Add a burst of fresh flavor and zest to white rice by making this delicious Lemon Rice recipe with fresh herbs! It's easy to make on the stove top and pairs perfectly with Greek and Mediterranean recipes, as a side dish or the base of a bowl.
Let the aroma of the best Greek Lemon Rice fill your kitchen! Long grain rice is seasoned with fresh lemon juice and zest, tasty herbs and simmered in flavorful broth to create your new favorite grain recipe.
It's fresh, zesty, tender, fluffy, aromatic, easy to make and so good, you'll want to eat it multiple times in a week!
This versatile dish is perfect for meal prepping since it keeps for an entire week in your fridge. Make a big batch ahead of time to use as a base for bowls, serve as a side dish, mix into salads, stir into soups, or make a giant Mediterranean platter with dips, spreads, and pita bread!
Feel free to get bold and add extra herbs or zest for even more flavor, or see the suggestions below for more mix in ideas.
You may never go back to plain white rice again, after trying this delicious Lemon Rice recipe!
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Ingredients
- Long grain white rice - Jasmine or Basmati rice are great options, but any variety of long-grain rice will work. If you decide to use brown rice you will need to increase the cooking time. I do not recommend using medium or short-grain rice, as the texture will be too mushy.
- Extra virgin olive oil - has the ideal neutral flavor, but you can swap it out for any oil you have on hand. Other mild tasting oils such as avocado oil or vegetable oil are good substitutes for olive oil.
- Onions - choose a mild onion such as sweet, yellow, or brown onions. Red and white onions have more flavor or bite that will be too strong and overpower the other flavors.
- Garlic - freshly minced cloves will give you the absolute best flavor, but already minced garlic can be used, if that is all you have.
- Lemon - you will need both the zest from the outside of the lemon and the fresh lemon juice from the inside. Pick a lemon that's bright yellow without any blemishes on the outside skin.
- Vegetable broth - this keeps the recipe vegan. You may substitute it for chicken broth, if you do not need the rice to be plant based. Feel free to use low-sodium broth, if you want to lower the sodium in the recipe.
- Turmeric powder - in addition to flavor and nutrition, this adds a beautiful color to the rice. Learn more about this spice in this article, What is Turmeric?
- Salt and pepper
- Flat-leaf parsley - pick the leaves off of the stems and chop them. Using fresh herbs will give you the best results, especially with the parsley!
- Dill - as always, fresh is best, however you may also use dried dill in this recipe. Dried herbs are more potent in taste so you will need to use less, see the recipe card for exact measurements. I prefer freeze-dried herbs for the closest-to-fresh flavor.
Instructions
I’ve included step by step photos below to make this recipe super easy to follow at home. For the full detailed recipe instructions and ingredient quantities, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Step 1: Place the rice in a fine mesh strainer and rinse under running water, until the water begins to run clear. Transfer the rice to a bowl, cover with water and allow it to soak.
Step 2: Drizzle olive oil in a large skillet on the stove over medium high heat. Add diced onions and cook for 4 minutes, then add in minced garlic cloves and cook for 1 minute. Drain the rice and add it to the skillet.
Step 3: Mix in the lemon juice, vegetable broth, turmeric, salt and black pepper. Bring everything to a boil, then turn the heat to low, cover, and cook for 25 minutes. Keep the pan covered, but remove it from the heat and allow it to rest for 10 minutes.
Step 4: Remove the lid, fluff the rice with a fork, and stir in the fresh parsley, dill, and lemon zest.
Stir to combine everything and serve immediately as the base of a bowl, or a side dish.
What to serve with it
Lemon rice is delicious as a side dish with your favorite Greek or Mediterranean meal, or as the base of a bowl. Try serving it with these recipes.
- As part of a Greek Beef Bowls (pictured above)
- Instead of quinoa, make lemon rice the base of this Harissa Broccoli Bowl or Lemon Herb Greek Bowl.
- Replace the white rice in this Mediterranean Shrimp Bowl with more flavorful Lemon Rice.
- Serve the rice as a side dish with Marinated Greek Chicken or Lemon Herb Salmon.
- Lemon rice pairs perfectly with Greek Meatballs!
- Sprinkle some lemon rice into salads, like this Grilled Chicken Shawarma Salad.
- Top a bed of Greek rice with your favorite roasted vegetables, or delicious Air Fryer Zucchini.
- Make a platter with lemon rice, dips, and pita bread for scooping. Plain or flavored hummus like Beet Hummus is a great start, but be sure to try Whipped Feta Dip and tzatziki as well!
