice and Thai basil chicken gets dinner done in one skillet and brings all the flavors of Thai cuisine you crave into your home in just one skillet, AND with ingredients you can find in most grocery stores. Win win!

Get the One-Skillet Creamy Thai Basil Chicken recipe.

The rice here reminds us of the cheesy and creamy filling for a burrito, made weeknight-friendly. The green chiles add a slight pickled flavor to the dish, making it bright and kind of tangy. It’s a great meal when you're feeling lazy but craving something cozy and flavorful.

Get the One-Pan Green Chile Chicken & Rice recipe.

If you can’t get enough of stuffed peppers, then this warming, cozy soup version will be your new favorite fall comfort food. This soup has everything you like about a classic stuffed pepper—ground beef, rice, tomatoes, and plenty of cheese. It’s perfectly classic, but you can also vary it depending on your favorite stuffed pepper variation.

Get the Stuffed Pepper Soup recipe.

Avgolemono soup is a classic Greek soup that's extra creamy and lemony. Traditionally it's made with shredded chicken and rice, to make this a very comforting and filling soup. It's great for a springtime dinner with fresh herbs and bright lemon, but we love it any time of year!

Get the Best-Ever Avgolemono Soup recipe.