frozen mixed vegetable

Keep the washing-up down to an absolute minimum with this one-pot supper - you can even eat it out of the cooking dish!

One-pot chicken pilaf

sunflower oil

onion,

curry paste (choose your favourite)

third of a mug basmati rice

chicken stock

mug frozen mixed vegetables

mug frozen leaf spinach

Heat the oil in a frying pan, then fry the onion for 5-6 mins until softened. Add the chicken pieces, fry for a further couple of mins just to colour the outside, then stir in curry paste and rice. Cook for another min.

Pour in the chicken stock and throw in any larger bits of frozen veg. Bring to the boil, lower the heat, then cover the pan with a lid. Cook for 10 mins, then stir in the remaining veg. Scatter over the spinach, cover, then cook for 10 mins more until all the stock is absorbed and the rice is tender. Give everything a good stir, season to taste, then tuck in.

Whip up a hearty bowl of soup in next to no time, perfect for a quick lunch or warming supper

Minestrone in minutes

vegetable stock

tin chopped tomato

thin spaghetti

pesto

olive oil

vegetarian parmesan-style cheese

Bring the stock to the boil with the tomatoes, then add the spaghetti and cook for 6 mins or until done. A few minutes before the pasta is ready, add the vegetables and bring back to the boil. Simmer for 2 mins until everything is cooked.

Serve in bowls drizzled with pesto and oil, sprinkled with parmesan.

What’s surprising here isn’t just that you can steam your rice and vegetables in one pot; it’s also that topping hearty brown rice with a big dollop of yogurt or crème fraîche takes it from virtuous to truly craveable. Wrapping the lid of your pot with a towel helps to absorb excess moisture from the steaming vegetables so that your brown rice doesn’t get mushy. This recipe is built to adapt to whatever fall or winter vegetables are lurking in your crisper and it’s pretty hands off once you’ve prepped them. Sesame oil brings out the nutty nature of brown rice, and the addition of crumbled seaweed snack sheets or furikake provides a nice umami crunch. When citrus season arrives, try topping your bowl with chopped pieces of mandarin or kumquats.

One-Pot Creamy Brown Rice and Vegetables

short-grain brown rice

vegetable oil, coconut oil or butter

garlic

Kosher salt, such as Diamond Crystal

water

squash

milk yogurt,

sesame oil, for drizzling

NYT Cooking

https://static01.nyt.com/images/2026/09/16/multimedia/KF-Steamed-Brown-Rice-and-Vegetables-with-Yogurt-gpjv/KF-Steamed-Brown-Rice-and-Vegetables-with-Yogurt-gpjv-videoSixteenByNineJumbo1600.jpg

Andrew Bui for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne.

https://static01.nyt.com/images/2026/09/16/multimedia/KF-Steamed-Brown-Rice-and-Vegetables-with-Yogurt-gpjv/KF-Steamed-Brown-Rice-and-Vegetables-with-Yogurt-gpjv-googleFourByThree.jpg

https://static01.nyt.com/images/2026/09/16/multimedia/KF-Steamed-Brown-Rice-and-Vegetables-with-Yogurt-gpjv/KF-Steamed-Brown-Rice-and-Vegetables-with-Yogurt-gpjv-mediumSquareAt3X.jpg

https://static01.nyt.com/images/2026/09/16/multimedia/KF-Steamed-Brown-Rice-and-Vegetables-with-Yogurt-gpjv/KF-Steamed-Brown-Rice-and-Vegetables-with-Yogurt-gpjv-facebookJumbo.jpg

Gather a large (4-quart) pot with a tight fitting lid. Wrap the lid in a clean dish towel, taking care to arrange the towel on top so that it will not fall near your stove’s heat source; tie it in a knot around the handle or use a rubber band to secure it.

To the pot, add rice, oil and garlic and stir over medium-high heat until rice is coated in oil and fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add 1½ teaspoons salt and water and bring to a boil. Lower to a gentle simmer and immediately cover. Let cook, undisturbed, for 35 minutes.

While the rice cooks, prep your vegetables: Cut florets into bite-size pieces and dice thicker stems. Remove and discard tough center ribs from greens, then roughly chop into ½ inch wide pieces. Cut sweet potato and squash into ½ inch pieces. Sprinkle with salt.

Working quickly so as to minimize steam loss from the pot, remove the lid, add 3 tablespoons water and arrange the cut vegetables on top of the rice in one layer. Replace the lid, cook for 10 minutes more, then turn off the heat and let the pot stand for 5 minutes. Remove the lid and stir the vegetables into the rice, smashing the garlic into the mixture.

To serve, scoop a generous amount of rice and vegetables into a bowl, then top each one with a very generous dollop of yogurt and a drizzle of sesame oil. Garnish with crushed seaweed sheets or a generous sprinkle of furikake.

This was fine, not great. I agree with the comments about roasting the vegetables, which would make a much more flavorful dish. Not sure why this has 5 stars.

Rice cooker with a steamer basket - cook brown rice 30 minutes- put cut up veggies in steamer basket - cook until the light goes out approximately 15 minutes more for a total of 45 minutes cook time.  Or cook on top of rice as the recipe recommends. Forget the towel business - Keep it simple and safe.

