Seasoned Rice is a homemade version of the flavoured boxed rices like Rice-A-Roni and Uncle Ben’s! A quick way to add flavour to white rice to make it super tasty, this is a rice side that’s economical, simple to make, and goes with literally everything.
Make a big batch and refrigerate 4 days or freeze 3 months.
Buttery Seasoned Rice
I tell my friends this is the rice version of Potato Salad – you make a big batch, stash it in the fridge and bring it out night after night to serve with everything.
Except unlike Potato Salad, this rice recipe can also be frozen. Whip it out of the freezer, pop it in the microwave for a couple of minutes. Anyone for a 2 minute instant side – that didn’t come from a box??!!
Rice Side Dish for everything!
Don’t get me wrong, plain rice has its place in this world. Doused with saucy stir fries, smothered in spicy curries. But you do need a sauce.
So how do you make plain white rice so tasty, you will want to eat a meals’ worth straight out of the pot?? Cook it with stock powder/bouillon, some spices and add a good wack of butter!
Flavourings and spices for seasoned rice
Here’s what goes in this seasoned rice. You can make this with any white rice other than speciality rices like risotto, paella and sushi rice. Also see the recipe notes for how to adjust this for brown rice.
Don’t worry if you don’t have all the spices, there are plenty of alternatives! See below the photo for a list.
Substitution for spices
You could skip one of the spices and it will still taste similar. Or you can substitute as follows:
- Garlic powder – melt 1 tbsp (15g) butter and cook 2 finely chopped garlic cloves until golden, then add rice, water and all other ingredients and cook per recipe;
- Onion powder – add extra 1/2 tsp garlic powder instead;
- Paprika – just skip it, adds a touch of warm earthy flavour and a bit of colour, not critical;
- Thyme – not critical. Best sub is dried oregano, followed by basil. 1/4 tsp sage powder is SO GOOD as well.
- Parsley – optional, this is more for visual, to get the little green specks in the rice. Sub with basil, or stir through 1 cup finely sliced green onion, or 1/2 cup finely chopped fresh parsley or chives.
How to make rice taste better!
Here’s how to make this flavoured rice which comes out beautifully fluffy – with the added bonus of no scorched pot base too!
- Place rice, water and all the seasonings into a large saucepan or small pot and give it a good stir;
- Bring to a simmer over medium high heat until there’s bubbles around the edges and the entire surface is rippling, and it foams a bit (you’ll see in the video);
- Place a tight fitting lid on, then turn down to medium low – or low for strong stoves. You want the water to still be simmering – if the heat is too low, then the rice just sits there in hot water, bloating, rather than absorbing. Too high, and it will bubble over and out the sides of the pot. NO PEEKING – the lid needs to stay on to trap the steam inside – this will ensure your rice cooks evenly;
- After 13 minutes, remove from the stove and let it rest for 10 minutes – the rice will finish cooking during this time (if you try the rice as soon as it comes off the stove, you’ll find the surface of the grain is wet and the inside is still uncooked);
- Add butter and fluff up the rice with a rubber spatula – the residual heat will melt the butter. I recommend using at least 3 tbsp (50g) for a lovely buttery rice, but you can reduce to 2 tbsp (30g) if you want. Or sub with extra virgin olive oil, or just skip the butter – it will still be very tasty rice!
- Pile onto serving platter, sprinkle with parsley or something green for presentation if you wish. Dig in!
How to properly store cooked rice
Cooked rice will keep for up to 5 days in the fridge (I say 4 to be safe). Cool the seasoned rice rapidly – tumble it out of the pot into a large bowl, or if you scaled up the batch then spread out on tray(s). Refrigerate within 2 hours of cooking.
The stories you may have heard about food safety and cooked rice revolves around large volumes of cooked rice sitting out for hours and hours, creating a cosy environment for bacteria to grow which can lead to food poisoning. This is typical of large scale cooking, not home cooking (because vast quantities of rice takes ages to cool down).
A single batch of this seasoned rice will cool to room temp in 40 minutes once in a serving bowl, so you’ll have no practical issues with storing.
What to serve with Seasoned Rice
This is a rice side dish that will pretty much go with any foods other than Asian food and curries (they’ve got enough flavour in them as it is!).
It’s tasty enough to eat plain without sauce, quick enough for midweek meals yet so good you’ll want it on the table of grander affairs too! Here’s a few suggestions for mains to serve with this:
It would also be terrific to make a meat-free meal out of things like these:
AND stuff them into BURRITOS!!
Now, kiss those boxed rices goodbye, and make a big batch of this rice and refrigerate for days, or freeze it! – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
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Buttery Seasoned Rice
Ingredients
- 2 cups long grain white rice , uncooked (Note 1 for brown rice)
- 3 1/4 cups water (cold tap water)
- 2 tsp chicken powder / granulated bouillon , or 2 cubes dissolved in boiling water (Note 2)
- 1 tsp garlic powder *
- 1 tsp onion powder *
- 1 tsp paprika *
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme *
- 2 tbsp dried parsley *, optional
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
Stir through:
- 50g / 3 tbsp butter, unsalted (or MORE!)
Instructions
- Place all Rice ingredients in a large saucepan and give it a stir.
- Bring to simmer over medium high heat (edges bubbling, entire surface rippling), put the lid on and turn stove down to medium low (LOW for strong stoves). It should be simmering gently.
