Quick and easy Vegetable Biryani! A fragrant Indian rice dish with vegetables and chickpeas infused with Indian spices – vegan and gluten-free. A quick and easy weeknight meal.
The dark does not destroy the light; it defines it. It’s our fear of the dark that casts our joy into the shadows.
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This recipe for Vegetable Biryani requires only 15 minutes of hands-on-time before it gently simmers on the stovetop, relatively hands-free. Biryani, if unfamiliar, is an Indian staple, made with rice that varies greatly from region to region, often made with chicken. Here is another authentic recipe for Chicken Biryani, if you’d like to go that route.
This version is totally meatless, made with veggies and chickpeas- and can be made very quickly using white basmati rice. As it simmers, fragrant Indian spices infuse the house with goodness. Serve this with flavorful Cilantro Mint Chutney which can easily be made vegan by using vegan yogurt!
Vegetable Biryani | 60-sec video
Table of Contents
Ingredients In Vegetable Biryani
- White Basmati Rice– will be light and fluffy. You can use brown basmati, you will need to adjust the broth amount and cooking time.
- Onion– getting these lightly caramelized will give the best flavor.
- Veggies- bell pepper and carrot. Feel free to add more- zucchini, eggplant, etc.
- Spices– these are what are going to give this dish incredible depth and deliciousness.
- Vegetable Broth– make sure it is flavorful or make your own broth!
- See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
How to make Vegetable Biryani
Biryani starts with browning the onions, creating the base of the flavorful dish. Then add and toast the spices. Drain the rice and add it along with veggie stock and salt.
The best way cook biryani is to cover the simmering rice with a thin kitchen towel, folding the edges up over the lid. This helps create a good seal and allowing the rice to cook more evenly.
When it’s done, the rice with be perfectly cooked and fluffy.
Sprinkle with toasted cashews, raisins and cilantro.
Serve with a side of cilantro mint chutney!
What to serve with Vegetable Biryani
If you are looking for a more traditional Indian-style biryani recipe like I mentioned before, try this Chicken Biryani recipe -it’s delicious! It’s perfect for a Sunday when you have time to be in the kitchen for a couple of hours.
Vegetable Biryani Faqs
A mixed rice dish. Originating among the Muslims of South Asia. It is a staple comfort food in many households.
Yes, it contains vegetables, spices that are great for digestion, and protein from the chickpeas!
Cilantro mint chutney and Raita as well as Bombay carrot salad.
More recipes you may enjoy!
Hope you enjoy!
Love this recipe? Please let us know in the comments and leave a 5-star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating below the recipe card.
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Vegetable Biryani Recipe
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 30
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
- Category: vegan, vegetarian, main
- Method: Stove-top
- Cuisine: Indian
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Quick and Easy Vegetable Biryani! A fragrant Indian rice dish infused with Indian spices – vegan adaptable and gluten-free. A quick and easy weeknight meal. Serve it with Cilantro Mint Chutney.
Ingredients
- 2 cups white basmati rice (see notes for brown basmati)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil (or sub ghee or coconut oil)
- 1 large onion, thinly sliced
- 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
- 1 cup diced carrot (or use match sticks)
- 4 garlic cloves, rough chopped
- 2 teaspoons fresh ginger, grated or use ginger paste
- 1 tablespoon cumin ( or whole seeds)
- 1 tablespoon coriander (or whole seeds, cracked open)
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon (or one cinnamon stick)
- 1/2 teaspoon cardamom (or 3 crushed cardamom pods)
- 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 star anise pod (optional)
- 4 cups veggie stock ( or chicken stock)
- 3/4 teaspoon salt, more to taste
- 1 can chickpeas, drained, rinsed
- 1/2 cup raisins
- Garnish: 1/4 cup cashews and chopped parsley or cilantro
Serve with Cilantro Mint Chutney (vegan adaptable!)
Instructions
- Soak rice in a bowl of hot water while you prep ingredients.
- In a large skillet, or shallow Dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and sauté, stirring often, until tender and golden, 5 minutes. Turn heat to medium, add the veggies, garlic and ginger, and sauté 4-5 minutes. Remove one cup of the mixture and set aside.
- Add spices and bay leaf, and stir one minute, toasting the spices. Drain the rice and add it along with veggie broth and salt.
- Top with chickpeas, raisins and the cup of veggies you set aside. Bring to a simmer over high heat, then lower heat to low. Cover the pot with a thin dish towel, then place the lid over the top of the towel, and bring the four corners of the towel up and over the lid. This will tighten the seal and keep the steam in, allowing the rice to cook more quickly and evenly.
- Simmer on low 20-30 minutes or until the rice has soaked up the liquid. See notes.
- While it is simmering make the Cilantro Mint Chutney
- Uncover the Biryani and fluff up with a fork. Top with the toasted cashew and cilantro.
- Serve with optional Chutney.
Notes
***Instant or “Quick Cooking” Basmati Rice does not taste good here.
Basmati Rice: liquid to rice ratio may vary -please refer to your rice package instructions. For example, my basmati rice says 1 cup rice to 2 cups water. If yours says 1 cup rice to 1.5 cups water, please adjust veggie stock accordingly.
Brown basmati rice may require 10 more minutes of cooking time and more liquid. Check package directions for cooking time and liquid requirements- adding more liquid if need be-each rice is different.
