50 Easy White Rice Recipes

Jennifer Causey

Got a leftover box of white rice? We've got you covered. Whether you're in the mood for a soothing soup (like this heartwarming Creamy Chicken and Rice Soup), an authentic Cajun dish (we absolutely love this Chicken-and-Sausage Gumbo), or a sweet dessert (we're looking at you, Rice Pudding Brûlée), our white recipes are exactly what you're looking for.

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One-Pan Hot Honey Chicken and Rice

Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall

One-Pan Hot Honey Chicken and Rice Recipe
Another winner, winner, chicken dinner! You can’t miss when budget-friendly chicken thighs are cooked to golden brown, nestled into a bed of rice and vegetables, and dressed with a honey-chile sauce. This is truly a one-pan recipe, making clean-up a breeze.

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Lamb and Rice Stuffed Eggplant

Photo: Caitlin Bensel; Food Styling: Margaret Dickey; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis

Lamb and Rice Stuffed Eggplant Recipe
If you’ve ever experienced the disappointment that is a bland eggplant boat hidden under copious amounts of sauce and cheese… rest assured, this isn’t that. A variety of dried spices provide a wealth of warm, aromatic flavors, while ground lamb delivers a distinct richness, and fresh mint provides a pop of herbaceous energy.

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Chicken and Rice Casserole

Photo: John Autry; Styling: Mindi Shapiro

Chicken and Rice Casserole Recipe

Although the yellow and green squash give this chicken and rice casserole a colorful appearance, you can use one or the other, if you prefer.

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Easy Slow-Cooker Jambalaya

Photo: Jen Causey; Food Styling: Tori Cox and Gordon Sawyer; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis

Easy Slow-Cooker Jambalaya Recipe

This classic Creole rice dish is perfect for the slow-cooker as all the flavors blend together over time in a marvelous way.

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Broccoli and Rice Casseroles

Photo: John Autry; Styling: Leigh Ann Ross

Broccoli and Rice Casseroles Recipe
Whether it’s for a special occasion or weeknight meal, this broccoli and rice casserole—complete with chicken and lots of cheese—is destined to impress. These mini casseroles are perfectly portioned and come together in 20 minutes, plus they’re brimming with flavor.

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Sheet Pan Paella

Meredith Food Studios

Sheet Pan Paella Recipe
No paella pan? No problem. You can still make authentic-tasting paella with a sheet pan. This sheet pan paella is full of flavor, and with this method, all the components from the rice to the sausage and even the seafood turn out perfectly.

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Creamy Rice with Scallops

Antonis Achilleos

Creamy Rice with Scallops Recipe
This recipe is impressive enough for company but easy enough for a weeknight. Smoky, salty bacon tastes delicious with naturally sweet foods like corn and scallops. Here, we combined all three ingredients in this sophisticated risotto-like dish made with Arborio rice.

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Instant Pot Red Beans and Rice

Gwenael_LE_VOT/Getty Images

Instant Pot Red Beans and Rice Recipe

The classic Creole dish, updated so you can make it in a quarter of the time thanks to the Instant Pot.

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Slow-Cooker Jambalaya Soup

Jennifer Causey

Slow-Cooker Jambalaya Soup Recipe

Look for andouille near the smoked sausages in the refrigerated section of your grocery store. Want to make this soup in your Instant Pot? Click here for the recipe.

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Creamy Chicken and Rice Soup

Photo: Victor Protasio; Prop Styling: Cindy Barr; Food Styling: Tina Bell Stamos

Creamy Chicken and Rice Soup Recipe
A little heavy cream adds body and richness to classic chicken and rice soup, and collard greens make it heartier and more nutritious. If you're looking for a tasty side, we recommend this Buttermilk Drop Biscuits Recipe that gets extra flavor from chives and whole-grain mustard.

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Spiced Tilapia with Coconut Rice

Caitlin Bensel

Spiced Tilapia with Coconut Rice Recipe

Two pantry staples—black pepper and turmeric—team up to fight inflammation and add bold flavor to this fast-fix tilapia. Dressing up microwave rice with coconut milk is a smart kitchen hack you’ll turn to again and again.

