Rice A Roni chicken flavor is basically just rice & pasta cooked in chicken bouillon with a few spices. If you make some rice, substituting a portion of pasta for some of the rice, and use chicken stock instead of water with a sprinkle of powdered sage, dried parsley, granulated garlic & onion and pepper you'll probably come up with something similar. I think I recall that it is a bit yellow, which means they added food coloring...you could add a bit of turmeric if the color appeals.

Part of the reason these boxed mixes taste good is the sodium content, so you must realize that using chicken stock instead of bouillon to cook the rice will result in a "bland" flavor for a palate used to more salt.

I loved the Rice A Roni long grain & wild rice mix when I was a kid. In fact, it was a component of one of my most impressive entertaining meals when I was in my late teens...roasted rock Cornish game hens, stuffed with the long grain & wild rice mix. With some experimentation, I learned to make it on my own...and now I add dried cranberries to the stuffing, yum!

A hint...when you have a particular prepackaged food you want to make at home, do an internet search on, "Such and such copycat recipe." Lots of people want to recreate the convenience foods at home, both to save money and eat healthier. So, a "rice a roni copycat recipe" search will probably yield you more specific recipes.

In the Latin foods section of your grocery store, you should be able to find packs of what are labelled as vermicelli noodles, the same size and shape as the Rice-a-Roni noodles in the mix.

I often use a recipe that Linda in TN posted here but I reduce the butter to about 2 Tbs. This should get you started for the basic chicken flavor.

Armenian Pilaf (Nasseroni)

4 Tbs. butter
1 cup finely crushed vermicelli noodles
1 1/2 cups long-grain rice
3 1/2 cups chicken stock
Salt and pepper

Melt butter in a heavy pan over medium heat. Add noodles and stir for about 5 minutes or until golden brown. Add rice and stir for another 4 or 5 minutes. Add stock and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer 15 minutes. Turn off heat and leave pan covered for 5 minutes before serving.
Makes 6 servings.

It has been a long time since I had Rice A Roni. But it should be easy to duplicate.

I would saute a little onion in butter, add the rice and vermicelli and cook until the rice and pasta start to "toast", add a minced garlic clove, a pinch of tumeric (for colour) and add chicken broth. You probably want enough chicken broth to cover the rice and be about 1/4 inch higher. Cover and turn the heat down low and cook until liquid has been absorbed and rice is tender.

Ann

Oh, I meant to say too, if you want a Mexican style version, add a little cumin and a small minced tomato to the mix. You can spice it up with cayenne or chili powder as well.

Ann

I use Orzo for the pasta, although I have used crushed vermicelli in the past. While you are supposed to sauté the rice and pasta together for RAR, I generally only sauté the rice and add the pasta in for the last 10 minutes of simmering, so that the pasta does not get overdone. I also reduce the amount of cooking liquid slightly

Lars

I make this spanish rice, from my old Betty Crocker cookbook. Leave out the ground beef and it's way better than Rice A Roni. I always add more chili powder

Spanish Rice

1 pound lean ground beef
1 tablespoon butter
1/3 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2 cans (14.5 ounces each) diced tomatoes
1/4 cup ketchup
1/2 cup long-grain rice

In a heavy skillet brown ground beef in butter. Add onion, green bell pepper, salt, chili powder, pepper, and Worcestershire sauce. Cook until onion is tender. Add tomatoes and ketchup; simmer 15 minutes. Add rice. Cover and simmer 25 minutes, or until rice is tender, stirring occasionally. Add a little water or tomato juice if necessary.

Serves 6.

Annie

When I buy the boxes of seasoned rice I always throw in an extra 1/2 cup of rice and a cup of water. The mixes are usually too salty and my family eats like frat boys so the extra amount of rice works well for us.

This one is an acceptable substitute:

HOMEMADE RICE-A-RONI

3/4 cup long grain white rice
1/2 cup broken spaghetti or angel hair pasta
1-3 Tblsp. butter
14 oz. chicken broth
1 tsp. chicken base
1 tsp. dried parsley flakes
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation is the same as stated on the box of Rice-a-Roni. Melt the butter in a pan and sauté the rice and pasta until lightly browned.
Add the chicken broth, base, parsley and garlic. Add any other seasonings if you would like.
Bring to a boil and cover, then reduce heat to low. Cook 15 minutes without lifting lid.
After 15 minutes check to see if all liquid has been absorbed and fluff rice with a fork. If the rice is tender but it is still a little wet just let it sit on low with the lid off for a few minutes.

Here is a link that might be useful: Recipe from Chaos In The Kitchen blog