Rice is one of the easiest and most inexpensive ways to stretch out any meal. Budget hero ingredient!  If you love tender, perfectly fluffy rice with zero effort, you have to try this Baked Lemon Rice. Throw together this simple side dish recipe in about five minutes with just a few basic ingredients. Then kick back brothers and sisters, and let the oven do all of the work. Plus, the fragrant smell of Jasmine rice, lemon zest, and garlic will make your kitchen smell amazing!

Baked Lemon Rice…now why didn’t I think of this before?

Baked rice. Hmmm…baked. Rice.

Why didn’t I think of this before? Did I miss this page in my Southern Living Cookbook? Miss an episode of Alton Brown?? Why didn’t you guys tell me to bake my rice?!?

Seriously, this lemon rice recipe is so easy. I was browsing through an old cookbook a few weeks ago and read a recipe for baked rice.  After some thinking, tweaking and flavor additions …Baked Lemon Rice.

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And pretty sure I’ll NOT be cooking rice on the stove top again any time soon.

My family loves rice. But this mama doesn’t like quick cook rice. Why? It is more expensive and doesn’t come out as good. I only use it when I’m in a serious time crunch. So I insist on buying the inexpensive bags of dried rice and preparing it on the stove.

Rice lover?

Try our Pineapple Pepper Rice

Or our super fast Hawaiian Rice + Quinoa Bowls

Cooking rice on the stove top isn’t that hard. But you do have to watch the pot, make sure you don’t boil over, resist all temptation to look under the lid. And even then, it can turn out mushy and sticky.

Not this baked lemon rice. This recipe turns out light and fluffy, delicately flavored with garlic, lemon and green onion.

You simply combine all of your ingredients in a baking dish. Pour the chicken broth over the top of your soon to be lemon rice.

Stir. Cover. Bake.

No really. That’s it. Then you fluff it up with a fork and serve. Amazing.

The possibilities of this lemon rice dish are endless! We used Jasmine rice, because I love the way it smells when it is cooking. But you can easily change this out to wild rice, brown rice, or your favorite variety.

Here are some suggestions for flavor variety :

• Salsa, cilantro and garlic (perfect for Mexican night, or sprinkled on some fish tacos!)**
• Frozen peas and carrots and soy sauce
• Orange zest, thinly sliced white onion, and snow pea pods
• Sun dried tomatoes and basil
• Chopped mangoes, red bell pepper, and garlic
• Ham bits, pineapple, and green onion

**UPDATE: This TOTALLY works with the Mexican option above. 2 cups of water or broth, 1 cup of uncooked rice, 1/2 cup salsa, 1 tsp garlic, a little salt and pepper and cilantro. Perfect!  Tested and family approved on March 29, 2017. — BTCT Staff

**UPDATE 2: Made a Cajun version using Rotel and Cajun / Creole spice. Excellent.

BONUS: Rice is an inexpensive option to keep on hand. This side dish of Baked Lemon Rice is made in a flash, and bakes up worry-free.

We served our Lemon Rice with our Grilled Apricot Chicken and Black Pepper & Soy Mushrooms.

4.25 from 4 votes

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Baked Lemon Rice

An easy and fool proof method to prepare rice in the oven.

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Asian

Keyword baked rice

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes

Resting Time 10 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Servings 4

Calories 177 kcal

Author Buy This Cook That

Buy This

• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup Jasmine rice or any rice variety, NOT quick cook
• 1-2 green onions finely chopped
• 1 1/2 tsp lemon zest finely grated
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1/2 tsp salt

Cook That

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 2 quart baking dish (8x8, etc) with non-stick butter flavored spray.
2. Add rice, onions, lemon zest, garlic and salt. Pour broth over the top. Stir well to combine.
3. Cover with foil, and bake for 30-35 minutes.
4. Let rest, covered, for 5 - 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork and serve.

Nutrition Facts

Baked Lemon Rice

Amount Per Serving (1 g)

Calories 177

% Daily Value*

Sodium 723mg 30%

Potassium 147mg 4%

Total Carbohydrates 38g 13%

Protein 3g 6%

Vitamin A 0.6%

Vitamin C 12.1%

Calcium 2%

Iron 3.4%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.