Okay, people. Everything I’m about to say to you is CRUCIALLY important, so I need you to not just scroll through and look at the pretty pictures…zone in for some life changing info. This recipe. Is seriously. My new. OBSESSION IN LIFE. You guys…this rice. Thiiissss rrriiiiiiiccccceeeeeee.
Let’s just talk for reals for a few minutes…just you and me. Here’s what you’re about to experience if you make this: the creamiest, richest, most decadent brown rice that exists in this world. Your mind will not be able to comprehend the fact that you are eating brown rice when you are consuming this delicious pot of creamy goodness.
It is the furthest thing from brown rice in its original form ever. Usually brown rice is a little bit grainy and overall pretty healthy tasting, if we are being honest. Brown rice in this form, however, tastes exactly like rich, creamy risotto. But it’s not arborio rice (what is usually used in risotto) – it’s brown rice! My mind was blown when I was eating this. I was legit freakin’ out.
It is quite possibly my favorite thing I’ve ever posted on the blog; if not, it’s at LEAST in the top five for sure, for sure, for sure. I’m in love. So in love. And the weird thing? I HATE mushrooms. I do like them in this recipe, though. I mean, they aren’t making me jump for joy or anything – it’s really the rice that makes me cry tears of food induced happiness.
Seriously, this baked risotto-like brown rice is about to be happening in my kitchen on like a weekly basis in a bunch of different forms. The experimentation is about to get RE-UL. So, if you don’t like mushrooms, don’t shy away from this recipe. They don’t get stirred in until the very, very end anyway. Just substitute another meat or veggie, or substitute nothing…just eat the rich, creamy rice on its own. Doneskies.
So lets talk about this recipe in all it’s tasty details. We start with onions, garlic, and fresh thyme.
Saute that in olive oil with some salt and pepper. After it has sauteed for a bit, deglaze the pot with some sherry. I have cooked with sherry only a small handful of times, but it adds so much delicious flavor and complexity to dishes. Let the sherry cook down and into the onions and garlic for a bit, then add your rice.
Stir your rice and add your beef stock. Bring this mixture to a boil and then bake low and slow in a 325 degree oven for an hour.
That’s where the magic really happens, friends. You remove it from the oven, add your parmesan cheese, your heavy cream, a little more beef stock, and you stir, stir, stir your arm off for a few minutes to combine all the yummy starches and cheese and cream and just everything YASSSS.
Season to taste, and let your mind blow into five million little tiny pieces as you experience the creamy decadence that is this BROWN RICE as it slow cooks in your oven for an hour. You guys will DIE. I swear. It’s magic. It’s a food revolution. I know I always rant about delicious food, but hopefully you can tell that this is an extra special and extreme rant that is above and beyond my norm.
It’s that rice, yo. The creaminess, the richness – it is THE ULTIMATE comfort food.
So – apologies for my absence this past week. I was in Charlotte, NC for Spring Break. I was planning on posting last Friday to let everybody know that I was about to be “out of the office” for a week, but we had parent teacher conferences all day on Friday, and I never got a spare minute to get this post up.
The real sadness there is that the internet was baked-decadent-creamy-rice-free for a whole week longer than necessary…sigh.
It was wonderful to be in North Carolina for a week, though! I got to see all my favorite Charlotte people while I was there, and I drove down to Asheville to see my best friend for a few days. It was a good time and a much needed break. The low point was ending up in the hospital because I didn’t feel the baby move barely at all for about four days and did a two hour kick count and felt basically nothing.
The ironic thing was I got to the hospital and right as I was getting hooked up to the monitors, the baby started kicking like crazy. Even kicked the monitor away from my belly at one point, little stinker. The heartbeat was strong, the baby was moving like it was its job once we were there, and everything was just fine. The baby must have just been feeling a little lazy over the last several days 😉. I was staying at my dad’s house in Charlotte, so he was able to come with me to the hospital, which was nice. And he got to feel the baby kick once the kicks were popping my stomach every two seconds! Sooo other than that one slightly frightening evening, everything was great!
THIS RICE IS LYFE.
PrintCreamy Baked Mushroom Rice
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 mins
- Yield: 7 servings 1x
Ingredients
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 onion, diced
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme, finely chopped
- 1/4 cup sherry
- 2 cups brown rice
- 6 cups beef stock, divided
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup parmesan cheese, grated
- For the mushrooms:
- 4 cups sliced baby portobello mushrooms (or any other kind of mushrooms you prefer), sliced
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- A few springs fresh thyme
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 325 degrees
- In a large dutch oven or heavy bottomed pot, add a bit of olive oil
- When the oil is hot, add your onions, garlic, and thyme. Season with salt and pepper
- Saute, stirring often, until the onions have softened
- Deglaze the pan with the sherry, and cook until most of the sherry has absorbed into the onion mixture
- Add the rice and stir to combine
- Add 5 and 1/2 cups of the beef stock, reserving the remaining 1/2 cup for later
- Season with salt and pepper
- Bring this mixture to a boil
- When boiling, turn off the heat, place the lid on your pot, and place the pot in your preheated oven
- Bake for 1 hour
- When there is about twenty minutes left, start on your mushrooms
- Add your olive oil and butter into a large skillet. Place the thyme sprigs and crushed garlic cloves in the pan as well
- When your butter is melted, add your mushrooms and stir to combine
- Cook over medium/medium-high heat until your mushrooms have cooked down and browned. How much you cook them will depend on the texture you prefer your mushrooms to be
- When they are done cooking, remove the garlic cloves and the thyme sprigs, and season the mushrooms to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside until rice is done
- When the rice is ready to come out of the oven (when your hour is up), take the pot out of the oven, remove the lid, and add in your heavy cream, beef stock and parmesan cheese
- Stir everything together for about two minutes so that the starches from the rice combine and make everything nice and creamy
- Stir in the mushrooms and season to taste with salt and pepper
Recipe inspired by: Easy Brown Rice Risotto with Mushrooms and Fresh Oregano by Cookie and Kate
Nutrition info is for 1 cup servings of the Baked Mushroom Rice.
If you make this or any of my other recipes, be sure to Instagram it and hashtag #thegarlicdiaries!
In the mood for more healthy comfort food? Check these out:
Crock Pot Moroccan Lentil Soup
The recipe name itself consists 3 of the many favorite words of my stomach: Creamy, Mushroom and Rice. Definitely got to give this a try. Thanks for sharing.
★★★★
Yesss – try it! You’ll love it!
I’m in love with this. I’ve got to give this a try soon while the weather is still chilly! Thanks for the mouth-watering recipes.
★★★★★
You should definitely give it a try! And you are very welcome :).
it looks very testy and garlic or cream made it so yummy i love it .thanks for sharing it.
You are very welcome, Richard!
This dish looks so delicious and amazing, Kids also love this type of food so i would like to make creamy baked mushroom.
i love garlic flavour in food i so i would like to make and eat it
This looks so delicious and I bet it tastes amazing! My kids will love this.
I can not wait to try this at home.
This is a great way of introducing healthy foods into their diet. Thank you.
I hope you guys love it, Daniel!
Mushrooms yummy. I really like mushrooms
Great recipe, perfect for these last cold days of winter!
btw, your salad video “massage like it’s yo job” made me laugh so much!! :D
Thanks
Edward Felici recently posted…Mushroom Risotto with Jerusalem Artichoke and Feta
Haha! I’m glad I could make you laugh :). Thanks for the comment!
Another dish with a twist of mushroom! Amazing where you can add mushroom to almost any dish and makes it healthier. A sure must try!! Can’t wait for another recipe to try!! Thank you!