Food and Recipes Side Dishes 15 Delicious Rice Side Dishes to Make Tonight By Kaitlyn Yarborough Kaitlyn Yarborough Part of the Southern Living team since 2017, Kaitlyn Yarborough is a Georgia native living in Austin, Texas, who covers a wide variety of topics for both the magazine and website, focusing on culture and lifestyle content, as well as travel in the South. Southern Living's editorial guidelines Updated on November 2, 2022 Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos Photo: Photography: Caitlin Bensel, Prop Styling: Audrey Davis, Food Styling: Rishon Hanners There are few things a Southerner loves more than a pot of rice. No matter if it's Creole jambalaya, Lowcountry red rice, or classic chicken bog, we've simply never met a rice dish we don't like. And when dinnertime is looming and we need a hearty side to save the day, we know rice is there, right under our sleeve, to handle the job. We've rounded up 15 of the most delicious rice side dish recipes that will cover all of your bases. You can complete any weeknight dinner with our traditional broccoli-and-rice casserole, mushroom-speckled wild rice, or crowd-pleasing dirty rice. Looking to branch out? We gave a Southern twist to an exotic dish with our Lima Bean Fried Rice, and we're giving an old-school favorite a little Tex-Mex flair with our Squash-and-Green-Chile Casserole. It doesn't matter which one of these rice side dishes you pick first—the Southern staple is just happy to be included. 01 of 15 Okra and Rice Casserole Hector Sanchez Recipe: Okra and Rice Casserole This vegetable casserole is full of our favorite things: tender sautéed okra, sweet corn, bell pepper, fresh tomatoes, Cajun spices, and buttery garlic breadcrumbs. 02 of 15 Cheesy Broccoli-and-Rice Casserole Hector Sanchez Recipe: Cheesy Broccoli-and-Rice Casserole For a Southerner, it doesn't get much better than broccoli-and-cheese casserole. Add rice? Perfection. 03 of 15 Herbed Wild Rice Dressing Iain Bagwell Recipe: Herbed Wild Rice Dressing We'd call this dressing wild, that's for sure. From special occasions to Sunday night dinner, this recipe is a crowd-pleaser. 04 of 15 Collard Green Creole Dirty Rice Alison Miksch; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Mary-Claire Britton Recipe: Collard Green Creole Dirty Rice Dirty rice is a dinnertime staple in the South, but this recipe throws in collard greens to really hammer the point home. 05 of 15 Squash and Green Chile Casserole Greg Dupree; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall Recipe: Squash and Green Chile Casserole We gave classic squash casserole a Tex-Mex makeover—and it's a total game-changer. 06 of 15 Arroz Verde (Mexican Green Rice) Photo: Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Mindi Shapiro Levine; Food Styling: Tina Stamos Recipe: Arroz Verde (Mexican Green Rice) Let this 15-minute dish add a pop of color to your plate. Cilantro and spinach give its green hue. 07 of 15 Chicken-and-Wild Rice Casserole Becky Luigart-Stayner Recipe: Chicken-and-Wild Rice Casserole Because sometimes the potluck calls for the heartiest of sides. This old-school recipe is oh-so comforting. 08 of 15 Shrimp Fried Rice Greg DuPree Recipe: Shrimp Fried Rice Light and bright, this seafood supper is ready in under 30 minutes. 09 of 15 Emily's Red Beans and Rice Peter Frank Edwards Recipe: Emily's Red Beans and Rice Just a few key ingredients will take plain rice to delicious new heights—and this recipe will definitely get you there. 10 of 15 Wild Rice-and-Greens Casserole Hector Sanchez Recipe: Wild Rice-and-Greens Casserole This casserole is packed to the brim with flavorful ingredients like sun-dried tomatoes, Gruyère cheese, kale, and chopped almonds. 11 of 15 Creamy Rice with Scallops Photo: Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Missie Neville Crawford; Food Styling: Torie Cox Recipe: Creamy Rice with Scallops This recipe is impressive enough for company but easy enough for a weeknight. 12 of 15 Jasmine Smith's Rice and Beans Victor Protasio; Food Styling: Margaret Monroe Dickey; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis Recipe: Jasmine Smith's Rice and Beans This dish of rice & beans is a Thanksgiving staple in Test Kitchen pro Jasmine Smith's household. 13 of 15 Savannah Red Rice Photo: Greg DuPree; Prop Styling: Mindi Shapiro Levine; Food Styling: Torie Cox Recipe: Savannah Red Rice We love Southern regional recipes; this one is known as the defining dish of the Georgia coast. 14 of 15 Wild Rice with Mushrooms Iain Bagwell Recipe: Wild Rice with Mushrooms We dressed up storebought wild rice mix with mushrooms and Marsala. 15 of 15 Dirty Rice Photography: Caitlin Bensel, Prop Styling: Audrey Davis, Food Styling: Rishon Hanners Recipe: Dirty Rice Full of flavor from Old Bay and jalapeño, this is a recipe you'll want to keep around. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit