Stick of Butter Rice

I grew up eating this rice dish and completely forgot about it until my mom randomly decided to make it as a side dish for Christmas last year!! I started posting about recipe testing it a few weeks back and got a huge number of responses from people saying their moms used to make this dish too and that it goes by several diff names. "Stick of butter rice" was my personal fave, lol.

The fact that there's an entire stick of butter in it means you know it's going to be amazing and super comforting. That said, there are ways to make it a bit healthier. You can use plant-based butter, I've made it with both dairy and plant-based butter and both turned out to taste very similar. When my mom made it on Christmas, she made her own french onion soup base with caramelized onions and beef broth!! So that would be another way to maybe eliminate some sodium and give it a more natural feel if you don't want to use the canned soup.

I also love how EASY this recipe is - 5 ingredients total and only three steps. It's probably the easiest side dish you will ever make and it's always a huge hit at dinner. Makes enough for 4-6 sides, can be doubled in the same size pan.

What you need:

• 1 cup uncooked long grain white rice (not instant)
• 1 can diced mushrooms (4-5oz can)
• 1 can beef broth (10 oz can)
• 1 can French onion soup mix (Campbell's 10 oz can)
• 1 stick butter (works with Melt Organic vegan butter too)

What to do:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Combine all the ingredients in a 9x13 oven safe dish and stir to combine. Slice the butter into 4-5 pieces and place in the mixture, evenly distributed.
3. Cover with foil and bake for 1 hour. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.