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Home » Recipes » Side Dishes

Carrot Rice

Published: Feb 21, 2022 by Lexi

23 shares
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This curry-spiced carrot rice is an easy, aromatic, flavorful side dish! It's naturally vegan and gluten free, studded with golden raisins and cashews, and delicious on its own or paired with grilled proteins, curries and more.

Overhead view of carrot rice in a pan.
Jump to:
  • 🥕 Why We Love This Recipe
  • 🍚 Ingredients
  • 📋 Ingredient Notes
  • 🔪 Step-by-step Instructions
  • 💭 Expert Tips and FAQs
  • 🍽 Related Recipes
  • 📖 Recipe

🥕 Why We Love This Recipe

  • Quick and easy: This carrot rice comes together in one pan in less than 30 minutes, but packs in a whole lots of flavor.
  • Super flavorful: With a base of garlic, onion and shredded carrot, plus spices like curry power, cumin and coriander, this carrot rice is bursting with flavor in every bite. The carrot adds the perfect touch of sweetness and color, plus an extra serving of vegetables!
  • Great side dish (but also great on its own): I honestly enjoy just eating a bowl for a light lunch, but it's also delicious paired with grilled or baked proteins, curries with a similar flavor profile, or even a soup.
  • Meal prep friendly: Make a big batch at the beginning of the week and enjoy as a side dish or light lunch.
  • Allergy-friendly: This carrot rice is naturally vegan and gluten free. It's also easy to make nut free, so it's an excellent choice for various dietary needs.

🍚 Ingredients

Here are the key ingredients you'll need to make this carrot rice:

Overhead view of carrot rice ingredients, including spices, basmati rice, and vegetable broth.

📋 Ingredient Notes

  • Rice: Basmati rice, a long-grain rice traditionally grown in India and Pakistan, is the best choice for this recipe. It's slightly nutty and aromatic and doesn't get too sticky, so it works well as a side dish. You can also substitute with another similar long-grain white rice.
    • We don't recommend swapping basmati rice with brown rice, as that will require a different cooking time.
  • Carrot: You can buy pre-shredded carrot, but we prefer to grate it on the large hole of a cheese grater instead so it's super fresh and a bit thinner than what you usually get in a package.
  • Vegetable broth: We use regular (not low sodium) to add extra flavor to this carrot rice. If you're not vegan/vegetarian, feel free to use chicken broth.
  • Curry powder: Each spice brand will have a slightly different blend of curry powder, since there are so many different types of curry. For this recipe, opt for madras curry powder if you can find some.
  • Lime juice adds the perfect amount of acidity to balance out all of the rich spices. Freshly squeezed is always best.
  • Cilantro: Optional – feel free to leave out if you don't like the flavor.

🔪 Step-by-step Instructions

(1) Add butter to a large skillet over medium heat. Once heated, add onions and garlic and sauté for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

(2) Stir in grated carrot and continue cooking over medium-low for another 5 minutes.

On the left: onions cooking in a pan. On the right: grated carrot after being added to the pan.

(3) Add in rice, curry powder, cumin, coriander, salt, and pepper and stir well.

(4) Pour in the broth and lime juice, stir, and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to low, cover and cook for about 12 minutes, stirring once or twice. 

On the left: spices added to carrots. On the right: broth added to carrots.

(5) Stir in cilantro and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Top with golden raisins and chopped cashews and serve warm.

On the left: adding cilantro. On the right: adding cashews and golden raisins.

💭 Expert Tips and FAQs

  • Stir once or twice during cooking to prevent the rice from sticking to the bottom of the pan. This will also ensure that the rice cooks evenly all the way through.
  • Serve this carrot rice with:
    • Masoor dal
    • Tofu tikka masala
    • Mediterranean grilled tofu
    • Cauliflower steaks
    • Another grilled or baked protein
    • Spicy carrot red lentil soup
    • Coconut curry squash soup
    • and so much more!
  • Using vegetable broth instead of water to cook the rice adds a lot more flavor to this dish. You can use water, but you may need to adjust the salt and other seasonings to add more flavor.
  • Toppings: golden raisins and cashews add a pop of sweetness and a nutty crunch to the finished carrot rice. I think they're essential because I absolutely love how much flavor and texture they add, but it will still taste delicious without them.
Should you rinse basmati rice before cooking?

Yes, you absolutely should. You don't have to rinse basmati rice until the water turns clear, but you should rinse it a few times to remove as much of the surface starch as possible. This will prevent the rice from getting mushy and clumping together when cooked. We rinse ours in a fine mesh sieve and use our hands to move the rice around to evenly rinse.

Overhead view of carrot rice in a pan, garnished with golden raisins, cilantro, and cashews.

🍽 Related Recipes

  • overhead view of vegan mango chickpea curry over white rice in a green bowl.
    Mango Chickpea Curry
  • Vegan Green Curry with Chickpeas
  • Close up view of maple glazed carrots in a pan garnished with pumpkin seeds and pomegranate.
    Maple Glazed Carrots
  • Overhead view of spicy carrot and lentil soup in black bowl on black tile.
    Spicy Carrot and Lentil Soup

Tried this recipe? Please leave a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page. You can also stay in touch with us through social media by following us on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook or by subscribing to our newsletter.

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📖 Recipe

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Overhead view of carrot rice in a pan.

Carrot Rice


  • Author: Lexi
  • Total Time: 35 minutes
  • Yield: 4-6 servings 1x
  • Diet: Vegan
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Description

This curry-spiced carrot rice is an easy, aromatic, flavorful side dish! It's naturally vegan and gluten free, studded with golden raisins and cashews, and delicious on its own or paired with grilled proteins, curries and more.  


Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 3 tablespoons butter (vegan or regular)
  • 1 small yellow onion, finely diced
  • 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
  • 1 ½ cups grated carrot
  • 1 cup long grain white rice (we used Basmati)
  • 1 tablespoon curry powder (we used madras curry powder)
  • ¾ teaspoon ground cumin
  • ½ teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 2 ¼ cups vegetable broth
  • 1 ½ tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
  • 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
  • ¼ cup golden raisins
  • ¼ cup chopped raw cashews

Instructions

  1. Add butter to a large skillet over medium heat. Once heated, add onions and garlic and sauté for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  2. Stir in grated carrot and continue cooking over medium-low for another 5 minutes.
  3. Add in rice, curry powder, cumin, coriander, salt, and pepper and stir well.
  4. Pour in the broth and lime juice, stir, and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to low, cover and cook for about 12 minutes, stirring once or twice. 
  5. Stir in cilantro and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Top with golden raisins and chopped cashews and serve warm.

Notes

Rice: Basmati or another similar long-grain white rice is best in this recipe. We don't recommend swapping basmati with brown rice, as that will require a different cooking time. 

Carrot: You can buy pre-shredded carrot, but we prefer to grate it on the large hole of a cheese grater.

Cilantro: Optional – feel free to leave out if you don't like the flavor.

Stir once or twice during cooking to prevent the rice from sticking to the bottom of the pan. This will also ensure that the rice cooks evenly all the way through.

  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 25 minutes
  • Category: Side Dishes
  • Method: Stovetop
  • Cuisine: American-Indian

Nutrition

  • Serving Size:
  • Calories: 173
  • Sugar: 7.5 g
  • Sodium: 483.9 mg
  • Fat: 7.6 g
  • Carbohydrates: 24 g
  • Fiber: 2.3 g
  • Protein: 3.4 g

Keywords: carrot rice

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