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Spring Harvest Rice | Meal Prep Recipe – Vegan

This large batch rice recipe is veggie-packed, vegan and can make enough to feed you throughout the week. Substitutions included in the recipe notes!

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Versatile & Meal Prep Friendly

This is a meal prep recipe that can easily be adapted to supplement different proteins and side dishes throughout the week, or to be used as is for a delicious and healthy meal prep lunch!

It’s flavor profile is flexible and truly can be made into a side dish or entrée with anything. Similar to Spanish Rice, Spring Harvest Rice uses fresh tomatoes and a plethora of vegetables and spices.

Make as is and it will yield about 10 cups of rice.

Swap It Out

Not everyone likes peas and bell peppers, and that’s a-okay with me! Here’s a few substitution ideas to suit your tastes.

Instead of PEAS try edamame or sliced snap peas
Instead of BELL PEPPERS try carrots and celery
Instead of RICE try farro, barley, quinoa or couscous. Cook according to package directions and follow the rest of the recipe as written.

When swapping vegetables in this recipe, keep the measurements the same. This will ensure your rice comes out as tasty as possible!

Additionally, I encourage you to use simply whatever you have on hand. Even if it’s a combination of the vegetables in your fridge to match the measurements in the recipe – that’s great! You’ll prep a delicious rice dish and cut down on food waste. Win-win.

See recipe for a full list of substitutions.

Use this spring harvest rice as the base for a delicious burrito! Add roasted sweet potatoes, black beans and cheese of your choosing for an easy meal.

Spring Harvest Rice Meal Ideas

Here’s a few ways you can make Spring Harvest Rice a meal.

Vegan

Eat as is with some fried tofu (thai peanut or teriyaki would go well) and crispy balsamic-glazed roasted brussel sprouts

Vegetarian

Wrap rice with black or refried beans in a flour tortilla topped with shredded cheese for an easy vegetarian burrito.

Omnivores

Serve with rotisserie chicken for an easy weeknight dinner.

The Cooking Process

To make this rice the best it can be, the vegetables need time to simmer. Put the pot on while you’re doing other things around the house, and check it periodically. You won’t need to watch it the entire time it cooks, so it’s good to cook when you’re already at home and can peek in on it every once in a while.

Browse through the photos below to see different phases of the cooking process and the final product.

There’s no replacement for time when cooking. Each step of the recipe builds a layer of flavor, toasting the spices, sautéing the aromatics, and then adding the fresh tomatoes and allowing them to cook down. The result is a lightly spiced, flavorful rice packed with vegetables. It’s a hearty, flavorful dish.

Spring Harvest Rice (Meal Prep Recipe – Vegan)

This is a meal prep recipe that can easily be adapted to supplement different proteins and side dishes throughout the week, or to be used as is for a delicious and healthy meal prep lunch!

It's flavor profile is flexible and truly can be made into a side dish or entrée with anything. Similar to Spanish Rice, Spring Harvest Rice uses fresh tomatoes and a plethora of vegetables and spices.

Make as is and this will yield about 10 cups of nutrient-rich rice.

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Prep Time 20 mins

Cook Time 1 hr

Total Time 1 hr 20 mins

Course dinner, lunch

Cuisine American, Spanish

Servings 10 cups

Ingredients

6 cups cooked rice (white or brown) 3 cups uncooked
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon each of the following herbs: oregano, parsley, onion powder, garlic powder, smoked paprika, cumin
1 green bell pepper diced
1 yellow onion diced
3 cloves garlic minced
4 cups fresh tomato diced (subsitute canned)
½ red bell pepper diced
1 lb frozen peas
1 tablespoon salt
2 tsp black pepper

