This One-Pot Spicy Vegetable Rice is our go to favourite mid-week dinner. 30 minutes & one pot is all that is standing between you & a big bowl full of deliciously spiced, flavourful rice studded with sweet, soft veggies.
I have been making this One-Pot Spicy Vegetable Rice for years and years and it is one of our favourite mid week, quick and easy dinners.
I can’t remember where the original recipe from, but I know that it involved chicken and seafood and was kind of a Spanish paella type dish.
Of course, the ingredients I use have changed over the years and it has evolved into a cruelty free, spicy veggie rice which gets made very frequently.
HOW TO MAKE SPICY VEGETABLE RICE
SEE MY VIDEO FOR A VISUAL GUIDE. FOR INGREDIENTS & FULL INSTRUCTIONS PLEASE SEE THE RECIPE CARD AT THE END OF THIS POST
Step 1
Prep and chop the veggies
Step 2
Sauté them in a large pan
Step 3
Add the rice, spices, seasonings and water
Step 4
Stir well then simmer until the rice is tender
That’s all there is to it. It’s such an easy, straightforward meal.
Smoked paprika and turmeric are two of my favourite spices and they marry together beautifully in this very flavourful dish. The colours are lovely too with the rich mustardy yellow and the reds, greens and yellows from the veggies.
The bell peppers become super sweet and the grape tomatoes give bursts of flavour in each bite. We love it served with some spicy Field Roast Sausage!
COMPLETELY CUSTOMIZABLE
Bell peppers, onions and garlic are essential to the flavour in this recipe but the other vegetables are pretty flexible. Replace them with whatever you have in your fridge or customize to suit your tastes. As long as you use roughly the same quantities all will be good. Even frozen veg works well.
It’s also amazing with my Fiery Habanero Hot Sauce. drizzled all over.
I’M LOVING THIS SPICY VEGETABLE RICE BECAUSE IT’S:
- easy
- made in one pot… hello?…hardly any washing up! ????
- simple and uncomplicated
- full of flavour
- really easy to make it un-spicy so kids can enjoy it too
- perfect as a meal or a side
- leftovers reheat really well
HOW TO MAKE SPICY VEGETABLE RICE UN-SPICY ????
If you have young children or someone who doesn’t like spicy food you can easily omit the chili from this recipe to make it ‘un-spicy’ rice. I do it all the time when we have guests who are a little sensitive to heat.
If you do omit the chili, to keep those that want some heat happy, just put a bottle of great hot sauce on the table so that they can add it to their individual bowls once it’s served.
LEFTOVERS
If you end up with any leftovers they reheat really well in the microwave. It keeps well in the fridge for a day or two and is perfect to reheat at mealtimes when time is at a premium. When reheating I add a few drops of water to stop the rice drying out.
Try repurposing it into burritos. One of our favourite ways to use the leftovers!
For more vegan rice recipes, check out these great options:
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One-Pot Spicy Vegetable Rice
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil (optional)
- 1 medium onion , chopped finely
- 3 medium carrots , chopped into small pieces
- 4 cloves garlic , chopped finely
- 2 large bell peppers , cut into large chunks, (red, yellow or orange are best in this)
- 150g | 1 cup frozen peas (or chopped green beans)
- 150g | 1 cup cherry tomatoes
- 2 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes , or chili flakes, or a small fresh or dried chili chopped
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika (you can sub this for chipotle powder)
- 250g | 1 ¼ uncooked long grain rice , white or brown, standard, basmati or jasmine is all fine
- 600mls | 2½ cups water , plus more if needed
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large pan over a medium heat.
- Saute the onions until translucent. If you do not wish to use oil then use can dry fry them or use a drop of water instead.
- Add the carrots, garlic and bell peppers and continue cooking for a few minutes.
- Add the rice, tomatoes, peas, spices, seasoning and water.
- Cook until the liquid starts to bubble, give it a real good stir, turn down low, cover with a lid and cook until the rice is tender and the liquid has been absorbed, stirring occasionally. If it gets to the stage where the water is absorbed and the rice isn't quite tender, you can boil a kettle and add another ¼ cup or so of water to finish it off.
- Serve immediately.
Long time vegan, creator of A Virtual Vegan & author of the book 
Tim Smith says
Cooked it recently. Fabulous. Was eating leftovers all week. Simple, tasty, perfect.
A Virtual Vegan says
Thank you Tim. I’m glad you enjoyed it!
