Mediterranean Yellow Rice Recipe
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This yellow rice recipe is a vibrant, flavorful, and easy side dish made with turmeric and toasted pine nuts. It will make any meal just a little tastier and definitely more colorful. It’s the perfect side dish for a variety of dishes. This version is Mediterranean, but give suggestions for variations on the basic recipe so that you can serve it with dishes from South Asia or Latin America.
I’ve been making this yellow rice pilaf for as long as I’ve been married… maybe longer. The secret to the bright yellow color of the rice is turmeric. (Originally published March 9, 2016)
Secret ingredient to this yellow rice
While saffron threads are traditionally used in Mediterranean pilaf, turmeric is often used as a saffron substitute, as they both give the rice a beautiful golden color. Using turmeric in place of saffron yields a similar result at a fraction of the price. Plus, turmeric is a known anti-inflammatory and has quite a few additional health benefits.
What you’ll need
This Mediterranean rice pilaf recipe is made with basic ingredients that you probably have on hand. It’s also easily adaptable! While I use long grain white rice, basmati or jasmine rice works too.
- long grain or white basmati rice
- onion
- ground turmeric
- garlic cloves
- unsalted butter
- olive oil
- chicken broth
- pine nuts
- kosher salt
- black pepper, more to taste
- fresh parsley for garnish
How to make yellow rice
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat add butter and olive oil.
- Sauté the onions in a pot over medium heat for 2-3 minutes.
- Next, add turmeric, rice, and garlic. Stir rice until it is well mixed about another 2 minutes.
- Add 1 3/4 cups broth and bring to a boil.
- Add 1/2 teaspoons of kosher salt and reduce heat to the lowest temperature. Cook for an additional 15 minutes, or until all liquid is absorbed. I like to use a Saucepan with a Glass Lid so I can check on rice without lifting the lid.
- When the liquid is absorbed, turn off the heat and let the rice sit covered for 5 minutes.
- If rice looks like it needs more liquid, add another 1/4 cup broth and cook an additional 5 minutes or until liquid is absorbed.
- Add toasted pine nuts and chopped parsley if desired. Season to taste with additional salt and pepper.
- For best results let rice rest covered, with heat off for 10 minutes before serving.
- Store leftover yellow rice in an airtight container in the refrigerator..
Substitutions and suggestions
- Substitute brown rice in place of the white rice, just be sure you adjust the cooking time. Because the bran is intact, brown rice can take almost twice as long as white rice to cook.
- Instead of chicken stock or broth for the liquid, substitute vegetable broth for a vegetarian side dish.
- Pine nuts add a bit of texture and protein, but you can also use slivered almonds or dried fruit.
- Green peas or thinly sliced green onions add color and flavor.
- Jasmine rice or basmati are good substitutions for long grain rice.
Adapting the basic recipe to a variety of cuisines
- Give it a Mexican twist by adding 1/2 teaspoon cumin with the turmeric. Stir in 1/4 cup diced or chopped canned chilies and fresh cilantro.
- For spicy yellow rice add 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper with the turmeric.
- For cilantro lime rice add 1/2 cup finely chopped cilantro and the juice of 1 lime at the end of cooking.
Looking for more Mediterranean and Middle Eastern dishes?
Serve this fluffy yellow rice with a variety of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern dishes.
Yellow Rice Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup long grain white rice
- 1 medium onion diced
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 Tablespoon butter
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 1/2-2 cups chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
- 1/2 cup pine nuts toasted
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper more to taste
- 2-3 Tablespoons fresh parsley chopped
Instructions
- Heat oil and butter in a sauce pan over a medium heat.
- Add onions, and sauté 2-3 minutes.
- Add rice, turmeric and garlic, and continue stirring, 2 to 3 minutes. Don't let garlic burn.
- Add broth and 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Turn down heat to low, cover and cook rice until tender and liquid is absorbed, about 15-18 minutes. Add additional 1/4 cup of broth if rice is isn't tender and fluffy and cook another 3-5 minutes or until broth is absorbed. Turn off heat and let rice sit, covered for 5-10 minutes.
- Lightly toast pine nuts until golden brown
- Stir in toasted pine nuts or almonds and adjust seasoning to taste. Garnish with fresh chopped parsley.
We love turmeric at our house! I’m so excited to give this recipe a try!! 🙂
Taking loooong to cook and my stove runs hot…almost 30 mins. Still not done!
Did you double the recipe? What kind of rice did you use? I find that different rices have more starch and that could affect the cooking time.
I love using basmati rice. I often double the recipe since my family loves it so much!
hmm. I shouldn’t take more than 20-25 minutes to make…did you double the recipe? Did you use a tall sauce pan or one with a broader base?
