An easy & quick-to-prepare side dish of veggie rice, great for babies and older kids, ready in just 20 minutes!
This kid-friendly veggie rice is made with frozen mixed veggies, requiring very little prep and it's ready in just 20 minutes. It's great for busy days when you try to pull a healthy meal in under 30 minutes.
You could serve it with some protein for a complete meal, like my chicken and cauliflower nuggets, spiced chicken drumsticks, or homemade fish sticks.
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👩🏻🍳 Why you should try my recipe
- Perfect side dish with some meat or fish on the side.
- Ready in 20 minutes.
- Suitable for babies and toddlers.
- Just a handful of simple ingredients that are easy to keep on hand for busy days and quick meals.
🥘 Ingredients
To make this kid-friendly vegetable rice, we are going to use short-grain rice, vegetable mix, onion, lemon, olive oil, butter and black pepper. For older kids and adults, you could add some salt to taste. I'm leaving out the salt to make the recipe baby-friendly for babies under 12 months.
- Rice: I'm using short-grain rice such as Calrose, Arborio, or Carolina rice. I find that it becomes creamier when cooked and is easier for young children to manage. This is especially helpful for kids who are still learning to use a spoon, as the grains stick together, reducing mess and ensuring more food makes it into their mouths.
- Veggie Mix: I'm using a frozen vegetable mix with diced carrots, peas, corn, and green beans. You can also add fresh vegetables like broccoli florets or diced zucchini for extra variety.
- Butter: Butter is added towards the end to make the food creamier and add some extra flavor. For a dairy-free dish, you could substitute it with a tablespoon of olive oil.
- Black Pepper: This is optional and added for flavor. You could skip it or add some spices that your family likes.
For full quantities and to print the recipe, see the recipe card below.
🔪 Step-by-step Instructions
So get your ingredients ready and let's get started!
01. I heat a pot over medium heat and add some olive oil. Then, I sauté the diced onion for 3-4 minutes until it becomes soft and translucent. Cooking the onion first enhances its sweetness and deepens the overall flavor of the dish.
02. Next, I add the vegetable mix and stir it together with the onion and oil. I use two cups of frozen veggies straight from the freezer without thawing them first.
03. Next, I rinse the rice in cold water before adding it to the pot along with 2 cups of water or stock, depending on your preference. I then reduce the heat to medium, cover the pot with a lid, and let it cook for about 15 minutes.
04. After 15 minutes, the rice should be cooked with a small amount of water remaining in the pot. I add the lemon juice and the black pepper and stir to combine.
I turn off the heat, add a tablespoon of butter, and mix it in to get a nice and creamy vegetable rice. Then, I cover the pot with the lid and let it rest for 5 minutes before serving.
🍽 Serving suggestions
We often serve this easy vegetable rice as a side dish with meat or fish, but it can also be enjoyed as a main dish with some fruit.
For babies under 12 months who are still learning to eat solids, they can use their little hands to grab the veggie rice or practice with a spoon.
🧰 Storage
This recipe makes about 4 adult servings. If you have any leftovers of the veggie rice then you could store it in the fridge for up to 1 day.
When reheating rice, ensure it's heated thoroughly until steaming hot. You can warm it up in the microwave or on the stovetop, adding a tablespoon of water if needed.
🥗 Pair it with
We like to combine veggies and carbs with some protein for a full nutritional meal. Here are some dishes that you could pair this vegetable rice with
❓ FAQ
Yes, you can definitely use fresh vegetables instead of frozen ones. Make sure you dice any big vegetables like carrots, zucchini etc. Other vegetables, like broccoli and cauliflower, you could roughly chop or break with your hands into smaller bits.
📋 Recipe
Easy Kid-friendly Veggie Rice
Ingredients
- 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 onion diced
- 2 cups mixed vegetables (frozen)
- 1 cup short-grain rice
- 2 cups water or stock
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 lemon
- 1 tablespoon cold butter
Instructions
- Place a pot over medium heat. Add the olive oil and chopped onion. Sauté for 2–3 minutes.
- Add the mixed vegetables and mix with the onion and olive oil for a minute.
- Rinse the rice well and add it to the pot. Add 2 cups of water and set the heat to medium-low.
- Cover with the lid and cook for 14–15 minutes.
- Add the lemon juice and ground black pepper. Mix to incorporate.
- Turn off the heat and add the cold butter. Mix to incorporate.
- Cover with the lid and rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Video
Notes
- You don't need to thaw the frozen mixed vegetables. Use straight out of the freezer.
- You could use water or stock to cook the rice and vegetables.
- For older kids and adults, you could add some salt while cooking or at the end.
- One medium lemon is about 3 tablespoons. You could add more or less to your liking.
- Mixed vegetables bags usually have peas, corn, green beans and carrots. You could add more diced vegetables to your liking or a different blend.
- Instead of butter at the end, you could add a tablespoon of olive oil for a vegan or dairy-free dish.
- You could use any short-grain rice you have available at home like calrose rice, arborio rice or carolina rice.
Nutrition
🥣 More to try
If you liked my kid-friendly veggie rice recipe, you should try some of these recipes too:
Julia Droulia
Thank you for coming to the comment section. Here, you can leave me your feedback with a star rating; readers, like yourself, can find comments helpful when they consider making one of my recipes. I hope you love this one as much as we do