Okay, this is a pretty big statement to make, but… This Yellow Jasmine Rice is the best rice I’ve ever had.
Yep. The flavor is simply out of this world. The aroma as it cooked almost gave me a high. Plain white rice is dead to me now.
If you follow the blog you’re probably familiar with how much I love jasmine rice. I don’t know how I lived my whole life without knowing about it, but since discovering it a year or two ago, I just can’t stop. It’s incredible. If you haven’t tried jasmine rice yet, go find it NOW.
What is Jasmine Rice?
Jasmine rice is naturally fragrant and has the most wonderfully rich, mellow, and almost nutty flavor. You can find it at most major supermarkets either in the international foods aisle or in the rice section, usually on the bottom shelf. Even Walmart is in the jasmine rice game and is selling Great Value brand jasmine rice. It can be pricy if you buy one of those small specialty brand containers but if you buy an Asian brand (usually in larger bags on the bottom shelf), it can be just as inexpensive as regular rice. Also check bulk bins. Some stores will have jasmine rice (white AND brown) in bulk.
Spice it Up!
Anyway, I decided to kick up the jasmine rice by adding a few spices and something magical happened. The turmeric and cumin added to the rich, nutty flavor of the jasmine rice and the little pinch of cinnamon added just a hint of spicy sweetness… like hitting the cymbals on a drum kit. The first bite was so good, I swear I saw angels.
What Do You Serve with Yellow Rice?
This super flavorful yellow rice makes an excellent side to just about any grilled or roasted meat. I have served it with Chicken Adobo, Garlic Butter Baked Chicken Thighs, and Chimichurri Chicken Kebabs. It also makes a great component to vegetarian meals. I like to pair it with a fried egg and some sautéed greens (see Golden Rice Bowls).
Can I Make This in a Rice Cooker?
Yes! While it does turn out a little better when you sauté the garlic and spices in a skillet first, you can just add all the ingredients to a rice cooker and press “go” when you’re in a pinch!
Yellow Jasmine Rice
Servings 6 cupsIngredients
- 2 Tbsp butter ($0.22)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced ($0.16)
- 1 tsp turmeric ($0.10)
- 1/4 tsp cumin ($0.02)
- 1/8 tsp cinnamon ($0.02)
- 2 cups uncooked long grain jasmine rice ($0.96)
- 3 cups chicken broth* ($0.38)
- 1 bay leaf, optional ($0.15)
Instructions
- Add the butter, garlic, turmeric, cumin, and cinnamon to a medium sauce pot. Sauté over medium heat for 1-2 minutes, or just until the garlic has softened.
- Add the uncooked rice to the pot. Stir and cook over medium heat for about 2 minutes to slightly toast the rice. You may hear a slight popping or crackling noise as the rice toasts.
- Add the chicken broth and bay leaf to the pot. Place a lid on top, increase the heat to high, and bring the pot to a rolling boil. As soon as it reaches a full boil, reduce the heat to low and let it simmer (with the lid in place) for 20 minutes.
- After letting it simmer for 20 minutes, turn the heat off and let it rest (do not remove the lid) for an additional 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork and serve.
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Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!Scroll down for the step by step photos!
How to Make Yellow Jasmine Rice – Step By Step Photos
Add 2 Tbsp butter, 2 cloves minced garlic, 1 tsp turmeric, 1/4 tsp cumin, and 1/8 tsp cinnamon to a sauce pot.
Sauté the garlic and spices in the butter over medium heat for 1-2 minutes, or just until the garlic has softened.
Add 2 cups of uncooked long-grain jasmine rice to the pot. I use this brand, which can be found in 5 lb. bags, usually on the bottom shelf of either the rice aisle, or the Asian section of major grocery stores.
Stir and cook the rice in the butter and spices for about 2 minutes. This will toast the rice and spices giving them a deeper, nuttier flavor. You should hear a popping or crackling noise as the rice toasts.
Add 3 cups of chicken broth to the pot, along with one bay leaf (if using). I use Better Than Bouillon to make my broth because it’s less expensive than buying cans/boxes of broth and way better quality than the little cubes. It also provides all the salt needed to season the rice.
Give everything a good stir, place a lid on top, and increase the heat to high. Bring it up to a full boil then immediately turn the heat down to low. Let it simmer on low (with the lid) for 20 minutes.
