Rice and Grain Recipes & Ideas

A crock of slow-cooked grits is a dream to wake up to and an easy, no-fuss base for weeknight dinners.

I love the fall. The weather is getting cooler, my slow cooker happily takes its semi-permanent place on my kitchen counter while my oven always seems to be occupied roasting something. There are a handful of comfort food dishes that I crave in fall, and this Korean Curry Rice is one of them. This mild dish uses beef short ribs, and it is cooked with carrots, potatoes, and serve over white rice. As a kid, I have fond memories of walking into our kitchen and smelling curry simmering on the stove.

I’ve been craving a nice, hearty risotto so I’ve decided it would be a good time to make this type of dish during cold months. I had it in my mind that I wanted to make something with mushrooms and leeks. I wanted it to be savory and woodsy, encompassing the flavors of fall. I have a collection of nice dried mushrooms waiting to be used; some chanterelles picked by friends, and some dried porcinis that I picked with my mushroom picking club.

Bananas, dates, oats, and nuts — that's it.

Eggs, sausage, and, yes, cheese go into this comforting breakfast fried rice.

When I was young, I wanted nothing to do with the desserts my father brought home from our monthly trips to the Thai market in the city: gray griddled discs of taro root and coconut, round pancakes filled with coconut cream, and layered pink jellies flavored, disappointingly, with coconut. Well, times have changed. Now I’m the coconut fiend and the traditional Thai dessert kao neow dahm is my favorite way to get my fix at home.

Baked oatmeal is the queen of make-ahead, easy-to-adapt breakfasts.

Rice is rice, right? Not quite. Short-grain Japanese rice is quite different from long-grain basmati or jasmine rice, so achieving the right texture — glossy and tender but not sticky — calls for a particular cooking method. A fancy rice cooker makes the process easy, but it isn’t a necessity. Making perfect Japanese rice on the stove is simple, requiring only a good pot and careful listening skills.

It's gluten-free *and* whole-grain.

It requires just 5 minutes of hands-on time.

When it is cold and dreary outside, there is oatmeal for breakfast. It’s an “If A, then B” kind of situation. If you have a little extra time — a weekend morning, say, or a handy snow day — it’s worth pulling out the steel-cut oats. Yes, they take longer to cook than our standby rolled oats, but the trade-off is the best bowl of oatmeal you’ve ever had.

Cheddar- and jalapeño-flecked cornbread muffins are all too easy to love.

I recently spent a few days with Najmieh Batmanglij — known to many as the “Queen of Persian Cooking” — who opened me up to the cooking of her native Iran, and in particular to a rice dish called jeweled rice, or Javaher Polow. When I took my first bite, I almost cried from a near overload in flavor, fragrance, balance and a notable infusion of love in the grains of rice, tart little barberries, and strands of candied orange peel.

Oh, and it's practically no-cook!

Polenta is one of my very favorite breakfasts. I love the creamy, nutty taste of golden cornmeal in my bowl; it makes a lovely alternative to oatmeal or cold cereal. And it is even easier to whip up a bowl for breakfast than I realized, too. I used to just eat dinner leftovers for breakfast, but then I discovered that I can make a bowl of polenta in the microwave in five minutes.This will make one bowl of polenta, plenty for one person.

Sometimes, in the midst of cooking, a what if? can lead you towards an entirely new path. That’s what happened when I set out to make Vietnamese summer rolls wrapped in sheets of rice paper. “Can you fry rice paper?” my partner wondered as he eyed the translucent round sheets. “Let’s experiment,” I gamely replied.

Accidentally gluten-free, healthy-ish, and dang delicious.

Think a hot bowl of stove-cooked oatmeal is the only way to eat your oats? Think again. From jam-filled granola bars and vegan oat pancakes, to sandwich bread and breakfast cookies, there are plenty of delicious ways to enjoy this heart-healthy pantry staple.