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Chicken-and-Sausage Gumbo

Greg Dupree; Food Styling: Rishon Hanners; Prop Styling: Missie Crawford

Chicken-and-Sausage Gumbo Recipe
Our basic gumbo recipe is a force to be reckoned with. This deliciously easy recipe tastes like it came straight out of the Big Easy.

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Beef Crumble Fried Rice

Photo: Jen Causey; Food Styling: Margaret Dickey and Gordon Sawyer; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis

Beef Crumble Fried Rice Recipe

This family favorite only takes half an hour to make. High heat and cornstarch make the beef extra crispy, and the soy sauce and red pepper add flavor to the dish. If you wanted to bulk the meal up a little bit, consider adding a vegetable like spinach.

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Single Serving Shrimp Fried Rice

Time Inc. Video Studio

Single Serving Shrimp Fried Rice Recipe

Cooking for one doesn’t have to be boring or a hassle. This easy and delicious dinner comes together in one pan and in less time than it takes to go through a drive-thru.

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Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya

Photo: John Autry; Styling: Leigh Ann Ross

Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya Recipe

Jambalaya is a classic Creole dish that combines rice with a variety of other ingredients such as tomatoes, onions, peppers and some type of meat or shellfish. This easy one-dish meals features both smoked sausage and shredded rotisserie chicken.

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Easy Oven Rice

Time Inc. Video Studio

Easy Oven Rice Recipe

For anyone who’s ever struggled with cooking rice on the stovetop (and no, it’s not just you…), this easy oven rice recipe is for you. Say hello to your new foolproof method for perfect, fluffy rice—every time. The only real “tricks” to nailing this baked rice recipe are avoiding over-stirring and fighting the urge to “peek” while the rice is cooking.

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Combination Fried Rice

Photo: Beth Dreiling Hontzas; Styling: Norman King

Combination Fried Rice Recipe

Use a mix of whatever meat you have on hand in this combination fried rice. Spicy chili-garlic sauce adds a kick and, once opened, it keeps indefinitely in the refrigerator.

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Arancini (Cheesy Italian Rice Balls)

Photo: Thomas J. Story

Arancini (Cheesy Italian Rice Balls) Recipe

For perfectly fried, mozzarella Arancini, dip a rice ball into flour and shake off any excess. Dip floured ball into egg, allowing any excess to drip off. Finish by coating completely in breadcrumbs. Repeat.

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Perfect 3-Step Rice

Perfectly Delicious Rice in 3 Easy Steps image

Time Inc. Video Studio

Perfect 3-Step Rice Recipe

You never knew "plain" rice could taste this good. Create the perfect pot of fluffy, well-seasoned rice every time with this foolproof method.

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Shrimp and Sausage Gumbo

Hector Manuel Sanchez

Shrimp and Sausage Gumbo Recipe
If there's a more satisfying meal to make for cool weather, we haven't found it. Gumbo is a stay-inside-and-cook-all-day kind of dish that warms you inside and out. While Louisianans have firm ideas about what goes into a proper gumbo, there are infinite variations.

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Instant Pot Rice

Photo: Jen Causey; Prop Styling: Kashara Johnson; Food Styling: Marianne Williams

Instant Pot Rice Recipe

This easy Instant Pot Rice recipe yields the perfect pot of fluffy white rice—i.e. the ideal blank dinner canvas. To amp the flavor up a bit, upgrade your pot to Instant Pot Coconut Rice, Instant Pot Green Rice, or Instant Pot Saffron Rice.

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Collard Green Creole Dirty Rice

Alison Miksch

Collard Green Creole Dirty Rice Recipe
This dirty rice gets its flavoring from chicken sausage, paprika, cayenne pepper, and even a poblano chile. Just add a serving of hot cornbread.

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Breakfast Fried Rice

All photos by Teresa Sabga / Styled by Jiselle Basile

Breakfast Fried Rice Recipe
A microwave might heat rice quickly, but it doesn’t add any flavor. Devote a few extra minutes to making breakfast fried rice in the morning, and last night’s leftovers will be totally transformed. If dishwashing seems like too much of a chore that early in the day, we’ve got great news for you.

