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 
Jillian says
January 18, 2019 at 5:06 pmThis 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
October 8, 2018 at 4:53 amHello,
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
October 8, 2018 at 10:12 amAlways 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
August 27, 2018 at 5:11 pmHi, 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
August 27, 2018 at 8:44 pmYes 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
August 16, 2018 at 11:48 amReally easy and tasty! Will definitely be cooking again
Evie says
August 16, 2018 at 4:40 amWow. This was really delicious. Thank you!
Benjamin Harris says
August 2, 2018 at 11:39 amJust made this recipe, it was super easy and extremely tasty! Defiantly adding this to one of my list of meals.
A Virtual Vegan says
August 2, 2018 at 12:07 pmThank you Benjamin. I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Pammy Poo says
May 22, 2018 at 1:45 pmThis was one of the best rice recipes I’ve ever made. Thank you!
A Virtual Vegan says
May 22, 2018 at 4:32 pmI’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for letting me know :)
Leanne says
April 24, 2018 at 1:28 amCould I make this in hw slow cooker?
A Virtual Vegan says
April 24, 2018 at 12:17 pmI 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
June 13, 2018 at 9:30 amWhen you cook it in your instant pot do you include the veggies? Or only cook the rice? Thanks!
A Virtual Vegan says
June 13, 2018 at 3:20 pmI 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
March 7, 2019 at 3:43 pmHey, 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
March 7, 2019 at 10:13 pmI 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
April 7, 2018 at 3:15 pmDaughter and I recently transitioned, thank you for so an easy meal. She really liked.
A Virtual Vegan says
April 7, 2018 at 4:19 pmThat’s awesome. So glad you both enjoyed it!
AV says
March 21, 2018 at 1:00 amI made this dish to take for my lunches. It’s a nice one-pot meal with plenty of vegetables.
Irina says
March 13, 2018 at 12:18 pmIf I was to replace the carrots with sweet potatoes, would you recommend anything to change it? I dont have carrots but have sweet potatoes :) Also made this a few weeks ago and it was AWESOME
A Virtual Vegan says
March 13, 2018 at 2:28 pmI think sweet potatoes would be great in it instead of carrots. They take about the same time to cook so no need to change anything there. The beauty of this recipe is it’s so flexible. You can swap any of the veggies that you don’t have for those that you do. It’s great for clearing out the fridge! So glad you enjoyed it last time you made it!
Hannah says
March 11, 2018 at 12:30 pmGreat recipe, really tasty rice and nice and spicy just how I like it!
A Virtual Vegan says
March 11, 2018 at 12:54 pmSo glad you enjoyed it Hannah!
Tracey Wells says
December 10, 2017 at 3:55 pmThis sounds delicious. I am trying to find a recipe i can use to make vegetarian sausage rolls . Do you think this would work in the puff pastry.
Thankyou
A Virtual Vegan says
December 11, 2017 at 10:47 amI think it would probably be a bit loose and fall apart a bit when you were eating it. My vegan meatloaf recipe would be perfect for inside sausage rolls though, in fact I might have to try that myself! https://avirtualvegan.com/vegan-meatloaf-with-gravy/
Tracey Wells says
December 11, 2017 at 12:36 pmThankyou. I’ll have a look at that.
Beth Donohoe says
December 2, 2017 at 10:00 amI don’t really care for peas, would edamame work okay?
A Virtual Vegan says
December 2, 2017 at 4:56 pmYes definitely, or corn!
Shannon Rafuse says
November 22, 2017 at 7:42 pmI made this! So soo good. And so fast and easy. Only took me 20 minutes in all!
A Virtual Vegan says
November 22, 2017 at 10:16 pmSo glad you enjoyed it Shannon!
Ammie Reynolds says
November 11, 2017 at 12:33 pmHi Mel, I tried this dish last night, I was short of a couple of ingredients so had to improvise. It came out wonderful, I really enjoyed the spice and so did my mum! Even though she’s not a fan of spicy food… So thanks for being such a great person and sharing your wonderful site… next is your red lentil dahl!!! Can’t wait because it sounds delicious and I absolutely loved dahl when I tried it for the first time months ago so I was really surprised and happy to see it on your recipe list! I’ll definitely be taking photos this time and tagging you on instagram! Happy veganing!! Ammie.
A Virtual Vegan says
November 12, 2017 at 5:34 pmI’m so glad you both enjoyed it Ammie. You will love the dahl. It’s become one of our favourites. I’ve been making it every week. Look forward to seeing your pics!
Elsie says
October 29, 2017 at 9:28 amCan i use regular paprika
A Virtual Vegan says
October 30, 2017 at 10:10 amYou can but just bear in mind it isn’t anywhere as flavourful as smoked paprika. If you can pick some up for the future you will see what I mean. It’s one of my favourite spices. So yummy!
Bri says
December 27, 2016 at 2:19 pmHi this looks great ! Just wondering if I could use brown rice instead and how much water should I add? Thank you !
A Virtual Vegan says
December 27, 2016 at 2:41 pmThank you Bri. I haven’t actually made it myself with brown rice but I would imagine you could leave the amount of water the same and just cook it for a little longer until the rice is tender and most of the water has been absorbed.
Bri says
December 28, 2016 at 1:04 pmOk great thank you I will give it a go!
Jacqueline Meldrum says
July 20, 2016 at 1:08 amLove this recipe, so tasty! Thanks for submitting it to Meat Free Monday, I featured it. The roundup is now live. I’ve stumbled, yummed, pinned and tweeted your recipe.
A Virtual Vegan says
July 20, 2016 at 8:23 amThanks so much for featuring it. I have pinned, tweeted, stumbled, flipped etc the round up too!
