Garlic Butter Rice Recipe

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ByJi-hyun

Garlic Butter Rice is a savory and comforting dish that elevates simple rice with rich flavors of garlic and butter. This recipe is perfect as a side dish for any meal or can stand alone as a satisfying main course. Follow this easy recipe to have Garlic Butter Rice for lunch or dinner!

Garlic Butter Rice Recipe Ingredients

You don’t need a lot of ingredients to make Garlic Butter Rice. This absolutely delicious recipe is easy to make, and smells amazing too! If you love garlic and cook with it a lot, this dish is certainly for you.

  • 1 1/2 cups long-grain rice (jasmine rice or basmati rice)
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter (or salted butter)
  • 2 1/2 cups chicken broth
  • 4 cloves fresh garlic, minced or chopped 
  • 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
  • 2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley
  • 1 teaspoon dried parsley 
  • 1/4 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper

How to Cook Garlic Butter Rice

Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: American

  1. Take 2 tablespoons of butter. Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. 
  2. Once the butter has melted, add the rice. Stir and cook rice in the melted butter, making sure that all grains are coated evenly. Toast rice for 4 to 5 minutes until most rice grains are lightly browned.
  3. Add the garlic to the rice and cook until fragrant or for 30 to 45 seconds. 
  4. Add broth, and season with Kosher salt and pepper. Cover with a tight-fitting lid cook over medium-high heat and bring to a boil.
  5. Once the rice boils, reduce the heat to medium heat. Let it simmer until the liquid has been absorbed or about 15 to 18 minutes. 
  6. If there is any remaining liquid, reduce heat to low and let it simmer again until all liquid is gone.
  7. Remove the Garlic Butter Rice from the stove. Let it rest for 10 minutes, then add the remaining butter and stir to coat evenly.
  8. Fluff rice with a fork. 
  9. Garnish with chopped parsley.
  10. Serve alongside other delicious recipes.

Recipe Tips

  • Rinsing rice is important to remove extra starch and debris on the surface of the grains. To do this, rinse the uncooked rice in cold water until the water turns slightly translucent. Drain the water, and then you can start cooking the rice. 
  • Long-grain white rice is usually used for Garlic Butter Rice. You can use either jasmine rice or basmati rice for this recipe. If you don’t eat white rice and want a healthier version, you can use brown rice or cauliflower rice. 
  • It’s not recommended to use garlic powder as it may not impart all the best flavors and aroma of garlic. Using fresh garlic is highly recommended.
  • You may use a rice cooker to cook this dish. 
  • Want extra garlicky rice? Add toasted garlic slices on top of the cooked rice. The crispy garlic will add texture and more flavor to the garlicky, buttery rice.
  • Make your own crispy garlic at home if you can’t find one in-store. To cook crispy garlic, dice peeled garlic heads and sprinkle with salt and pepper. In a deep pan, heat oil over high heat, then carefully add the garlic. Cook and stir often until it starts to brown evenly. Pour through the strainer into a heatproof bowl, then drain the toasted garlic on paper towels. Season with more salt if desired. Use it as a topping or incorporate it in other dishes.
  • While this Garlic Butter Rice uses uncooked grains, you may also use day-old cooked rice and turn it into Fried Garlic Butter Rice. Just add rice, garlic, and butter to the pan and stir-fry them together. 
  • You can also turn this recipe into a Herb Garlic Rice recipe. Aside from the fresh parsley, you can add green onions, chives, and other dried herbs that you prefer.
  • If you want to cook plain and simple Garlic Rice, follow the steps in the recipe but remove all the butter. 
  • If you are using salted butter, reduce the salt or remove salt entirely from the dish. This is to avoid over-salting it. Conversely, if the amount of salt isn’t enough to your taste, sprinkle salt until you achieve your desired flavor.
  • Reduce heat to low if the rice starts to turn brown. 
  • Chicken broth was used in this recipe but you can substitute it with low-sodium chicken broth or vegetable broth. If you don’t want to use any vegetable or chicken broth, just use water.
  • If you want more butter in your Garlic Butter Rice, simply add more after cooking. In contrast, you can also reduce the amount of extra butter by pouring it out of the pan.
  • Always melt the butter first. Afterward, you can add garlic and cook it until it’s crispy. You may also add the rice first before you add garlic to the pan.
  • For leftover Garlic Butter Rice, place it in an airtight container and store it in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Final Note

Level up your plain rice into something more flavorful and fun! Garlic Butter Rice is pretty much the rice version of garlic bread. The garlic flavor and aroma mixed with butter and rice just hits the right spot.

It’s a side dish that goes well with numerous recipes like baked salmon, roasted chicken, grilled vegetables, slow-cooked beef, and so much more, there’s not a single dish out there that it won’t pair perfectly with. You can also have it on its own as a main dish! Garlic Butter Rice is simply a great recipe addition to any meal. 

Eager to cook more rice recipes in the kitchen? Browse through our collection!

Hailing from California, USA. Ji-hyun is a Korean American 🇰🇷🇺🇸 with two growing boys who eat their weight in rice each week. After graduating UCLA & becoming a mom she started We Know Rice as a guide for all the students and moms out there looking to cook healthy and filling meals.