This recipe is my version of box mix by Zatarains called Caribbean Rice. It used to be my go to side dish if I didn’t have time to whip up a unique side dish of my own. Sadly all the stores in Utah that used to have it quit carrying it some time ago. I decided that my favorite aspect about the dish was the creative blend of tropical flavors with a bit of a kick so I set off to recreate it myself. This recipe is what I came up with, I enjoy it quite sweet but you can always cut back the sugar to your liking. I also don’t enjoy hovering around the stove when it comes to rice dishes so I made the recipe for a rice cooker. So you can put in all the ingredients in the rice cooker at once and forget about it until dinner time. You can also make it the old fashioned way too…its up to you. I served it at a dinner party a few nights ago and it was a big hit so I hope you enjoy it!
Serve this amazing rice with the Pineapple Grilled Chicken & the Vegetable Kabobs for an amazing summer night meal!
- 1 tbsp butter
- 2 cups long grain white rice (I run water over rice in a strainer prior to cooking it to prevent sticking and to wash off extra starch)
- 4 cups water
- 1/2 cup chopped sweet onion
- 1/2 cup finely chopped bell peppers, I use a mixture of red and green
- 1/2 cup crushed pineapple
- 1/2 cup coconut flakes
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp chopped green onion, more if you want to use it as a garnish also
- 1 tsp chicken bouillon
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 1/2 tsp mustard powder
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- Place butter at the bottom of a rice cooker add all of the remaining ingredients and stir until combined. Turn on rice cooker an Viola! That's it! It will take approx 30 minutes to cook depending on your rice cooker.
- If you do not have a rice cooker just bring the water, butter and chicken boullion to a boil add rice and bring back to a boil. Turn heat to low, cover and simmer 20 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer for another 20-30 minutes or until water is absorbed and rice is tender.
Ellen,
I LOVED this recipe! This will be a staple side dish with many of my thai or Carribean recipes. I made it with a new fish taco recipe and loved it. I used one cup of pineapple juice instead of one of the cups of water and it made it even a little more sweet and yummy. Thanks for a great recipe!!
I just made the grilled pineapple chicken, marinated kabobs and pineapple rice for a Sunday dinner. We invited over some neighbors and EVERYONE loved ALL of it. The vegetable were my favorite but the rice was my husbands and my neighbor said the chicken was the best he had ever had. Success all around. Thanks so much for the great recipes.
Alan and Amy,
I am so thrilled that you loved the recipes! They are favorites in our household for sure. Thank you for taking the time to comment!
Have you made this with brown rice? We have buckets of brown rice that I want to use before I crack the buckets of white rice.
You totally could! Just cook it a little longer 🙂
I just made this rice tonight and it is amazing! I love how easy it is in the rice cooker!
I am so glad you loved this rice too. Ellen did a great job on this recipe 😉
Im making this tonight in my new rice cooker. Luckily I didnt have a can of coconut milk so I googled pineapple rice and found yours. Im making dim sum buns to go with it. Cant wait to try it!
How many servings does this make? I am serving it with shredded Hawaiian pork and there will be 8-10 people ?
THis will feed about 6 people with a 1/2-3/4 cup serving. You might want to one and a half it 😉 Thanks!
So excited to try this; it's one of my favorite dishes and they stopped selling it here too! Thanks for posting your recipe!