You’ll love this bright, flavor-packed Greek lemon rice made with onions, garlic, fresh lemon juice, and herbs! Check out my tips for foolproof results, and grab all the suggestions for what other dishes to serve along! Rice cooker instructions included.
Never Eat Boring Rice Again!
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.
This easy side dish pairs beautifully with lots of Mediterranean favorites, including Souvlaki, Shrimp, Greek baked cod, and many more!
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, fresh parsley and dried dill.)
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 and garlic are sautéed. 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!
- Rinse and soak the rice. Place the rice in a fine mesh sieve, and rinse well under running water until it runs clear. Then soak rice in fresh water for 15-20 minutes.
- Cook the aromatics and toast the orzo. Set a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. Once the oil begins to shimmer, add onions and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, until translucent. Add the garlic and orzo. Stir until the orzo has gained some color, then stir in the rice.
- Add the liquid. Now add lemon juice and broth. Bring to a rolling boil, then reduce heat to low. Cover with a lid and cook for about 15-20 minutes or until the rice is done. The liquid should be fully absorbed, and the rice should be tender but not sticky.
- Remove from heat and steam. Remove the rice from the heat, but leave it covered. Let it rest for 10 minutes.
- Add herbs and serve! Uncover and stir in parsley, dill, and lemon zest. Garnish with a few slices of lemon. Enjoy!
Two Important Tips for Making Greek Rice
To ensure the best results for texture and taste, I apply the same tips I’ve learned when making Lebanese rice and Hashweh rice. Here they are:
- Rinse and soak the rice. 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; it helps remove excess starch, which causes rice to be sticky, and 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 loses its shape and becomes mush.
- Let it rest after cooking. Once the rice is finished, leave it covered and undisturbed in the pot for about 10 minutes before adding the herbs and lemon zest. 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 on the stovetop. That being said, yes, you can use a rice cooker with some adjustments:
- Still, rinse the rice well and soak it for 10 minutes (rather than 15 or 20) to remove the 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, use 3/4 teaspoon onion powder and 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder (do not expect the same taste as using fresh, but it will get you close).
- Set the rice cooker to the appropriate setting. Once the 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 needed. 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 the liquid boil a while longer to reduce properly.
- Some people add carrots or peas to this rice pilaf (similar to my Middle Eastern chicken and rice recipe) but I prefer to keep it simple, unadulterated, so to speak.
What to Serve with Lemon Rice
If you’re into eating Mediterranean, this lemon rice recipe will come in handy. Here are some of my favorite recipes to serve with Greek rice.
- Greek Lamb (Definitely)
- Chicken Souvlaki and Pork Souvlaki are both a given!
- Beef Kabobs if you like red meat.
- Rice goes really well with all sorts of fish recipes like easy baked salmon or Sheet Pan Salmon with Vegetables.
- Try it with vegetarian dishes like Briam, Greek Roasted Vegetables to make the most of garden produce.
- 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!
More Greek Rice Recipes
Ingredients
- 2 cups Basmati rice
- 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, juiced, plus the zest of 1 lemon
- 2 cups low sodium broth, chicken or vegetable broth will work
- pinch salt
- Large handful chopped fresh parsley
- 1 teaspoon dried dill
Instructions
- Rinse and soak rice. Place the rice in a fine-mesh sieve and rinse well under running water until it runs clear. Then soak it in fresh water for about 15 to 20 minutes. Drain.
- Cook aromatics and toast the orzo. Set a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, Once the oil begins to shimmer, add onions and cook for about 3 to 4 minutes until translucent. Add garlic and orzo pasta. Stir for a bit until the orzo has gained some color, then stir in the rice.
- Add the liquid. Now add lemon juice and broth. Bring liquid to a rolling boil (it should reduce a little), then turn heat to low. Cover with a lid and cook for about 15 to 20 minutes or until rice is done. The liquid should be fully absorbed, and rice should be tender but not sticky.
- Remove from heat and steam. Remove rice from heat. Leave it covered and do not disturb the rice for 10 minutes to let it steam.
- Add herbs and serve. Uncover and stir in parsley, dill, 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 also shortens the cooking time, making sure the interior of the grain actually cooks before the exterior loses 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: Eliminate the orzo to make this rice gluten-free. To make it vegan, opt for vegan vegetable 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 on the stovetop, but you can try a rice cooker. Still, rinse the rice very well and soak it 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 teaspoon onion powder and 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder. Set the rice cooker to the appropriate setting. Once the rice is finished, stir in a little bit of extra virgin olive oil before adding the parsley, dill, and lemon zest.
- Shop this recipe: Visit our shop to browse quality Mediterranean ingredients, including the olive oil and spices used in this recipe.
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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!