Greek Rice is an easy, light and fresh side dish that is ready in under 30 minutes. Light and fluffy rice mixed with a generous amount of lemon, some shallots, garlic and then oregano and parsley for lots of added flavour. Perfect with grilled chicken or fish, and a delicious addition to a BBQ. Rice dishes don't need to be boring!
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Greek rice is all your favourite light and fresh flavours from Greece, stirred into rice. A simple side dish that is bursting with flavour. Just a few ingredients and minimal effort, this side can be eaten hot or cold and it will bring a little bit of sunshine into your life.
If you want to try some other recipes that make rice a little more exciting, then why not try our Easy Coconut Rice, Cilantro Lime Rice, Turmeric Rice, The Best Spanish Rice or Mediterranean Rice Salad?
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Why You Will Love It
- Delicious Greek flavours
- Just a few ingredients
- Easy to adapt
- Perfect for a BBQ
- Can be eaten hot or cold
Ingredients and Substitutions
A full ingredients list, along with US Customary and Metric measurements, can be found in the recipe card at the end of this post.
- Rice - We have used white basmati rice for this recipe. You could swap it for brown rice, which would give it a bit of a nutty flavour.
- Oil - Try to use the best quality olive oil that you can, as you really will be able to tell the difference. Extra virgin olive oil is always the best way to go. You could leave the oil out if you wanted to, and just cook the onion and garlic in a little water, but it wouldn't have the same flavour. You could use butter.
- Shallots - You could swap these for a small brown onion, however we find that shallots add a nice subtle sweetness to the dish.
- Garlic - Fresh garlic is always best.
- Stock - We used chicken stock for this recipe, as we find it has a richer flavour. However, if you wanted to keep this dish vegetarian/vegan then you could use a vegetable stock instead. Try to use the best quality stock, and go for low salt if you are making this for little ones.
- Lemon - This is what really gives the whole dish it's flavour. It adds a punchy a zesty flavour, and the more lemon the better we say! We used juice and zest from fresh lemons to make it extra lemony.
- Oregano - It isn't a Greek dish without oregano, right?
- Parsley - We always use fresh herbs, as it really lightens up the finished dish. You could swap it for dried if you prefer, but it won't have the same flavour. If you don't like parsley, then you could swap it for dill which also goes really well. Or, use a mixture of the two.
More ingredient substitutions and variations can be found in the recipe card.
How to Make Greek Rice - Step by Step
- Step 1: Add the oil to a large pot and add the shallots and garlic.
- Step 2: Gently soften, about 3-4 minutes.
- Step 3: Add the rice.
- Step 4: Stir and cook for about 1 minutes more, until the rice starts to go translucent.
- Step 5: Add the stock, oregano and half the lemon juice. Bring to the boil then simmer on a medium heat, with the lid on, for 15 minutes. Turn the heat off and leave with the lid on for 10 more minutes.
- Step 6: Assemble and serve!
- Step 7: Mix well.
Serving Suggestions
This side dish goes with pretty much anything. Grilled chicken or fish, or anything on a skewer. It's also nice to serve up at a BBQ and makes a nice change from potato salad. Here are some of our favourite recipes to serve alongside this:
- Greek Chicken Skewers
- Grilled Halloumi Flatbreads
- Greek Turkey Burgers
- Tzatziki
- Greek Lamb Souvlaki
- Spiced Lamb Flatbreads
- Spiced Lamb Burgers
Extra Tips
- The lemon flavour of this dish will really depend on how juicy your lemons are. If you lemons don't have much juice in them, then you may need to use another one.
- You don't have to "toast" the rice in the pan before you add the stock, but we finds it adds a little bit of a nutty flavour which we love.
- Don't skip the step of leaving the pan off the heat with the lid on. The rice needs those extra 10 minutes to cook and give you the best light and fluffy rice.
- If you want to adapt the recipe to make more or less, just remember that rice should have a 1:2 ratio of rice to liquid.
- To finish this dish off, you could crumble on some feta. The perfect addition to any Greek dish.
Frequently Asked Questions
Spanakorizo is a Greek style rice pilaf, which is very similar to what we have made here, but it also has lots of spinach in it. You could add some chopped spinach to this at the same time as the stock.
Yes, if you are short on time then you can use a packet of microwaveable rice (that can also be fried in a pan). Just heat some oil in a pan, add the rice, garlic and shallots and cook for 2 minutes and then stir in the lemon and parsley.