- Stir this zesty lemon rice into your favorite broth based soups! I love it in this Greek Turkey Soup.
Variations
- Feta cheese crumbles mixed in to the rice gives it the perfect salty finish.
- If you love the fresh taste of citrus you can add even more lemon zest, or serve with a wedge of lemon to squeeze over the top.
- Try experimenting with other fresh herbs like basil, oregano, mint or thyme.
- Mix in tomatoes, either halved cherry or grape tomatoes will work great, or dice up your favorite large variety of tomato.
- Ginger is excellent with lemon! Zest some fresh ginger on top, or mix it in with the other fresh herbs.
- Chop up some cucumber for a refreshingly crisp addition.
- Add in creamy cubes of avocado if serving the rice right away.
- Chopped nuts like pistachios, almonds, cashews, pecans, or even roasted peanuts are great for added crunch.
- Dried fruit is another fun mix in, I like raisins, cranberries or apricots.
- A pat of butter (or vegan butter) melted on top is so simple, yet so amazing!
Tips and tricks
- I always recommend using long-grain white rice or jasmine rice for a light and fluffy texture. Short grain rice will unfortunately not work in this recipe, as the texture will become mushy.
- A heavy duty pot with a tight fitting lid will give you the best results by distributing the heat evenly and keeping the steam in.
- If you remove the lid at the end of the 10 minute time off of the heat, and there's still liquid in the pot, place it back on the stove over medium heat and cover. Continue cooking in 5 minute increments until all of the liquid has soaked into the rice.
- Don't uncover or stir the rice unless directed, this can disrupt the cooking process and affect your finished product.
- Always zest the lemon before cutting it in half and juicing. It is much easier to zest a whole lemon, then half of a juiced lemon!
How to store and reheat
- Leftover lemon rice can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 7 days.
- You can also freeze the leftovers. Start by letting it cool, then seal in an airtight container or zip-top storage bag and keep in the freezer for up to 6 months.
- Reheating in the microwave is the most convenient method, but you can also reheat the rice in a medium saucepan on the stove over medium heat. It will take 2-3 minutes to reheat the rice in the microwave, or 8-10 minutes on the stove. When reheating the rice, I recommend adding 1-2 tablespoons water or broth to the rice, so that it doesn't dry out.
More rice recipes
- Coconut Rice - in an Instant Pot or on the stove
- Brown Rice - in an Instant Pot, rice cooker or on the stove
- White Rice - in an Instant Pot, rice cooker or on the stove
- Wild Rice - what is it and how to cook it
- Cauliflower Rice - with stovetop and oven cooking instructions
Recipe
Lemon Rice
Ingredients
- 2 cups long grain white rice
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 cup onions diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- ½ cup lemon juice fresh-squeezed
- 3 cups vegetable broth or chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ cup fresh chopped parsley
- 2 tablespoons fresh chopped dill or 2 teaspoons dried dill
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest
Instructions
- Rinse and drain the long grain white rice and set it aside in a bowl of water to soak, while you begin the recipe.
- Place a large skillet or dutch oven on the stove over medium high heat.
- Heat the olive oil in the skillet.
- Add the onion and cook for 3-4 minutes, then add the garlic and cook for an additional minute.
- Drain the rice and add it to the skillet with the onion and garlic.
- Add the lemon juice, vegetable broth, turmeric, salt and black pepper, and bring the liquid to a boil.
- Turn the heat on the stove to low, cover the skillet and cook for 25 minutes.
- Remove the rice from the heat on the stove, but keep the lid on the skillet and let it rest, covered, for 10 minutes.
- Remove the lid, fluff the rice and stir in the parsley, dill and lemon zest.
Notes
- I always recommend using long-grain white rice or jasmine rice for a light and fluffy texture. Short grain rice will unfortunately not work in this recipe, as the texture will become mushy.
- A heavy duty pot with a tight fitting lid will give you the best results by distributing the heat evenly and keeping the steam in.
- If you remove the lid at the end of the 10 minute time off of the heat, and there's still liquid in the pot, place it back on the stove over medium heat and cover. Continue cooking in 5 minute increments until all of the liquid has soaked into the rice.
- Don't uncover or stir the rice unless directed, this can disrupt the cooking process and affect your finished product.
- Always zest the lemon before cutting it in half and juicing. It is much easier to zest a whole lemon, then half of a juiced lemon!
- Leftover lemon rice can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 7 days.
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