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Super Easy Yellow Rice complements just about any meal. You can make this on the stove top or in the rice cooker. So tasty!
This yellow rice recipe is one of our favorite side dishes. It truly is “super easy” and it seriously goes with almost anything! You can keep it plain or spice it up to go with different meals. If you are in a rush and don’t have time to make it over the stove, you can also throw all the ingredients in a rice cooker and do it that way. My family loves this light and fluffy side dish and you will too!
What is Yellow Rice?
Yellow rice is basically white rice that is colored by the spices turmeric or saffron when prepared. This yellow rice recipe calls for turmeric, but you could easily substitute saffron and achieve the same bright yellow color and a slightly tangy flavor. Yellow rice is traditional in Spanish, Cuban, Indian and Indonesian dishes, plus many more. The flavor is mild enough that you can serve it with countless recipes.
Toasting the Rice
A part of what makes this recipe so delicious is toasting the rice. Toasting the rice in some butter before you boil it gives it an amazing, nutty flavor. You definitely don’t want to skip this step!
Yellow Rice Recipe Variations
The possibilities for this rice recipe are endless! Mix and match any of these to create the perfect, easy yellow rice side-dish for your next family meal.
- Adding frozen peas or carrots to the rice while cooking is an easy way to add color, texture, and added nutrients.
- Make this dish Cajun style by adding diced onion, red and/or green bell pepper, and diced jalapeño while sautéing the rice. Sprinkle with Cajun seasoning before adding the chicken broth. After the rice is finished cooking, you can stir in grilled smoked sausage, shrimp or chicken. Red or black beans make the meal even more hearty and delicious.
- For a more Indian flair, add ½ teaspoon of sugar, ½ teaspoon cinnamon, four cardamom pods, and a handful of golden raisins before bringing to boil. So yummy!
- Add this dish to your Mexican feast by adding jalapeño and diced onion to the rice while sautéing, and sprinkle with a little cumin before adding the broth.
More Yummy Rice Recipes
Rice is one of those easy to make, filling, and oh-so-delicious side dishes. After you try this Yellow Rice, try a few of our other favorites:
- Easy Restaurant Style Mexican Rice
- Slow Cooker Red Beans and Rice
- Ham Fried Rice
- Easy Garden Vegetable Rice
- How to Make Sushi Rice
- Lemon Pesto Rice
How to Make Yellow Rice
Video
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1 cup long-grain white rice
- 1 teaspoon fresh minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon onion powder or dried minced onion
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt or to taste
- ground black pepper to taste
- 2-3 tablespoons fresh cilantro chopped
Instructions
- Heat butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the rice and gently stir until rice begins to lightly brown.
- Add garlic, onion powder, and turmeric and stir until well mixed in.
- Slowly stir in chicken broth and raise heat to medium-high. Add salt and pepper to taste. Bring the mix to a boil then turn the heat to low and cover the pan with a lid. Simmer for 20 to 25 minutes.
- Remove from heat, add cilantro, and fluff with a fork. Serves 4.
I toasted the rice with butter and added chopped onion. Then the turmeric, and into the rice cooker it went, along with the chicken stock. I’m thrilled with the results! Served it with Cuban black beans and had it again for lunch the next day. Wonderful treat without all the preservatives and salt in the store bought version. Thank you!
Did you wash rise before cocking?
Rinsing the rice is not necessary. You are welcome to rinse the rice ahead of time and the recipe will still remain the same.
My Asian friends always rinse their rice 4-5 times under cool water, so I always do. It removes a bit of starch.
This is a very simple recipe. Other recipes are so advanced.Erica W, picked simple and easy ingredients, a quick prep time, and easy instructions. Thank you Erica for making this recipe sooooooooooo simple!
Made this tonight for taco night and we loved the rice. I hate cilantro so didn’t add it. Yummy
This is such a delicious recipe! I’ve made it so many times and my fiance and I love it! The texture and taste are perfect. Thank you!
I have made this recipe so many times, seasoning to taste. I like to add diced carrots and peas. The veggies take on the flavor of the rice. It’s perfect. Thank you for sharing!
Not a winner for me. Most recipes for long grain rice will have you use 1:1.5 ratio for liquid, not 1:2 as this does. I should have followed my instincts, followed the recipe instead, my rice was mushy. 3 tablespoons butter is a lot for 1 cup of rice and tasted unpleasantly greasy to me. And maybe my turmeric is unusually strong, but the rice REALLY tasted like turmeric which is not something I associate with classic yellow rice. I think half a teaspoon would still give a nice color without the strong flavor.
Super delicious! A real hit with the whole family!
Thank you so much! We are so happy it’s a hit with your family!
Can this be made using already cooked left over rice?
I think that would work! Just add a few tablespoons of chicken broth instead of the full 2 cups. Let us know how it turns out!
My first time making this homemade for my family they absolutely love it i added more seasonings but i love your recipe give us more please
It won’t matter much if you don’t add cilantro, will it ?
Nope! You can leave it out if you want.
Delicious! All ingredients were on hand – nothing unusual needed.
i love it!! my Aunt was impressed and this is my first time making it.
This recipe is amazing!!
I just made this for my family tonight, I followed the recipe exactly and then just added a little bit more salt at the end as I was tasting it.
My entire family (2 adults and 4 kids) loved it, including my very picky 11 year old. I will be saving this recipe to make over and over and over again.
Simple to make and very flavorful. Husband and baby were happy and ate it up!
THATS NICE KEEP IT UP
I misread the recipie and cooked the rice first…haha lesson learned. Once I restarted with the dry rice it was much better. Everything tastes amazing and my apartment smells like chicken broth, onion and tumeric, love it! Thanks for posting this recipie.
Made this with Moroccan beef daube and a yogurt sauce. After browning the rice and adding spices in a frying pan, I dumped the rice into my rice cooker with a generous one cup of chicken broth and let my rice cooker finish the work. Served with dates and tomato-cucumber salad. All yummy!!
That sounds amazing!!
Exactly what I was looking for taste better than the taco place I go to. I used olive oil instead of butter garlic powder
It was okay but it was a lot of butter for rice, Also it didn’t look nothing like the picture.
Delish! I like it much better than the yellow rice packet you can buy at the store. I can control the amount of salt plus make it vegan with vegan butter and veg broth (the store one has chicken powder in it). I serve with black beans, diced red onion, cilantro, vegan sour cream, and diced avocado.