This Instant Pot Greek Lemon Rice recipe is so easy to throw together and so scrumptious you will want to just sit and eat it out of the bowl! It’s my favorite rice dish, packed with Mediterranean flavors that are bright and delicious. It’s the perfect side dish to accompany Greek food, grilled meats, and seafood because of all the fresh lemon juice and zest, and I love it as part of a rice bowl with fresh salad and feta cheese too!
This Greek Lemon Rice has sautéed onion and garlic, fresh lemon juice, oregano and parsley to push the flavor over the top. But to step it up a another notch, we add fresh lemon zest to bring out even more tangy lemony flavor and create a memorable rice dish that you will want to make again and again.
A couple of tips for this recipe:
- Prepare all ingredients ahead of time for this recipe – once you start there isn’t a lot of time to be chopping up ingredients.
- I use basmati rice for this recipe so it comes out light and fluffy. You could also use jasmine or white long grain, but your rice will be a bit sticker.
- You can switch out red, yellow or white onion for the sweet in a pinch. I just love the mellow flavor of sweet onion in this dish.
- You can try different herbs to change up the flavor profile. I also enjoy fresh thyme, basil or chives with this dish.
Ingredients:
- 3 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 Tbsp butter
- 1 medium sweet onion, finely diced or grated
- 1 Tbsp garlic, pressed or very finely minced
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 tsp salt (remember the broth has salt in it already)
- 3 cups uncooked basmati rice, rinsed and drained
- 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
- 1 Tbsp lemon zest
- 1/3 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
- Additional salt and pepper to taste
Instructions:
- Remove the lid of the instant pot and press the sauté button.
- Add the oil, the butter and the onion and let sauté, stirring frequently until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Add the garlic and continue to sauté, about a minute.
- Press the cancel button to turn off sauté, add the chicken broth, dried oregano, black pepper and salt, then stir everything together. Stir in the drained, rinsed rice.
- Replace the lid and turn it to locking position, making sure the steam release valve is set to “sealing.”
- Press the “Pressure Cook” button and set to 3 minutes on high pressure, (might be called “manual” button on some IP’s.)
- Once the rice is done, let the instant pot naturally release for 20 minutes. (In my instant pot it will signal it is done by a series of beeps. Following those beeps it shows natural release time starting with L0:00. When it gets to L0:20 it has naturally released for 20minutes.)
- Following the 20 minute natural release, move the steam release valve to vent to let the rest of the steam release from the instant pot, then remove the lid.
- Sprinkle in the lemon juice, lemon zest and chopped parsley, and toss it all together, fluffing the rice as you go!
- Taste and add additional salt and pepper if needed to taste.
- Serve with fresh lemon slices and extra chopped parsley on the top if desired for presentation!
Instant Pot Greek Lemon Rice
Instant Pot Greek Lemon Rice is flavor packed with lemon, onion, garlic and oregano. It's so easy to make and comes out light and fluffy every single time!
EQUIPMENT (Amazon Associate Links)
Ingredients
- 3 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 Tbsp butter
- 1 medium sweet onion finely diced or grated
- 1 Tbsp garlic pressed or very finely minced
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 tsp salt remember the broth has salt in it already
- 3 cups uncooked basmati rice rinsed and drained
- 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
- 1 Tbsp lemon zest
- 1/3 cup fresh parsley finely chopped
- Additional salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Remove the lid of the instant pot and press the sauté button.
- Add the oil, the butter and the onion and let sauté, stirring frequently until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Add the garlic and continue to sauté, about a minute.
- Press the cancel button to turn off sauté, add the chicken broth, dried oregano, black pepper and salt, then stir everything together. Stir in the drained, rinsed rice.
- Replace the lid and turn it to locking position, making sure the steam release valve is set to “sealing.”
- Press the “Pressure Cook” button and set to 3 minutes on high pressure, (might be called “manual” button on some IP’s.)
- Once the rice is done, let the instant pot naturally release for 20 minutes. (In my instant pot it will signal it is done by a series of beeps. Following those beeps it shows natural release time starting with L0:00. When it gets to L0:20 it has naturally released for 20 minutes.)
- Following the 20 minute natural release, move the steam release valve to vent to let the rest of the steam release from the instant pot, then remove the lid.
- Sprinkle in the lemon juice, lemon zest and chopped parsley, and toss it all together, fluffing the rice as you go!
- Taste and add additional salt and pepper if needed to taste.
- Serve with fresh lemon slices and extra chopped parsley on the top if desired for presentation!
Notes
A couple of tips for this recipe:
- Prepare all ingredients ahead of time for this recipe - once you start there isn't a lot of time to be chopping up ingredients.
- I use basmati rice for this recipe so it comes out light and fluffy. You could also use jasmine or white long grain, but your rice will be a bit sticker.
- You can switch out red, yellow or white onion for the sweet in a pinch. I just love the mellow flavor of sweet onion in this dish.
- You can try different herbs to change up the flavor profile. I also enjoy fresh thyme, basil or chives with this dish.
This is so delicious thank you for sharing!
I’m so glad you like it! Thank you for commenting and rating! 🙂