Herb Rice
Our easy herb rice is made with jasmine rice, dried herbs, and broth. It’s flavorful, buttery, and perfect with chicken or fish.
You may also like my coconut jasmine rice and yellow rice.
Why You’ll Love It
This herb rice is buttery, flavorful, and way more exciting than plain white rice. It’s cooked in chicken broth with garlic, onion, and dried herbs with some fresh herbs added just before serving.
The texture is soft and not mushy, and the flavor works with just about everything. It’s one of those easy side dishes that fits right in on a weeknight dinner table or alongside your holiday favorites.
We love pairing it with lighter proteins like our blackened snapper or panko chicken, but it also holds its own next to mashed potatoes and stuffing if you’re planning out a Thanksgiving menu.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Unsalted butter: Adds a lovely flavor and helps toast the rice.
- Jasmine rice: The star of the show. Basmati works if you don’t have jasmine handy.
- Chicken broth: Low-sodium is best so you can control the salt level.
- Garlic powder + onion powder: Common pantry staples for seasoning.
- Dried parsley, chives, and thyme: Herbs to flavor the rice.
- Salt and black pepper: Adjust these to taste.
- Fresh herbs: Optional, but great for a garnish.
How to Make Herb Rice
Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the rice, and stir for 1 to 2 minutes to lightly toast it.
Pour in the broth. Stir in the garlic powder, onion powder, dried herbs, salt, and pepper.
Bring the liquid to a low boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover, and cook for 10 to 15 minutes, or until most of the liquid is absorbed.
Take it off the heat. Keep the lid on and let it sit for 5 minutes.
Fluff the rice with a fork. Stir in fresh herbs (if using), and serve warm.
Fresh Herb to Dried Herb Conversion
You can use fresh herbs instead of dried in this rice. Just remember that dried herbs are stronger, so you’ll need to use more if you’re swapping in fresh.
The basic rule is:
1 tablespoon fresh herbs = 1 teaspoon dried herbs
If you’re adding fresh herbs while the rice cooks, toss them in near the end so the flavor doesn’t cook off.
You can also skip adding them during cooking and stir them in right before serving.
Brown Rice vs. White Rice
You can use brown rice for the recipe, but keep these things in mind:
- Brown rice takes longer to cook, usually about 40 to 45 minutes.
- You’ll probably need to adjust the broth amount and cooking time.
- Sometimes the flavor of brown rice can overpower the herbs. You may need to adjust those, too.
How to Season Rice
Rice is one of those blank canvas ingredients that needs a little help to taste great. Here are some ways to make adjustments to add even more flavor to the rice:
- Use stock instead of broth and definitely don’t use water.
- Try using fresh garlic and onion.
- Add fresh herbs in addition for dried herbs.
- Stir in a little butter once the rice is done.
- Add a spritz of lemon juice if serving with fish or chicken.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 ½ cups jasmine rice
- 3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon dried parsley
- ½ teaspoon dried chives
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 to 2 tablespoons chopped fresh herbs, for garnish
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the rice and stir for 1 to 2 minutes.2 tablespoons unsalted butter1 ½ cups jasmine rice
- Stir in the broth, garlic powder, onion powder, dried herbs, salt, and pepper.3 cups low-sodium chicken broth½ teaspoon garlic powder½ teaspoon onion powder½ teaspoon dried parsley½ teaspoon dried chives½ teaspoon dried thyme½ teaspoon salt⅛ teaspoon black pepper
- Bring to a low boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes or until the liquid is absorbed.
- Remove from heat and let sit, covered, for 5 minutes.
- Fluff with a fork. Stir in fresh herbs before serving.1 to 2 tablespoons chopped fresh herbs
Suggested Equipment
Notes
Nutrition
Meet Kim
Hi, I’m Kim Vargo! I love making scratch-made desserts and classic dinners that bring back a little nostalgia. Whether it’s a stovetop meal or a simple pasta bake, I’m all about good food made without the extra fuss.
