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, 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 ½ 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 ½ tbsp olive oil
- Salt
- ½ 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 ½ 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
I made this tonight, the only thing I did differently was add a little cinnamon and boy was it delicious! I have made so many of your recipes! Thank you!
Thanks, Dawna! So glad you enjoyed it!!
Love this recipe! My rice came out too sticky, so I guess I needed to rinse it more. I also felt that it lacked flavor compared to when I order this rice from a local Lebanese restaurant, so instead of salt, I added chicken bullion (about 1 tsp per cup of water) and it made the dish way better!
Hi Tyler, the key to the rice is making sure it is well rinsed and also making sure a good portion of the liquid has reduced before you cover and let it cook some more. You can flavor the rice any way you want, this is just a basic vegan option. You can use broth in place of water. Thanks for sharing.
Very good rice dish. It came out perfectly after following your instructions.
I will try making it with less oil, maybe 1 tablespoon.
Thank you, Joan!
Hi Suzy,
I made this recipe using brown jasmine rice, however I had to dbl the recipe. With my brown rices they have been turning out sticky. I followed your recipe, cut the water and it came beautiful!!
My family loved it! It will become a regular around here!!
I have been using your recipes as is and tweaking. You have no idea how you have helped me feed my family healthfully!! Thank you so much!!
Thank you for the kind words, Andrea! So glad y'all are enjoying these recipes!! 🙂
Yep, best rice of all time. I’ll be making this forever. Added parsley and red chilies at end.
YUM! Thanks for those suggestions, Greg!
I forgot to mention in my previous comment: I have used 3 times less vermicelli because it was all I had and I forgot to buy, and it was just a good amount for my taste preference and my husband said that the amount of vermicelli was just perfect.
Great! Thanks for sharing!
I made this using wholegrain rice. The only change I made was to just rinse the rice but not soak it. I then followed the recipe instructions but cooked it in my pressure cooker for 16 mins. It was really successful, the whole family enjoyed it. I served it with the medditeran chicken from this site and mediterranean salad. Great recipes, thankyou.
So glad to hear it, Jane! Thanks for sharing your variation.
This is the best rice I have ever made! My husband (he is an Arab) is loving it! I always wondered why is my rice so sticky and it failed from time to time and was more like Chinese rice. Thanks to the tips, like draining the rice well before soaking and stirring until it is coated with oil made the difference. Vermicelli gives adds a very nice test to it! Love it!
Awesome! Thanks, Iryna!
Why do you keep calling regional foods as Greek Lebanese, etc.?
I ate the same foods in former Yugoslavia, Turkey, Iran, Syria, etc.
These people have lived together for centuries. It is not surprising they have the same/similar foods!
Julia, as mentioned in the video and the post, this rice is popular throughout the Middle East. I'm not Lebanese, and we make a similar rice in Egypt. It is more widely known here in the States and other parts of the world that are not Middle Eastern as Lebanese rice. It's a matter of helping folks find what they are looking for. There will be foods here that are mentioned as from a particular region because they are most known as coming from such a region.
There is a glaring mistake on the recipe when you use the multiplier function. IT DOES NOT ADJUST THE LIQUID AMOUNT!!!!!
They need to put the liquid amounts on the ingredients portion. Remove the amount from the directions
Please fix
We do not recommend the multiplier for rice recipes. The video provided just above the recipe card provides a good visual and more details of how this rice works. You may end up using near 3 cups or so of water...the key point is to soak the rice until you are able to break it easily, and to simply cover the rice by about 1 inch of liquid for cooking. That is the best way to make this recipe.
Great side dish, but can you fine-tune the recipe? Can you update the recipe to include the water measurement and the total time? The time is really about 50 minutes if you follow the directions at the minimum and brown the vermicelli. I followed the 35 minutes and my dinner wasn't ready at the same time, we all sat around waiting for the rice.
Thanks for sharing, Brittany. We'll take a look. It typically takes about 20 minutes to cook the rice, after soaking etc.
Can I put cook it in the rice cooker after I toasted everything?
I don't use a rice cooker, Christina. But I'm sure you can use it after you follow the toasting instructions etc. Please let us know.
Love the idea of this dish! Can't wait to try it. What's your thought on using rice vermicelli instead of wheat?
Awesome! Sure, that would likely work just fine.
Could I use sunflower seeds instead of pine nuts? ...or maybe chopped walnuts?
(Just what I have on hand)
You can omit the pine nuts, Stacey.
Will this recipe work with gluten free pasta and if so what type do you suggest
I do not know if there is a gluten free vermicelli. But if you find a super tiny pasta that is similar, it should work.
Love this rice! I used banza (chick pea pasta) thin spaghetti and it came out perfect. Will definitely make it again ?
Thanks for sharing your variation! So glad you liked the recipe!
How do you make this with brown rice?
AJ, 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 borwn rice will require more water and longer time to cook.
Great dish! Quickest meal I’ve ever made and taste amazing.
Got both of my toddlers to eat it as well yippee!
Kim, that's awesome! I'm glad your kiddos enjoyed it!