I want to use more turmeric and this is a great way to do it! Not only do we get the health benefits, but it looks gorgeous as well! What a way to add color to a plate! Great recipe!
WOW! Love how simple this recipe is and how much flavor is packed into it:)
What a great side dish! Love the color, and love the pine nuts, too 🙂 This would be perfect with so many things!
Dear Cynthia, what a delightful side dish…it looks beautiful and hearty. Perfect for fall. xo, Catherine
Can you use brown rice instead of white?? This looks delish!
sure! But you’d have to adjust the cooking time accordingly.
I made this last night with brown rice and had trouble. After the usual 45 minutes cook time it was still only half-cooked, with nearly all the stock absorbed. I added hot water two more times plus about 15 minutes more cook time. We loved the flavors but think it might be a recipe better suited to white rice.
The recipe calls for white rice?
Brown rice takes twice as long as white rice and has a different flavor.
Hello, how many does this recipe serve?
Hi Crystal, It should make about 3 cups, so it could serve 6 1/2 cup portions.
We cook all our rice in our Instant Pot, and this was so easily adapted for that. We used 2 TBS of ghee instead of the 3 TBS of fat, and turned the pot to sauté and added the onions. We then added the turmeric and garlic, and then added well-rinsed basmati rice. Admittedly we didn’t sauté the rice very long because it wet (and if you opt to sauté the rice for the 2-3 minutes, maybe toss in that extra TBS of fat). We added only 1 cup of low sodium broth (instant pot rice is usually a 1:1 ratio) and cut the salt back to about 1/4 of a tsp. We did 7 minutes for the rice (5-7 minutes for basmati seems to be a good window for us) with 10 minute natural release, and added the toasted pine nuts after. It was so freaking good! Thank you for the easy-to-follow recipe—it made it that much easier to adapt it to our preferred cooking method!
Thanks for the info Jess! I have not gotten on the Instant Pot bandwagon yet!
Excellent and simple recipe! I added a bit of lemon zest at the end and might try some green olives next time!
Thank you! I love your idea for a twist. Lemon juice sounds great!
This is FANTASTIC. We couldn’t stop eating it. I tend to mess with recipes after I make as written, but this is going to be made (and made and made and made!) exactly as written every time.
So nice to hear that. It’s one of my family’s favorite side dishes! Thank you.
thank you! So nice to hear!
That was supposed to be 5 stars not 1.
The excellent says it all.
aww, thanks Connie! I’ve accidentally done that as well. Thank you for amending your review.
Cynthia
raisins would be great and very middle eastern!
Can i make this ahead of time & reheat?
Do you have any suggestions?
Absolutely! I sometimes add a bit more broth when i’m reheating to prevent it from drying out.
Thank you for the recipe. Added it to a dinner party menu of Mediterranean food….it was a huge hit. Will definitely make it again,
.
This is a family favorite and often requested! Goes well with chicken, or fish.
Thus looks like a delicious dish. Mediterranean rice recipe is easy to follow and versatile so can be served with any dish!
thanks Bea!
Hi Cynthia, when is the pepper added? Is it added at the same time as the salt? Thanks.
Yes! Just to taste. Thanks I’ll make sure it’s in the card.
I was asked to bring a Mediterranean turmeric rice for my best friend’s memorial reception. I was thinking this would be a good one, but how I would like to prepare it is to put the rice inside a large tin baking dish, sauté the onion, garlic, and turmeric in a pan on the stove and then pour into the baking dish and then boil the chicken stock and pour that over the rice in the baking dish, and then cover with foil and bake. Do you think that would work?
If so, I’m using the very large long tin dish that would sit inside of a chafing dish to keep warm, and I’m looking to feed about 50… How many cups of rice do you think I should use for that? And about how long do you think I would need to let it bake for?
I would plan on 1/4 cup per person as a side dish. I’ve actually only ever doubled the amount, so it’s hard for me to guess at that much. So you’d probably need 12 cups of rice? I’d probably do it in three batches? I’ve never baked it before either, but I don’t see why wouldn’t work? I think if you stir the rice every once in a while it won’t dry out once it’s in the chafing dish. Maybe add a little more broth to keep it from getting too dry. Best of luck! Cynthia
I e commented on this recipe before! It has become my favorite side dish to prepare! I serve it with chicken curry and it is delicious!
I’m so glad Bea! Thanks! Entered!
We love rice! Very easy to make and delicious! Enter
Rachel
This has been my go-to rice side dish for years! Everyone loves it and my family request it often!