Orzo Rice (Turkish Rice)

Made of orzo noodles and rice, this Turkish Orzo Rice is absolutely delicious. The noodles are toasted in olive oil and butter until they are perfectly brown and are then cooked together with rice to give you a perfect, rich, and flavorful side dish that you won’t be able to stop eating.

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Some people call the dish ‘Lebanese Rice’ or ‘Vermicelli Rice’. For me it will always be Turkish rice because I first tried it at our Turkish friends’ house. We’ve also had it served at a Turkish wedding, so it’s a very popular dish for them.

This particular recipe is not from my friends. It’s my own invention. I tried several orzo rice recipes online, but it has never quite tasted the right way. I think, with this recipe, I’ve finally nailed it down.

What is Orzo?

Orzo is a type of pasta that looks like little rice grains. It is usually know under this name in North America, but less so in other countries. Here, in Germany, it is known as Kritharaki noodles. Read more about Orzo here, if you’re interested in finding out more about this fun, little pasta:)

Ingredients for Orzo Rice

Basmati Rice – I prefer to use basmati rice in this dish because it has it’s own flavor, but long-grain white rice would work as well.

Orzo Pasta – here in Germany it’s known as Kritharaki pasta. It’s rice shaped and cooks well with the rice.

Olive oil and Butter – yes, you need both to toast the noodles in. If you use just one, the flavor is not the same.

Salt – the only seasoning you need.

Water – you can also use broth for extra flavor in the dish, if you have some on hand.

Instructions for Making Orzo Rice

Start off with washing your rice so that it’s ready to go once you start toasting the orzo. I like using a fine mesh sieve placed into a bowl for washing the rice since it’s so easy to just lift the rice out of the water with the sieve.

Heat up a small saucepan on medium-high heat and add olive oil and butter allowing it to melt. Add the orzo and toast/sauté it until it turns a darker brown color. Note, the oil and the butter will foam during this process.

Careful! Make sure to stir the orzo the whole time as you are toasting it as it burns easily!

Once the orzo reaches the deep brown color, add the washed rice, salt and water (or broth, if using) to the orzo. Keep stirring until the water starts simmering.

Reduce the heat to lowest setting, cover the saucepan with a lid, and cook the rice for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let rest for 5 to 10 minutes.

I follow the same steps and process for cooking this Orzo Rice as I do for cooking normal Rice. Check out my blog post How to Cook Rice Perfectly for all the details. Turns out perfect every time!

Enjoy!

What to serve with Orzo Rice

Traditionally, Orzo rice is served with a (beef) meat sauce on the side (or on top:). I don’t have a recipe for the meat sauce at this point, however, here are some great dishes that can be served with orzo rice:

• Steak – Orzo rice is perfect with a thick juicy steak.
• Chicken – like these great grilled chicken thighs would work well with orzo rice.
• Salad – any fresh salad, like my Simple Arugula Salad, or this Creamy Cucumber Tomato salad are great served with this rice dish

How to Store and Re-Heat Orzo Rice

If you have any leftover Orzo Rice, store it in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 3 days, which it never lasts that long around here. I even like this stuff cold, so usually we only have just a little bit leftover for next day.

To re-heat, just transfer the rice to a small sauce pan or skillet, add a tiny bit of water, cover and re-heat on low. Stir every few minutes. Depending on the amount of leftover rice, it will take somewhere between 5-10 minutes.

You can also use the microwave to reheat if that’s your thing. We don’t have a microwave in our house so we use the stove for re-heating.

Lastly, if you make this Orzo Rice (Turkish Rice) recipe, please take a moment to comment below and leave a rating. It’s such a help for others who might want to try the recipe.

And of course, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram if you make this recipe. I’d love to see the photos of the recipes you have made!