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A simple and really delicious Rice Pilaf recipe – using ingredients you most likely already have in your kitchen!
As bloggers and self-proclaimed foodies, my husband Jack and I love to cook and share recipes for some fairly elaborate dishes here on A Family Feast.
Sometimes we’re encouraging you – our wonderful readers – to try a new, exotic ingredient; other times we’re hoping to teach you a new cooking technique; and still other times we guide you step-by-step through a recipe that results in a wonderfully impressive dish!
But I actually get equally excited when we can share homemade versions of classic recipes with you – like today’s Rice Pilaf. Recipes like this are so easy and delicious – but better yet – you probably already have all of the ingredients in your kitchen cabinet!
And, if you are like me, I often cooked the rice pilaf that came out of a box with a pre-packaged seasoning mix. Then Jack showed me how easy it is to make homemade rice pilaf – and I’ll never buy a boxed rice pilaf mix ever again!
How do you make Rice Pilaf?
Rice pilaf is, by definition, rice that has been cooked in chicken stock or another flavored broth. To mirror the popular boxed variety, we’ve add pan-toasted orzo pasta to our Rice Pilaf as well.
Combine the rice, orzo, and broth in a Dutch oven, along with sautéed onions, herbs and seasonings – then bake in the oven until the rice and pasta are cooked through and tender.
Making Rice Pilaf at home is so simple – and the flavors are just so much better than any boxed rice pilaf!
This Rice Pilaf recipe is actually one of the very first dishes that Jack learned to prepare back in culinary school many years ago. It’s a wonderful, classic dish that anyone can make at home –and one that everyone should have in their recipe collection!
This post originally appeared on A Family Feast in June 2013. We’ve updated the photos.
You may enjoy these other pilaf recipes:
- Forbidden Rice Pilaf
- Curried Rice Pilaf With Red Lentils
- Quinoa Pilaf
- Garlic Lemon Shrimp with Savory Root Vegetable Rice Pilaf
We love seeing what you made! Tag us on Instagram at @afamilyfeast or hashtag #afamilyfeast so we can see your creations!
Rice Pilaf
You’ll never buy the boxed rice pilaf again!
Ingredients
½ cup uncooked orzo pasta
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons butter
1 cup chopped onions
1 cup uncooked long grain white rice
2 large cloves garlic finely minced
2 bay leaves
½ teaspoon dried thyme
¼ teaspoon black pepper
3 ½ cups chicken stock
(Optional) Chopped fresh parsley, for garnish
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a Dutch oven over medium heat, dry toast the raw orzo stirring constantly with a wooden spoon until a light walnut color (3 to 4 minutes). Remove orzo to a bowl and set aside.
Add the olive oil and butter. Once the butter is melted, add the onions and rice. Sauté for five minutes stirring occasionally or until onions are translucent. If the rice starts to get brown, remove from heat before you proceed to next step.
Add garlic and stir for one minute. Then add bay, thyme, pepper and browned orzo. Stir and add chicken stock. Be careful – when the stock hits the pan, it will bubble up.
Stir once, cover and place in the oven for 30 minutes untouched.
Remove from the oven and discard bay leaves. Fluff rice with a wooden spoon and taste. Add salt to taste, as needed. Garnish with chopped fresh parsley, if desired.
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Notes
Depending on the saltiness of the chicken stock you use for cooking, the addition of some additional salt may or may not be needed.
This pilaf tastes like the pilaf my best friends’s mother used to make! I loved it and can’t wait to make it again! Thank you for the recipe!
You’re very welcome Richelle! Glad you liked it!
Looking forward to making this rice pilaf recipe and others I have found on your website, especially Jacks potato salad. Thanks
You’re very welcome Donna! So glad you found us and I hope you love the recipe!
I see there are a number of long grain rices, any particular type/brand you like?
Hi Dave – You are seeing toasted orzo (pasta) and long grain white rice. We’re fans of the Lundberg brand of rice or Rice Select. Hope that helps!
I’ve seen several comments about making this dish with a rice cooker. Could the actual cooking portion be done in a slow cooker, and if so, what cooking level and time would you suggest? I’ve made this recipe once before and it was a hit. This time around I need a little more oven space. I hope my question is not repetition- I did not see anything about this method in previous comments. Thanks in advance!
Hi Deb – I’ve never tried making rice of any kind in the slow cooker so I’m afraid I can’t be much help with your question! I do see some slow cooker rice recipes online (https://acleanbake.com/perfect-rice-in-the-slow-cooker/) – so it may be possible! If you try it, please let us know how it comes out!
I simply love your recipes. You two have such family-friendly , and guest worthy recipes, that I make pretty much everything you publish.
If I had one wish,( other than you coming to my home to cook for me), it would be to make the recipe fit on one page. That is my big ask. I hate having three pages for one recipe. I would like the option of removing the photo and condensing the recipe for my file. This is a common practice on other food blogs.
My all-time favorite so far is your Chicken Marsala. YUM!YUM!
My husband always says,” I would order this again in a restaurant.” The seal of approval!
Thank you for considering the option of simplicity.
Hi April – Thanks for your feedback and we’ll definitely keep it in mind if we move to a new recipe plugin (the tool that formats recipes on food blogs) or tweak our current recipe formatting. There are some reasons why we’ve chosen not to use the plugin that you see on lots of other food blogs, but I do appreciate your concerns. We’ve also had some people complain in the past that our recipe type was too small when we use a similar format to what you are describing – so I have a feeling we won’t be making everyone happy 100% of the time. In the meantime, what I often do in similar situations is copy and paste the recipe into a word document and edit the text to fit the page in a format that I prefer before printing. I recognize that is an extra, inconvenient step on your end, but in the meantime, it might suit your needs. Thanks again for writing to us and your interest in our recipes. Martha
Thanks for a great recipe. This recipe turned out great exactly as described, just needed salt.
Thanks for your feedback Dagmar!
I made this 3 time and each time I reduced the amount of water because it was just too moist. The flavor is great but the rice is too soft. I don’t really know what I could have done wrong
I’m not sure Kathy – it’s always hard to troubleshoot when we aren’t in the kitchen with you. Perhaps the brand of rice you are using requires less water? Just a guess!
This recipe works fine in the rice cooker!! I made your rice pilaf mainly because it had Orzo in it and I really like that combination for texture and flavor. I got the Orzo nice and nutty brown and it adds a nice deep flavor. I was having lamb rack (with Greek seasoning) — I knew oven space would be tight so I decided to take a chance on the rice cooker. I followed your recipe exactly except for the addition of some chopped mushrooms that went in along with the onions and rice. I put everything except the broth in the rice cooker and then added the chicken broth at room temperature, using your recipe amount rather than what the rice cooker recipe says to put in for a cup of rice. (That was a good decision.) It cooked in about 20 minutes and I held it at warm for a while. Wonderful flavor and texture! Guests loved it. Only change would be to add some salt somewhere along the line — but that’s just me. Thanks for a great recipe and inspiring website.
Thanks so much for letting us know April! Great detailed info for our readers (and us too!) who may want to adapt the recipe. Thanks for taking the time to write to us!
This had excellent flavor but definitely needed salt. Also, 30 minutes was not enough time to absorb all the liquid. I plan to try the recipe again but cut down the stock and do it on the stove top. The rice was quite mushy from all the liquid and needing to cook so long.
Thanks for taking the time to share your feedback with us KB! I’m not sure why you saw such different results but I’m sorry you were disappointed with the results.
His is the best rice pilaf i have made. I made a few seasoning changes but overall the process is perfect and comes out great. Every time !!
Thank you Debbie!