Sweet Bell Pepper Rice
Sweet bell pepper rice is a sweet and savory rice dish that’s perfect as a side for your next meal. It’s quick, easy, and sure to be an instant hit. The rice is soft and sweet while the bell peppers and onions have their own natural sweetness and savory flavor going on and when it’s all combined together it tastes like magic.
We always, always, always, make this bell pepper rice to serve alongside our honey lime chicken enchiladas. They marry together perfectly, and honestly it’s a main course and side dish combo made in heaven. It just works!
Why This Recipe Works
This bell pepper rice dish is baked in the oven instead of on the stovetop. What’s great is that it comes together both easily and beautifully. The bursts of color really make this sweet rice look special but nothing compares to that first bite when the flavor hits you.
To amp up the flavor we use chicken broth as our liquid of choice. Doing so provides extra flavor that water just doesn’t deliver.
Ingredients
- Onion: Onions are big when it comes to cooking because they have a great natural sweet and savory flavor. They’re also considered aromatic, which means your food will smell fantastic. We need only a small amount of onion, and preferably a sweet onion.
- Bell Pepper: We want to use a red bell pepper because it adds color and flavor to the dish.
- Sugar: To help give assistance to the natural sweetness of flavors in this recipe we will need a bit of granulated sugar. Don’t worry, this recipe won’t become too sweet as a result.
- Long Grain White Rice: We want to use long-grain white rice as the rice base for this dish. Other grains will vary in bake time and how much liquid is needed.
- Chicken Broth: Instead of cooking our rice in the water we’re making a simple switch and cooking it with chicken broth. This will help to cook the rice while infusing it with a ton of wonderful flavor.
Step-By-Step Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a 9×13 baking dish, combine all of the ingredients listed and stir to combine.
- Cover the top of the pan with foil and bake in the oven for 60-65 minutes, stirring halfway through the bake time.
Recipe Tips
Dice the onion, cilantro, and bell pepper into small pieces. They will cook and meld with the rice better when chopped fine.
Storing
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 4-6 days. To reheat, place on a microwave-safe plate and heat in short intervals until warmed throughout.
FAQs
You can combine the ingredients in a large pot and bring to a boil, reduce heat and place a lid on top. Cook for the recommended time on the package of rice and check doneness, adjusting time as necessary.
Leftover rice can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-5 days. For best result eat sooner rather than later.
You can rinse your rice if you would like to, this would help to remove extra starches. That said, if you want to skip rinsing the rice you can as well. It turns out great either way!
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Bell Pepper Rice
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons butter - cubed
- 1/2 small sweet onion - finely chopped (about 1/2 cup)
- 1/2 red bell pepper - finely chopped
- 1/4 cup cilantro - finely chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 1/3 cups long grain white rice
- 3 cups chicken broth
Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Place all of the ingredients in a 9×13 pan. Stir to combine. Cover with foil and bake at for 60-65 minutes, stirring once halfway through bake time.
- The finished rice should have all of the liquid absorbed and will be soft and tender when biting into it.
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5 Comments on “Sweet Bell Pepper Rice”
Love this recipe. I love the given version but my spouse likes when I made it with less sugar.
Trying to make it again now, would brown rice work as well?
Brown rice could work, but if you use it, you’ll need to cook it for a lot longer and you’d need more liquid.
That was surprisingly very very good! Makes a lot so would be great for a large gathering.
Glad you liked it Susie!
This is so tasty. I made this tonight and my Guys loved it. The sweet pepper just makes the dish. This was so easy and you can do other things while the rice bakes. This will be made again and again.