Cheesy Rice

Rice is such an easy staple for many meals. I love this cheesy rice because it’s just as easy as many regular plain rice, but it adds a little oomph to your meals. This recipe is so simple you won’t even need to look at the recipe after a few times of making it. This is just the kind of thing you need in your weeknight meal repertoire to help your dinners be easy yet flavorful. 

Try these other great rice recipes:

• Instant Pot Wild Rice
• South African Yellow Rice
• Jeera Rice
• Rice Cooker Cilantro Lime Rice
  

Ingredients you need:

You only need a few pantry staples to make this flavorful rice recipe. For the full amounts, make sure you scroll down to the recipe card.

• Rice – For this recipe, a medium grain white rice works best. 
• Broth – You can use chicken broth, vegetable stock, or  turkey broth for this recipe. I prefer unsalted so I can be in control of the salt content, but whatever you have on hand will work. 
• Cheese – You want a good quality meltable cheese here. I like using a nice sharp cheddar, but you can also use colby jack, monterrey jack, pepperjack, or a farmers cheese.
• Seasonings – We are seasoning this rice with salt, ground black pepper, and garlic powder. 

How to make cheesy rice

This recipe is simple to make! For the full set of directions, please scroll down to the recipe card below. This is just a general overview on how to make it to help you plan.

1. Wash the rice. Place the rice in the saucepan and add fresh water to cover the rice. Use your hand to swish the rice around in the water. Notice how the water turns cloudy white. Carefully drain the water from the rice. Re-cover the rice with more clean water. Repeat until the water that you drain away is mostly clear.
2. Cook the rice. To the saucepan with the washed rice, add the broth. Cover the pot with a lid, and bring to a simmer. Simmer on low heat for 15 minutes, until the broth has been absorbed.
3. Season. Stir in the shredded cheese, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Replace the lid on the pan and allow the rice to sit for 5 minutes to allow the cheese to fully melt.

NOTE: You can also make this recipe in a rice maker! Simply add the rice and broth to the rice cooker (affiliate link) and press start. When the rice is done, stir in the seasonings and cheese. Close the lid and let it sit for 5 minutes to help melt the cheese before serving.  

Timing of this recipe

This recipe takes about 30 minutes from start to finish. 

This includes spending 5 minutes washing the rice, 20 minutes cooking the rice, and 5 minutes letting the rice and cheese sit and melt.

Prepping ahead of time

This recipe can be made up to 3 days ahead of time. Store in an air tight container in the fridge. Reheat in the microwave until warm. If you want to add more cheese when reheating to make it extra cheesy, go for it!

How to serve this to your family

Serve this rice as a side to any meal that you like. I think it goes great beside parmesan crusted chicken, bbq chicken meatloaf, and herb crusted salmon.

Kids in the kitchen: How your kids can help you cook

Inviting our kids into the kitchen is a great way not only to help them learn how to cook, but also to help give them a sense of investment and interest in the food that you are serving. This helps them be more likely to eat and enjoy it!

This rice recipe is so great because it is so quick and easy to make.

• Kids aged 1-3 can help you wash the rice and measure ingredients. 
• Kids aged 4-6 can do everything above plus shred the cheese and stir everything together.
• Kids aged 7-10+ can help you do everything above, plus help you make the rice..

*Please note that these recommendations are generalized, and to please use your personal discretion with your child’s skill level. And always, always supervise! Read more about how to have your children help you in the kitchen.