Instructions

First, cook your rice.
I prefer using an Instant Pot, or Rice Cooker, but you are welcome to use any method you'd like, including microwaved steamed rice (no shame in shortcuts).
Substitute couscous, farro, or barley and cook according to package directions.
Set aside for now.
In a large, heavy bottomed pot, or dutch oven over medium/medium high heat add oregano, parsley, onion powder, garlic powder, smoked paprika and cumin. Toast briefly (a minute or less) to bolster their flavors.
Next, add in 3 tablespoons of olive oil, or preferred cooking oil, and heat until shimmering.
Add diced onion, garlic, and bell peppers. Sauté until tender, about 10 minutes.
Add tomatoes and simmer uncovered over medium heat about 30-40 minutes, until tomatoes are cooked down and there is minimal liquid left in the pot.
Simply put, it should look less like tomato sauce and more like a big pot of sautéed vegetables.
Incorporate the bag of frozen peas and salt and pepper. Mix well to combine and defrost the peas.
When using frozen peas, it's best to add them at the last minute. If they cook too long, they turn mushy!
Add the rice 1-2 cups at a time, mixing well.
Be sure to break up the chunks of rice to blend with the vegetables. Repeat the process until all of the cooked rice is incorporated.
Done!

Notes

Substitute rice for farro, barley, quinoa, or couscous. Cook according to package directions.
Combine any of your preferred spices for a custom blend. Add some cayenne if you enjoy heat, or swap basil for paprika if you prefer things more mild.
Substitute sliced snap peas or edamame for frozen peas, if preferred.
Substitute carrots and celery for bell peppers, maintaining measurements.

Keyword easy meal prep, meal prep recipe, meal prep rice, spring harvest rice, vegan meal prep, vegetarian meal prep

Have you tried this Spring Harvest Rice? What substitutions did you make? Let us know how you liked it in the comments below!

How to Cook Dried Beans | Recipe

This recipe is geared toward the use of an Instant Pot. However, you can make dried beans on the stove as well (soaking will speed up this process).

As meal prep became more of a fixture in my life, I began looking for ways to cook things economically and in large batches. Enter dried beans. Never before had I bought dried beans or thought twice passing them up in the grocery store. Armed with my Instant Pot, I scoured the internet for an easy, fool-proof way to turn dried beans into a delicious component of our weekly meals.

My favorites are black beans, chickpeas and recently, pinto beans. In a pinch, anything available at the store will do.

Typically, I cook the beans as directed below. I remove the beans from the instant pot, making sure to save the “bean juice” for later. It makes a great base for soups and stocks. (Throw your veggie scraps in the Instant Pot with the bean juice, a sprinkle of salt, bay leaves, and enough water to cover, pressure cook on high for 60 minutes, vent, pull out the scraps and voila ready to use stock.)

I like to fry up the cooked beans in my cast iron skillet with some EVOO and spices. They get a crispier exterior and an extra boost of flavor. Yum.

How to Cook Dried Beans in an Instant Pot

Easily cook dried beans without prior soaking by using an Instant Pot.

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Course Main Course

Equipment

Instant Pot

Ingredients

2 cups dried beans
8 cups cold water
1 tb dried herbs of choice (bay leaves, basil, oregano, etc.)
3 cloves peeled garlic (or ½ an onion)
2 tsp salt
½ tsp apple cider vinegar

Instructions

Rinse beans under cold water.
Add beans, water, herbs and garlic or onion to the Instant Pot.
Place lid and ensure valve is set to sealing.
Cook on High Pressure for the following times:
– Mung Beans: 6 minutes
– Pinto Beans: 25 minutes
– Navy Beans: 30 minutes
– Black Beans: 30 minutes
– Great Northern Bean: 35 minutes
– Kidney Beans: 35 minutes
– Garbanzo/Chickpea: 40 minutes
Allow natural release until pressure subsides and pin drops OR let rest for 20 minutes before quick release.
Stir in salt and apple cider vinegar. The salt adds flavor. Apple cider vinegar helps to neutralize gas that often comes with eating beans.
Using a slotted spoon, remove beans from Instant Pot. Reserve some liquid for storing the beans. You can also use the bean liquid as a base for vegetable broth, stock or soups.
Allow the beans to cool completely before storing.

Notes

Recipe adapted from A Mind Full Mom.

Keyword dried beans, how to cook dried beans, instant pot dried beans