- Cook for 13 minutes - do not lift lid!
- Tilt pot then QUICKLY peek to ensure all water is absorbed.
- Remove from stove, stand 10 minutes with lid on.
- Add butter and fluff rice with a rubber spatula. Serve!
- Storage - please read Note 4.
- Rice cooker - Same ingredients, water and rice ratio. Pop it all in your rice cooker and cook per manufacturer directions, stir through butter at end.
Recipe Notes:
- Garlic powder - melt 1 tbsp (15g) butter and cook 2 finely chopped garlic cloves until golden, then add rice, water and all other ingredients and cook per recipe.
- Onion powder - add extra 1/2 tsp garlic powder instead
- Paprika - just skip it, adds a touch of warm earthy flavour and a bit of colour, not critical
- Thyme - not critical. Best sub is dried oregano, followed by basil. 1/4 tsp sage powder is SO GOOD as well.
- Parsley - optional, this is more for visual, to get the little green specks in the rice. Sub with basil, or stir through 1 cup finely sliced green onion, or 1/2 cup finely chopped fresh parsley or chives.
Nutrition Information:
Life of Dozer
Dozer thinks the social distancing rules don’t apply to him – lucky police aren’t fining DOGS for non compliance with these new laws!!
Nothing short of amazing. I used the chicken powder (Knorr). The measurements were perfect to the T. This recipe will accompany any savory dish…is even good by itself. Easiest yet most flavorful rice recipe I’ve ever made , and I usually always overcook or burn my rice. Not possible following these steps. My go to!
This was soooo good! I used better than boulion (vegetable) And earth balance vegan organic “butter” because That is what I had. The meat eaters loved it too! Going to make another batch today and freeze some to take for lunch! Passes the recipe to several people. Can’t wait to try more recipes! Thank you so much!
This is so much better (and less salty) than the box stuff. I finally wised up and made additional small bags of the spices and rice so everything is pre-measured and ready to go. Just dump the contents of the bag in with the water. Just like the box, but soooo much better!
This rice is INCREDIBLE! Super easy to put together, no crazy ingredients, and the steps in the recipe are easy to read and follow. THANK YOU!
Hi there,
can someone tell me if I can use brown rice with this and is there a difference to making it? I’m wondering if you have to cook the brown rice a little longer?
Hi Jen, you sure can – all the directions are listed in the recipe notes. N x
This is my go-to side dish, I make it in my rice cooker, double the recipe and freeze it. My son likes it too. It doesn’t last long before I have to make a new batch!
Turned out perfectly! I want to freeze some. How do I thaw/cook from frozen?
Hi Shannon, I usually sprinkle a tablespoon of water onto the frozen rice, cover and microwave to reheat. N x
Cooked in rice cooker for dinner tonight with roast chicken.
Used Jasmine rice, and added frozen peas, corn and carrot to the cooker. When it was finished, I added chopped roasted capsicum, and let the capsicum warm up in the residual heat of the rice.
Just beautiful, and so easy in the rice cooker
Tomorrow I will fry off chorizo sausage and add it to the leftovers.
TRADER Joe’s basmati rice says 40 minutes, Carolina organic rice says 45. Other brands I’ve used over the years always called for 40-50 minutes cooking time unless it was quick cooking rice.
Amazing recipes
This sounds really good but I have a couple of questions.
1. Can I use chicken broth/stock instead of boullion cubes? If so, should I make any adjustments?
2. Your notes say to cook brown rice for 25 minutes, but my brown rice says 45-50 minutes. Will it be cooked through in 25 minutes?
Hi Luda, you can substitute the water and stock cubes for liquid stock if you prefer. And what brand of brown ice are you using? I find mine cooks perfectly in 25 minutes. N x
TRADER Joe’s basmati rice says 40 minutes, Carolina organic rice says 45. Other brands I’ve used over the years always called for 40-50 minutes cooking time unless it was quick cooking rice.
Wow. Who knew rice could taste this good. Absolutely delicious.
Can I make seasoned rice in a rice cooker?
This was so easy and so delicious!! Your timings and seasonings are so spot on! Made this together with your roast chicken and gravy, such a yummy dinner. Thank you Nagi
Oops, gravy baked chicken, had forgotten the name. Brilliant recipe 🤗
Rice turned out so mushy even though I cut the water down to just 3 cups. Not sure what I did wrong since I followed the recipe exactly aside from using less water. I usually love your recipes but was disappointed with this one 🙁
Hi Lila, sorry you had issues here – that doesn’t sound right at all! What type of rice are you using and are you rinsing it before cooking? N x
Hi Nagi! I used long grain rice and I did rinse it before cooking. I made this with your gravy baked chicken and the chicken was 5 out of 5 stars! Thank you for responding!
Hi Lila! The rinsing is the answer here 🙂 Rinsing rice adds another 1/4 cup of water because the rice becomes waterlogged. If you reduce water by 1/4 cup it should be perfect! Oh and lastly when you reduce the heat to simmer covered, it needs to actually be SIMMERING. If it’s just sitting there doing nothing then the rice just bloats and again, becomes all mushy 🙂 N x
Can I use chicken broth/stock instead of bouillon cubes? Would it change the flavor or texture significantly? Should anything be adjusted?
I would love to make it, but don’t have bouillon or chicken powder.