Introducing the perfect side for your next Mediterranean-inspired meal: lemon rice! Our EASY vegan take on this savory, lemony, Greek dish is equally fluffy, flavorful, and SO versatile. It’s amazing with falafel, hummus, grilled veggies, Mediterranean bowls, and beyond!
Just 1 pot, 5 ingredients, and 25 minutes required to level up your go-to grain. Let us show you how!
If you’ve eaten at a Greek restaurant and wondered what’s in that delicious rice accompanying your main dish, you’re not alone! This recipe is inspired by many such experiences and a desire to make a homemade, plant-based version.
Our search for the origin story of this dish came up empty-handed, but common ingredients seem to include white rice, chicken broth, lemon juice, butter, salt, and a handful of other ingredients depending on the recipe.
How to Make Lemon Rice
Our 1-pot vegan version begins with sautéing garlic in olive oil until just fragrant and still light in color. You don’t want your garlic to get too browned as it can result in a bitter flavor.
Next, we add lemon zest and sauté briefly. Then comes white rice, water, and a generous amount of FRESH lemon juice!
This is not the time or place for bottled lemon juice, friends. If you need more convincing, Ken’s Greek Table has some additional words of wisdom: “For the love of Pete, do NOT use that pre-bottled lemon juice s***!”
Now that you’re on board with fresh lemons, there are just two more ingredients before we set it and forget it: 1) sea salt for overall flavor and 2) a little optional pinch of turmeric for a pretty yellow color!
After cooking in a saucepan for about 15-20 minutes, we turn off the heat, fluff with a fork, and let it rest until it becomes extra fluffy!
We hope you LOVE this lemon rice! It’s:
Fluffy
Bright
Savory
Comforting
Quick & easy
& SO delicious!
What to Serve with Lemon Rice
It’s a versatile side that pairs well with our Classic Vegan Falafel (GF), Grilled Veggie Skewers with Chimichurri Sauce, Hummus From Scratch, and much more. It’s also so good with our Easy Mediterranean-Inspired Nourish Bowls!
More Mediterranean-Inspired Recipes
- Grain-Free Tabbouleh Salad (6 Ingredients!)
- Simple Baba Ganoush
- Mediterranean Lentil Dip
- Kale Falafel Hummus Wraps (30 Minutes!)
If you try this recipe, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it, and don’t forget to tag a photo @minimalistbaker on Instagram. Cheers, friends!
Easy Lemon Rice (Greek-Inspired)
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup dry white basmati rice*
- 2-3 tsp lemon zest
- 1 ¼ cups water
- 1/4 cup lemon juice (freshly squeezed)
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1 pinch ground turmeric (optional for color)
Instructions
- Heat a medium saucepan over medium heat. Once hot, add olive oil and minced garlic. Sauté for about 1 minute until fragrant but still light in color.
- Stir in basmati rice and lemon zest. Sauté for 1 more minute.
- Add the water, lemon juice, salt, and optional turmeric. Stir well, turn the heat to high, and bring to a boil. Once boiling, cover and reduce the heat to low. Cook for 15-20 minutes until the rice is tender and the liquid is fully absorbed.
- Turn off the heat and let the rice rest for a minute or so before fluffing with a fork and serving. If the rice is slightly too toothsome, simply place the lid back on top of the pot and let it rest for 5-10 more minutes — the steam should fully cook it! It’s delicious served with Mediterranean-inspired dishes including falafel, hummus, grilled veggies, bowls, and more.
- Store leftover rice in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 4-5 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month. Reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop with a little oil or water until warm.
Notes
*Nutrition information is a rough estimate calculated without optional ingredients.
*Loosely adapted from Damn Spicy’s Greek Lemon Rice.
CYNTHIA WYSOCKI says
What do you think about using quinoa instead of rice for this recipe?
Hi Cynthia, hmm, we think it might be too bitter! But it could work okay?
Sean Ledoux says
I regularly mix well-rinsed rice and quinoa, cooking them together in a pressure pot.
Debra MacKillop says
Could I make this with brown rice instead?
