The Best Garlic Rice Recipe (2024)

This Garlic Rice is a super easy, flavored rice recipe that makes a great side dish for so many meals. With only 5 ingredients, you can have this garlic rice done cooking in about 20 minutes, while you cook the rest of your dinner.

Garlic Butter Rice Recipe

Garlic rice is seriously so easy to make and it is an amazing compliment to many meals. White rice, while many people love it, I tend to find boring. I am perfectly ok with white rice if I am using it in certain recipes like Chicken Asparagus stir fry, Green Chili Chicken or Mexican Stir fry. In those recipes, it goes along with the recipe but the rice is not a focal point.

When I want rice as a side dish, I want flavor. I want it bursting with flavor, actually. I want flavored rice bursting with flavor but not overpowering the other dishes in the meal.

That is what make garlic being added to rice so amazing! Garlic has an amazing flavor, you don’t need a lot of it, but it totally changes the rice flavor.

What to Serve With Garlic Rice

There are lots of main dishes that go perfectly with this flavored rice. Here are a few of my go-to recipes that I make as the main dish when I am planning on making garlic rice for dinner.

• Instant Pot Teriyaki Chicken
• Crockpot Asian Chicken
• Firecracker chicken
• Spinach Artichoke Chicken Recipe

Tips for Making this recipe

Personally, I like to use as many homemade items as I can when I am cooking, so if you have homemade chicken broth on hand you can use that, if not store-bought chicken broth will work too.

If you are using pre-chopped garlic when making this rice I strongly recommend you double the amount of garlic because the pre-chopped garlic has a milder flavor that is also on the sweet side.

If you want to make this recipe in your rice cooker I recommend browning up the garlic before you place it into the rice cooker. Then just cook it like you normally would! Super easy!

When the rice comes to a boil make sure not to stir it anymore because it will turn into a mushy pile of rice instead of individual pieces.

Don’t remove the lid. While tempting to remove the lid while the rice is cooking don’t. The lid on the pan is what makes the heat stay in while the rice is cooking.

Which type of rice should you use for garlic rice?

The best rice to use is jasmine rice, however, you can use long grain white rice if that is all you have on hand. I prefer to use Jasmine rice because it is a fragrant long-grain rice with subtle nutty flavor and it goes so well with the garlic flavor and the chicken stock.

You can use brown rice, but you will need to add as much chicken stock in place of the water as the package says you need.

How to Store Leftover Rice

Cooked rice is best stored in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer. Allow the rice to cool completely and then place in a container or a zipclose freezer bag and store in the fridge or freezer, depending on how long it will be until you use the leftovers.

How long does cooked rice last?

Cooked rice that has been left in the refrigerator will last for 4 to 6 days. It is important that you store cooked rice in an airtight container when you are storing it in the fridge.

How to reheat cooked rice

Heat it in a microwave safe bowl from on high for 2 minutes, turn the container over and then heat another minute or until hot.

Can you freeze cooked rice?

Yes! It is actually a great way to get some meal planning done. You can double the recipe and serve part for dinner and then freeze the leftovers. Make sure you also check outhow to freeze ricethat will make your life easy with all the tips and tricks. I find it best to store rice in a zip close freezer bag when I am freezing it. Allow the rice to cool completely and then pour into the freezer bag. Zip close and squeeze the air out and lay flat in the freezer. Be sure to put the date on the bag so you know when it was made.

How long does cooked rice last in the freezer?

Cooked rice lasts for up to 12 months. That is a long amount of time, which is great for having it on hand. Make sure to portion the cooked rice into dinner sized portions or into single serve portions. Place the rice in freezer bags and make sure to remove the air. Also, be sure to add the date to the bag or container so that you know exactly when you froze it.

How to reheat frozen rice

Heat it in a microwave safe container from frozen on high for 2 minutes, turn the container over, and then heat another 3 minutes or until hot.

Garlic Butter Rice Recipe Ingredients

• butter
• garlic cloves
• chicken broth
• water
• Jasmine rice

How to Make Garlic Rice

In a large saucepan heat, the butter over medium heat until the butter is melted.

Add the minced garlic and cook until the garlic is golden brown. Be careful the garlic doesn’t burn.

Add the chicken stock and water to the pan, bring it up to a boil then add in the rice.

Cover the pan and reduce the heat to low.

Cook for 20 to 25 minutes.

Once the rice is cooked remove the lid and fluff the rice with a fork.

Easy Rice Recipes

• Hawaiian Rice
• Mexican Rice Recipe
• Parmesan Rice
• Easy Fried Rice
• Oven Baked Rice

Following Weight Watchers? This recipe for Garlic Rice is 4 Weight Watchers points per serving.

Looking for more side dish recipes? Check these out!

• Microwave sweet potato
• Easiest Baked Smashed Potatoes
• Lemon Roasted Asparagus