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Gumbo-Style Turkey Soup

Photo: Greg Dupree; Styling: Mindi Shapiro Levine

Gumbo-Style Turkey Soup Recipe
If you’re looking for gumbo-flavor without the daylong cook time, check out this recipe that utilizes leftover Thanksgiving turkey. No leftover turkey on hand? No worries, just buy a turkey breast and bake or pick up a rotisserie chicken from your grocery store for a simple swap.

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Pineapple Fried Rice with Spam, Shrimp, and Cashews

Greg Dupree

Pineapple Fried Rice with Spam, Shrimp, and Cashews Recipe
This vibrant dish is as easy to make as it is gorgeous. We love the effortless way the recipe combines elegant ingredients with pantry staples.

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Smoked Chicken, Squash, and Rice Soup

Photo: Jennifer Causey; Prop Styling: Ginny Branch Stelling; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall

Smoked Chicken, Squash, and Rice Soup Recipe

Smoked chicken, which you can pick up from your favorite barbecue restaurant, gives this soup a nice depth of flavor. Lime juice, avocado, and cilantro add a Latin accent.

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Red Beans and Rice with Fried Eggs

Photo: Caitlin Bensel; Food Styling: Karen Rankin; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis

Red Beans and Rice with Fried Eggs Recipe
Red beans and rice is a tried and true standby for good reason—at it’s simplest, the dish is hearty, tasty, comes together fast, and can be whipped up with ease, even during those hectic weeks you can’t seem to make it the grocery store.

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Shrimp Fried Rice

Photographer: Paige Grand Jean ; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Torie Cox

Shrimp Fried Rice Recipe
You will never order take out again once you discover how fast it is to whip up this tasty, one-pan Shrimp Fried Rice. This delicious take on everyone’s favorite fried rice, ready in just 15 short minutes, is the perfect dish for a late summer meal.

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Taco Rice

The Food Gays

Taco Rice Recipe
It may sound odd, but this Tex-Mex style dish actually hails from Japan. It’s origins are from Okinawa, specifically, where it was made popular due to the high US military population who were stationed there in the 1960’s. Today, you’ll find it at casual family restaurants and fast food spots all over Tokyo.

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Turkey and Andouille Sausage Gumbo

Photo: Jennifer Causey; Styling: Claire Spollen

Turkey and Andouille Sausage Gumbo Recipe

This gumbo is a great use for leftover roasted turkey, though cooked chicken will also work. We skip the long-stirred roux here in favor of filé powder, a thickener made from the sassafras plant; look for it on the spice aisle. For the best results, stir in the filé powder off the heat.

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Zucchini Rice Gratin

Linda Pugliese

Zucchini Rice Gratin Recipe

Inspired by Julia Child's classic recipe for Tian de Courgettes au Riz (zucchini gratin), my version is comforting yet fresh and clean--it's not overloaded with heavy cream or cheese.

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Instant Pot Rice Pudding

Robby Melvin

Instant Pot Rice Pudding Recipe

This super simple Instant Pot rice pudding is creamy, rich, comforting, and has just the right amount of cinnam

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50 Ways to Use Leftover White Rice

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One-Pan Hot Honey Chicken and Rice

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Lamb and Rice Stuffed Eggplant

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Chicken and Rice Casserole

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Easy Slow-Cooker Jambalaya

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Broccoli and Rice Casseroles

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Sheet Pan Paella

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Creamy Rice with Scallops

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Instant Pot Red Beans and Rice

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Slow-Cooker Jambalaya Soup

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Creamy Chicken and Rice Soup

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Spiced Tilapia with Coconut Rice

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Chicken-and-Sausage Gumbo

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Beef Crumble Fried Rice

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Single Serving Shrimp Fried Rice

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Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya

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Easy Oven Rice

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Combination Fried Rice

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Arancini (Cheesy Italian Rice Balls)

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Perfect 3-Step Rice

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Shrimp and Sausage Gumbo

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Instant Pot Rice

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Collard Green Creole Dirty Rice

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Breakfast Fried Rice

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Gumbo-Style Turkey Soup

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Pineapple Fried Rice with Spam, Shrimp, and Cashews

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Smoked Chicken, Squash, and Rice Soup

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