Homemade Rice-a-Roni in Beef, Chicken, or Vegan

This dairy-free homemade Rice-a-Roni copycat, or turkey rice pilaf as we also call it, is a recipe I first shared over 15 years ago. It’s continued to be a staple in our household, and is a perennial favorite for potlucks, family events, and easy meals during the busy holiday season. You can enjoy it as a side dish or a main dish.

Dairy-Free Homemade Rice-a-Roni Your Way

The first time I made this recipe, my eldest and milk allergic daughter Katherine was just seven years old. She asked for the recipe so she could cook it at her house someday. I told her she wouldn’t have to wait that long. By the time she was a young teen, Katherine was making this dairy-free homemade Rice-a-Roni by herself. It’s that easy.

Kids Can Cook Tips

This is a great recipe for getting the family involved. Young home cooks of almost any age can break the spaghetti into pieces and help measure the rice, butter alternative, and bouillon or broth. School-age helpers can learn how to chop an onion and complete most or all of the steps with an adult or teenage helper. Teenage cooks, like my daughter Katherine, can make the whole dish and give you the night off!

Katherine’s Tips: Stir the dry rice and spaghetti carefully so they don’t flip out of the pan, and be patient because they take longer to brown than you might expect.

Recipe FAQs

Isn’t Rice-a-Roni Dairy Free?

Several Rice-a-Roni flavors are made without dairy, but close to half of them are not. And surprisingly, Beef Rice-a-Roni contains milk. Plus, it’s almost as easy to make your own dairy-free homemade Rice-a-Roni. It’s also budget-friendly, and it lets me control the ingredients! I don’t have to worry about potential cross-contamination, MSG, or other ultra-processed ingredients when making it from scratch.

How Many Meals Does this Rice-a-Roni Make?

I originally adapted this recipe from The Tightwad Gazette, which said it makes 4 servings. That is four huge servings! When served with just a vegetable and protein, it makes 8 generous meals. We often serve with a salad and dairy-free rolls, too, which then serves 12 people (2 adults + 4 kids/teens for 2 meals) with ease.

Does Broth Contain Dairy?

Some brands do! You’ll find milk most often in broth concentrates, but the occasional prepared broth contains dairy, too. See our Dairy-Free Broth Guide for top picks.

Do you have a Gluten-Free Option?

We haven’t tested this recipe gluten-free. But your favorite gluten-free spaghetti noodles should work well. Gluten-free noodles tend to break easily once cooked. Fortunately, that makes them perfect for homemade Rice-a-Roni! Also be sure to choose a dairy-free, gluten-free broth or broth base.

Special Diet Notes: Homemade Rice a Roni

By ingredients, this recipe is dairy-free / non-dairy, egg-free, nut-free, peanut-free, soy-free, optionally vegan, and optionally vegetarian. Just be sure to choose dairy-free broth and butter alternative that suit your dietary needs.

Sarah Hatfield

Dairy-Free Homemade Rice-a-Roni

5 from 3 votes

This is almost as simple as the boxed version, and you control the ingredients! We like to make a beef variety, since the Beef Rice-a-Roni contains milk. But you can make this as Chicken or even Vegan Rice-a-Roni if desired. Our entire family loves it with a drizzle of hot sauce.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 35 minutes mins

Servings: 8 servings

Course: Entree

Cuisine: American

Calories: 235

Ingredients Method Nutrition Notes

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x?

• ¼ cup dairy-free buttery spread or sticks
• 1 cup uncooked long grain rice
• 8 ounces uncooked spaghetti broken into one-inch pieces
• 1 medium yellow onion chopped
• 4 cups dairy-free beef bouillon broth or beef broth can sub chicken, mushroom or vegetable broth
• Salt to taste (optional)
• Black pepper to taste (optional)
• Freshly chopped parsley optional
• Hot sauce optional, for serving

Method

 

1. Melt the buttery spread in the skillet over medium heat.
2. Add the dry rice and spaghetti pieces, and cook, stirring occasionally, until they are golden brown. They will brown unevenly, which is fine.
3. Stir the onion into the pasta and rice, then add the broth.
4. Bring the broth to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for 20 minutes, or until the rice and spaghetti are fully cooked and the liquid is absorbed.
5. Remove the pan from the heat and let it sit for 5 minutes.
6. Season to taste with salt and pepper, as needed.
7. Serve with fresh chopped parsley and/or hot sauce, if desired.

Nutrition

Serving: 1Calories: 235kcalCarbohydrates: 39gProtein: 5.7gFat: 5.5gSaturated Fat: 0.9gSodium: 500mgPotassium: 114mgFiber: 2gSugar: 1.8gVitamin A: 216IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 17mgIron: 0.6mg

Notes

Meal Option: Brown 1 pound ground beef or ground turkey in a large skillet over medium heat. Break up the meat as you cook it. Remove it from the pan and drain the pan before beginning the rice-a-roni recipe above. Add the meat back into the pan in Step 3, with the onion and broth. We serve it with  peas and salad, but steamed broccoli or sauteed bok choy are also delicious accompaniments.

Broth Tips: We like Orrington Farms Broth Base and Seasoning, which has vegan chicken, beef, and vegetable options and no MSG. If you choose to use broth instead of bouillon broth, you will probably need to add salt at the end.

Brown Rice Option: If using brown rice, you will need to extend the cooking time to 30-50 minutes.

Tried this recipe?

Let us know how it was!