One-Pot Vegan Pilaf Rice

Bored of plain rice? Then I’ve got you covered with this vegan pilaf rice recipe. The rice is cooked in a delicious mix of spices, vegetables, nuts and dried fruits. This recipe won’t get boring. Also, there is lots of room for customization of this recipe! It is super simple to make, needs only one pot, and it’s definitely worth the little bit of extra time! This way of cooking rice is very common across many regions of this world and that is for a very good reason. Today, I am making this vegan pilaf rice with some Middle-Eastern-Inspired flavors to serve it with vegan fesenjan, a delicious pomegranate walnut stew. This was a feast!

Ingredients for this Vegan Pilaf Rice:

• Rice
• Vegetable stock
• Carrots
• Onions
• Garlic
• Almonds
• Olive oil
• Dates
• Raisins
• Parsley
• Cardamom
• Paprika
• Bay leaves
• Coriander seeds
• Fennel seeds
• Chilli flakes
• Salt

This ingredient list leaves lots of room for customisation. For a vegan Middle-Eastern inspired pilaf rice, this combination of flavors works fantastically. I went with basmati rice today, but you can switch that up. To give the rice extra flavor, we won’t be cooking it with water but vegetable stock. I went with my flavorful homemade vegetable stock today.

As vegetables, I am going with a simple combination of carrots, onions, and garlic. Aside of that, a combination of spices with sweet dates, raisins, flavorful olive oil, and fresh parsley is to die for!

As said, the ingredients leave lots of room for customisation. You can adjust the spices, vegetables, dried fruits and nuts to your personal preferences.

Vegan Pilaf Rice Recipe:

Making the vegan pilaf rice is straightforward. Firstly, we will prepare our vegetables before sautéing them in a pot. Next, we add the spices, rice and vegetable stock.

Sautéing the Vegetables:

Peel and dice the onion and carrots and mince the garlic. Start sautéing the onion and carrots in olive oil on medium-high heat. Next, add the garlic and the spices. Sauté together until the onions turn translucent.

Cooking the Pilaf Rice:

Next, pit the dates and dice them. Add the spices, raisins, and dates to the pot as well. Sauté for another minute before adding the rice. Toast the rice for an additional minute before adding the vegetable stock.

Cover the pot and bring to a boil before reducing the heat to low. Let it simmer until the rice has absorbed all the liquid. No stirring or lifting the lid here! Once it has finished cooking, gently fluff the pilaf rice with a fork so there are no lumps and it is nice and airy.

Chop the nuts and the parsley leaves and finish the vegan pilaf rice with them.

And that’s all there is to this simple recipe!

Serving Suggestions

This recipe is best served right away. It has so much flavor on its own but I love combining it with other hearty foods. This vegan Fesenjan, for example, was a match made in heaven.

Pilaf rice served together with vegan fesenjan. This was a treat!

You can also use this recipe for meal prep. Simply store the pilaf rice in the fridge for up to five days. You can simply reheat it and fluff it up. You can add a little bit of additional liquid if the rice seems a bit dried out before reheating it.

I hope you enjoy this vegan pilaf rice recipe. It has become a staple for me if wanting to prepare quick and tasty rice. Let me know what you think in the comments!

Some Recipe Suggestions:

• Vegan harak osbao
• Date cookies (maamoul-inspired)
• Tahini stuffed dates
• Roasted fig couscous salad with almonds
• Musabaha
• Falafel wraps

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