You’ll love this bright, flavor-packed Greek lemon rice made with onions, garlic, fresh lemon juice and herbs! This is an easy side dish and pairs beautifully with lots of Mediterranean favorites including Souvlaki, Shrimp, and Greek baked cod and many more! Be sure to check out my tips for foolproof results, and grab all the suggestions for what other dishes to serve along! Rice cooker instructions included.
If you think rice is just a dreaded, boring side dish, this Greek lemon rice will prove you wrong. Dare I say, once you give it a try, it might just become your favorite side of all time!
This lemon rice pilaf is a fairly popular side dish, you may have sampled a version of it at your local Greek restaurant.
You can serve it with many Mediterranean dishes like:
Greek Lamb (Definitely); Chicken Souvlaki; Beef Kabobs; all sorts of fish dishes like easy baked salmon; and vegetarian dishes like Briam Roasted Vegetables. Heck, I’d turn this awesome lemon rice into a rice bowl; throw in these Keftedes or shrimp skewers and a little Greek Salad. Mmmm doesn’t that sound wonderful!
You get the point, if you’re into eating Mediterranean, this lemon rice recipe will come in handy.
How to Make Greek Lemon Rice Pilaf
A few familiar flavor makers get the credit for how bright and tantalizing this rice is. They are: onions, garlic, fresh lemon juice, and herbs (I used fresh parsley and a dash of dill weed.)
But this lemon rice is very simple to make. It starts with a little bit of rich extra virgin olive oil in which our onions, garlic are sauteed. From there, we add a little orzo, rice, and our liquid (lots of fresh lemon juice and broth). As the rice cooks in the lemon juice, it absorbs all the tang and brightness. And at the end, we hit it up with the herbs and a little lemon zest to seal the deal.
That’s all there is to it!
Two Important Tips for this Greek Rice
To ensure best results for texture and taste, I apply the same tips I’ve learned when making Lebanese rice and Hashweh rice. Here they are:
1.The recipe starts with a very important step most other recipes ignore: wash the rice well and soak it in plenty of water for 15 to 20 minutes. Do not skip this step, this is important to help get rid of excess starch which causes rice to be sticky (this rice is not meant to be sticky.) Soaking it also shortens the cooking time, making sure the interior of the grain actually cooks before the exterior looses its shape and becomes mush.
2.Once rice is finished, leave it covered and undisturbed in the pot for about 10 minutes before adding the finishing touches (the herbs etc.) Again, this helps maintain the texture and integrity of the rice.
Can I make this in my Rice Cooker?
I know many are fans of the convenient rice cooker. I totally get that, but this recipe is much better when you make it stovetop. That said, yes, you can use a rice cooker, if you need to, with some adjustments:
Still rinse the rice very well and soak it even for a bit to get rid of starch (not a requirement for rice cookers, but helpful.) Add the orzo, rice, and liquid to the rice cooker (adjust liquid amount according to your rice cooker.) Instead of chopped onions and fresh garlic, you will use about 3/4 tsp onion powder and 1/2 tsp garlic powder (do not expect the same taste.) Set rice cooker to appropriate setting. Once rice is finished, stir in a little bit of extra virgin olive oil before adding the parsley, dill and lemon zest.
Recipe Variations:
- You can use brown rice, if you need to. It does not yield the same taste and requires some adjustments (see how to cook brown rice for tips.)
- For a veggie-boost, try Spanakorizo (Greek Spinach Rice).
- For the gluten free option, simply omit the orzo and let liquid boil a while longer to reduce properly
- Some people add carrots or peas in this rice pilaf (similar to this idea here), but I prefer to keep simple, unadulterated so to speak
Greek Lemon Rice Recipe
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: Serves up to 6
Description
Best Greek lemon rice recipe! Loads of flavor from onions, garlic, lemon juice and fresh herbs. Be sure to check out the notes for tips and ideas for what to serve it with.
Ingredients
- 2 cups long grain rice (uncooked)
- Early Harvest Greek extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped (just over 1 cup chopped onions)
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1/2 cup orzo pasta
- 2 lemons, juice of (PLUS zest of 1 lemon)
- 2 cups low sodium broth (chicken or vegetable broth will work)
- Pinch salt
- Large handful chopped fresh parsley
- 1 tsp dill weed (dry dill)
Instructions
- Wash rice well and then soak it for about 15 to 20 minutes in plenty of cold water (enough to cover the rice by 1 inch). You should be able to easily break a grain of rice by simply placing it between your thumb and index finger. Drain well.
- Heat about 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil in a large sauce pan with a lid (like this one) until oil is shimmering but not smoking. Add onions and cook for about 3 to 4 minutes until translucent. Add garlic and orzo pasta. Toss around for a bit until the orzo has gained some color then stir in the rice. Toss to coat.
- Now add lemon juice and broth. Bring liquid to a rolling boil (it should reduce a little), then turn heat to low. Cover and let cook for about 20 minutes or until rice is done (liquid should be fully absorbed and rice should be tender but not sticky.)
- Remove rice from heat. For best results, leave it covered and do not disturb rice for about 10 minutes or so.
- Uncover and stir in parsley, dill weed and lemon zest. If you like, add a few slices of lemon on top for garnish. Enjoy!
Notes
- Cook’s tip #1: Do not skip washing and soaking the rice well, this is important to help get rid of excess starch which causes rice to be sticky (this rice is not meant to be sticky). Soaking the rice here also shortens the cooking time, making sure the interior of the grain actually cooks before the exterior looses its shape.