After 20 minutes, turn the heat off and let it sit undisturbed (do not remove the lid) for another 10 minutes. If you’re using a bay leaf, it will probably have floated up to the top and you can remove it at that point. You’ll also see swashes of spices over the surface.
Fluff the Yellow Jasmine Rice with a fork to redistribute all the spices, then serve!
Not kidding. Best rice I’ve EVER eaten.
Need more help with cooking rice? Check out my guide for How to Cook Rice.
My wife started making this rice about two months ago, and HOLY MOLY, it’s freaking delicious! It’s absolutely the best rice we’ve ever had at home (we love going out for Indian food), and we’ll absolutely only make this until we get sick of it (which I don’t see happening).
I’ve also made it, and it’s incredibly easy to make. I could eat just this, for a meal. SO GOOD.
Can I also take parboiled rice, instead of jasmin rice?
I haven’t ever cooked with parboiled, so I’m not sure how it would work. But, I assume that if you follow the cooking instructions on the package (just replace the water with broth), that it should work out okay. Jasmine rice in particular has a lot of flavor, though, so you’ll be missing that part.
I’ve cooked it now with parboiled rice, the end result looked the same like in your picture.
But the taste was ok,nothing extremely good.
So I wonder If I made something wrong.
You did’t used exact weight specification. Maybe I made there a mistake. I come from Germany, thats why I would find it better to see your ingredients in gram. Or maybe I took the wrong broth.. don’t know.
I think you really need to use jasmine rice. It has a lot of flavor on its own. :)
I tried this last night and I don’t think I did it right :( The butter burned a little and so did the garlic because I wasn’t paying attention. I don’t think I put enough tumeric because it wasn’t as yellow as yours so it come out a bit bland. I’m going to try to make it again. What does it taste like by the way when it’s made properly?? Thanks for the recipe!
It’s really hard to describe the flavor. It’s really aromatic from the jasmine rice and just all around flavorful. The flavor is complex and hard to describe. :P
Wow this looks amazing. Can’t wait to try this. So happy I found your website lol
I made this a while ago and ended up freezing a good portion. I just defrosted it and heated it back up and am in bliss. This rice is amazing.
I just discovered jasmine rice about two months ago..This jasmine rice recipe is the best. When my daughter takes this rice to work and heats it up her coworkers think that it came from a restaurant. The aroma is out of this world and it tastes delicious too!!!!!! This was my first recipe from this site ,I will be making a lot more.
Thank you!!!!!!
This rice is amazing! It will be on weekly rotation with spiced meat and homemade tortillas! Yum!
Thanks for sharing.
5 Stars!
(laptop chucking a wobbly and cant change it from 1 star below. Sorry)
Thank you so much for this recipe! I did it in a rice cooker with long grain rice and it was great. I put together my normal white rice and water, then mixed all the spices in with melted butter and added it to the water and rice and turned on the rice cooker. Yum!
Have you had any trouble doubling this recipe? Would it turn out the same? I’m planning on making it tomorrow.
It should turn out just the same if doubled (no change in cooking time needed).
This sounded so good, used vegan butter and vegetable broth and it is fanreakintastic!! Served with California mixed veggies and Gardein meatless chicken for a 5 star meal. Love your website!
We love love love this rice recipe! We cook it at least once every 2 weeks. We needed a Mexican rice recipe, so instead of testing the waters of a random Google recipe, we recreated this exactly, but instead of the original seasonings, we added roughly a teaspoon of cumin, chili powder, and cayenne, but no bay leaf. It was delicious and perfectly spicy! Thanks for creating a wonderfully interchangeable recipe. We love it.
I expect I will be cooking rice this way for a long time. Easy, inexpensive, and excellent. Thank you!
Forgot to rate it, 5 stars!
I made this a few days ago, DELICIOUS. I am going to try it with a sprouted brown rice blend I bought at costco, hopefully it will work out as well. It had so much flavour, and smelled amazing.
SO beyond excited to try this recipe out for dinner tomorrow. Quick question though, if I wanted to half the recipe, how would you suggest adjusting the cooking times? In half as well? Thanks!!
No, don’t cut the cooking time in half, just use a smaller pot. :)