Wild rice bowls with smoky red pepper sauce are hearty and satisfying and just in time for fall! They are filled with seasonal roasted vegetables like broccoli and sweet potatoes that will help keep you full and energized.
These bowls (all bowls, really) are some of my favorite meals to make because you can:
- Easily customize them a little differently each time so they never get old.
- Prep the ingredients in large batches, saving a lot of time and work.
- Use them for meals all week long because they reheat like a charm!
You can, of course, use whatever roasted vegetables you prefer. However, both broccoli and sweet potatoes are in their peak right now making them more affordable and fresher than at other times of the year.
Wild rice cooks much the same as normal rice, but pay attention to the cooking instructions on the package as the cooking times and water to rice ratios can vary slightly. The ratios for Jasmine and brown rice is 2 cups of water for every 1 cup of rice. However, with this wild rice I only needed 1½ cups of water for every cup of rice.
The way I get perfect rice every time, no mater the variety, is to add a small amount of sea salt and olive oil while it cooks, and then let it steam, covered, for 5 -10 minutes at the end so that it fully softens and becomes fluffy. Give it a try!
If you haven’t guessed by now, my love for red bell peppers runs deep. There are so many creative ways to use them! The base of this sauce is red peppers that have been broiled to add more flavor, mixed with some of my favorite spices such as smoked paprika and garlic. The result is an extremely easy, yet flavorful sauce that you could use on just about anything. Try it on a toasty baguette, pasta, or other roasted vegetables like zucchini or cauliflower.
Interested In Other Recipes That Use Red Bell Pepper? Check These Out:
- For The Rice:
- 2 cups uncooked wild rice
- 3 cups vegetable broth or water
- ½ teaspoon olive oil
- ½ teaspoon salt
- For The Roasted Vegetables:
- 4 heads of broccoli, rinsed and trimmed
- 3 large sweet potatoes, peeled
- olive oil for drizzling
- 2 teaspoons sea salt
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Cut the broccoli into roughly 1-inch pieces and place on a baking tray. Cut the sweet potatoes into circles, then half circles and place on a separate baking tray. Drizzle olive oil and sprinkle sea salt over the broccoli and sweet potatoe trays and toss both to coat the vegetables well. Place the trays in the oven. Roast the broccoli for 14 minutes. Leave the sweet potatoes in for longer, letting them roast for about 35 minutes total. Both the broccoli and the sweet potatoes will be done when they start to get brown spots on them and have become soft.
- While the vegetables roast, you can start the rice. Place the rice, vegetable broth, olive oil, and sea salt in a medium pot and bring to a boil over medium high heat. When the rice starts to boil, turn the heat down to low and let it simmer for 15 minutes, or as long as the packaging recommends. Once almost all of the liquid has evaporated, turn off the heat and let the rice steam for 5 - 10 minutes.
- When the vegetables and rice are done, you can assemble your bowls. Divide the rice between 4 bowls and add as many vegetables as you prefer. Top with smoky red pepper sauce (recipe below) and enjoy!
- 3 red bell peppers, trimmed and de-seeded
- ¼ cup olive oil
- juice from 1 lemon
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- Turn the broiler in your oven to high.
- Slice the peppers into quarters and lay skin-side up on a baking tray. Broil for ten minutes, or until large black spots appear on the surface of the peppers.
- Let the bell peppers cool for 5 minutes and then place them in a blender with the remaining ingredients. Blend until smooth and taste. Add more seasonings if you prefer. Enjoy!
And it keeps well in the fridge if you want to pack it for lunch the next day! The bagel doesn’t stay quite as crispy, but I have had no complaints with making it ahead! It is a solid sandwich.
