Vegan Rice-a-Roni is a perfect side dish for any meal and easy to make at home. It's every bit as fluffy, buttery, and delicious as the boxed stuff you enjoyed as a kid, but made dairy-free and vegan! You'll love the nostalgic flavor and how easy it is to prepare, whether cooked on the stovetop or in the Instant Pot.
Why We Love This Recipe
Did you grow up with Rice-A-Roni? Since my mom was into healthy foods, I actually didn't discover it until I was a teenager.
My high school best friend introduced me to chicken Rice-A-Roni, and holy moly... I was hooked! Every time I went to Jen's house I asked if we could make a pot of Rice-A-Roni. I mean, what hungry teenager doesn't love buttery, salty, fluffy white rice?
This recipe gives you all the same delicious flavors but without dairy or chicken. It's amazing how much it tastes like the original, and I think you'll love it, too!
RELATED: Enjoy vegan rice dishes? Try this Easy Vegan Fried Rice!
Ingredient Notes
For the most authentic flavor, you'll want to stick closely to the recipe as written.
But of course, it's just a rice dish! So if you want to experiment and make it whole grain, gluten-free, or oil-free, I don't blame you. 🙂 Have fun!
- Rice - I often have white basmati rice in the pantry, so that's what you see in the photos. Long grain white rice is also perfect.
- Pasta - if you can find vermicelli that works well here; I used angel hair pasta, broken into 1 to 1 ½ inch pieces. Feel free to substitute whole-grain or gluten-free pasta.
- Vegan butter - though many of the recipes I share are oil-free, for true Rice-A-Roni flavor we need a little butter. Just 2 tablespoons adds amazing flavor without making the dish feel heavy.
- Vegan "chicken" broth - I used Edward & Son's Not-Chicken Bouillon Cubes; other options are Ocean's Halo broth or Better Than Bouillon chicken flavor.
Update: here's a homemade chicken-flavor broth mix you can make in minutes! - Seasonings - the combination of parsley, nutritional yeast, onion and garlic powder replicates the ingredients and flavor of chicken-style Rice-A-Roni.
- Turmeric - turmeric is an ingredient in original Rice-A-Roni; it gives the rice a lovely, golden color but can be omitted.
See the recipe card below for amounts and full instructions.
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How To Make It
Vegan rice-a-roni can be prepared on the stovetop or in an Instant Pot. The process looks like this:
- In a large pot over medium heat or using the Instant Pot sauté function, melt the vegan butter. Add the broken pasta pieces and rice, and stir to coat. Sauté for 3 or 4 minutes or until the rice is fragrant.
- Add the remaining ingredients to the pot.
- For the stovetop method, bring to a simmer, stir, then cover and reduce heat to low. Cook until the broth has been absorbed, about 15 minutes (refer to the cooking instructions for the particular type of rice you're using). Remove from heat and let stand for a few minutes.
For Instant Pot method, stir the ingredients well. Lock on the lid, and set to sealing. Cook on high pressure for 4 minutes. Carefully quick release the pressure, and remove lid. - Fluff the rice with a fork and serve.
Serving Suggestions
Pair this rice dish with my Vegan Turkey Roast or Beyond Meat & Lentil Meatloaf plus Parmesan Roasted Broccoli for a classic (vegan!) American dinner.
Turn vegan rice-a-roni into a full meal by adding cooked beans, baked tofu or tempeh, or shredded seitan. Garnish with green onion and chopped parsley for a healthy and comforting meal.
Frequently Asked Questions
It can be! Select your favorite gluten-free spaghetti or angel hair pasta, and make sure the broth you're using is gluten-free. Most brands of vegan butter are gluten-free, but it's always a good idea to check the label.
The broth is the main source of saltiness and chicken flavor in this recipe, so it is pretty important. But if necessary, vegetable broth can be used. I recommend adding ⅛ teaspoon poultry seasoning and an additional tablespoon of nutritional yeast to make it more savory. Or just use this DIY vegan chicken broth.
