Greek Lemon Rice is a quick and simple way to add extra flavour to your usual white rice. Bursting with bright lemony taste, this easy side dish uses onion, garlic and fresh parsley along with fresh lemon juice and zest to add a little zing to your rice.
White rice is a staple side dish on so many of our dinner tables, I love having different ways to add some (easy) variation and keep things interesting. This lemony greek rice does just that.
This fluffy greek lemon rice recipe is a delicious side that is really easy to make, let me show you how!
Why I think you will love this recipe
- one-pot
- easy to make
- simple way to add extra flavour to plain white rice
What you need to make Greek lemon rice
*Please see the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients with exact quantities and detailed instructions
- olive oil
- brown onion
- fresh garlic
- long grain white rice
- chicken stock
- salt
- lemon juice
- lemon zest
- fresh parsley
*Please see the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients with exact quantities and detailed instructions
Substitutions
- brown onion can be swapped with white or red onion
- swap long grain white rice with basmati or jasmine rice
- chicken stock can be substituted with vegetable stock
How to make Greek lemon rice
- Heat olive oil and fry onion.
- Then add (rinsed and drained) rice and crushed garlic.
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- Add stock and salt and bring to a boil.
- Put a lid on, turn the heat down to low and set a timer.
- When time is up, remove the lid and fluff rice with a fork.
- Stir in lemon juice, zest and chopped parsley.
My top tips for the best result
- Once your rice has come to the boil, put the lid on and trust the process. If you lift the lid it lets out the steam that is cooking the rice - particularly in the final 10 minutes when the heat is off.
- I strongly recommend using a timer for the best result.
- When zesting the lemon, make sure to only zest the yellow part of the lemon skin not the white pith underneath. This will make the zest taste bitter.
Storage
Store any leftovers of this Greek lemon rice in an airtight container in the fridge for 4 to 5 days.
Recipe is suitable for freezing.
More easy rice dishes
Herby Rice - give your plain white rice a budget makeover using pantry staple dried herbs and spices.
Seasoned Butter Rice - fluffy, seasoned rice that will be your new go-to side dish using store cupboard spices.
Mediterranean Rice - this easy rice recipe uses pantry spices to turn plain white rice into a gorgeous Mediterranean rice pilaf.
📖 Recipe
Greek Lemon Rice
Ingredients
- 1 cup long grain rice rinsed and drained
- ½ tablespoon olive oil
- ½ brown onion finely diced
- 1 fresh garlic clove crushed
- 2 cups chicken stock
- ¼ teaspoon cooking salt
- 1 small lemon juice and zest
- ¼ cup curly parsley leaves (loosely packed) finely chopped
Watch me make this recipe
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil over medium-low heat and fry the onion until softened.½ tbsp olive oil½ brown onion
- Add garlic and rice, and continue to fry for another 30 seconds.1 cup long grain rice1 fresh garlic clove
- Add chicken stock and salt and bring to a boil.2 cups chicken stock¼ tsp cooking salt
- Once boiling, do a final stir to scrape up any rice from the base of the pot, then place a lid on and turn the heat down to very low and simmer for 15 minutes undisturbed.
- Then remove from the heat and allow to sit for a further 10 minutes (without lifting the lid).
- Stir lightly to fluff the rice, then add in lemon juice, zest (see my notes) and chopped parsley.1 small lemon¼ cup curly parsley leaves (loosely packed)
Notes
- Once your rice has come to the boil, put the lid on and trust the process without checking. If you lift the lid, it lets out the steam that is cooking the rice - especially in the final 10 minutes.
- I strongly recommend using a timer for the best result.
- Only zest the outer yellow part of the lemon skin, the white pith underneath will make the zest taste bitter.
Want to save this recipe?
Email yourself a link to this page and come back later.
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