Description
Tex-Mex comfort food at its best, our Tex-Mex Spicy Veggie Rice is a one-skillet wonder of wholesome goodness. Packed with tons of nourishing veggies like zesty onions, earthy garlic, sweet bell peppers, spicy jalapenos, crisp corn, hearty black beans, chewy rice and aromatic Southwestern spices, crowned with a deliciously fresh tomato cilantro topping that makes it an utterly flavorful dish. Grab a plate and get ready to dive into this awesome dish that is sure to please!
Whole Food Plant Based, vegan, plant based, oil free, refined sugar free, no highly processed ingredients and gluten free.
Ingredients
Rice Ingredients:
- ½ cup yellow onion, fine diced
- ½ cup red bell pepper, fine dice
- ¼ cup jalapeno pepper, seeded, fine dice
- 2 teaspoons garlic, finely minced
- 1 Tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 ¼ cups uncooked brown rice (or rice of choice)
- 1 cup water (or broth)
- 1 ¼ cups vegetable broth *
Rice Herb/Spice Ingredients:
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 2 Tablespoons dried minced onions
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- ¼ teaspoon dried ground coriander
- ¼ teaspoon chipotle powder *
- 1 teaspoon Mexican oregano (or regular oregano) – optional
- 1 teaspoon sea salt (+/-) *
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper *
Other Rice Ingredients:
- 1 cup corn
- 1– [ 15 oz. can ] black beans, drained and rinsed
Tomato Cilantro Topping Ingredients:
- 2 Tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro
- 15 grape tomatoes, quartered
- 2 green onions, sliced thin
- 2 Tablespoon lime juice
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- 1/8 teaspoon sea salt (+/-) *
- Pinch black pepper (+/-)
Instructions
- Measure out the Rice Herb/Spice ingredients into a small bowl, mix well, set aside.
- In a large ceramic/enamel-lined Dutch oven, skillet or similar stock pot, add the diced onions, red bell pepper, and jalapeno peppers; sauté over medium-high heat until the onions and peppers begin to soften, approximately 5 to 7 minutes, stirring periodically to prevent burning. Add a tablespoon or so of water if they start to stick and/or to prevent burning.
- Add the minced garlic, tomato paste and Rice Herb/Spice mix and sauté for 1 minute, then add the dry rice, stirring constantly to thoroughly coat the rice with the seasoning/tomato paste mixture, about 30 seconds.
- Add the vegetable broth and water, bring to boil, stir well to combine, then immediately lower to a simmer, then place the lid on the skillet/pot and allow to cook undisturbed for 15 minutes. Then remove the lid (do not stir) and allow to cook for another 10 minutes undisturbed with the lid off. After the 10 minutes has expired, then gently pull up a few grains of rice to test for tenderness. If the rice is tender, go to Step 5. If not and all the liquid has evaporated, add a 1 tablespoon or so of water and continue simmering until the rice is tender. Resist the urge to stir.
- In the meantime, place all the Tomato Cilantro Topping ingredients into a bowl and stir. Set aside until the rice is done.
- When the rice is done, lay the corn and black beans on top of the cooked rice (do not stir the rice), cover with a lid and remove from the heat, and allow to sit for a few minutes. You just want the corn and beans heated through, then stir everything together and place the Tomato Cilantro Topping over the rice and serve.
Notes
*Vegetable Stock: We use Pacific Organic Low Sodium Vegetable Stock. We love this brand because it is Whole Food Plant Based compliant, as it does not contain MSG, has no oil, and does not contain any highly-processed ingredients.
*Rice: The key to creating a great stove top rice dish is resisting the urge to stir the rice while it is cooking. Stirring causes the rice to release starches and become more like a creamy risotto, which we don’t want. Just pull up a few rice kernels off the top of the dish to test for rice tenderness. If not tender, just continue to cook until tender. If all the liquid evaporates, then add a tablespoon of water or broth and continue to simmer until tender. Repeat the process above until the rice is done. Please note that the timing of cooking dry rice is based upon several factors: 1) the type of rice selected 2) the brand of rice selected 3) the age of the rice and 4) the cooking method. Each plays a factor in how long rice takes to cook. We used Uncle Ben’s Whole Grain Brown Rice for this dish.
*Chipotle Powder/Cayenne Pepper: We really enjoy heat and flavor that comes from chipotle powder and cayenne pepper, if you enjoy less heat or have small children, start with a pinch to 1/8 teaspoon chipotle powder and cayenne pepper (or none at all.) You can always crank up the heat near the end, if desired.
*Sea Salt: Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.
*Makes: 4 servings
*Storage: Refrigerate, use within 5 days.