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Easily prepare a tasty side dish with our straightforward single serving Rice Pilaf recipe. Combining broth, onions, garlic, and butter, this recipe turns simple ingredients into a flavorful rice pilaf. Start by sautéing rice with fragrant onions and garlic, then simmer it in a rich broth to enhance any main course. Use this easy rice pilaf recipe to bring a delightful and fulfilling element to your dining experience.

Why This Recipe Works

I like to think of rice pilaf as one step up from ordinary rice. Rice makes an excellent side dish, but when you combine a few flavorful ingredients along with rice, it becomes a wonderfully elevated dish to enjoy.

The rice pilaf recipe I’m sharing with you is a simple, basic rice pilaf recipe. Think of this recipe as a guide to use and feel free to add in other ingredients to suit your tastes and desires.

RELATED: Comfort Food Recipes For One

Ingredient Notes

See below for ways to use leftover ingredients.

  • Rice: I use long grain white rice.
  • Butter: I use 1 tablespoon of salted butter to cook the onions and garlic in. I also like to toast the rice in the butter which gives great flavor to the rice pilaf.
  • Vegetables: Finely chopped onions and garlic add quite a lot of flavor to rice pilaf, definitely don’t leave them out.
  • Broth: I use low sodium chicken broth in my recipe. Feel free to use vegetable broth to make a vegetarian rice pilaf.
  • Salt: A small amount of kosher salt adds a whole lot of flavor.

Variations

Once you know the process of making rice pilaf, you can add other flavors to create your own.

  • Consider adding a quarter to a half of a teaspoon of ground cinnamon or ground turmeric along with a handful of raisins or nuts.
  • Add in a quarter cup of frozen mixed vegetables. I add them straight from the freezer and let the vegetables thaw in the heated pan.
  • Add a half of a cup of sliced mushrooms and sauté them with the onions.
  • Stir in some grated Parmesan cheese for a cheesy rice pilaf.

These additions demonstrate how you can easily customize this side dish for any meal.

RELATED: 20 Single Serving Meatless Recipes

An overhead view of a bowl of rice pilaf next to a spoon, half an onion, a few garlic cloves, and a glass of red wine
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How To Make This Recipe

Once you’ve decided which ingredients you’d like to add to your rice pilaf, you’re just a few steps away from a fabulous tasting dish.

  1. Sauté the vegetables: Melt butter in a small skillet and sauté the onions and garlic until they are soft and the onions are translucent. If you’ve chosen to add sliced mushrooms, this would be the time to add them as well.
  2. Toast the rice: This is such an important step in making rice pilaf and you definitely won’t want to skip it. Toasting the rice until each grain is fully coated in the butter helps the grains stay separate and adds so much flavor to the dish.
  3. Enhance the flavor of the rice pilaf with broth: I usually use chicken broth in my rice pilaf recipes but you could also use seafood, beef, or vegetable broth instead.
  4. Cook the rice: Bring the rice to a boil, then reduce it to a light simmer. Cover the rice and cook until the liquid has been absorbed (about 15-18 minutes).
  5. Let the rice rest: Remove the pot from the heat and keep the pot covered. Let the rice sit undisturbed for 5 minutes.
  6. Fluff the rice and season: Fluff the rice with a fork and season with a pinch (or two) of salt and pepper, to taste. You could also add in chopped parsley, mint, or chives.

RELATED: 15 Easy Dessert Recipes For One

A bowl of rice pilaf plated on a metal tray next to half an onion, garlic cloves, and a glass of red wine

Expert Tips

  • You will need a quarter cup (45 grams) of long grain rice for this single serving rice pilaf recipe.
  • I keep my bag of rice in a sealed airtight container or in the original package inside a resealable freezer bag.
  • Rinse and drain rice thoroughly. Rice contains a lot of starch which will cause the rice to stick together and may even make it mushy when cooked. Rinsing the rice helps to remove the extra starch.
  • Sauté the rice in butter before adding the broth. This step adds so much flavor to the dish.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Do You Rinse Rice?

To remove the extra starch from rice, place the rice in a fine-mesh strainer and rinse it thoroughly under cool running water. The water running through the rice will look cloudy or milky at first but will become clearer. It is okay if there is a small amount of cloudiness remaining in the water. You do not need to dry the rice before cooking it.

