Learn to make perfectly fluffy Saffron Rice, a beautiful and savory side dish with saffron spice, onions and broth. Gluten free, Kosher
Prep time: PT5M
Cook time: PT45M
Total time: PT50M
Rating
4.87 stars (128 reviews)
Keywords
rice recipe
Ingredients
1/4 teaspoon good quality saffron threads
1/4 cup hot water
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3/4 cup minced yellow onion
2 cups white basmati rice
3 cups chicken stock or vegetable stock
3/4 teaspoon salt ((if using a low sodium stock, adjust salt to 1 tsp))
Categories
Side Dish
Cuisine
Middle Eastern
Steps
Take 1/8 tsp saffron threads and put them in a spice mortar. Grind the spice with a pestle to a powdery consistency.Add the other 1/8 tsp saffron threads to the mortar. Do not crush these remaining threads.
Pour 1/4 cup of hot water into the mortar. Let all of the saffron soak for 5 minutes. This will open up the flavor of the spice.
Meanwhile, sort your basmati rice and rinse in a colander. Drain.In a large heavy pot, heat extra virgin olive oil over medium. Add the minced onion to the pot and sauté for about 10 minutes, stirring very frequently, until the onion is very soft and begins to caramelize.
Add rinsed rice to the pot and sauté for one minute longer, mixing the rice together with the cooked onion.
Pour the yellow soaked saffron liquid evenly across the top of the rice.
Add chicken or vegetable stock and salt to the pot. Bring to a boil, stir. Bring back to a boil for 30 seconds.
Cover the pot and reduce heat to low. Let the rice cook for 20 minutes. Turn off the heat, but keep pot covered, and continue to let the rice sit and steam in the covered pot for 10 minutes longer.
Fluff the rice with a fork before serving, stirring well to break up the rice and incorporate the cooked onion.
Nutitrion
Serving Size: 1 serving
Calories: 159 kcal
Carbohydrates: 28 g
Protein: 4 g
Fat: 3 g
Saturated Fat: 1 g
Cholesterol: 2 mg
Sodium: 233 mg
Sugar: 1 g
Reviews
Dave on 2025-02-01 (2 stars): Not very tasty. It needs more spicies.
Tomahawk on 2024-04-20 (5 stars): Thank you, Tori…we loved your saffron rice.
Some advice to prospective users: Tori’s recipe is for a Holiday dinner, so it feeds eight. I cut the recipe in half, but kept the same amount of saffron and it came out great…well, I was guessing at 1/4 t of saffron threads, but must have guessed right. I used vegetable broth and kept strictly to the recipe…so good!
My wife and I loved it and I will make it again!
Kerry Keys on 2024-01-17 (5 stars): I am making this for the second time as we speak. The rice is light and fluffy and full of flavor. This has become our go to rice. My husband will not eat regular white rice any more
Angie on 2023-10-22 (5 stars): Hi! If I want to make with 3 cups of basmati rice, how many cups of chicken broth should I use?
This is my goto recipe for Saffron rice, and we’re hosting a bigger group and would like to make a bigger batch! Thank you!
Rod Skaggs on 2023-05-31 (5 stars): Full disclosure. My first making this recipe. Reading your comment I was "HEY!!!! That sounds just like me!!" Cook rice like pasta. Loads of water, cook until tender and then drain.
But just like you, adding expensive saffron adds a real necessity to get correct proportions and not drain out $100/oz.+ spice.
Then I read how you forgot the salt. OMG!!!! I did the same thing!!! I popped the lid during the 20 minute on low stage to add salt. If I never write again, you will know that was a fatal error on my part.
Please take care of my 2 cats if I never make it out of my mistake alive, ok????
Michele Reynolds on 2023-01-18 (5 stars): I’ve been making Tory’s saffron rice recipe for several years now. In fact, I’m making some right now as I write this! Neither my husband nor I are big rice eaters, but this recipe has SUCH great flavor! It makes quite a bit…more than the two of us could ever eat in a week, so I’ve gotten to where I will divide a freshly made pot into one cup servings placed in small freezer bags. I flatten them out and freeze them on a cookie sheet. They take up less room when stacked or stood up in the freezer drawer that way. Rice freezes very well. Flattened out like this, it thaws out in no time at room temperature. You can also microwave an opened bag for a minute on 50% power to thaw. I love it as a side to baked chicken, but it also tastes fantastic used in stuffed bell peppers! Haven’t read all the reviews, so, apologies if someone else has made these suggestions previously!
Quentin Fojtik on 2023-01-08 (5 stars): Great recipe, flavor and aroma was great.
Hp on 2022-12-16 (5 stars): Sooooo good!
Sean Haire on 2022-12-04 (5 stars): Finally! I could never get the hang of cooking rice in the same pot with the other ingredients. It was always too sloppy or too dry, etc... so I cook it like pasta, boil until cooked, then drained, rinsed and dried for use. But these proportions (2 cups rice, 3 stock) and the timing instructions were just perfect. I kept the lid on and hoped for the best, 20 minutes low, 10 minutes off. I couldn't believe how perfect it was. Game changer! I was so excited by the new to me technique that I forgot the salt, so it was a little bland, but nailed the technique!