Microwave popcorn has changed my snacking habits forever. No, I’m not talking about the plastic-wrapped packages of microwave popcorn from the store — although I will thank them for the inspiration. I’m talking about a more DIY version using a scoop of kernels and a plain brown paper lunch bag. It’s so easy and fast that it has now become the only way I make popcorn. Any paper bag will do, but I like to use brown paper lunch bags.

Sometimes the sequel is even better than the original.

Watch the video to learn how to bake tofu at home.

This meal is all about how much flavor you can pack in one pan.

Now that we’re up to speed on sprouted grains and their nutritional and culinary benefits, let’s take a look at how to actually make them at home. Sprouted grains, like wheat berries and rice, are super simple to make. They don’t require any major equipment, and they are also fun for both adults and kids to make. The grains are first soaked in water and then rinsed, drained, and kept moist inside a jar for a period of one to five days.

It's my favorite way to start the day.

An easy weeknight recipe that's firmly in the family-friendly zone.

Risotto is one of those delicious dishes that not enough people make at home because it has a reputation for being fussy and time-consuming. If you make it the traditional way, you have to spend about 20 to 30 minutes at the stove, all of it hands-on time as you stir and add stock, stir and add stock, stir and add stock. What about a delicious, creamy risotto in about 12 to 15 minutes that includes some precious hands-off time?

Prepare to fall in love with this easy homemade biko.

This ingredient takes these grits over the top.

It’s infinitely customizable.

This soup is thrifty luxury at its finest.

Make one for dinner tonight and you've got lunch covered for the rest of the week.

America's favorite gadget shows off when it comes to risotto.

Make it once and enjoy all week long.

And it comes out perfectly fluffy each time.

Think of rice pilaf as an upgrade to your everyday rice. It’s like rice that puts on a nice dress and some earrings — not much extra work, but the payoff is a side dish that feels just a little bit fancy. Today we’re making the very simplest rice pilaf: white rice cooked with a little flavorful oil and chopped onion, and then simmered with broth. It’s one step up from rice cooked in water, but not so elaborate that you can’t pull it together on a weeknight.

Never have a failed pot of rice again.

This method is foolproof.

The quinoa crunchies are a game-changer.

Watch the video to learn how to make corn tortillas from scratch at home.

I have been making granola nearly every week, since my husband loves it and it makes great gifts for friends and family. But I’ve been slightly perplexed, until now, as to how to get the granola to clump up. I love chunky, clumpy sheets of granola that hold together until you chop them up. I finally found two significant elements, however, that will help you get deliciously clustered granola!

Yesterday I covered the different types of sushi, and one of these was the temaki, or hand roll. This cone-shaped wrap of seaweed sheet (nori) is filled with vinegared rice and various ingredients. In this post I’ll explain how to make one.Items You Will Need:1 sheet of nori (seaweed sheets), cut in half1/2 cup cooked sushi rice with 1 tbsp.

It's a perfect pairing for grilled meat, stews, casseroles, and soups. 

Hoppin' John is a dish that is rich in both history and flavor, and Kardea Brown's recipe is no exception. This is how she makes it at home.

It's my cure for the Monday blues.

This versatile and delicious Puerto Rican dinner comes together with a few pantry workhorses.

Move over, chicken noodle.

Even for a seasoned cook, rice is tricky to master. You can follow the recipe to a T and yet, even if you thought you did everything right, things might not turn out as you expected. So what do you do when this happens? First of all, don’t get upset — it happens to the best of us! Second of all, assess the damage. Let’s talk about what to do if your rice is overcooked. There are two things that could go wrong; here’s what to do in each scenario.

The miso broth is ingenious.

The recipe is found in Ina's new cookbook, "Go To Dinners: A Barefoot Contessa Cookbook."

It's easy enough to make on a weeknight, but can be the star of a dinner party.

Keep these in your back pocket for quick meals and sides.

It feels fancy, but is surprisingly easy to make.

It's on your table in under an hour.

Forget the crunchy or mushy stuff that you may have suffered through in the past — we've got our method locked down.

If you can boil water, you can make couscous.

It's everything you want for breakfast.

No stuffing and rolling required for this easy cabbage soup.

You'll never overcook (or undercook) it again.