Here’s an easy, Classic Rice Pilaf Recipe for you:
Call me addicted to Rice-a-Roni. Guilty, as charged. I’ve always love the stuff a little too much. I know that eating rice from a package isn’t as good as making it homemade, so I decided to go for it. I made some homemade rice pilaf. It was so easy!
Once you make this easy rice recipe once, you’ll never want to buy a box again.
All that’s involved is toasting some orzo pasta in butter with onions and garlic. Regular white rice and broth are added in later and cooked until tender. I like to use chicken broth. If you want to keep it vegetarian, use vegetable broth instead. No more Rice-a-Roni for me! And hopefully for you too 🙂
Variations on Classic Rice Pilaf:
Here are some great suggestions from readers who have made this:
- Use olive oil instead of butter for sauteing, then add butter to the rice when it’s done cooking to finish it off.
- Add in 4-ounces of broken-up vermicelli to the recipe.
- Add in celery, slivered almonds and golden raisins.
- Add in some chicken bouillon for more flavor.
- Really good with Parmesan cheese and chopped tomatoes.
Here are a few more rice recipes you might like:
- Spanish Rice
- Fiesta Rice
- Easy Coconut Rice
- Brown Butter Rice
- Fried Rice
- Baked Parmesan Rice
- Cranberry Rice Pilaf
- Lemon Rice with Capers and Parsley
Classic Rice Pilaf Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1/2 cup orzo pasta
- 1/2 cup finely diced onion
- 2 medium garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 cup uncooked white rice
- 2 cups chicken broth
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley, optional
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a medium skillet over medium-low heat. Add the pasta and onion; cook until the pasta is golden brown and the onion has softened. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant (1 minute). Mix in the rice and chicken broth, turn heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes (until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender).
- Remove from heat, stir, and add salt and pepper to taste. Stir in parsley, if using.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I made this last night forCompany. They raved about it. Will make again for sure
Making it tonight. Can I use olive oil instead of butter?
Sorry, I did not see this in time! I hope you tried olive oil. It should work just fine!
I always use this recipe. Delicious! So much better than the boxed stuff.
Made it with vegetable broth because that’s what I had, and served it with salmon. Came out restaurant quality! Thanks so much.
I used brown rice (cook time was longer, worked out fine), low sodium chicken broth and always add 1/2C to 1C frozen mixed vegetables. I use peas and carrots or mixed veggies. Because I used brown rice, the veggies thaw when cooking for the extra time.
This turned out so good! It is like a Rice a Roni! I’m going to add peas to it for some color. Thank you for sharing such a great recipe!
Best, Jakalyn
if your not adding the pasta do you keep the amount of rice the same
I have not made this without the pasta…