One-Pot Cheesy Broccoli Rice

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp Extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 Yellow onion, diced
• 3 cloves Garlic, minced
• 1 ¼ cups Brown rice (dry)
• 3 cups Low-sodium vegetable broth
• 4 cups Broccoli, cut into small florets
• 1 cup Sharp cheddar, grated
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• ½ tsp Kosher salt
• 1 tbsp juice Lemon
• ¼ tsp Black pepper

Method

1. Cook the onion in the olive oil over medium with a pinch of salt until soft and golden at the edges, 6 minutes. Add the garlic for the last 30 seconds.
2. Stir in the rice so every grain gets coated, then add the broth and the salt. Bring it up, cover, and turn the heat to low for 25 minutes.
3. Lay the broccoli on top of the rice for the last 8 minutes and put the lid straight back on. It steams there without being stirred into mush.
4. Take the pot off the heat entirely. Wait a minute, then stir in the cheddar and the mustard — off the heat, so the cheese melts smooth instead of splitting.
5. Stir in the lemon juice and the pepper. Taste it. The lemon is what stops this tasting heavy, so add the rest of the lemon if it needs waking up.

Notes

✨ The restaurant touch

Grate the cheese yourself. Pre-shredded is coated in starch to stop it clumping in the bag, and that starch is exactly what makes a stirred-in cheese sauce grainy.

🧒 For the kids

Cutting broccoli into little trees with kitchen scissors is a job most six-year-olds will do for as long as you let them, and small florets cook faster anyway.

🌿 From the garden

Broccoli is a spring and fall crop in the north — the fall planting is the sweeter one.

🥡 Leftovers

Keeps 4 days and reheats well with a splash of water. Good cold in a lunchbox too.

Per serving

Computed from USDA FoodData Central values. A planning tool, not medical advice.