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
This recipe had nowhere near enough liquid and as a result of adding more liquid, it turned into a big pile of mush.
Tastes just like it was made at your favorite Greek restaurant. Delish!
Yay! Thanks, Sarah!
This recipe is great in an Instant Pot with the following changes:
1. Sauté the onions, garlic, orzo & rice as in the recipe only use the sauté function of the instant pot.
2. Increase the broth to 2-1/2 cups
3. Set to high pressure for 3 minutes
4. Natural release for 10 minutes then open valve to release residual pressure.
Probably the best Greek Rice Pilaf i’ve made.
Thank you for sharing, Brian! Very helpful!
Has anyone tried this with leftover (cooked) rice? I was thinking I could cook the onions and garlic, a some liquid (broth and lemon) and just reduce the cooking time… anyone tried something similar?
Hi, Jenn! I have not tried this, but would love to hear if anyone else has!
This looks super delicious! Haven’t made eyes, but have a question. For the lemons that’s juice if two lemons and zest of one? I.e. three lemons total? I have a mass amount of Meyer lemons right now and would love to make this!
Hi, Lisa! Only 2 lemons are necessary. Zest and then juice one of them, then just juice the other.
I followed the recipe and all the tips, but my rice was dry and undercooked. There is not enough liquid in the dish.
Really delicious! It went so well with the roasted Spanish mackeral I had tonight. I’m now a big convert to adding lemon zest to recipes. Thanks! One tiny thing – the ingredients call for a pinch of salt, but doesn’t say where or when to add it. I didn’t have low sodium chicken broth, so I just didn’t add any and it was perfect.
Great flavor! I only had a red onion on hand so it turned out pink, but it was a perfect side with falafels.
Very tasty
Can you make this in a rice cooker/ pot ?
Hi, Peggy! I’ve never personally tried, but other readers have with success.
Would like to make this rice ahead of time, what do you recommend for reheating this dish, thank you.
Hi, Sue! It can be reheated on medium heat (it may help to add just a tiny bit of water when reheating and be sure to stir it occasionally.)
I love the soak technique! The texture of the rice is PERFECT. Im not making rice any other way again. The flavors are also on point! I literally couldnt stop “taste testing”
So glad you enjoyed it, Rachel!
The print function doesn’t present the recipe fully plus it shows big gray splotches. It must not be set up correctly in the “PRINT” button. This also happened with the Lebanese rice recipe. It displays on the screen correctly in both cases but when I look at a preview of the print page, three pages are gray splotches and the Nutritional Info follows. Also the first page is cut off and does not continue on the 2nd page….only gray area at top, then two pages of gray splotches. I like printing my recipes so I can take notes on it. I hate to have to use screen prints or cut and paste. thank you.
Hi, Robin! Thanks for the heads up! We just took a look here in the office and aren’t having the same issues. Each of the recipes present and print correctly on our end. You may want to trying bringing the recipes up on a different browser to see if that helps with your printing issue. I’m sorry we’re not much help here :(.
Just made this rice dish, it was so easy and turn out great. I didn’t have any orzo but it was still great. Only thing I did is I made an extra cup of chicken broth and pour it over just before serving it. I will make this again!
Thanks for sharing, Karen! So glad you enjoyed it!
I didn’t have the orzo and it turned out just perfect without it. It was an amazing and simple dish.
Thank you for sharing, Lindsay!
I tried this last night, not sure I used the right rice (Jasmine) as it came out overcooked. Going to try again and halve the cooking time to see what happens. For the record, even overcooked, it was tasty!
I’m sorry about that, Nicole! Good luck with the next try. So glad you still enjoyed the rice, though!