WHY YOU’LL LOVE THIS RECIPE
Elevate your rice game with this easy and flavourful Greek rice recipe! Made with sautéed onions and cooked in chicken broth (or vegetable broth), this Greek-style rice will be one of your go-to side dishes! Mix in fresh herbs and sprinkle the rice with some paprika, and you’ve got yourself a tasty and beautiful side dish with minimal effort.
Greek-style rice pilaf is white rice that has been toasted in a saucepan, mixed with sautéd onions (sometimes other veggies or garlic), and cooked in a broth or stock. Aromatic fresh parsley, dill, and sautéed onions bring the flavours of a Greek restaurant into your kitchen.
This is an easy side dish with simple ingredients and just a few steps. Greek rice is a versatile side dish that goes so well with pretty much everything, but here are some popular food pairings! Consider serving Greek rice as a side dish for Greek Chicken Souvlaki Skewers, Baked Salmon With Creamy Dill Mayo, Oven Baked Greek Tofu, Greek oven-roasted vegetables, or tzatziki.
RECIPE TIPS
- There are a couple of important tricks to achieve the best taste and texture when making Greek rice. First, rinse your rise really well with cold water until the water drains clear. Then rinse a little more. Rinsing the rice really well gets rid of any excess starch. Starch causes the rice to be sticky, and for Greek rice, the rice shouldn’t stick together.
- Keep the heat on low when the rice is covered so that the bottom of the rice doesn’t burn or stick to the saucepan.
- Another tip is that once the rice is finished cooking, leave it covered in the saucepan for another ten minutes. Try not to mix the rice or remove the lid during this step. The steam will help the rice become fluffy and distribute the heat so that the rice can finish cooking evenly.
- Because the amount of broth needed can vary on the type of rice, it’s best to follow the package instructions for the amount of broth to rice. For this recipe (with jasmine rice), you’ll need 1 1/2 cups of liquid for 1 cup of rice. If you’d like to add 1/4 cup of white wine, reduce the broth to 1 1/4 cups for this recipe so that the total amount of liquid equals 1 1/2 cups.
- Adding salt when you add the broth is important so that the rice can cook with salt and become more flavourful.
- If you’re going to double or triple the recipe, make sure you’re using a large enough saucepan so that the rice has room to expand as it cooks.
INGREDIENT NOTES
Rice: Long-grain or medium-grain white rice works best for this recipe. I often use white Jasmine rice, but you could also use basmati rice. It’s important to rinse the rice really well with cold water to remove any excess starch before adding the rice to the saucepan.
Low-sodium broth: You can use chicken broth or vegetable broth. I often choose low-sodium broth to control the amount of salt added to the rice. If you’re using a low-sodium broth cube (instead of ready-made broth), follow the package instructions on how much water is needed to dilute the broth cube. From there, you can pour only the amount of broth needed for the recipe into the saucepan. This Greek rice recipe can be completely vegetarian if made with vegetable broth.
Salt: Since we’re using low-sodium broth, the rice will need some salt for added flavour. For this recipe, I add 1/2 a teaspoon of salt to the rice as it cooks. Adding salt when you add the broth is important so that the rice cooks with the salt and becomes more flavourful.
Fresh herbs: I recommend adding fresh dill and Italian parsley near the end of the cooking time so that you can really taste the herbs’ flavours. If they’re added too soon, then you may not be able to taste them as much.
Butter and olive oil: A delicious combo! I use salted butter, but you can use unsalted if that’s what you have on hand. Great quality extra virgin olive oil is recommended for this recipe.
Onion: You’ll only need half an onion for this recipe. You can use either a white or yellow onion. Yellow onion has a more mild taste and is slightly sweeter. When cooking the onions, keep the heat low so that they don’t burn.
Wine: A dry white wine like pinot gris or sauvignon blanc works really well. If the wine is too sweet, then the sugars may caramelize the onions too much. But you don’t need to add wine if you don’t want to! If you’d like to add wine, you can add it in while you’re sautéing the onions so that the alcohol evaporates, but the flavour remains.
Lemon zest: You can add a little bit of lemon zest on top of the rice for some colour and added flavour if you’d like!
KITCHEN TOOLS RECOMMENDED FOR THIS RECIPE
- Medium-sized saucepan
- Cutting board
- Paring knife
- Measuring cup
HOW TO MAKE GREEK RICE: STEP BY STEP
STEP 1: Rinse the rice. Rinse the rice really well with cold water using a mesh sifter until the water runs clear.
STEP 2: Sauté the onions. Peel and dice half of the white onion. In a medium-sized saucepan, heat up the olive oil. Add the diced white onions and sauté the diced white onions on low to medium heat until the onions are soft and translucent. About 5 minutes.
Then, add in the white wine and cook the onions for another 5 minutes. Cooking the onions longer will bring out their sweetness. But be careful not to burn the onions. It’s good to keep an eye on them and lower the heat if you need to.