Betsy Allen says
July 13, 2016 at 7:49 pmI tried this tonight, and it’s definitely easy and very little clean-up (yay!). It was a little light on seasoning for us, so I added some seasonings at the end, and some sausage for my non-vegan hubby. It has a great base flavor, and I’m excited to experiment with it…the possibilities are endless, it seems almost any ingredient can be subbed with whatever you have in your pantry and fridge! Thanks for the recipe!
A Virtual Vegan says
July 13, 2016 at 8:52 pmYou’re welcome Betsy. One-pot meals are just the best. Anything to get away with extra cleaning up! I’m so glad you enjoyed it and yes, just about any veggies work well in it. It’s a great ‘clear the fridge out’ meal! Sorry the seasoning was a little light for you. It’s something that varies so much between people that it’s hard to get it absolutely perfect for everybody. I suppose it’s better for something to end up under seasoned and have to add a bit more, than it is if it’s over seasoned. It’s so hard to rectify once that happens. Thanks so much for stopping by to leave your feedback and have fun with your experiments! :O)
Betsy Allen says
July 13, 2016 at 11:41 pmOh, I totally agree! You can always add more seasoning, right? It had a great flavor, so I’m looking forward to making it again!
Sophia | Veggies Don't Bite says
July 11, 2016 at 7:14 amYou had me at spicy. The added veggies are just an extra treat! HA!
A Virtual Vegan says
July 11, 2016 at 7:42 amI totally agree! We all need a bit of spice in our lives ;o)
Vegan Heaven says
July 11, 2016 at 6:11 amI’m sure I’d love this! This really is my kind of meal. :-)
A Virtual Vegan says
July 11, 2016 at 7:41 amYou would. Thanks Sina :O)
kimmythevegan says
July 8, 2016 at 2:00 pm“If you have young children or someone who doesn’t like spicy food you can omit the chili from this recipe to make it ‘unspicy’ rice.”
That would be me haha ;p
This sounds so good!!! I need more recipes like this. It sounds quick to throw together, but super delicious.
YUM
A Virtual Vegan says
July 8, 2016 at 5:02 pmHa ha! It’s totally ok to make it ‘unspicy’ rice. We love hot food but I totally get that some people don’t. When we have had family with young children stay I made ‘unspicy’ rice. I just drowned mine in hot sauce after! Thanks Kimmy :O)
Ceara @ Ceara's Kitchen says
July 7, 2016 at 8:40 pmThis is my perfect kind of meal. Love that yellow colour too!
A Virtual Vegan says
July 7, 2016 at 11:19 pmThanks Ceara. Turmeric is such a wonderful spice, for flavour and for colour!
Alisa Fleming says
July 7, 2016 at 5:21 pmI just love the vibrancy of the turmeric in this and the contrasting veggies – it looks so appealing! And one-pot can’t be beat.
A Virtual Vegan says
July 7, 2016 at 11:19 pmThanks Alisa. I agree, one-pot meals are always a winner!
Nicole Dawson says
July 7, 2016 at 6:40 amSounds like the perfect mid-week meal. And I love how that turmeric just makes the dish pop!
A Virtual Vegan says
July 7, 2016 at 7:39 amTurmeric has the most wonderful colour doesn’t it? Thanks Nicole :O)
Jenn says
July 6, 2016 at 5:06 amMy mouth is watering! You’ve packed this dish with all of my fave veggies…and smoked paprika, my fave spice! Love how easy it is too! Great recipe!
A Virtual Vegan says
July 6, 2016 at 8:13 amThanks so much Jenn. We obviously have very similar taste buds!
Aimee | Wallflower Kitchen says
July 5, 2016 at 3:31 pmThis kind of food is probably my favourite go-to food for quick, flavourful dinners! So up my street and wishing I could eat a bowl of it right now <3
A Virtual Vegan says
July 5, 2016 at 4:45 pmThanks Aimee. Mine too. During a busy week, quick & easy dinners are a must!
Dacey Daniels says
July 5, 2016 at 1:55 pmThis is honestly my new favorite dish! It has just changed my life. Im pretty sure I’m going to eat this every week, if not twice a week. Omg ???? it’s so good.
A Virtual Vegan says
July 5, 2016 at 2:17 pmYou win the prize for fastest remake EVER Dacey! lol I am so glad you enjoyed it and thank you for stopping by to comment. I really appreciate it :O)
A Virtual Vegan says
July 5, 2016 at 1:37 pmA sign you MUST cook rice! In particular my Spicy Vegetable Rice ;O)
Kathy says
July 5, 2016 at 1:26 pmMy husband cannot eat bell peppers. What do you suggest as a substitute for them in this delicious sounding recipe?
A Virtual Vegan says
July 5, 2016 at 1:35 pmHI Kathy. This recipe is so flexible when it comes to the vegetables you use. Just about anything will work. I love green beans in it. Zucchini would be good, mushrooms, some extra tomatoes, even eggplant I think would be nice. I often throw in some celery if I have some that needs using up too. Just use whatever you have in the fridge, or his favourites. As long as the vegetable quantities are fairly similar it will work out just fine. Hope that helps :O)
Kathy says
July 6, 2016 at 11:49 amYes. Thank you. My fridge is calling!
A Virtual Vegan says
July 6, 2016 at 7:32 pmEnjoy Kathy!
Letty / Letty's Kitchen says
July 5, 2016 at 12:48 pmGorgeous! Can’t wait to try this. Pinned and shared!
A Virtual Vegan says
July 5, 2016 at 1:36 pmThanks so much Letty!
Becky Striepe says
July 5, 2016 at 8:20 amOoh I think my family would love this dish!
A Virtual Vegan says
July 5, 2016 at 8:29 amIt’s such a great quick and easy family meal. We eat it all the time!