I use a silicon lid topped with the pot's lid on the rice. The silicon lid forms a seal. I will add the towel too, because some steam does escape.

Ditto @Pappy Jack! This is a very versatile recipe that serves as a blank canvas for many different flavor profiles, depending on the spices and herbs used. 

First time: made this as written, except used homemade vegetable stock instead of water. Chicken stock or broth would also be a great option if you don’t mind the meat component. Good quality store-bought broth or stock is fine as long as it isn’t loaded up with salt. This is an infinitely riff-able basic recipe that can go in many different directions.

Second time: used this as a very hearty base for Melissa Clark’s classic shrimp scampi recipe (also available on this website). While the rice was cooking, I prepped the veggies (I used broccoli, cauliflower, and diced butternut squash) and all the ingredients needed for the shrimp scampi. While the veggies were cooking, I sautéed the shrimp. When the shrimp were done, I scooped them out of the sauté pan and put them in a bowl with some tented foil on top to keep them warm and to prevent overcooking. When the rice and veggies were ready, I portioned them out into six pasta style bowls. Divided the shrimp up into six portions and placed it on top of each bowl of rice and veggies. Then I poured all of that divine scampi sauce over top of each bowl. No yogurt needed. New family favorite! Note: as others have mentioned, this does make a lot. Especially with the shrimp added, I was able to get six 
moderate-size portions instead of four.

@Jen Snow I never rinse rice. It doesn’t look dirty, and I like that the starch creates a sauce. if you rinse, you'll have to air dry the rice on a XL baking tin for 1 hour or it will never brown and go mushy.

Fold the tea towel into 4, corner to corner, and place under the lid, no towel will touch the gas this way. Although I thought you move the pan off the hot plate/hot gas hob and then put the towel inside.

Relying on one garlic clove and a dollop of yogurt to flavor a pot of brown rice and steamed veggies didn't cut it for me. I used cauliflower and sweet potatoes and they desperately wanted to be roasted. I didn't have seaweed so roasted kale into kale chips with garlic and salt, but it was still bland/weird. To not let the mound of leftovers I had go to waste, the next day I made a simple lemon vinaigrette and added arugula and a drizzle of chili oil and it was great (no yogurt needed).

I too would like to try this in a rice cooker. Has anyone tried a rice cooker with this recipe?

Any suggestions on a no or low sodium replacement for the seaweed?

Personally, it would take me longer to secure the towel and mess with adding the water and veggies at the end, "working quickly so as to minimize steam loss from the pot", than to simply steam rice as usual and then wash the second pot I steamed the veggies in. But you do you!

Get her some brown rice, vegetables, and a bottle of Evian!

Bbthis practically begs to have a can of garbanzos thrown in with the rice. Along with any leftover coconut milk one may have lying around…

Two thoughts/questions: 1) I need to rinse the rice, right? Does that mess with the first step? This always gets me with rice - I want to brown it a little but it’s wet; and 2) could I add a flaky fish in there to steam with the veggies? Too much?

@Samantha having the same thought. This will be very simple in a rice cooker.

Has anyone made this in a rice cooker? Thinking to try that

wrapping the lid in a towel is not a pro chef move. you tie it and forget it--there's nothing unsafe here.  and use a tall pot and you'll be fine.

this is a simple and delcious recipe. followed instructions to a T and rice was perfect. used lacinto kale (plus stems), sweet potato, green onion and some broccoli. really versatile and would be great as a heartier side dish. makes a lot, great for left overs.

The recipe attracted me until I read about the towel wrap pot on a stove.  Many folks are not pro chefs and/or are paying more attention to their phone when they should be watching that towel situation,  so that just seems like a house fire in the making.  Gotta be a safer approach.

Use less water and you won't need the towel to absorb the excess.

@Leon NYC lay out a dish towel. Place the lid on it. Gather the corners of the towel around the pot lid handle. Secure the towel with a thick rubber band. Your towel needs to be large enough to come up to the lid handle with extra fabric to secure it. It works best with a round lid handle, like what you would see on a Le Creuset Dutch oven or similar type of pot lid.

I immediately began converting this recipe to a pressure cooker in my head.  Brown rice takes 20 minutes under pressure, 20 minutes natural pressure release.  If you're planning on using longer-cooking vegetables, you might have to release pressure after 10 or 15 minutes, add the veg to the top and then bring the pressure back up.  I would then add the more quickly-cooking veg once the pressure is released or they will be dreadfully over-cooked.  Might need a bit of experimenting.

@Samsa

I frequently add unthawed frozen vegetables on top of white rice for the last 10 minutes of cooking time and with the off heat sit time I find them perfectly cooked.  Depending on how crisp you like your vegetables you may need to adjust the time to add

Sounds deliicious! How to adapt for a pressure cooker?

@Dan
How much less water did you use?  Thanks!

@Leon NYC You place a clean kitchen towel under the pot lid, being careful to not let it hang over the edge and near any open flame. The towel will absorb the excess water that the steam produces and will help to prevent the rice from turning mushy. I have used this technique for many years and it does work.

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