My mom used to make a recipe very much like this and she called it “special rice”- and boy was it special. It was the perfect accompaniment to whatever else she had made for dinner and we always enjoyed it. If your family loves rice as a side dish then I’m going to go out on a limb and say that they will probably enjoy Rice Chantilly as much as we did.

This is a very easy-to-modify recipe and you know how great a versatile recipe is to have in your toolkit. You can add a couple teaspoons of chopped onions, some hot sauce, or jalapeños. My mom would frequently add some chopped almonds or walnuts on top for a great crunch. Plus, this recipe is a super simple way to make rice a little bit more interesting. Basically, you can’t go wrong with this recipe!

This recipe makes a great side dish to beef or chicken recipes and it also is a wonderful way to use up leftover rice from a meal earlier in the week. Rice Chantilly is a variation on a much older recipe called Chantilly Potatoes– which uses leftover mashed potatoes as the basis for a yummy casserole.

You begin this recipe by making the rice and then combining all ingredients together, except for half cup of the cheese.

The casserole is then topped with the remaining cheese and then baked for 16-20 minutes or until the cheese is just beginning to bubble and brown.

Rice Chantilly is one of those classic recipes from the 1970s and 1980s that doesn’t get nearly enough table time these days. But, if you make this recipe don’t expect leftovers- it’s that good.