M.A. says
This has become my favorite Clean-Out-the-Vegetable-Bin-the-Night-Before-Going-to-the-Farmers’-Market recipe! At last, something to do with that handful of sad mushrooms and the last 4 brussels sprouts. Quick, easy, and good, my favorite kind of food.
Melanie McDonald says
I’m glad you are enjoying it! I tend to use this recipe in exactly the same way. So handy for using up odds and ends!
Tamara says
Such a great recipe. We loved it!
Jillian says
This recipe is super easy and very very tasty. I like the fact that Mel’s instructions are so easy to follow. Will add this one to my favourites. Definitely recommend for a great meal.
Adam says
Hello,
I apologize if this question is answered somewhere and I missed it. My wife is a vegetarian and loves spicy dishes. I do most of the cooking, so I am always looking for new dishes to try. I’m excited to try this one for her. I didn’t see in the recipe about type of rice. When you made this, did you use regular white rice or instant?
Thank you!
A Virtual Vegan says
Always regular rice in all of my recipes. If you were to use instant rice the water quantities would be off. Any long grain white rice will do, standard or basmati or jasmine, and brown rice is ok too, it will just take a little longer to cook through.
Dan says
Hi, I’m new to cooking fresh (trying to get away from tv dinners). This sounds great but I’m a bit confused about the directions. The directions say use a large pan starting with the onions and adding everything else. But that would have to be a really BIG pan to fit all that. Should it be that you use the pan to cook the veges and at some point everything would go into a pot to cook? What then do you add the rice to? Would it be a pot? I learned to cook rice separately but are you saying that after cooking the onions, carrots and other veges you should add those and the (dry uncooked) rice to a pot with 2.5 cups water and cook the rice with everything else in there with it? Thanks very much!
A Virtual Vegan says
Yes that’s what I’m saying. It all gets cooked in one pot together. It doesn’t have to be an absolutely huge pot. I use a large sauté pan. You can kind of see it in the pictures.
Louise says
Really easy and tasty! Will definitely be cooking again
Evie says
Wow. This was really delicious. Thank you!
Benjamin Harris says
Just made this recipe, it was super easy and extremely tasty! Defiantly adding this to one of my list of meals.
A Virtual Vegan says
Thank you Benjamin. I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Pammy Poo says
This was one of the best rice recipes I’ve ever made. Thank you!
A Virtual Vegan says
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for letting me know :)
Leanne says
Could I make this in hw slow cooker?
A Virtual Vegan says
I have never tried to cook it in a slow cooker and unfortunately can’t try it as I don’t have one anymore. I do cook it in my Instant Pot regularly though. I am pretty sure it would be fine. I just had a quick look online at rice cooked in slow cooker and it looks like it would maybe take about 2 – 3 hours on low. As I haven’t tried it myself though I can’t say for sure so maybe the first time you try it, make sure you are around to keep an eye on it. Hope that helps!
Melissa says
When you cook it in your instant pot do you include the veggies? Or only cook the rice? Thanks!
A Virtual Vegan says
I haven’t actually tested this in an Instant Pot but I do have a similar Instant Pot recipe and in that I saute the bell peppers, onions, carrots and garlic in the IP, then cook them with the rice. Then when it’s done I add the peas, give it a stir and just let the residual heat warm them through. The tomatoes, I guess it depends how well cooked you want them. I’d be tempted to try them in there at the beginning so you get the lovely tomato-ey flavour in the rice. You could end them at the end too though if you only want them lightly cooked. You might also need to decrease the amount of water a little too in the IP.
Scarlet Sawyer says
Hey, I did it all in an instant pot and it turned into more of a risotto haha or aka wet sticky rice mixture. The flavor is there and wonderful but as whole it is just mush. I cook rice frequently on the stove and never have a problem, could be the rice cooker or just me. Although, I don’t usually mess up recipes. Anyway, I think if i did the rice separately it would have been a wonderful rice dish. Have tried your other recipes and have loved them!
A Virtual Vegan says
I haven’t tested this recipe in my Instant Pot yet, but keep meaning to. I’ll try to do it soon. It will definitely need less water though and I wouldn’t think it will take any longer than 10 minutes. If you didn’t adjust those 2 things, that will explain why it’s wet and sticky.
This rice recipe is designed for the Instant Pot if you want to give it a try. It’s really tasty! https://avirtualvegan.com/teriyaki-instant-pot-rice/
Edith says
Daughter and I recently transitioned, thank you for so an easy meal. She really liked.
A Virtual Vegan says
That’s awesome. So glad you both enjoyed it!