Balsamic Mushroom Broccoli Rice
on Jan 24, 2025
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
Broccoli rice takes the place of grains in this easy vegetable side dish recipe. Nothing goes to waste from stem to crown when you quickly chop the broccoli in the food processor. Then you sauté mushrooms with garlic, shallots and balsamic vinegar and stir in the broccoli followed by parmesan and parsley. This is a simple veggie-packed recipe that you can make in 20 minutes.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Its base is all greens. Broccoli is a healthy ingredient loaded with vitamins and so much more nutrition. If you’re trying to boost your vegetable intake, this kind of recipe is just the way to do it.
The combination of balsamic mushrooms and broccoli is so tasty. When you sauté mushrooms with garlic and shallots plus balsamic vinegar they get this wonderful bold flavor that works perfectly with broccoli.
Besides being quick, this recipe has only 11 ingredients. That includes olive oil, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper, which are given in so many recipes. It cooks like it has less than that number.
The Ingredients
This is what you need:
- Broccoli: Do not buy precut broccoli florets You want those stems, so you end up with a good mix of textures in your rice. The stalks give it almost al dente bites.
- Mushrooms: Brush the dirt off before you slice them. I prefer baby bella or cremini mushrooms because they are more interesting in flavor than white button mushrooms.
- Balsamic vinegar has such a distinct personality. If you prefer something lighter, you can substitute with sherry vinegar or white balsamic vinegar, but the mushrooms won’t have as much depth.
- Shallots have a delicate onion flavor. You can use a white, yellow or red onion instead. Just make sure to finely chop it.
- Garlic: The recipe calls for 2 garlic cloves. If you are a big garlic fan, you can add another one.
- Parmesan: Folding in grated parmesan layers in even more flavor. You can substitute with pecorino cheese if you prefer a stronger, saltier cheese. It will disappear into the broccoli, but it won’t turn out overly cheesy. The focus is on the broccoli and mushrooms.
- Parsley: I stir in chopped fresh herbs to add a finishing touch to the broccoli and mushrooms.
- Olive oil: Use a high-quality extra virgin olive oil for the best taste.
- Kosher salt, black pepper & red pepper flakes season the mushrooms as you sauté them. When you stir in the riced broccoli, it picks up all them from the mushrooms.
How To Rice Broccoli
It is very easy to chop broccoli into small pieces that resemble rice grains especially with a food processor. Depending on the size of your food processor bowl, it’s best to do it batches. A few pulses and the broccoli will be chopped. It’s very quick.
You can find broccoli that has already been riced in the produce section at the grocery just like you would with cauliflower rice. Of course, this shortcut is absolutely fine. It is possible to chop the broccoli with the knife, but it will be very time consuming to get it that small.
How To Make This Broccoli Rice Recipe
1. Prep the broccoli. Trim the bottom end of the stalks. Use a vegetable peeler to remove any tough outer skin. Cut off the crowns and break them into florets. Then roughly chop the stalk.
2. Rice the broccoli. In batches, use a food processor, to pulse the broccoli until it turns into tiny rice-sized pieces.
3. Sauté the mushrooms. Warm the oil over medium high heat in a large skillet or sauté pan. Add the mushrooms and sauté them until they start to brown, about 5 minutes.
4. Add the chopped shallots, minced garlic, balsamic vinegar, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Sauté for another few minutes until the mushrooms are browned, caramelized and fragrant.
5. Stir in the broccoli rice. Cook for 1-2 minutes until it is warmed but still crisp.
6. Fold in the Parmesan cheese and parsley.
Serving
This recipe can be a side dish or a vegetarian main dish. Since it has Italian flavors, I like serving it with baked lemon risotto. I know that’s kind of grains with “grains,” but you can still treat this like a veggie side. Noodles are another good pairing. Try sun dried tomato penne, rigatoni & tomato sauce or penne arrabbiata.
If you are planning to serve this as a main, you can top it with a fried egg for some protein. Also, if you have any leftover cooked rice in your fridge, whether that’s brown rice, farro or barley, you can reheat it in the microwave and stir it into the broccoli rice.
Leftovers & Storage
Let leftovers cool to room temperature before transferring them to an airtight container. You can keep them up to 3 days. Keep in mind that the broccoli will lose its bright green color the longer you save it, but it will still taste good. Eat leftovers cold or reheat them in the microwave.
Recipe Tips
- When you chop the broccoli, use the pulse button instead of just letting the food processor run. You don’t want to puree it into mush. It should be the size of rice grains.
- You can make this recipe vegan. Leave out the cheese or use a plant-based, dairy-free Parmesan. Another option would be to sprinkle the final dish with nutritional yeast.
- Do not use frozen broccoli. It has too much water content, and it will turn to mush if you thaw it and try to rice it. Fresh broccoli is the only way to go.
More Broccoli Recipes
Roasted Broccoli Pesto Pasta
Baked Tortellini with Broccoli and Olives
Tahini Roasted Broccoli and Cauliflower
Broccoli Spinach Soup
Broccoli Quinoa Salad
Lemon Broccoli Orzo
Broccoli Edamame Stir Fry
Balsamic Mushroom Broccoli Rice
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds broccoli crowns (about 3)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 8 ounces baby bella or cremini mushrooms, sliced
- 1 shallot, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- Pinch red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
Instructions
- To prep the broccoli, trim off the bottom end of the stalk. Use a vegetable peeler to remove the tough outer skin of the stalk. Cut off the crown and break into florets and roughly chop the stalk.
- In a food processor, Pulse the broccoli until it is the size of rice. You likely will need to do this in batches depending on the size of your food processor.
- In a large skillet or sauté pan, the olive oil over medium high heat. Add the mushrooms and sauté for 5 minutes until they start to brown.
- Add the shallots, garlic, balsamic vinegar, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper and continue cooking for a few minutes until the mushrooms are caramelized and fragrant.
- Stir in the riced broccoli. Cook for 1-2 minutes until it is warmed but still crisp.
- Fold in the Parmesan and parsley.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Amazing!!l was a little hesitant to try it out, but it came out awesome! I did not follow the recipe exact, made the veggies and then just put on the spices, but it came out delicious. Thank you!!
Great! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!