This chicken flavored rice is an easy way to transform plain white rice into a savory, flavorful side dish. In this recipe, long grain white rice, orzo, chicken broth, chicken base and seasoning come together to make a side dish that’s sure to become a favorite.

An image of the chicken flavored rice served in an oval white bowl with a spoon and a beige linen.

White rice is a great ingredient because it is versatile, easy to make and affordable. Rice side dishes make a wonderful accompaniment to just about any meal. Pair this chicken rice with beef, pork, fish or chicken for a delicious meal the whole family will enjoy. For more rice recipes try this mushroom rice pilaf and this yellow rice.

Ingredients

Butter – Use regular salted butter, if you are sensitive to salt use unsalted
Long Grain White Rice – The great thing about this chicken flavored rice recipe is that it provides another option for using white rice.
Orzo – Orzo is a small pasta shaped like rice. Find it in the pasta aisle of larger supermarkets or online. If you need a recipe to put any unused orzo to good use, try this turkey meatball soup.
Seasoning – Black pepper and dried minced onion. We use dried (dehydrated) minced onion in this rice recipe instead of fresh, so we don’t have to sauté it, and still get all the flavor. Find it in the spice aisle or online.
Chicken Broth and Base – We use regular chicken broth, but low sodium will work too. The chicken base gives the rice extra flavor. You can typically find chicken base in the same section that broths and soups are located.
Chopped Fresh Parsley for garnish, optional

Instructions

Six images of showing the steps of making the rice.

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan (about 2½ - 3 quart) over medium heat.
When the butter is melted and foamy add the orzo and white rice.
Sauté for 5 minutes until lightly golden in spots. Stir the rice and orzo frequently to move it around and prevent it from getting too brown on any one side.
Add the minced dried onion, black pepper and chicken broth to the saucepan. Then, add the chicken base and stir well until dissolved.
Raise the heat to high and bring the broth to a boil (this will take about 2-3 minutes).
Lower the heat to medium and let the broth simmer until the liquid is almost gone and the rice orzo combination is visible on the surface (this will take about 10 minutes). Stir occasionally and briefly just to make sure the rice/orzo is not sticking to the bottom of the pan.

Lower the heat to low, cover the saucepan and cook the chicken flavored rice for approximately 20 minutes, or until done. Stir only once halfway through the cooking time.

When the rice is done, uncover the pan and fluff with a fork allowing the steam to escape. Taste the rice and add salt if needed. As a reference we added a pinch to ours.

Garnish with chopped parsley, if desired, serve and enjoy.

A close up image of the chicken flavored rice served in an oval white bowl.

Storing and reheating

Cool leftover rice as quickly as possible. A good way to do this is to place it in a shallow container (or as many as needed) so that it is in a thin layer and cools faster. Cover the container with a tight-fitting lid and refrigerate for 1-2 days. Reheat the rice in the microwave until hot and steaming, loosely cover with a clean paper towel if desired.

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