You’ll love this easy, delicious, homemade broccoli au gratin rice pilaf side dish (a Rice a Roni copycat), with rice, orzo pasta, broccoli and cheese! It’s a wonderful accompaniment for beef, chicken, pork OR seafood!
I prepared this simple recipe for broccoli au gratin rice pilaf recently as a side dish for our salmon dinner. What a delicious treat! This filling recipe is basically a copycat version of the popular Rice-a Roni boxed Broccoli au Gratin mix, but guess what?
This pilaf is just as easy to make from scratch, and is full of homemade flavors and fresh ingredients! It doesn’t take much time or effort at all to make, and really tastes GOOD! Here’s how to make broccoli au gratin rice pilaf (4 generous servings):
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Brown The Rice And Orzo Pasta
Start by heating olive oil on medium heat in large skillet. Add the orzo pasta and white rice to skillet. Stir mixture often (to prevent burning) and cook until the orzo turns a nice golden brown, as you can see in the photo below. This will only take a few minutes.
Cook The Broccoli Au Gratin Rice Pilaf
The next simple step is to add vegetable broth to the pilaf mixture in skillet. Bring the liquid to a rolling boil, then reduce heat to Low.
Cover the skillet (or pan), and cook for about 10-15 minutes, until almost all of the broth has been absorbed. At that point, add finely chopped broccoli. (I used frozen broccoli, which I thawed and chopped finely, before beginning).
Stir broccoli into the pilaf; cook mixture for another 3 minutes. Remove the skillet (or pan) from direct heat; add in the shredded cheddar cheese, butter, and season with salt and pepper (to taste). Stir until cheese and butter have melted and blended in completely. Put a lid on the pan, keep covered, and let the pilaf rest for 4-5 minutes.
Serve The Broccoli Au Gratin Rice Pilaf!
When ready, remove lid from pan, fluff the broccoli rice pilaf with a fork, and dish this yummy food up straight from the pan, OR place it in a pretty serving bowl to dress it up a bit!
Your family will really enjoy this tasty side dish, and you can smile, knowing you were able to get a yummy, healthy veggie into them!
Here is the finished broccoli rice pilaf on my husband’s plate, with Orange and Rosemary Glazed Salmon on the side. Seafood, broccoli rice pilaf, all present and accounted for on the ol’ dinner plate, for the win!
Thank you for visiting my blog today. I appreciate it, and really hope you will consider trying this recipe for Broccoli Au Gratin Rice Pilaf. It’s truly easy to make, and tastes wonderful! You might also enjoy my recipe for Easy Homemade Rice Pilaf (a delicious, “plain” version). Have a great day, and may the work of your hands bring great joy to God, others, and YOU!
Looking For More SIDE DISH Recipes?
- Au Gratin Potatoes
- Lemon Parmesan Orzo
- Cranberry Orange Israeli Couscous
- Toasted Orzo With Lemon And Chives
- Quick Easy Cornbread Stuffing
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Recipe Source: Debi, at https://lifecurrentsblog.com/homemade-rice-a-roni/
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 cup orzo pasta
- 1/2 cup white long grain rice
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 1 cup broccoli , finely chopped
- 2 Tablespoons butter
- 1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese , shredded
- 1 pinch salt , to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
Begin by heating olive oil in large skillet or saucepan on medium heat. Add orzo and white rice to skillet; stir, to cover orzo and rice well with the oil. Stir mixture often (to prevent burning) and cook until the orzo turns a nice golden brown. This will only take a few minutes.
The next step is to add vegetable broth to the pilaf mixture in skillet. Bring the liquid to a rolling boil, then reduce heat to Low. Cover the skillet (or pan), and cook between 10-15 minutes, until ALMOST all of the broth has been absorbed (mine took 12 minutes, so keep an eye on it). At that point, add chopped broccoli. Stir broccoli into the pilaf; cook mixture for 3 more minutes.
Remove skillet (or pan) from direct heat; add the shredded cheddar cheese, butter, salt and pepper. Stir until cheese and butter have melted and blended in completely. Put a lid on the pan, keep covered, and let the pilaf rest for 4-5 minutes, then remove lid, and fluff pilaf with a fork. Transfer to a serving bowl, if desired, and serve. Enjoy!
Here’s one more to pin on your Pinterest boards!