The baked rice casserole is a simple yet truly delicious recipe, a baked main dish with tomato sauce, peas, bacon, and lots of gooey cheese. With the arrival of Christmas and New Year’s Eve, baked main courses are a must, this one is very simple and quick to prepare and will be loved by everyone, young and old. Creamy, cheesy, and egg-free, the baked rice casserole is truly exquisite. I used the same method as the rice prepared for Sicilian arancini which allows you to not overcook it. You can also prepare it in advance, the day before, and cook it the next day. Made this way, it’s delicious, perfect even for Christmas Eve or New Year’s Eve!
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Inexpensive
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 4 Servings
- Cooking methods: Oven, Electric Oven, Air Frying
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All Seasons, Christmas
Ingredients
- 3 cups water (or vegetable broth)
- 26.5 oz tomato purée
- 1.5 cups rice
- 8.8 oz scamorza cheese
- 8.8 oz peas
- 7 oz bacon
- 3.5 oz parmesan cheese
- 4 tbsps extra virgin olive oil
- 1 clove garlic
- Half teaspoon baking soda
- to taste basil
- to taste salt
- to taste breadcrumbs and parmesan
Steps
The baked rice casserole is very simple and quick to prepare. First, place the bacon in a pan, let it crisp up, and set it aside. In the same pan, pour the extra virgin olive oil and brown the garlic clove. Add the peas (I used frozen ones), salt them, and let them sauté for 3-4 minutes.
Add the tomato purée with a few basil leaves, a little salt, baking soda, and cook, covered, for about fifteen minutes. Once cooked, remove the garlic and add the browned bacon and a pinch of black pepper.
Meanwhile, pour the water into a pot, bring it to a boil, salt it, and add the rice. Let it cook for about ten minutes without stirring (otherwise it will stick); it should absorb all the liquid.
As soon as the rice is ready, add the tomato sauce, peas, bacon, grated parmesan, a few pieces of scamorza cheese, and mix everything together.
Place half of the rice in a greased baking dish sprinkled with breadcrumbs, add the sliced scamorza cheese, cover with the remaining rice, sprinkle some breadcrumbs, grated parmesan on top, and bake the baked rice casserole in a preheated oven at 392°F (200°C) for 20 minutes.
Tips:
The baked rice casserole can be stored in the fridge for a couple of days. Instead of bacon, you can use cooked ham or speck (to be added raw when you mix the rice). Instead of water, you can use vegetable broth. For a vegetarian version, omit the bacon.
Other baked rice recipes HERE
