The basil brown rice with lemon and peas dish is an easy side full of spring flavor and great for weeknight meals.
Basil brown rice with lemon and peas

Say hello to spring in your mouth.

This year it seems to have gotten that whole lion and lamb saying mixed up, having graced us with sunny skies, warm temps and green buds in the beginning of last month and now deciding to go backwards. Those green buds have turned brown from frost and I’m back to wearing fleeces on our daily walks.

Basil brown rice
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When we lived in Florida and I wanted to move back to NY, the first thing I would say when people asked me why would be, “I miss the change of seasons.”

I wish someone would’ve slapped then me and reminded me that the “change of seasons” is bullshit. It’s cold then hot, it gets your hopes up, then it crushes them. It’s pretty much like an abusive relationship where every time (or year) you think it might just get a little better, but it never does. Every year I think maybe the leaves might actually be out for my birthday and every year I get daffodils and flowering fruit trees at best. People say you just need to get out of relationships like that.

Basil brown rice with lemon

I agree.

Until then, I’ll be shoving this lemony, basil rice and pea side dish down my throat to at least summon spring in my food.

Lemony basil brown rice with peas

Mother Nature can kiss it because I’ve got her beat. At least in the kitchen.

More side dishes like this to try

Cheesy quinoa
Spicy collard greens and rice
Tofu fried rice

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Basil Brown Rice with Lemon and Peas

Servings: 4 servings
Prep: 5 minutes
Total: 5 minutes
The basil brown rice with lemon and peas dish is an easy side full of spring flavor and great for weeknight meals.

Ingredients 

  • 3 cups cooked brown rice
  • 1 cup frozen peas
  • 1/4 cup basil, chopped
  • 1 teaspoon coriander
  • 1/2 teaspoon cumin
  • 1/2 lemon zested
  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • juice of 1 lemon
  • salt & pepper, to taste

Instructions 

  • Combine rice, peas, basil, spices and zest in a large bowl.
  • Combine olive oil, lemon juice and salt & pepper in a small bowl and whisk together.
  • Pour dressing over rice and peas and mix together.
  • Flavors will deepen the longer this sits so it’s a great make ahead side dish.

Nutrition

Serving: 1SERVINGCalories: 316kcalCarbohydrates: 40gProtein: 6gFat: 15gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 10gSodium: 4mgPotassium: 222mgFiber: 5gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 360IUVitamin C: 15mgCalcium: 34mgIron: 2mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Side Dishes
Cuisine: American
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Founder and Writer at Running to the Kitchen | About

Gina Matsoukas is an AP syndicated writer. She is the founder, photographer and recipe developer of Running to the Kitchen — a food website focused on providing healthy, wholesome recipes using fresh and seasonal ingredients. Her work has been featured in numerous media outlets both digital and print, including MSN, Huffington post, Buzzfeed, Women’s Health and Food Network.

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35 Comments

  1. We always have brown rice, but I just steam it and that’s it for us. Now, I can do something amazing with it. Thanks for sharing this recipe.

  2. I’m seriously laughing about how you compared the change of seasons to an abusive relationship. SO hilarious! And true! Especially since we had a super hot summery(not even spring – it was summery!) beautiful day yesterday and then woke up to a rainy gross grey day today :( This rice sounds so yummy – I’ve been on a huge rice kick lately and actually just cooked up a big pot of it this morning. Perfect timing!

  3. This looks delish. I’ve been on a MAJOR brown rice kick lately. In fact, I almost bought the 50 lb. Costco bag last week. Will give this a try for sure.

  4. Brown rice is always awesome and I always have it in a restaurant where I bring my family there…

  5. I love your bowls! Are they C&B? I’m still hungry after my lunch and looking at this doesn’t help. I need to read your blog at a different time of the day I think.

    1. The bowls aren’t, the little spoons are though :) I think the bowls are from Homegoods so who knows where they’re “really” from…