Since I serve Lebanese rice with nearly everything, from weeknight dinners to big Lamb Roasts on the holidays. This is a simple vegan rice pilaf made of three ingredients: vermicelli pasta, rice and olive oil. Add a bit of toasted pine nuts, and you have the best side of rice! Check out the video and step-by-step tutorial.
Throughout the Mediterranean, you will find rice dishes like, Paella; Mujadra (lentils and rice); or Hashweh (Beef and rice), that are certainly more of a meal. But this Lebanese rice with vermicelli is the every-day rice of the Middle East, and it’s by far the most served side dish in that part of the world.
What is in this Lebanese Rice
Basic Lebanese rice typically consists of broken vermicelli pasta, a short, thin pasta that’s used in a few traditional dishes like Catalan Fideuà. You’ll also need rice (medium or long grain rice works), and extra virgin olive oil or butter (or a combination of both). I use only extra virgin olive oil here. There is but a pinch of salt to season this rice.
And to jazz things up, I like topping the rice with toasted pine nuts adds a nice nutty flavor and texture.
Tips for making the best Lebanese Rice
1- You must rinse the rice to get rid of excess starch which causes rice to be sticky (Lebanese rice is not meant to be sticky). Then soak the rice for 2o minutes or until you can break one grain of rice by pressing it between your index finger and your thumb. This way, you shorten the cooking time making sure the interior of the grain actually cooks before the exterior looses its shape. Remember that the rice to use here should not be partially cooked rice.
2- To give the Lebanese rice flavor right from the start, toast the vermicelli in olive oil until golden brown (as you’ll see in the step-by-step below), then add the rice and toast so that each rice grain is coated with the olive oil.
3- Once the rice is fully cooked, let it rest for 10-15 minutes or so, then fluff it with a fork. This again helps keep it from becoming sticky or gluey.
Here is the step-by-step for how to make Lebanese rice:
– Rinse the rice well then place it in a medium bowl and cover with water. Soak for 20 minutes. Test to see if you can easily break a grain of rice by simply placing it between your thumb and index finger. Drain well.
– In a medium non-stick cooking pot, heat the olive oil on medium-high. Add the vermicelli and continuously stir to toast it evenly. Vermicelli should turn a nice golden brown, but watch carefully not to over-brown or burn it (If it burns, you must throw the vermicelli away and start over).
– Add the rice and salt and continue to stir so that the rice will be well-coated with the olive oil. Now add 3 1/2 cups of water and bring it to a boil until the water significantly reduces and you’re able to see the rice through (see the photo below). Turn the heat to low and cover.
– Cook for 15-20 minutes on low. Once fully cooked, turn the heat off and leave the rice undisturbed in it’s cooking pot for another 10-15 minutes, then uncover and fluff with a fork.
Watch my video for this Lebanese Rice Recipe:
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Lebanese Rice with Vermicelli
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: Serves up to 6 people
Description
Vegan Lebanese rice with vermicelli and pine nuts. A great side dish next to many Mediterranean favorites.
Ingredients
- 2 cups long grain or medium grain rice
- Water
- 1 cup broken vermicelli pasta
- 2 1/2 tbsp olive oil
- Salt
- 1/2 cup toasted pine nuts, optional to finish
Instructions
- Rinse the rice well (a few times) then place it in a medium bowl and cover with water. Soak for 15 to 20 minutes. Test to see if you can easily break a grain of rice by simply placing it between your thumb and index finger. Drain well.
- In a medium non-stick cooking pot, heat the olive oil on medium-high. Add the vermicelli and continuously stir to toast it evenly. Vermicelli should turn a nice golden brown, but watch carefully not to over-brown or burn it (If it burns, you must throw the vermicelli away and start over).
- Add the rice and continue to stir so that the rice will be well-coated with the olive oil. Season with salt.
- Now add 3 1/2 cups of water and bring it to a boil until the water significantly reduces (see the photo below).Turn the heat to low and cover.
- Cook for 15-20 minutes on low. Once fully cooked, turn the heat off and leave the rice undisturbed in it’s cooking pot for 10-15 minutes, then uncover and fluff with a fork.
- Transfer to a serving platter and top with the toasted pine nuts. Enjoy!
Notes
- Pro Tips: 1. You must rinse the rice to get rid of excess starch which causes rice to be sticky (Lebanese rice is not meant to be sticky). Then soak the rice in plenty of water for 15-20 minutes or until you can break one grain of rice by pressing it between your index finger and your thumb. 2.toasting the vermicelli in EVOO as a first step is what gives this rice great flavor. Do not skip this step. 3. If you can at all help it, let the rice rest for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.
- Recommended for this recipe: Private Reserve Greek extra virgin olive oil (from organically grown and processed Koroneiki olives).
- SAVE! Try our Greek extra virgin olive oil bundle!
