I love rice. Wait, I honestly think that’s an understatement. Rice is life. It’s such a huge part of my culture, cuisine, and childhood. Rice is a food that connects so many different cultures and it’s definitely inspiring to see how they all cook it; each cuisine, showcasing a humble dish with love and respect. It gives me warm fuzzies.

And y’all know that I love feeding people that I care about, so this recipe I whipped up was no exception. Riceland Foods was kind enough to send me a rice gift box for the holidays. Not only does it come with a pouch of rice and some cute kitchen goodies, every purchase of the box is a $5 donation to Feeding America, which helps provide at least 50 meals to those in need. How amazing is that? Because of that, partnering with them was a no brainer.

This recipe has quite a few components and calls for some multi-tasking, but they’re easy to knock out while your rice is steaming and finishing cooking through since the veggies are roasted and are mainly hands-off work.

My idea for this recipe came from brainstorming about some of my favorite winter vegetables and how often I enjoy eating rice at home. So why not combine the two for an awesome and colorful dish? Roasted beets, butternut squash, shaved brussels sprouts, and aromatics all come together with fluffy, white rice for a filling and flavor-packed dish. So, let’s get started!

Holiday Harvest Rice

Cook time: about 1 hour

Serves: 4-6

Olive oil

Apple cider vinegar

1 cup of beets, peeled and cubed

1 cup butternut squash, peeled and cubed

1 1/2 cups Riceland enriched long grain rice

3 cups vegetable stock

Pinch of kosher salt

2 tbsp unsalted butter

1/2 large yellow onion, diced

Kosher salt

1 tbsp garlic powder

1 9oz bag shredded brussels sprouts

Pepitas (shelled pumpkin seeds), toasted for garnish

Preheat your oven to 375°F.

While the oven is heating up, follow the package instructions for the rice and substitute the vegetable stock in place of water.

With the rice is cooking and doing its thing, toss the cubed beets and butternut squash with a little splash of olive oil and apple cider vinegar.

Sprinkle with a few pinches of kosher salt and black pepper. Roast in the oven for about 45 minutes or until tender. At this point, you can step away from the stove since you’re going to be waiting on the veggies to finish roasting. Note that you can definitely make the roasted beets and squash ahead of time if you’re wanting something a little quicker. Definitely up to you! When the beets and squash are done, set them aside and get working on the sprouts.

Next, over medium heat in a medium frying pan, melt down the butter and add the diced yellow onion and garlic powder. Sauté until the onion is translucent, about 5-7 minutes. Then, add the shredded brussels sprouts and mix well. Cook down until they’re bright green and slightly tender, with a little crunch and without being mushy. This should take about 5 minutes. Set aside.

When it’s time to serve, in a large bowl, gently fold in the vegetables and rice together. If the rice turns pink, that’s okay! That’s just beets doing their beet thing and frankly, it looks super festive, don’t you think? Top the rice with the toasted pepitas and enjoy solo or with a protein. I paired the rice with a smoky-seasoned cast iron seared boneless pork chop.

¡Buen provecho!