Can I Add Protein To Rice Pilaf?

Yes! Rice pilaf can easily become a main dish meal by adding in protein. Consider adding:
* ground turkey
* ground beef
* ground pork
* baked shrimp
* salmon or other types of fish
* Italian sausage

What Is The Best Rice For Rice Pilaf?

This recipe calls for using long grain white rice. I love using jasmine or basmati.

What Size Pan Should I Use To Make A Single Serving Rice Pilaf?

I use a 10-inch skillet for this single serving rice pilaf recipe. For best results, use a pan of similar size.
For more information on the cooking and baking dishes I use in our “recipes for one”, please visit our FAQ page.
For examples of the dishes used at One Dish Kitchen, please visit our Store page.

Serving Suggestions

Serve your rice pilaf as a side dish to go along with any of these single serving meals.

Ways To Use Leftover Ingredients

If you have any ingredients leftover from this recipe, check out our Leftover Ingredients Recipe Finder or you might like to consider using them in any of these single serving and small batch recipes:

RELATED: 20 Breakfast Recipes For One

If you’ve tried this small batch rice pilaf recipe or any recipe on One Dish Kitchen please let me know how you liked it by rating the recipe and telling me about it in the comment section below.

If you take a picture please tag us on Instagram (@onedishkitchen) we’d love to see it!


Your Cooking For One Source
Because you’re worth it

Rice Pilaf For One

5 from 2 votes
Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 35 minutes
Resting Time: 5 minutes
Total: 45 minutes
Servings: 1 serving
Create a savory side with our easy Rice Pilaf recipe for one. Simple ingredients like broth, onions, and garlic make this dish a perfect meal companion.

Ingredients 
 

  • ¼ cup long grain white rice
  • 1 tablespoon salted butter
  • ½ cup finely chopped onions
  • 1 clove garlic , minced
  • teaspoon kosher salt
  • ¾ cup low sodium chicken broth

Instructions 

  • Place the rice in a strainer and rinse it thoroughly under cool water. Set the strainer of rice aside.
  • Melt butter in a 10-inch skillet. Add the onions and garlic and cook until onions are translucent and soft, 2 minutes
  • Add rice and coat with butter. Continue to cook, stirring often, until rice is lightly toasted, about 4 minutes.
  • Add the broth and salt and bring to a boil. 
  • Reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for 15-18 minutes, until rice is tender.
  • Remove pan from the heat, keep covered and let sit for 5 minutes.
  • Remove lid and fluff with a fork. Season with additional salt and pepper, if necessary.

Notes

Expert Tips
  • You will need a quarter cup (45 grams) of long grain rice for this single serving rice pilaf recipe.
  • I keep my bag of rice in a sealed airtight container or in the original package inside a resealable freezer bag.
  • Rinse and drain rice thoroughly. Rice contains a lot of starch which will cause the rice to stick together and may even make it mushy when cooked. Rinsing the rice helps to remove the extra starch.
  • Sauté the rice in butter before adding the broth. This step adds so much flavor to the dish.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving, Calories: 313kcal, Carbohydrates: 42g, Protein: 8g, Fat: 12g, Saturated Fat: 7g, Cholesterol: 30mg, Sodium: 449mg, Potassium: 322mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 3g, Vitamin A: 350IU, Vitamin C: 6.8mg, Calcium: 31mg, Iron: 0.7mg

The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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10 Comments

  1. Maybe I’m dense but I’d like to add shrimp to the dish but I’m not clear when to add them. I assume they are raw and thawed first.
    Thanks Joni, your recipes are great.

    1. You could use cooked rice but the flavor of the dish comes from many of the steps taken to make rice pilaf. The rice is lightly browned in butter in a skillet which gives the rice a nice, nutty flavor. Then, the rice is cooked in chicken broth which further adds to the flavor. You can skip those steps and just add the cooked rice to the sauteed onions and garlic if you like, it just won’t be as rich in flavor.

  2. what would happen if I used 1 cup of broth instead of 3/4? thinking about doubling it and throwing in a full can which is 2 cups of broth.

    1. I honestly don’t know but I would think that the rice would be too watery. I do know that this recipe doubles well but has only been tested using the ingredient amounts listed.