This Middle Eastern-style Saffron Rice is delicious, fragrant, and incredibly versatile. It pairs well with many of my other Levantine recipes (stews, grilled proteins, and fish). Best of all, it comes together in less than 30 minutes, and most of the time is inactive!
Enjoy this simple side dish with my grilled chicken kafta, Harissa Honey Chicken, beef kofta, Kabob Koobideh, braised chuck roast, or chicken shish tawook.
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Ingredients
This is a very simple straightforward recipe that comes together with a few ingredients. Saffron is the star of the show!
- Rice: White Basmati rice is my preferred type of rice (just like in my Vermicelli Rice and Mediterranean yellow rice recipes). It is fragrant, tender when cooked and doesn’t clump like other more glutenous rice options. This is why I use it exclusively in many of my recipes like Sayadieh (spiced rice and fried fish), Maqluba (upside-down Palestinian rice), Hashweh (spiced rice with ground beef) and Qidreh (Spiced rice and lamb). You can use another long grain rice variety. Avoid brown rice, risotto rice, sushi rice or jasmine rice for this recipe.
- Saffron: One of the most expensive spices in the world by weight. The good news is that you only need a pinch! Use good quality Saffron (from Spain or Iran) for complex flavor and aroma. Saffron is sold in small little bags or plastic containers (usually 0.5 or 1 gram). Fake saffron can be found in markets and online. You’ll usually find it in larger quantities and under the name safflower. Avoid these fakes and alternatives.
- Cooking liquid: Water helps preserve the taste of the rice and saffron, but if you wanted to, you could use chicken stock (like my Middle Eastern style chicken broth) or vegetable stock for added flavor.
- Butter: The butter is optional, but recommended. It helps add richness to the rice and offsets the floral notes from the saffron. You can use a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil instead.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to Prepare this Easy Saffron Rice Recipe
Step 1. Rinse the rice. Place your rice in the pot and run it through clear, cold water a few times until the water runs clear. Usually, 3 or 4 rinses do the trick. Alternatively, you can add the rice to a sieve and wash it under cold water for a minute.
Step 2. Soak. To the rinsed rice, add the saffron, salt, butter, and cold water. Let the rice soak for 15-30 minutes.
Step 3. Cook rice. Bring the pot to a boil, cover with a tight-fitting lid, turn the heat down to the lowest possible setting, and steam for 20 minutes.
Step 4. Rest and Serve. Once fully steamed, let the rice rest covered for 5 minutes. Then gently fluff it up with a fork. Serve it with your favorite stews, grilled vegetables, or meat. You can garnish the rice with nuts, parsley, and pomegranate seeds.
Saffron Rice Video Tutorial
What to Serve with Saffron Rice
Saffron rice can be served alongside many dishes like curries, stews and grilled proteins. I like to serve it with chicken kofta, beef kofta, chicken shish tawook, Koobideh (Persian kabob), fried or grilled fish (like in my Sayadieh recipe), and chicken shawarma.
It also pairs really well with a refreshing salad like my Fattoush or Jerusalem salad (chopped salad). Make sure to also make some yogurt dip to go along with it. My Mast-o-khiar (Persian cucumber dip), mint yogurt sauce and Cacik (Turkish cucumber yogurt dip) all pair well.
This recipe is featured in my what to serve with shish kabobs post.
Expert Tips
- Read the label. Your rice package will come with water-to-rice ratio recommendations. Follow that in order to get perfectly cooked rice.
- Use a rice cooker. A rice cooker will help you get even cooking and make this a very simple process. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions.
Recipe FAQs
Saffron is a highly prized spice derived from the stigmas of the Crocus flower, known for its distinct aroma, flavor, and vibrant golden color when used in recipes. It is used in Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, South Asian and Levantine cuisine, as well as in traditional medicine and as a dye.
I recommend making this recipe 1-2 hours before you intend to serve. The pot should keep the rice warm until service. However, if you really want to save time, you can make the recipe a day in advance, cool it and store it in the fridge. Before serving, steam the rice and fluff it back up. Keep in mind that this might make the rice mushy, I still recommend not making the rice too far in advance.
Store it in a glass airtight container or a bowl covered with plastic wrap. Avoid using plastic as the yellow rice may stain the container. Store in the fridge for up to 3 days. You can also freeze it in portions (in deli containers or bags) for up to 6 months.
Reheat it in the microwave, a dry frying pan or steam with a tablespoon or two of water in a pot.
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Recipe Card
How to Make Saffron Rice (Middle Eastern Recipe)
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups Basmati rice
- 2 ½ cups Cold water - See note
- 1 Pinch of saffron
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon Butter - Optional
Instructions
- Rinse the rice. Place your rice in the pot and run it through clear, cold water a few times until the water runs clear. Usually, 3 or 4 rinses do the trick. Alternatively, you can add the rice to a sieve and wash it under cold water for a minute.
- Soak. To the rinsed rice, add the water, saffron, salt, and butter. Let the rice soak for 15-30 minutes.
- Cook. Bring the pot to a boil, cover with a tight-fitting lid, turn the heat down to the lowest possible setting and steam for 20 minutes.
- Rest and Serve. Once fully steamed, let the rice rest covered for 5 minutes so that the residual heat can dry it completely. Gently fluff it up with a fork. Serve it with your favorite stews, grilled vegetables or meat. You can garnish the rice with nuts, parsley and pomegranate seeds.
Video
Notes
- Rice: Basmati rice is my preferred type of rice. It is fragrant, tender when cooked and doesn’t clump like other more glutenous rice options. You can also use another variety such as Calrose or Egyptian.
- Saffron: The world’s most expensive spice by weight. The good news is that you only need a pinch! Use high-quality saffron threads from Spain or Iran for their unique flavor. Saffron is sold in small bags or plastic containers (usually 0.5 or 1 gram).
- Cooking liquid: Water helps preserve the taste of the rice and saffron, but if you wanted to, you could use chicken broth or vegetable broth for added flavor. Refer to your rice package for water ratio recommendations.
- Butter: The butter is optional, but recommended. It helps add richness to the rice and offsets the floral notes from the saffron.
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