Similar to other cooked rice dishes, rice-a-roni is good for up to 5 days when stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. It's also freezer-friendly.
Absolutely! Instead of vegan chicken broth, try it with beef-flavored bouillon or my homemade vegan beef broth powder.
I hope you enjoy this simple, nostalgic vegan rice-a-roni as much as we do!
As always, if you try the recipe I would love to hear from you. Comment below and leave a star rating to let everyone know how it turned out!
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Recipe
Vegan Rice-A-Roni
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups white basmati or long grain rice - See Notes.
- 3 ounces angel hair pasta, broken into 1-inch pieces (about 1 cup) - Sub whole-grain or gluten-free if desired.
- 4 cups vegan chicken-flavored broth or 2 ½ cubes vegan chicken-style bouillon dissolved in 4 cups water - See Notes for brand recommendations & a homemade version.
- 2 tablespoons vegan butter
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast, optional
- 1 ¼ teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 ¼ teaspoons onion powder
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- ⅛ teaspoon ground turmeric
Instructions
Stovetop instructions:
- Place a large pot over medium heat. Melt the butter, and add the broken pasta pieces and rice, and stir to coat. Sauté for 3 to 4 minutes or until the rice is fragrant.
- Add the remaining ingredients to the pot, and bring to a simmer. Stir the rice, cover the pot, and reduce heat to low. Cook until the broth has been absorbed, about 15 minutes (refer to the cooking instructions for the particular type of rice you're using). Remove from heat and let stand for a few minutes. Fluff with a fork, and serve.
Instant Pot instructions:
- Using the sauté function on your Instant Pot, melt the butter. Add the broken pasta pieces and rice, and stir to coat. Sauté for 3 to 4 minutes or until the rice is fragrant.
- Add the remaining ingredients to the pot and stir to combine. Cancel the saute function. Lock on the lid, and set to sealing. Cook at high pressure for 4 minutes. Carefully quick release the pressure, and remove the lid. Fluff with a fork, and serve.
Notes
Estimated Nutrition (per serving)
Nutrition information is an estimate and will vary depending on the exact amounts and specific products and ingredients used.
Kristin
My whole family loved this recipe and it was so simple to make!
Beth
Made this using your vegan chicken broth powder and it was delicious! Thanks for another keeper 🙂
Christine
You are a genius! Although I am not vegan, this low sodium recipe is the tastiest dish I have made in the 3 weeks of eating low sodium. It definitely tastes like Rice-a-Roni. Going to follow you for sure. Thanks so much for sharing! 🙂
Sally
I've made this twice now and it's delicious! And it's so easy to make! We never had Rice-A-Roni as a kid, but I'm always down for a good rice dish. I didn't have parsley so substituted rosemary and it came out great. Thanks for another great recipe!
Deborah Logue
Rice a roni ticks so many memory boxes. Unfortunately, I really do not like nutritional yeast. Is there a substitute please.
Thanks so much.
Lori
Hi Deborah,
The nutritional yeast is optional, which means you can simply leave it out. You'll also want to use a store-bought bouillon instead of my homemade chicken-flavor seasoning (since the nutritional yeast is required for that one).
I hope you enjoy it!
Jordan
Made this in the instant pot for last night's dinner. The rice-a-roni was delicious and took me back to dinner with my family where rice-a-roni was a rare treat. Great recipe and easy and quick in the instant pot.
melody sieglitz
IM GOING TO TRY YOUR RICE A RONI LOOKS SOO GOOD HOWEVER I DO NOT USE ANY OILS OR BUTTERS. I CANT FIND VEGAN BULLION WITHOUT OILS!! ANY SUGGESTIONS
Lori
Thanks, Melody! You're right, it's difficult to find bouillon that doesn't contain oils. I just posted this new recipe for homemade vegan chicken broth powder, so that should help. I've also tested the rice-a-roni using that homemade powder mixed with water, and it was great! 😀