18 rice pilaf recipes

A simple quick and easy rice side dish. A great way to quickly dress up plain rice.

Brown rice pilaf with mushrooms, shredded carrots, marjoram, and green onions cooked in chicken broth. A light, low-calorie side dish ready in under 20 minutes.

Wild rice and bulgur pilaf simmered in chicken broth with tarragon, onion, and parsley. A nutty, low-calorie whole grain side dish with two textures in every bite.

This quick and savory side dish is made with wild rice, mushrooms and pearl barley.

Skinless Cornish hen halves basted with brandy, apple juice, and paprika, served over a cinnamon-scented wild rice pilaf with brandy-soaked raisins. Light, elegant, and feeds eight.

Rice pilaf salad tosses diced turkey, brown rice, chickpeas, kidney beans, apples, celery, and green olives into a protein-loaded chilled salad. Perfect for Thanksgiving leftovers or make-ahead lunches.

In this recipe, we use whole wheat couscous instead of rice, we add orange juice and currant, so the pilaf is sweet too.

Oven-baked five grain pilaf with barley, wheat berries, millet, wild rice, and brown rice, studded with mushrooms, orange-soaked currants, and toasted almonds.

Kazakh rice combines ground lamb, slivered almonds, and dried apricots, dates, and prunes with garlic and onion in one pilaf-style pot. A Central Asian sweet-savory main or side.

Greek octopus pilaf simmered in tomato, white wine, and oregano for an hour until tender, served over rice cooked in the braising sauce. A traditional taverna dish.

Brown rice almond pilaf with raisins, chicken bouillon, and toasted slivered almonds. A nutty, one-pot side dish with stovetop and microwave instructions included.

Curried rice with lentils, raisins, and apples: a vegan Indian-inspired one-pot pilaf with turmeric, ginger, curry, and sunflower seeds. Fat-free, high-fiber comfort with sweet and savory in every bite.

One-dish baked pork chops on fruity rice pilaf with apples, oranges, and poultry seasoning for a retro weeknight dinner that cooks hands-off in the oven.

One-pot brown basmati rice pilaf loaded with mushrooms, bell peppers, tomatoes, and onions. A dump-and-simmer weeknight dinner using whatever vegetables you have on hand.

Lemon orzo pilaf is a five-ingredient one-pot side of rice-shaped pasta simmered in chicken broth with basil and lemon zest. Ready in 30 minutes. Bright, simple weeknight starch.

Stuffed monster zucchini is the answer to a giant garden zucchini: halved, hollowed, and packed with a savory cumin-thyme rice and lentil pilaf, then baked until tender. A hearty, frugal vegan main.