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Mediterranean
Hi Suzie
I made this following your steps – it came out wonderful. I have made rice and vermicelli but your instructions are so very accurate. Can I ask about the water for 6 cups of rice and 3 cups of vermicelli- would it be about 10.5 cups of water – don’t want to get this wrong
Thank you, Rebecca! I have doubled this recipe successfully before, but not tripled it, personally, so it’s hard for me to be 100% sure, but I think 10.5 cups of water should work just fine.
Just making this now. I thought I had pine nuts but realized I don’t. Could I substitute slivered almonds?
That would work… or you can just omit nuts all together.
I stumbled accidentally to your website and wow what a wonderful thing it was. Spent 4 hours (or more) yesterday just looking at recepies from your website and how to make and I absolutely loved it. So I cooked all day today with my daughter a few courses from your website including the rice and wow ? it was amazing and my friends and relatives who came to dinner absolutely loved every dish. Now I am hooked. I have a big food love for you ❤️ Thank you kindly
Awww! You are very sweet, Tania! Welcome to The Mediterranean Dish 🙂
Hi Suzy, I am making this for the first time tonight. It sounds incredible. I don’t have vermicelli however. Can I substitute rice noodles or spaghetti noodles?
Hi Wendy, great question! And apologies, I am not always able to get to questions immediately. If you don’t have vermicelli, you can use orzo instead but I would not use rice noodles or spaghetti (spaghetti is far thicker and will not give you the same results).
Please how much salt do you recommend for this recipe?
Emily, I do not list salt amounts as that is very much personal preferences. However, you can start with something like 1/2 to 1 teaspoon.
oh this is my favourite rice dish when eating middle eastern food! – happy happy happy to have found the recipe on your site. I think I will prep enough rice for this and for the lovely dolma recipe you have. I have lots of lemons at the moment, so do you think it would be OK to use lemon slices in the bottom of the pot if you don’t have tomatoes handy? Take good care of you and yours :), cheers, Frances
Thanks for sharing! Glad you’ve found the recipes you like here. I assume you’re asking about replacing the tomatoes with the lemon slices in the grape leaves recipe? I would not recommend that. You can skip the tomatoes, but make sure you have layed a few leaves at the bottom of the pot first (the pictures will show you that).
I love this with your baked cod. Delicious!
Ooo! Yes! Great combo! Thanks, Helen!
This recipe is easy and delicious!
Thanks so much!
Hi,
Has the vermicelli pasta been cooked before you start this recipe?
Thx, Nadine from Toronto
No, the vermicelli is only toasted in the olive oil before adding the rice and water.
What kind of white rice do you use? Basmati? Or just long grain white rice?
To be honest, I use whatever long or medium grained rice I have on hand :). Basmati does make a frequent appearance, though!
That was really good, like better than expected. Nice and fluffy. I didn’t add pine nuts because they are very expensive here in Florida. I don’t know if that is a regional thing or not. I made it with harissa chicken.
Pine nut are a bit pricy all over, at the moment, unfortunately. Glad you were still able to enjoy the recipe!
Can I use brown rice?
Hi, Jennifer! traditionally, this recipe uses white rice. But you can certainly try brown rice, if that’s your preference. I would still start by soaking the rice in water, it will take longer to soak until a grain of rice is tender enough to break.Follow the recipe here with respect to browning the vermicelli, but I would say, check the brown rice bag for further instructions on cooking. Remember that brown rice will require more water and longer time to cook.
I will make this again, and again, and again! So easy to follow your recipe and steps! A tiny bit more involved than just boiling some rice, but SO worth the couple of extra steps! The fluffiest most delicious rice I’ve ever made! I used chicken stock instead of water for additional flavor. Thank you so much for all of your amazing recipes!
My pleasure, John! So glad this was worth the extra time and effort 🙂
Hey Suzy!
My husband and I have absolutely loved all of your recipes we have tried so far. I am having a hard time with this rice for some reason. I get the vermicelli nice and browned but when I add the rice and water to the pot the vermicelli turns back to an opaque color, is there a way to fix this? Should I remove the vermicelli then add it back after the rice has been cooked?
Hi Emily, I am not a 100 percent sure I understand the question. But as the rice and the vermicelli both cook, it should kinda look as pictured here…it will have a bit of color to it.
Just follow the steps! Also you can add some flavor like garlic, onion, parsley
Thanks for sharing Oscar!
Hi Suzy! We love this recipe. I’m about to make it again but we don’t have any vermicelli. If I omit that do you think I need to adjust the amount of oil or water that I use?
Hi Michelle, I have made this recipe without vermicelli before. I just make sure the amount of water used covers the rice by 1 inch.
Cooked this per the recipe, added the optional toasted pine nuts and what a great side dish!! I served it with the Lemon Cod (your recipe) and it was a big hit! So much so that the next time I made the dish I tripled the recipe so that I could vacuum seal and freeze individual (X2) servings. Now we can quickly add this dish as a side easily. Next time I make a big batch I was thinking of adding mushrooms, what do you think?
I think that sounds yummy! Let us know how it turns out!!