30 Minute Easy Zucchini and Rice Dinner
Learn how I made this 30 Minute Easy Zucchini and Rice Dinner. This year I planted two zucchini plants. I knew better than that, but I was so excited to be planting a garden. Needless to say, I have a bunch of zucchini. One evening after running some errands I knew I wanted to make something with my fresh zucchini, but I wasn’t sure what. I have made fried zucchini and baked zucchini chips. But I wanted something that didn’t take as long preparation-wise.
I got inspired by Hot Head’s Burrito. They have veggies as an option and I got those the last couple of times I got a bowl. The veggies are just different kinds of squash. So I thought “oh rice and zucchini sound delicious!
I love to cook, but I’m not a professional!
Now, I do want to just point out this is just a dinner idea. I am not a professional cook and I hardly EVER measure anything. So, please don’t be upset with me if you like to measure everything precisely. I just thought this was good and wanted to share with my chickadees something to make with fresh zucchini.
To make this, 30 minute easy zucchini and rice dinner, I started with a cup of white rice. I would say this is enough for 2-4 servings depending on portion size and if you would eat this with something else. I would just eat this by itself so 2 servings for us. You could easily use any kind of rice you like! White is just my preference. And just follow the directions with the rice you have. I used two cups of water and heated it boil. Next, once it was boiling, turned the heat down to medium. Then, I covered and stirred occasionally.
I then peeled and chopped my fresh zucchini up. Peeling could be a preference thing here but I like mine peeled.
You can’t forget the seasonings!
For this, I used salt, pepper, dill, and just a little bit of garlic powder. I wanted to keep this a light dish. And sometimes I tend to go a little overboard with garlic and onion powder! I would say I used a couple of teaspoons of each. I like a lot of flavor!
While the rice was cooking, I added the chopped zucchini to a pan with 2 tablespoons of olive and the seasonings. I cooked it over low/medium heat. I let it cooked, uncovered, until tender. The zucchini will most likely be done before the rice, if you prepped everything beforehand as I did. It’s okay to take it off the heat until the rice finishes up.
Adding the Zucchini and Rice together! Don’t forget the butter.
After both the zucchini and rice were done. I added the rice with the zucchini. Also, I added a few tablespoons of butter in the pan and turned the heat back on just long enough to melt the butter and to give the seasonings a chance to mix in with the rice as well. I wanted to add some butter just to give it a creamier taste.
I honestly loved this quick and delicious dish! I love the color of the cooked zucchini, so bright! This could honestly be a great base to add more veggies, beans, and even meat! But it’s good on its own as well!
What you’ll need to make 30 Minute Easy Zucchini and Rice Idea:
For 2 servings as an entree
- 1 medium-size zucchini
- 1 cup of your favorite kind of rice
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon of Garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons of Dill seasoning
- 3-4 tablespoons of butter
- 2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil
- 2 teaspoons of pepper
I hope you enjoy this recipe if you decide to try it! I am always looking for new recipes to use my fresh vegetables in! For more behind the scenes, follow Roost Eleven Eighteen on Instagram. Check out our recent post on a Refurbished bench here. Thank you for stopping by, Chickadees!