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Chipotle Brown Rice Bake

Sometimes a dump-and-bake casserole is just the thing you need! And this Chipotle Brown Rice Bake is exactly that. There’s no need to pre-cook rice or sauté separately, just use pantry and freezer-friendly ingredients to make this dish!

Image of chipotle brown rice bake in a red casserole dish on a beige background

Of course, I’m still bringing you recipes that are quarantine-friendly, right now! So, two days ago, I asked y’all, “What ingredients in your pantry do you need help with?” Some of the more common responses I saw were brown rice, buckwheat, split peas, millet, and a couple others. Lucky for you, I have a lot of those covered!

Image of ingredients: red onion, corn, kale, vegetable broth, grains and beans

For buckwheat I love my PB&J Granola, and for split peas try my unconventional Chocolate protein ice cream! For millet, I have a stuffing recipe, but may need to work on something else in that category. Oh! And I have a pretty unique buckwheat recipe from Vegan Yack Attack on the Go!, that I’ll be sharing in my newsletter soon. So, make sure to subscribe not to miss out!

Image collage of ingredient prep, chopping onions and pouring tomato sauce

Now, here’s a breakdown of what’s in this recipe from the pantry and from the freezer, plus some substitution options.

Pantry ingredients:

  • Short grain brown rice – can be subbed with many grains, you may need to adjust cooking time, though!
  • Canned tomato sauce
  • Canned black beans – pinto beans or chickpeas could also work well in this recipe.
  • Chili in adobo sauce – if you’re not into spicy, try canned green chiles instead!
  • Canned jumbo olives – green olives could also work, or just leave out and adjust salt to taste.
  • Vegetable broth/bouillon
  • Red onion – yellow onion would work just fine here!
  • Ground cumin, dried oregano, and salt!

If you’d like to try making this in the instant pot or multi-cooker, it’s quite easy! Place everything in the pot, but only use half the broth (1 1/2 cups) and cook at high-pressure for 25 minutes, let sit for 5 minutes (or closer to 10 if you want really soft rice), then release pressure, stir and serve!

Image of casserole dish with bake ingredients segregated before mixing

Freezer ingredients:

  • Frozen corn – you can use canned corn and drain it instead (not creamed), if that’s what you have.
  • Frozen chopped kale – chopped spinach works just fine, or adding two cups fresh baby spinach.
Image collage of assembly of rice bake in a red casserole dish

I’m trying to be as accommodating as possible, especially since we can’t just run to the store! So, hopefully this Chipotle Brown Rice Bake is at the very least a delicious jump-off point for you. Corey, who is a picky eater, was suspicious of it, based on looks. But, once I got him to try some he was into it! (and he usually dislikes brown rice) Personally, I like the slight chew it offers this dish!

Image of chipotle brown rice bake in a red casserole dish on a beige background with bowl in foreground

As you can see in the pictures, I had some avocado on hand, plus cut green onions from the garden. If you’ve never re-grown green onion from scraps it’s so easy! No garden is necessary, just a jar with water. And the avocado isn’t absolutely essential to enjoying this dish, just a nice bonus.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

Chipotle Brown Rice Bake

Image of chipotle brown rice bake in a red casserole dish on a beige background with bowl in foreground

There's no need to pre-cook rice or sauté separately, just use pantry and freezer-friendly ingredients for this Chipotle Brown Rice Bake!

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 cups (390 g) short grain brown rice
  • 15-ounce (425 g) can black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 cup (135 g) diced red onion
  • 1 cup (134 g) frozen corn kernels
  • 1 cup (88 g) frozen chopped kale or spinach pieces
  • 1/2 cup (60 g) sliced black olives
  • 1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, diced with seeds removed
  • 1 tablespoon (14 g) adobo sauce from can, or to taste/spice threshold
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/2-3/4 teaspoon sea salt, to taste
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 3 cups (710 ml) low or no-sodium vegetable broth*, heated to boiling hot
  • 15-ounce (425 g) can tomato sauce
  • 1/2 large avocado, diced (optional)
  • 2 tablespoons (3 g) diced green onion or cilantro (optional)
  • Lime wedges, optional*

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C, or gas mark 4), and spray a 9x13-inch (23x33 cm) baking dish with a light coating of cooking oil.
  2. Next, dump rice, black beans, onion, corn, kale, olives, chipotle pepper, adobo sauce, cumin, salt, and oregano into the baking dish. Stir together to evenly combine, then add vegetable broth and tomato sauce, stirring again to evenly combine.
  3. Cover dish with aluminum foil and bake for 40 minutes. Then, take dish out, give it a stir (the rice settles to the bottom otherwise), cover with foil again and bake for 20 more minutes.
  4. If the rice looks to be cooked through, remove foil from dish and bake for another 10 minutes. If the rice needs more time, try cooking another 5 to 10 minutes before uncovering.
  5. Once the bake is done, take it out of the oven and wait 5 minutes before topping with avocado and green onion, then serving. Squeeze a lime wedge over the top and enjoy!
  6. FOR INSTANT POT: If you'd like to try making this in the instant pot or multi-cooker, it's quite easy! Place everything in the pot, but only use half the broth (1 1/2 cups) and cook at high-pressure for 25 minutes, let sit for 5 minutes (or closer to 10 if you want really soft rice), then release pressure, stir and serve!

Notes

*If you do not have low or no-sodium vegetable broth/bouillon on hand, just adjust the salt added to 1/4 teaspoon or to taste.

*If you don't have lime or lemon wedges on hand, try stirring 2-3 teaspoons (10 ml) white vinegar into the ingredients before baking. The acid really helps balance the flavors.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

4

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 579Total Fat: 12gSaturated Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCarbohydrates: 112gFiber: 17gSugar: 13gProtein: 16g

The nutrition information is calculated by a plug-in, and isn't always accurate. Please calculate your own with the products that you use, as it will be different for everyone.

Did you make this recipe?

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Instagram

Here are some other great options for easy-cooking!

Image of chipotle brown rice bake in a red casserole dish on a beige background

I realize that I haven’t asked my readers on here what ingredients they could use help with! If this Chipotle Brown Rice Bake doesn’t check off your list, tell me in the comments what would. Looks like we have a few more weeks of this and I want to be as helpful as I can! <3

Image of chipotle brown rice bake in a red casserole dish on a beige background with bowl in foreground

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Sophia

Sunday 29th of August 2021

Making this recipe now, but tweaked it a bit to accommodate what I had in the ornery! Used white rice instead of brown, green olives instead of black, water instead of chicken broth (spices added), pinto beans instead of black and then some vegan Feta! Thanks so much for the idea- love to throw new things together!

Sophia

Sunday 29th of August 2021

Haha I meant pantry instead of ornery! 😂

Audrey

Thursday 5th of August 2021

If you use faster cooking rice like jasmine or basmati would it take as long? Or does it matter because of the ratios? Thanks

Jackie @ Vegan Yack Attack!

Friday 6th of August 2021

It may be a few minutes faster! The flavor will be a bit different though (of course).

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