You guys seemed to really enjoy the one pot vegetarian chilli and rice bake I shared a couple of months back (was it really that long ago?!), and I don't blame you. Vegetarian chilli and rice, complete with cheesy topping, all cooked in one big dish - what could be bad about that? There's not even any pre-cooking required - throw all the raw ingredients (including uncooked rice!) into a dish, and stick it in the oven. An easy dinner that's full of goodness.
A lovely reader suggested I make a curry version, which I thought was a brilliant idea - so this one pan chickpea curry and rice bake was born. A simple vegetable and chickpea curry with rice, all cooked up in one pan. Simples.
If you ever have any ideas for recipes that you'd love to see, please do let me know - I'm always happy to oblige!
As with the chilli bake, this chickpea curry and rice bake involves no pre-cooking at all - you only need to spend a couple of minutes chopping vegetables, and it's ready to go into the oven. I used mushrooms, a red onion, and a red pepper, along with a tin of tomatoes to help cook the rice, but you can switch up the veg if you like. Just remember that if you do go off-piste, and you use any particularly hard veg (carrots, for example), you may need to do a little bit of (shock horror) pre-cooking first.
After an hour or so in the oven, you'll have perfectly cooked rice and soft veggies - it's a bit like a biryani really. Just scoop it out onto a plate, top it with some fresh coriander (cilantro), and dinner is sorted.
This chickpea curry and rice bake doesn't have a cheesy topping like my chilli bake did, so you may decide it needs a little something extra on the side to add a bit of interest. Here I added a dollop of plain yogurt, but some raita or a dollop of mango chutney would both work really well too! And don't forget a few poppadoms for scooping.
📖 Printable Recipe
One pan chickpea curry and rice bake
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Print Pin CommentIngredients
- 150 g (~ ⅔ cup) uncooked long-grain white rice
- 5 medium mushrooms, diced fairly small
- 400 g tinned tomatoes (~ 1 ⅓ cups)
- 400 g tin chickpeas, drained (240g, or ~ 1 ¼ cups, when drained)
- 1 bell pepper, diced (I used red)
- 1 red onion, diced
- 2 teaspoon garam masala
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- Black pepper
- 150 ml (generous ½ cup) vegetable stock
- To serve: fresh coriander (cilantro), and a dollop of plain yogurt, raita or mango chutney (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 190°C (Gas Mark 5 / 375°F).
- Add all of the ingredients to a large baking dish (mine measured around 11 x 9 inches), and mix thoroughly. Remember the rice will expand as it cooks, so make sure the mixture doesn't completely fill the dish at this stage.
- Cover the dish with foil, and bake for around an hour, or until the rice is fully cooked.
- Serve with fresh coriander (cilantro), and a dollop of plain yogurt, raita or mango chutney, if desired.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is approximate, and will depend on your exact ingredients. Please calculate your own nutritional values if you require accuracy for health reasons.
Sue Knightley says
Cooked this last night. I was a little sceptical as I am not vegetarian but a guest was, it was gorgeous, very tasty, easy to prep and cook and gentle on the pocket, my veggie guest asked for the recipe !! Added some spinach as addicted to the stuff, you are my go to for vegetarian meals - thank you
Trevor boller says
Usually I add something. Not this time!! Okay okay. 1/2 a cup of lentils.
Becca Heyes says
Haha, did you add any extra liquid to cook the lentils?
Nicky Peebles says
Can I use wholemeal rice in this recipe? If so, what would be the recommended cooking time or would it be better to cook the rice for 10 mins beforehand?
Becca Heyes says
I haven't tested this recipe with brown rice so I can't say for sure, but I'd say it's worth a try. I'd probably add some extra liquid and increase the cooking time, just check it every now and then to see how it's getting on. Let me know if you figure it out! Otherwise, cooking the rice a bit beforehand would also be an option :)
LT says
All the things I look for in a recipe. Easy, inexpensive and delicious. I subbed a can of coconut milk for the vegetable stock because I like coconut milk in curries. Maybe because of that it could have used more salt. Even my non-vegetarian 16 year loved it!
Becca Heyes says
Thanks so much! Glad you all enjoyed it :) Coconut milk is a great addition.
GARY Dunne says
Can you please tell me how deep is the baking dish you you's i know its 9in by 12in but how deep i want to make this T-NIGHT
Becca @ Easy Cheesy Vegetarian says
Hi Gary, the depth is irrelevant really, as the ingredients will just fill up the dish as much as they need to. As long as your dish isn't unusually flat the ingredients should fit just fine! :)
GARY Dunne says
Hi Becca its a wonderful dish the reason i asked about the dish depth is you mention the rice expansion but it wasn't a problem my dish was fine the only thing i did do was add some defrosted spinach and it was awesome thankyou
Becca @ Easy Cheesy Vegetarian says
Great, thanks Gary! :)
Maria kean says
Omg just made this recipe and it’s fabulous thank you so much. Even my two non vegan teenagers loved it. X
Becca @ Easy Cheesy Vegetarian says
Thanks Maria, glad you all enjoyed it! :)