Easy Rice Bake with Ham and Baby Lima Beans

Close-up of rice bake with diced ham and baby lima beans on a dark plate.

Easy Rice Bake with Ham and Baby Lima Beans

This easy rice bake combines uncooked long-grain white rice, diced ham, and baby lima beans for a filling family dinner. Parboil the beans in broth, reserve 2 cups of that broth for the rice, then cover and bake.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Southern

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 50

Resting Time 10

Total Time 1 5

Servings servings

Calories 341.7kcal

Author Gary White

Ingredients

1 ½ tsp. kosher salt
½ tsp. ground black pepper
1 bay leaf
1 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
4 cups chicken broth for parboiling; reserve 2 cups of the cooking broth for the rice bake
1 ½ cups long grain white rice uncooked
32 oz. frozen baby lima beans
2 lb. diced ham
2 Tbsp. butter
nonstick cooking spray for the baking dish

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 390°F. Spray a 13 x 9-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
Add the frozen baby lima beans, 4 cups of chicken broth, and 2 tablespoons of butter to a saucepan. Bring to a boil, allowing about 10 minutes to reach that point.
As soon as the broth reaches a boil, immediately drain the beans through a strainer set over a large bowl, catching the broth. Measure exactly 2 cups of the reserved broth for the rice bake. Do not add all of the cooking broth to the baking dish.
Add the 2 cups of reserved broth, salt, pepper, bay leaf, and red wine vinegar to the prepared baking dish and mix to combine. Add the uncooked rice and spread it into an even layer. Layer the drained beans over the rice, then spread the diced ham evenly over the beans.
Cover the dish tightly with foil and bake for 40 minutes.
Remove the dish from the oven and let it rest for 10 minutes. Uncover, remove the bay leaf, and fluff the rice before serving.

Video

Notes

Broth: The 4 cups are used to parboil the beans. Measure just 2 cups of that reserved cooking broth into the baking dish; these are not an additional 2 cups.

Smoked sausage option: Use 16–24 ounces of sliced smoked sausage instead of the ham. No browning is needed. Layer the sausage over the beans and follow the same baking and resting instructions.

Beans and rice: This method is written for frozen baby lima beans and uncooked long-grain white rice. Dried beans and brown rice are not direct substitutions. Canned beans and other pan sizes have not been tested for this updated version.

Video: The video shows an earlier version. Follow the ingredient amounts and instructions in this updated recipe card.

Nutrition: Estimated for the ham version and 10 servings, using 2 cups of broth and the full 2 tablespoons of butter. Cooking spray is not included.

Nutrition