We love parsley and lemon together. However, you could swap the fresh parsley for dill, rosemary or tarragon.
Yes, you can make this Greek rice in advance. Allow it to cool and then put it in an air tight container in the fridge. When reheating, cook it in a frying pan for 3-4 minutes.
If you have leftovers, then it will store in an air tight container in the fridge for 2 days.
More Rice Recipes
If you've tried this Greek rice recipe, let us know how you got on in the comments below.
Tag us in your creations on Instagram @hungryhealthyhappy - Use the hashtag #hungryhealthyhappy too.
Recipe
Easy Greek Rice
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon Olive oil
- 4 Shallots
- 2 Garlic clove
- 200 g (1 cups) Long grain white rice
- 1 teaspoon Dried oregano
- 1 pinch Sea salt and ground black pepper
- 6 tablespoon Lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon Lemon zest
- 500 ml (2 cups) Chicken stock
- 15 g (0.25 cups) Curly parsley - finely chopped
Instructions
- Heat 1 tablespoon Olive oil in a large pan and gently soften 4 Shallots and 2 Garlic clove, for about 3-4 minutes.
- Add 200 g Long grain white rice and stir and cook for about 1 minutes more, until the rice starts to go translucent.
- Add 500 ml Chicken stock, 1 teaspoon Dried oregano half of the 6 tablespoon Lemon juice and 1 pinch Sea salt and ground black pepper. Bring to the boil and cook on a gentle heat, with the lid on, for 15 minutes.
- Turn the heat off and leave with the lid on for 10 more minutes.
- Remove the lid and fluff up the rice with a fork and add the remaining lemon juice, 1 tablespoon Lemon zest and 15 g Curly parsley and mix well.
Recipe Tips
- The lemon flavour of this dish will really depend on how juicy your lemons are. If you lemons don't have much juice in them, then you may need to use another one.
- You don't have to "toast" the rice in the pan before you add the stock, but we finds it adds a little bit of a nutty flavour which we love.
- Don't skip the step of leaving the pan off the heat with the lid on. The rice needs those extra 10 minutes to cook and give you the best light and fluffy rice.
- If you want to adapt the recipe to make more or less, just remember that rice should have a 1:2 ratio of rice to liquid.
- To finish this dish off, you could crumble on some feta. The perfect addition to any Greek dish.
Nutritional Information
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The nutritional information provided is approximate and is calculated using online tools. Information can vary depending on various factors, but we have endeavoured to be as accurate as possible.
As all appliances vary, cooking times are a guide. Please note that by changing the serving size, the cooking time may also need to be altered.
Bridgette says
Just what the doctor ordered! Very happy to have found this! Light, fragrant, super fresh and tasty. A great side to Greek meatballs. I used half rice& half Quinoa and washed my lemons well and sliced some of the lemon peel and put it in with the rice for extra yum. Thank you for this!
Beth says
I love all the flavors in this rice! So delicious and an easy side! My hubby and I love pairing this rice with fish, and it's so tasty!
Diana Reis says
Love how the lemon zest brightens this up. It turns out just right.
Tara says
Oh yum! I love how the rice comes together so easily. Definitely perfect for summer grilling season and beautiful styling too.
Sharon says
This rice comes out so fluffy. The shallots and lemon zest add so much flavor.
Michelle says
Love all the fresh bright ingredients in this rice. And it goes with everything so we'll be making with our grilled meats all summer long.
Liz says
I love the flavors in Greek food and I'm always looking for more side dish ideas! This is perfect!
Tania says
Amazing! I followed your step by step directions and it came out just perfect.
Will definitely keep this recipe.
Thank you!
Adrianne says
I love the simple ingredients for this recipe! Am making fish on the weekend so will give it a go with that, cheers.
Emily Flint says
This rice was so easy to make and the flavors were perfect! I served this with chicken and had zero leftovers!
Nathan says
My roommates and I eat a lot of rice, but we've definitely not tried anything like this Greek rice! Looks super tasty, I'll definitely be putting this on our list of recipes!
Wanda says
This will be perfect with our favourite chicken kabobs! Can't wait to make this rice recipe!
Kyndra Holley says
Love all the fresh herbs. This looks delicious and like it would pair perfectly with so many main dishes.