Carrot rice can be enjoyed as the main dish or a perfectly healthy side dish to any meal. Mix up your plain rice or fried rice meals with carrot rice, you won’t be sorry you did! 

I didn’t even know carrot rice was a thing until I googled, “easy vegan rice meals” and carrot rice popped up as an option! At first, I thought it was a type of rice made from carrots, only to realize the carrots and rice actually go together. 

After testing out this easy carrot rice recipe a few times to get it perfect, I started craving the taste more and more. This colorful dish is absolutely delicious! 

This healthy carrot rice recipe can be used as a work lunch when saved in an airtight container, in your kid's lunch box (even if your kid is a picky eater), or a yummy dinner or side dish for the whole family. You really can use this dish in many varieties of ways.  

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Why You Need To Try This Recipe

- Naturally plant-based and veggie-focused

- Healthy alternative to plain rice

- Enjoyed with dal or other Indian meals

- Delicious on its own or as a side dish

- Has many health benefits to it

- Enjoyed kids and adults alike 

What To Serve Carrot Rice With

You can serve carrot rice on its own as the main course or with a number of different pairings. Here are just three different ways you can enjoy your carrot rice dish:

- Scoop it up with a piece of naan

- Serve with your favorite dal or curry recipe

- Enjoy with lentils or beans on the side

What You’ll Need For This Recipe

• Large skillet
• Instant pot or rice cooker (or large pot to make rice)

Main Ingredients:

Basmati rice, uncooked - If you want to use white, brown or jasmine, feel free to do so! Any rice works with this recipe. 

Vegetable broth (or water) - Veggie broth will give the recipe a richer flavor than water would but if you don’t have veggie broth, feel free to just use water. 

Onion - I used sweet onion but you can use white or yellow as well. 

Ginger paste - Using ginger paste is very convenient but you can also get raw ginger and chop it up beforehand or use 1 tablespoon ground ginger in its place. 

Garlic cloves - I buy cans of crushed garlic for convenience but garlic cloves are a more affordable option to use. 

Carrots - For this recipe, you would use about 3-4 medium carrots or 2-3 large carrots. In my recipes, I always push for more plants so I added a bit more carrots than other recipes would. You can increase or decrease the amount as you see fit. 

Lemon juice - You can also use lime juice instead. 

Raw cashew pieces - You can use almond, walnut, or peanut pieces instead. 

Cilantro - Fresh cilantro and/or parsley is a must to top this recipe off. 

Spices:

Cinnamon, Cloves, Cardamom, Turmeric powder, Black pepper, Garam masala - You can use ground or whole spices (I prefer ground spices). 

Below you'll find my favorite garam masala powder to use for Indian dishes.

How To Make Carrot Rice

Prepare The Rice

Combine rice and water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low, cover with lid, and allow to steam until tender, about 25-30 minutes.

OR you can make the rice in an instant pot (my preferred method) or rice cooker. 

Cook The Other Ingredients And Combine 

Using a bit of olive oil or water, saute the sliced onion over medium heat in a large skillet. Cook and stir until the onion has softened and turned golden brown (about 8 minutes). Add the ginger and garlic and saute for another 2 minutes. 

Stir in the spices, carrots, lemon juice, cashews, and salt to taste. Reduce to low heat and saute 6-8 minutes. 

Add the cooked rice to the skillet and stir gently to combine with other ingredients. 

Serve and garnish with chopped cilantro and any other topping you desire. Enjoy!

Pin This Carrot Rice Recipe For Later

Don't have time to make it now? No worries! Save it to pinterest so you'll have it handy for your next family dinner night.

Healthy, Easy Carrot Rice

This flavorful carrot rice dish is healthy and easy. You can make this family-friendly Indian meal in 45 minutes or less, using only 2 pans.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 40 minutes mins

Total Time 45 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine Indian

Servings 6

Equipment

• 1 Large skillet
• 1 Instant pot or rice cooker or large pot to make rice

Ingredients

  

• 2 cups basmati rice uncooked
• 4 cups water or vegetable broth
• 1 medium yellow onion thinly sliced
• 1 teaspoon ginger paste
• 2 finely chopped garlic cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon cardamom
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garam masala powder
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 3 cups carrots grated (about 3-4 medium carrots)
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
• 2 Tablespoons raw cashew pieces
• Chopped cilantro optional

Instructions

 

Prepare rice

• Combine rice and water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low, cover with lid, and allow to steam until tender, about 20 minutes. OR make the rice in an instant pot (my preferred method) or rice cooker to prepare it in less time.

Prepare other ingredients

• Using a bit of olive oil or coconut oil, saute the sliced onion over medium heat in a large skillet. Cook and stir until the onion has softened and turned golden brown (about 8 minutes). Add the ginger and garlic and saute another 2 minutes.
• Stir in the spices, grated carrots, lemon juice, cashews, and salt to taste. Reduce to low heat and saute 6-8 minutes.
• Add the cooked rice to skillet and stir gently to combine with other ingredients.
• Serve and garnish with chopped cilantro and some optional hummus. Enjoy!

Video

Notes

Notes: You can chop the carrots in a food processor if easier. If you have whole cashews, chop them well beforehand.

Other ingredients you can add: green peas, coriander leaves, fresh parsley, sambar powder, green chillies, coconut milk, pav bhaji masala, mustard seeds, curry leaves, curry powder, red beans, or bell peppers. (Keep in mind, adding other ingredients might give this recipe a different flavor profile.)

If you have any leftover rice, you can save it for 3-5 days in an airtight container in the fridge or freeze it up to 3 months in a freezer bag.

Keyword Carrot Rice, Indian Dishes, Rice

How To Save Leftovers

If you have leftovers of this carrot rice dish (doubtful any will be left), you can save it in the fridge for 3-5 days or in the freezer for 3 months as long as the dish is in an airtight container or freezer bag. 

Other Rice Dishes You Might Enjoy

Trying to increase your collection of rice recipes? Here are a few more rice dishes you might enjoy.