Mujadara Baked Rice and Lentils is straight up comfort food. Made richer with full-flavored spices and brought to your dinner table in a pretty casserole.
If you’re looking for an inexpensive and easy recipe then this is the one. Mujadara is a classic recipe and is a staple in the Middle East. People have been making it for over 500 years.
Because this dish consists of a legume and grain it is a complete protein and also very high in protein per cup. It’s just one of those perfect dishes.
Mujadara is not normally baked but it is so easy this way and it comes out perfect every time. About all you have to do is combine everything in a casserole and then it just takes care of itself in the oven.
Baked brown rice seems to come out so much more substantial and satisfying. It certainly has more nutrition than white rice.
I did pre-saute the onion before I added it to the mixture because I just like the extra sweetness that comes out of the onion that way.
Mujadara as a Side Dish
You can serve it as a main dish with other smaller sides such as Pure Delicious Cauliflower. It is actually fun to have only side dishes for dinner.
I’m not sure is mujadara is considered a side dish in Palestine but it sure is delicious. You could add a loaf of crusty bread too and definitely a salad. So good!
Now you have it. Lentils and rice made richer with full-flavored spices and brought to your dinner table in a pretty casserole.
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Mujadara Baked Rice and Lentils Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 1/2 cup onion, diced
- 3 cups vegetable broth - use low sodium to watch for your sodium intake
- 1 cup brown lentils
- 2/3 cup brown rice
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- In a skillet heat oil to medium high and then turn it down to medium and saute the onion until it is translucent - about 10 minutes.
- Heat 3 cups of vegetable broth to a boil.
- Meanwhile, to an 8" x 10" casserole add rice, lentils, all the spices and sauted onion. It could be a 9" x 9" or close to its size also.
- Be careful and pour the broth over everything in the casserole dish.
- Stir until all is evenly dispersed. The rice and lentils will settle on the bottom.
- Cover with a fitted lid or cover tightly with foil. Leaving enough foil to go over the edges, liberally.
- Bake at 325 degrees for 60 minutes.
- Check and see if the liquid has absorbed and the rice is tender. If not add another 10 minutes.
- It will still be very moist.
- Serve and sprinkle with fresh parsley - if you like.
Notes
Nutrition
No, my fault completely Mary, The casserole dish I used os 8″ x 10″ or close to it. So a 9″ x 9″ would be good too. The actual size is very forgiving. Thanks for the heads up and I added it to the recipe card.
Apologies if I’m just missing it, but what size casserole dish do you use for this please? Hoping to make it for work lunches for the week! Thanks!
Has anyone tried this in the Instant Pot?
I’m all for Mujadara! This is an interesting version of the Lebanese classic.
That sounds like a great recipe and would be perfect for a weeknight dinner. We eat lentils almost everyday, so this is going to be a nice new addition.
Ginny, your rice dish looks so yummy! I love the combination of rice with lentils!! Yum!! And it looks super delicious, not to mention comforting!!
This looks very cozy and comforting, but healthy all at the same time – a wonderful combination!
I love how easy this is – I love lentils and rice combination. The flavors sound so incredible. Saving this for later.
Wonderful Angela! I am so very glad and thanks so much for letting me know.
I made it again Ginny. I used a lasagne sized casserole dish and also added 3 large carrots. It spread out as it cooked and turned out great. So glad. Next time I will use cumin instead of cloves. Thanks!
Thanks!! I used a pan that was a bit smaller than the one you used. I am going to try the recipe again tonight with a larger pan and see if that works better. Thanks for these great recipes.
I am so sorry Angela! I don’t know what could have happened. That is the recipe and if you scroll back with the comments you’ll see some that there are very good comments. It sounds as if you have thought of suggestions that I would have made. I hate to leave such a comment where I can’t even help you. Maybe the foil was too tight? It would let any steam out for the ater to cook down? Was the oven preheated? That could make a big difference.
Thanks for all these inspiring recipes! I tried this recipe for Madajura, and something went wrong. After 70 minutes hardly any broth had evaporated and the lentils and rice were not cooked. I raised the temp to 375 and cooked it for another 30 minutes to get the lentils and rice cooked. But it was like a mushy soup.
Has anyone else had this experience? I am uncertain about reducing the broth in the future–how much? OR raising the temperature in the oven. Oven is working fine. I did cover the casserole dish with aluminum foil, not a lid, but the foil was tight and don’t think that was the problem.
Any tips? Thanks!
Angela
Not silly at all Bree! It is raw and it cooks in the broth while baking. That really makes it an easy recipe. 🙂
Hey, this might be a silly question but is the rice raw when you put it in the oven or is it precooked?
Love this for breakfast.
Excellent! Good thinking. 🙂
I’d say yes, more broth. I put equal amounts – 1 cup each. I wanted to be sure there was enough!
They go in raw Eric.
Looks yummy, do the lentils go in cooked or raw?
That sounds absolutely delicious Bryony! You are a good cook! I am going to try this – thanks!
This was really good served with tahini mixed with a little lemon juice and quite a lot of water to make it go runny and creamy, and a salad of diced cucumber and tomato with parley and a lemon vinaigrette.
Very yum!
That is fantastic Nicolette and thanks for letting me know. Yes, if you add more rice you need more liquid. The ratio for brown rice to liquid is more than white rice so … try 1/3 cup more brown rice and add another 1-1/2 cups of vegetable broth. This should work.
I just made this last night and my whole family, including my two year old, LOVED it. I was worried it might be bland, but, boy was I wrong. The only thing I would do differently next time is add more rice, so there would be equal parts rice and lentils. Do you think I would need to add more broth?
It is about 1-1/2 cups each and this recipe is for about 2 to 3 people. Thanks for your interest 🙂
This looks wonderful. What is the serving size?
This looks easy and such a comforting dish. I love the seasoning you used as well.
I absolutely love the fact that this dish is baked rather than made on the stove top. I’m also a big fan of warm spices in my rice dishes. I look forward to this one, Ginny.
This looks nice and easy!! I love me some comfort food….especially in this never ending winter! 😉