Hi Debra, Brown rice doesn’t work well in this recipe. We tested and strongly preferred the fluffy texture and neutral flavor of white rice. If you want to try brown rice, we’d recommend using long grain rice and adding slightly more water and cooking longer.
Lauren Chalanick says
Can I replace water with chicken broth? If so, should it be hot broth?
That should work! It doesn’t need to be hot.
Sarah says
Just made this in the instant pot and followed the white rice instructions you linked….adjusted the water to do 1:1 ratio with the lemon. Easy and came out perfect! So nice to let it cook while I did some work.
Amazing! Thanks so much for sharing, Sarah!
Dan says
This recipe is fantastic, but it needs way more water than on the recipe. I used about 2 1/4c of water.
Allison Steinberg says
This was delicious! My garlic turned blue though during the cooking process. Any ideas how to prevent that from happening?
Hi Allison, we’re so glad you enjoyed it! Is it possible you didn’t sauté the garlic before adding the remaining ingredients? That usually happens because of a reaction between the garlic and lemon juice, but we’ve found as long as you sauté the garlic first, it doesn’t seem to happen!
Laurie says
So delicious!! We had it with some spicy Mexican-inspired food. Worked beautifully for us! Anything lemony in the summer is perfect!
Amazing! Thanks so much for sharing, Laurie! xo
Julie says
I made this tonight and I am certain it will become a regular on our table! I followed the recipe as written, except I did not have white basmati on hand so I used jasmine and it turned out so well. It has a great flavor and stickiness to the rice that makes you love it!
We’re so glad you enjoyed it, Julie! Thank you for the lovely review and for sharing your modification! xo
Vicki says
It looks wonderful! I always love your recipes. Do you think I can make this in the rice cooker? I don’t think I’ve ever cooked rice on the stove because I love my rice cooker so much. I don’t eat garlic, so I would not be doing that step. So I’m wondering if I could put everything in the rice cooker with maybe a little extra water and cook it? Thanks!
Thanks so much for your kind words, Vicki! We haven’t tested in a rice cooker, but we do think it would work. Let us know if you try it!
Susaon Ottwell says
Also excellent with red rice. It helps to pre-soak and par-boil the red rice first.
Nice! Thank you for sharing, Susaon!
Susan Ottwell says
Since my diagnosis of diabetes, white rice is unthinkable. Brown rice causes a bit more of a spike in my blood sugar than I like, while red rice has much less of an effect. But everyone’s metabolism is a little different; ymmv.
Charlotte Mellor says
I would like to suggest that one can get fluffy brown rice if it is first dextrinized, then placed in a covered casserole dish and baked at 350 until all water is evaporated. Typically, 2 c. of dry rice to 4-5 c. of water taked 1- 1.5 hours.
Roxanna says
Hi Dana,
Can the Olive oil be omitted or replaced with a little water?
Thank you :)
Hi Roxanna, that should work, though won’t be quite as flavorful and the garlic may turn blue when you add the lemon (still fine to eat, just not as pretty!).
Betsy Haynes says
Can you use Jasmine rice?
Yes, jasmine white rice would work!
Dee says
What do you mean by “dry basmati rice”? Basmati needs to be rinsed 3 to 4 times before cooking, if not soaked. It will thus be wet.
Dry meaning uncooked, not cooked.
Marlee says
Would love to try making this in the instapot. Any tips?
Hi Marlee, we’d suggest a 1:1 ratio of rice:liquid, which would mean using just 3/4 cup water since the lemon juice is also adding liquid. For timing, we’d suggest pressure cooking on high for 4 minutes. You can also check out our Instant Pot white rice recipe for more details. Let us know if you try it!
Mixolidia says
Can I substitute quinoa for the basmati rice?
It will have more bitterness, but maybe! We’d suggest using less lemon zest if you try with quinoa since both are bitter.
dani says
Quinoa is not bitter at all. You just have to wash it well before cooking.
anonymnmous says
Quinoa isn’t bitter period. People talk rubbish. I never wash and it’s never been bitter. And I hate chicory fyi!!