Middle-Eastern Rice Pilaf with Vermicelli

Fragrant rice pilaf is a classic side dish that’s very easy to make and packs wonderful flavors. This recipe turns out perfect every time! Why settle for plain steamed rice when you can make fragrant rice pilaf?

This rice pilaf recipe would be terrific with chicken shawarma bowls and shish kebab.

Jump to:

• Why pilaf rice with vermicelli pasta works
• What is rice pilaf?
• Ingredients
• To rinse or not to rinse rice first
• Step-by-step instructions
• Pilaf variations
• Recipe FAQs
• Other rice related recipes
• 📋Easy Rice Pilaf Recipe

Why pilaf rice with vermicelli pasta works

1. Easy to make.
2. Plain steamed rice can be boring. Make pilaf rice that is flavorful, fluffy, perfectly cooked, and never fails.
3. Pilaf is the perfect side dish for any meal especially with meat.
4. Homemade pilaf rice recipe is better than boxed pilaf with just a little extra effort.
5. Elevate your next meal with rice pilaf!

What is rice pilaf?

Long-grain rice cooked in the broth along with flavors/aromatics like onion, garlic, paprika, salt, and pepper. In some Middle Eastern cuisines, rice pilaf has rice and vermicelli cooked together.

Almost every region in the world makes pilaf differently. Some are made with just long-grain rice, some with meat, some include aromatics like shallots and garlic. In Middle Eastern and Arabic countries, pilaf rice recipe usually consists of long grain rice and vermicelli sautéed in olive oil and cooked in flavorful savory stock.

Vegetables can be used in making pilaf, finely chopped mushrooms, fine-diced carrots, and diced celery are best. You can also add meat. Sauté ground beef with onion and garlic, once browned add rice and vermicelli, and cook in broth.

No matter what additional ingredients you use, rice is always the star.

Ingredients

You’ll need-

All the ingredient’s exact measurements are mentioned in the recipe card below. Scroll down to the recipe card or click on the “Jump to recipe” tab on top for a quick scroll.

Ingredients notes

1. Best rice for pilaf – basmati rice is best to use for pilaf. Basmati rice is a type of long-grain rice that has lovely subtle flavors and cooks fluffier rice. Flavors and fluffiness are what pilaf is all about! If you can’t find basmati rice aka long grain rice use jasmine rice.
2. Vermicelli – some Middle Eastern cuisine (Lebanese cuisine) uses vermicelli along with long grain in pilaf. It’s a very thin noodle or pasta that is somewhat similar to spaghetti but much thinner in diameter and is broken into smaller size pieces. Vermicelli are golden yellow before roasting and turn deep golden brown after roasting. I used pre-roasted vermicelli.
3. Aromats– pilaf has wonderful savory flavors to it. Flavors of garlic and onion. You can use garlic powder and onion powder or use fresh minced garlic and fine-diced yellow onion in the recipe. If using fresh onion and garlic, sauté first in olive oil until fragrant then add vermicelli and rice to sauté in it.
4. Fat – I used a mix of butter and olive oil together for great taste and flavor.
5. Pilaf spices– I used paprika. Feel free to add spices of Middle Eastern flavors like cardamom, cinnamon, and cumin, or change it up to suit your taste.
6. Stock – I always make rice pilaf with chicken or vegetable stock. If you are a fan of beef stock, go ahead and use it. Water will work fine too but highly recommend stock for extra flavors.
7. Garnish – garnish with fresh parsley for freshness.

Ingredients additions & substitutions

Nuts – Middle Eastern-style pilaf usually has nuts like sliced almonds and pistachios. You can throw in some sliced almonds and sliced pistachios. It’s a great side dish on the Christmas and Thanksgiving dinner tables. To make it Christmas special, add almonds and pecans to suit the theme.

Dry fruits – to give it an authentic Middle Eastern flavor, try adding sultanas or golden yellow raisins. You can also add dried apricots or dried cranberries for color and sharper pop of flavor to the pilaf.

Seeds – if allergic to nuts, swap nuts with seeds like sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds. Seeds not only are nutritious but add great texture and flavor to pilaf!

Vegetables – you can make pilaf with vegetables too. Diced mushrooms, finely diced carrots, and celery are some vegetables that you can use to make pilaf.

If you can’t find vermicelli use orzo pasta in the recipe.

To rinse or not to rinse rice first

If you are my regular reader, you know I advocate rinsing rice first before cooking in almost all my rice recipes like steamed rice, and cilantro lime rice.

There are two reasons why I always rinse my rice –

1. To remove excess surface starch from rice hence it isn’t too sticky once cooked.
2. Sometimes when I buy rice from packets, I notice debris in the rice. Rinse to get rid of debris.

Having said that, I do sometimes cook rice without rinsing and I get nicely cooked fluffy rice. It all depends on the rice-to-liquid ratio and adjusting that to cook fluffier rice.

I leave it up to you to decide if you want to rinse rice or not before cooking.

I used the best premium quality basmati rice I could ever find here and I knew I could cook perfect rice (no sticky) without rinsing. I have been cooking rice for the past 20 years and I have grown up seeing my mom cook different kinds of rice almost every single day and she almost always rinses rice first.

Step-by-step instructions

Once rice is cooked turn off heat. Rest rice undisturbed for 5 minutes covered. Resting rice is a crucial step, this is when rice will finish its cooking. Open the lid, and gently fluff the rice using a silicone spatula or fork. Garnish with parsley and serve.

Pilaf variations

Almost every region in the world makes pilaf differently. In Middle Eastern and Arabic countries, pilaf rice recipe usually consists of long grain rice and vermicelli sautéed in olive oil and cooked in flavorful savory stock. If vermicelli is not available near you, use Orzo pasta as substitute.

It’s common to add saffron strands soaked in warm milk to a rice pilaf recipe. Feel free to add saffron or ground turmeric while cooking rice. This adds a bright vibrant yellow color to the pilaf.

Vary pilaf recipe by adding other ingredients.

1. Vegetables – vegetables can be included in rice pilaf recipe. Vegetables like finely chopped mushrooms, fine-diced carrots, and diced celery are best.
2. Meat – use ground beef along with onion and garlic, sauté with onion and garlic in olive oil until browned, then cook the rice and vermicelli in it.
3. Nuts – Middle Eastern-style pilaf usually has nuts like sliced almonds and pistachios. You can throw in some sliced almonds and sliced pistachios. This rice pilaf is a great side dish on the Christmas and Thanksgiving dinner table. To make it Christmas special, add almonds and pecans to suit the theme.
4. Dry fruits – to give it an authentic Middle Eastern flavor, try adding sultanas or golden yellow raisins. You can also add dried apricots or dried cranberries for color and a sharper pop of flavor to the pilaf.
5. Seeds – if allergic to nuts, swap nuts with seeds like sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds. Seeds not only are nutritious but add great texture and flavor to pilaf!

Recipe FAQs