STEP 3: Cook the rice. Add the rinsed rice to the sautéd onions for a minute or two until the rice gets lightly toasted. Then add in the chicken or vegetable broth, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and the butter. Stir once to combine. Increase the heat to medium-high and allow the rice to come to a simmer. Stir once again, and then cover the saucepan with a tight-fitting lid. Immediately reduce the heat to low.
Switching to a smaller element may be good if you use a gas stove. You want to keep the heat low so that the rice doesn’t burn on the bottom. Make sure the lid is tight, so the steam doesn’t escape. The steam is doing the work in this recipe! Cook the rice covered for 12-15 minutes.
STEP 4: Allow the rice to rest. Remove the rice from the heat and let the rice sit with the lid on for 10 minutes. This step allows the heat to redistribute in the saucepan resulting in evenly cooked rice.
STEP 5: Add fresh herbs and paprika. Remove the lid, and add in the fresh parsley, fresh dill, paprika, and more salt and pepper if needed. Fluff the rice with a fork. You can add more herbs or seasonings if you’d like! Keep the rice covered until you’re ready to serve.
Should You Stir Rice While Cooking?
Try not to stir the rice as it’s cooking. Too much stirring is what creates a creamy or gummy texture to rice (think risotto) because starch gets released as the rice is stirred.
SERVING & STORING
Allow any leftover rice to cool before placing it in the fridge. This Greek-style rice will last in the fridge for 3-4 days. It’s best to store it in an airtight container.
You can reheat the rice in the microwave or in a saucepan. Add a tablespoon of broth or water to a saucepan, and then add in the leftover rice until heated through.
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Greek Rice Recipe (Side Dish)
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 of a yellow onion peeled and diced - approximately 1 cup diced
- 1/4 cup dry white wine
- 1 cup white jasmine rice
- 1 ¼ cups low sodium chicken broth or vegetable broth
- 2 tablespoons salted butter
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon fresh dill de-stemmed and diced
- 1 tablespoon fresh flat-leaf Italian parsley de-stemmed and diced
- Paprika optional
- Lemon zest optional
Instructions
- Rinse the rice. Rinse the rice really well with cold water using a mesh sifter until the water runs clear.
- Sauté the white onions. Peel and dice half of the white onion. In a medium-sized saucepan, heat the olive oil. Add the diced white onions and sauté the diced white onions on low heat until the onions are soft and translucent. About 5 minutes. Then, add in the white wine and cook the onions for another 5 minutes. Cooking the onions longer will bring out their sweetness. But be careful not to burn the onions, so it's good to keep an eye on them and lower the heat if you need to.
- Cook the rice. Add the rinsed rice to the sautéed onions for a minute or two until the rice gets lightly toasted. Then add in the chicken or vegetable broth, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and the butter. Stir once to combine. Increase the heat to medium-high and allow the rice to come to a simmer (just below boiling). Stir once again, and then cover the saucepan with a tight-fitting lid. Immediately reduce the heat to low. Switching to a smaller element may be a good idea if you're using a gas stove. You want to keep the heat low so that the rice doesn't burn on the bottom. Make sure the lid is tight, so the steam doesn't escape. The steam is doing the work in this recipe! Cook the rice covered for 12-15 minutes on low heat.
- Allow the rice to rest. Remove the rice from the heat and let the rice sit with the lid on for 10 minutes. This step redistributes the heat in the saucepan, resulting in evenly cooked rice.
- Add fresh herbs and paprika. Remove the lid, and add in the fresh parsley, fresh dill, paprika, and more salt and pepper if needed. Fluff the rice with a fork. You can add more herbs or seasonings if you'd like! Keep the rice covered until you're ready to serve.
Notes
- Switching to a smaller element may be a good idea if you're using a gas stove. You want to keep the heat low when you're cooking the rice so that the rice doesn't burn on the bottom. Make sure the lid is tight, so the steam doesn't escape. The steam is doing the work in this recipe!
- Rinse your rise really well with cold water until the water drains clear. Rinsing the rice gets rid of any excess starch.
- Another tip is that once the rice is finished cooking, remove it from the heat and leave it covered in the saucepan for another ten minutes. The steam will help the rice become fluffy and distribute the heat so that the rice can finish cooking evenly.
- Because the amount of broth needed can vary on the type of rice, it's best to follow the package instructions for the amount of broth to rice. For this recipe (with jasmine rice), you'll need 1 1/2 cups of liquid for 1 cup of rice. If you'd like to add 1/4 cup of white wine, reduce the broth to 1 1/4 cups for this recipe so that the total amount of liquid equals 1 1/2 cups.
- Adding salt when you add the broth is important so that the rice can cook with salt and become more flavourful.
Nutrition
Date Published: December 2, 2022
Easy Greek Rice Recipe (Side Dish)
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