Yellow Rice in a Rice Cooker

Name: Yellow Rice in a Rice Cooker
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 40 min
Cuisine: Spanish
Ingredients: 3 cups Basmati rice; 1 cup vegetable broth; 3 cloves garlic, sliced thin; 1 Tbs unrefined coconut oil; 10 strains saffron; 1 tsp turmeric; 1/2 tsp salt; 1/2 tsp smoked paprika; 1/2 tsp onion powder; 1/4 tsp curry powder; 1/8 tsp black pepper; 2 Tbs lime juice; 2 3/4 cups water

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This yellow rice made in a rice cooker is a simple yet flavorful side that pairs well with many types of dishes. It's fluffy and oh so flavorful!

Saffron is the real star here infusing this rice with it's distinctive flavor and beautiful color that looks amazing on the table.

Did I mention that this is made in a rice cooker? I love when a side can be hands off allowing me to concentrate on the main dish. We love to pair this rice with Middle Eastern, Spanish and Mexican dishes.

Table of Contents

Ingredients
Instructions
Frequently Asked Questions
Top Tips
Storage
Related Recipes
Recipe

Ingredients

rice - we prefer to use Basmati rice, but any long grain rice should work
broth - any vegan vegetable broth will work
coconut oil - we like to use unrefined in this dish as it lends a slight coconutty flavor, but refined would also work
spices - these are used for flavor and color. The saffron and turmeric will give this dish the beautiful yellow color so try to include them if possible.

See recipe card for quantities.

Instructions

Start by blooming the spices and saffron for extra flavor. Bring your broth to a boil either on the stove or in the microwave and then remove from heat. Add in garlic, coconut oil, saffron, turmeric, salt, paprika, onion powder, curry powder, pepper, and lemon juice. Stir together and then let sit for 5 minutes.

Yellow Rice in Rice Cooker Steep Saffron in Bowl

Add the rice to your rice cooker along with 2 ¾ cups of water.

Yellow Rice in Rice Cooker pour in liquid

Stir in the spice broth and cook using your rice cooker's white rice setting.

Yellow Rice in Rice Cooker stirring ingredients

When it's finished stir to fluff the rice and then serve.

Yellow Rice in Rice Cooker Finished Dish

Frequently Asked Questions

What kind of rice cooker will this work with?

We use the Aroma rice cooker pictured below. However you should have good luck with most any brand of rice cooker. You will want to ensure that the liquid level is adequate for the amount of rice you are using per your rice cooker's guide.

Why do you bloom the saffron?

Saffron is an expensive spice. Because it's so labor intensive to grow and harvest it costs about $5,000 a pound. Luckily when cooking we only use a few strands at time, but even so blooming helps to get the maximum amount of flavor out of this precious spice.

Top Tips

Here are a few key things to keep in mind for successfully cooking yellow rice in a rice cooker -

Make sure to bloom the spices to increase the flavor punch
While this should work in most rice cookers, check to ensure you have enough liquid per your rice cookers guide.

Storage

This yellow rice can be stored in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 3 days and warmed up on the stove or in the microwave.

The yellow rice can be frozen for later use. I find that putting it in a bowl with a bit of water, covering it with a plate and putting the microwave for a few minutes helps to make it nice and fluffy again.