- Cook’s Tip # 2: Once rice is finished, leave it covered and undisturbed in the pot for about 10 minutes before adding the herbs etc. Again, this helps maintain the texture and integrity of the rice.
- What Dishes Go Well with this Greek Rice? Chicken Souvlaki, Beef Kabobs, Greek Baked Cod; All sorts of Salmon; Briam Roasted Vegetables. Heck, I’d throw it in a bowl with these Keftedes or shrimp skewers and a little Greek Salad. The possibilities are endless!
- Gluten Free & Vegan Option: All you need to do to make this rice gluten free is to eliminate the orzo. For vegan, opt for a vegetable broth that is completely vegan instead of chicken broth.
- Brown Rice Option: It is not my preference, but you can use brown rice in this recipe. Remember that brown rice will require more soaking time and more liquid to cook. Consult the brown rice package to adjust this recipe.
- Rice Cooker Instructions: This rice is best cooked stovetop, but you can try a rice cooker. Still rinse the rice very well and soak it even for a little bit to get rid of starch (not a requirement for rice cookers, but helpful.) Add the orzo, rice, and liquid to the rice cooker (adjust liquid amount according to your rice cooker.) Instead of chopped onions and fresh garlic, you will use about 3/4 tsp onion powder and 1/2 tsp garlic powder. Set rice cooker to appropriate setting. Once rice is finished, stir in a little bit of extra virgin olive oil before adding the parsley, dill and lemon zest.
- Visit The Mediterranean Dish store to check out Private Reserve Greek extra virgin olive oil and our Early Harvest Greek Extra virgin olive oil (both single estate oils from organically grown and processed Koroneiki olives.) You will also find a big selection of all-natural and organic spices! Visit TMD Store
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 mins
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Greek
It tastes like pure luxury. Loved it with the Lemon Chicken Piccata.
Hi Suzy! I love this recipe, made it without the orzo. My question is when you say 2 C of rice is that after soaking, as there is 3 C after expansion? I did use the 2 C with 3 C of broth, which worked well. I used the 1 C for rice pudding.
Chris R.
Hi, Christine. You want to start with 2 cups of rice before soaking. Glad you enjoyed it!
hi! Can you make this with orzo?
Hi, Irene. There is orzo in this recipe. Are you asking if you can make this only with orzo, and no rice?
Yes apologies – I meant only orzo and no rice!
Yes – is only orzo possible?
Would be great if the recipe could add what size of a pot to use.
Absolutely delicious! This is the 2nd time I made this rice. I always mess up a rice dish but this dish has come out as expected, twice!! Soaking the rice seems to be the key. After soaking, the rice doubles and you only need the 2 cups of broth and lemon juice. Thank you for another delicious recipe.
This was a nice every day pilaf. Love the look and mouth feel of the orzo add in.
Do you cook the Orzo before you put it in pan?
Hi, Steve. Nope, you start with uncooked orzo here. Enjoy!
No, it cooks right along with the rice.
The rice is perfect! Followed all the steps as outlined – quick, easy and tasty!
Thank you!
Made it last night and it was awesome!! Followed the recipe right down to the T. My rice will never be the same again! Thank you for this recipe! Love it!
I really wanted to love this recipe but for me it was a major fail. After 30 minutes my rice was not even cooked. I’ve been adding a little liquid and cooking longer, and now it’s mush. 2 cups of broth and 2 lemons wasn’t enough liquid for us. Seems like others had this problem too.
Thank you for the feedback, Christina. Much appreciated as we continually review our recipes.
This rice was really really good! I tend to mess up rice. This rice turned out better than any rice I may have ever made and I even have a rice cooker! Made in a pan following directions. Left out the orzo since we’re gluten-free. Loved the tips. I often prefer to skip some of the extra steps but this time I rinsed well and let the rice soak as instructed. My son pointed out how it was perfectly dry (in a good way – not lumped together/sticky) and the flavor was fantastic. Was given the green light to feed to visitors & guests. 🙂 Made with the skillet mushroom chicken and will definitely be making again!!
I have enjoyed and shared many of your recipes. This is a flop. The cooking time is off, it is beyond bland and the ratio of rice s, orzo and broth is wrong. Please go back to the drawing board on this one. We threw it in the garbage.
I followed this recipe exactly and it turned out perfectly. Not sure how it would be a flop unless you did not soak your rice as it will eliminate the amount of liquid it typically needed. Two lemons worth of juice will be almost a cup depending on the size of your lemons which could account for it being not enough liquid and flavor in your situation. I always determine the amount of juice in a lemon by cup ratio for example 1/2 of a lemon is 1/4 cup of lemon juice and do the addition from there as each lemon is not the same size. Your idea of large may be small for me as not everyone’s perception is the same. Hope that would work for you if you try it again.
The broth to rice ratio is not accurate. I followed the recipe exactly and my rice was undercooked. Typically for a long grain rice the ratio is for every cup of rice you add 2 cups of liquid.
Can I make this rice a day or two before the day of eating it? It sounds delish!
Sure! If you want to prepare it a night or two ahead, bring it to room temp then refrigerate. When ready to eat, heat over medium/medium-low and add a tiny bit of liquid to help things…break up the rice using a wooden spoon and toss occasionally to make sure everything is heated equally.
Greek Lemon Rice
Your recipe says 2C uncooked Rice. However your calorie calculation is for 2/3 C Uncooked Rice or 2 C cooked rice.
How much rice do I use. The imappropriate amount will ruin the recipe.
Please correct the recipe.
Hi, Holly. When making this recipe, you start with 2 cups of uncooked long-grained rice. Enjoy!
Delicious 😋