Variations: You are welcome to add other veggies to the biryani- here I’ve added thinly sliced sweet peppers. Zucchini, eggplant or even mushrooms (saute them first) would be nice. If you want to add chicken to this, make sure to season it well and brown it first before adding to the rice mixture to simmer.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 ¼ cups
- Calories: 385
- Sugar: 10.2 g
- Sodium: 416.2 mg
- Fat: 6.8 g
- Saturated Fat: 0.9 g
- Carbohydrates: 73.6 g
- Fiber: 5.5 g
- Protein: 8.6 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
I had the same experience with good-quality basmati. Actually I looked at the “double the volume of water to soaked rice” instruction and realised it was crazy so I only used 1.5 cups of water per cup of rice but it was still too wet. The next time I used a little over 1.25 cups water per cup of rice (plus the water that naturally sticks to the rice when you soak it) and it was about right. I find this site very useful: https://tastessence.com/rice-cooker-ratio
The best course of action is to always refer to your rice directions on your package as each variety is different. See the recipe notes.
I like the recipe overall, but the rice turned out very mushy. I followed the directions and soaked it in hot water first, and then used a thin tea towel under the lid while simmering. It just has an awful texture. Maybe I need to buy a higher quality rice? Not sure what the issue is.
Hey Lisa- any chance you used “quick-cooking” basmati? I had the same experience with this type.
I happened upon this site when looking for vegan recipes this week. This was absolutely delicious with the cilantro mint chutney! Our guests loved it and we have leftovers for tonight and maybe tomorrow!
I made this, it was good, but some of the rice stuck to the bottom of the cast iron pan. Wonder if I should have lifted the lid and stirred it? Also, it made a HUGE amount of food, so six hungry guys might have polished it off. Tasty and aromatic and the naan was really good! I have to practice more, cuz I burned a couple and two of then were doughy inside a little (but I at ’em anyway!) Thanks for a nice recipe
Shoot! Sorry. Normally, you shouldn’t have to stir. If your skillet was well-seasoned & well-oiled- then the only other thing I can think of is maybe it got too hot?
Made this tonight, with the mint yogurt. Delicious, thank you! 😊
Hello! This looks delicious! If I use a rice cooker, do I need to change anything in the recipe? Thank you
Hi, I’m inexperienced with rice cookers so have no useful advise here, sorry! Will you cook the rice first then proceed with recipe? or cook it all together in the rice cooker?
Do I use 2 cups of dry rice or cooked rice? Thanks!
Dry
Great flavours and so easy to make. It makes a great cold rice dish with the leftovers too
This recipe was amazing! we cooked it for ten minutes longer and added yellow squash. We served it with homemade persimmon chutney.
What are we supposed to do with the one cup of veggies that we removed? Add them in at the end?
Add it to the top- it is more of a “presentation” thing.
We just finished eating this and what a delicious pleasure! I’ve tried to make various biryanis before and this is by far the best. It’s great even without the chutney, but with the chutney, it’s extra special. I probably erred on the side of adding a bit more of the flavors we like (onions, ginger, spice) but basically followed the recipe as written and couldn’t be happier with the results. So glad to have found this site, especially as I have 2 adult vegan daughters who come home and love to have me cook for them. Thank you!
Made as written, along with the chutney – delicious, the whole family loved it!
I have to say this is a great recipe, being a current convert to the Veggie way of life, this site is fantastic with some brilliant recipes thanks so much
It’s a cold snowy night out there, so I thought I’d try this to warm me up. Delicious!!
I was out of rice, so I chopped up some potatoes instead. Came out wonderful. I look forward to trying it with the chutney next time.
Very flavorful and straight forward to make.
Delicious! Tastes better than my local Indian Restaurant. I definitely recommend giving this a try 👍
Great to hear- thanks Mark!
Wonderful flavors. I’ve made this twice now. The first time with brown rice and cranberries. The second time I made with white rice, and the raisins were added as a topping rather than in the cooking process. Both were great, but we have a slight preference for the white rice for this particular recipe, and will continue to have the raisin and/or cranberries as optional toppings. We loved the crunch and flavor the cashews added too. Thank you, Sylvia, for another fantastic recipe!
Awesome Krista!
The mint and cilantro Chutney was spectacular and the biryani just delicious. I used my crockpot and it turned out so yummy. Thanks.
I made this and shared it with my daughter, son-in-law and 7 and 3 year old grandkids. We all loved it! Thank you. I’m ready to try more of your recipes.
Made this recipe with cranberries and edamame instead of raisons and chickpeas. Was very good…
Made this today for dinner, turned out great. Really enjoyed it and will definitely make again as it was a hit with the family.
I followed the recipe exactly as written and my rice was still uncooked after 35 minutes. I even added 1/2 c more liquid and let it simmer a bit longer. The rice is still hard. Very disappointed.
Sorry about that Mary, did you use brown rice? or what type of rice did you use?
It tastes amazing! I have tried it with both cilantro Mint Chutney and Raita! Fabulous!!
Just made this recipe for the second time. Love it! I add extra vegetables and the whole recipe is fantastic- I love the spice blend- REally delicious! Thank you!
Delicious! I didn’t have all the spices nor did I have chickpeas; but I did what I could, and it came out absolutely yummy; this will be one of my go-to’s. Thank you.
Great to hear!