Easy Pesto Lemon Rice
Whenever you have some pesto in the fridge, Easy Pesto Lemon Rice is a delicious way to use it to make a tasty side dish!
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Easy Pesto Lemon Rice is a great side dish any time you have a few tablespoons of leftover pesto in the fridge. I made this on Saturday night when my niece Alyson, her fiance Nick, and their friend Rachel came for what we call a “cooking lesson.” The truth is that all three of them are pretty good cooks, but it’s been fun teaching them some techniques they might be hesitant to try on their own.
We completely devoured this rice, which I think is the perfect side dish for anything that goes with the flavors of basil and lemon, so if you want leftovers I’d recommend you double the recipe. I used my favorite Uncle Ben’s Converted Rice (affiliate link), which is one of the lowest-glycemic types of rice. For the pesto I used some of my Basil Pesto with Lemon that I had in the freezer but if I didn’t have that I’d use Kirkland Basil Pesto. We ate with with Baked Pesto Chicken, another super-easy recipe that went well with the rice.
How to Make Easy Pesto Lemon Rice:
(Scroll down for complete recipe with nutritional information.)
- Heat olive oil, then add the rice and cook until rice is starting to get lightly browned, about 2-3 minutes.
- Add the salt and lemon juice. Then add the chicken stock and let the mixture come to a boil.
- Once it is barely boiling, lower heat to medium low, cover the pan and let the rice cook for 20 minutes without lifting lid.
- Just a reminder to keep the rice tightly covered while it simmers!
- After 20 minutes, remove lid, fluff the rice with a fork, and stir in 2-3 T of basil pesto. (I like a lot of pesto, but you can definitely use even less than 2 tablespoons if you want just a hint of basil flavor.)
- Put the lid back on and let the rice stand for 5 more minutes.
- That’s it; you now have delicious Pesto Lemon Rice!
Make it a Meal:
We loved this as a side with Baked Pesto Chicken, but I think it would also taste great with Grilled Zucchini and Sausage Kabobs, Parmesan Chicken, or Spice Rubbed and Roasted Fish Filets.
More Rice Dishes You Might Like:
Mujadarra (Lentils and Rice with Caramelized Onions)
Slow Cooker Greek Rice
Lake Powell Spicy Rice
Easy Pesto Lemon Rice
This Easy Pesto Lemon Rice is a delicious side dish to serve with any kind of protein.
Ingredients
- 2 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 cup Uncle Ben’s Converted Rice
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 2 T fresh-squeezed lemon juice (see notes)
- 2 1/4 cup chicken stock (I used a can of chicken broth with some added water)
- 2-3 T basil pesto (see notes)
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a heavy pot with a tight-fitting lid; then add the Uncle Ben's Converted Rice (affiliate link) and saute until rice is light browned, about 2-3 minutes, stirring several times.
- Add the salt and lemon juice (I use my frozen lemon juice) and stir again (the lemon juice will bubble up in the pan.)
- Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil.
- As soon as it is boiling, turn down the heat to medium-low, cover the pot, and let it cook without lifting the lid for 20 minutes.
- After 20 minutes, remove the lid and fluff the rice with a fork.
- Stir in the pesto, put the lid back on and let the rice sit for 5 minutes.
- Serve hot.
Notes
I used my fresh-frozen lemon juice for this recipe. I used my Basil Pesto with Lemon from the freezer but you can definitely make this with Kirkland Basil Pesto.
Leftover rice can be reheated in the microwave or frozen, but you probably won’t have any leftovers unless you double the recipe!
Recipe created by Kalyn with inspiration from Georgette’s Really Lemony Greek Pilafi.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 247Total Fat: 16gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 12gCholesterol: 10mgSodium: 607mgCarbohydrates: 18gFiber: 0gSugar: 3gProtein: 7g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.
Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
Using low-glycemic Uncle Ben’s Converted Rice makes this Easy Pesto Lemon Rice a great side dish for phase 2 or 3 of the original South Beach Diet. (If you’re eating this for South Beach phase two or wanting the healthiest option, be sure not to buy the “instant” type; you want the converted rice that says “original” on the package.) This is too high in carbs for a traditional low-carb diet plan.
Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Side Dishes to find more recipes like this one. Use the Recipes by Diet Type photo index pages to find more recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to Follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.
27 Comments on “Easy Pesto Lemon Rice”
Glad you liked it!
Thanks for the tasty and healthy recipe. The procedure was easy to follow.
Any thoughts on freezing this already prepared for a very quick side dish? It would be pretty easy to make multiples at one time and divide into servings
Pesto and rice can both be frozen, so I'm guessing it would freeze pretty well but I haven't tried it.
Hm, looks yummy… Pesto and Lemon! never had idea before to cook them with rice. Definitely worth to try, and indeed can't find better rice than Uncle's Ben.
Thanks Andrew; hope you enjoy!
I have just tried and its taste is really great!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Jeanie, no problem. I thought it was quite interesting actually.
Thanks!!! Sorry, didn't mean to make you do my research for me–just thought you might know. I appreciate all the effort you put into responding.
Jeanie, good question! I've always felt that slightly browning the rice gives it a bit of a more "nutty" flavor, but I googled it and found this post on Chowhound which gives a very good answer: (http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/318310)
"Sauteeing the rice for pilaf causes the starches on the outer shell of the grain to 'gellate'–they take up ambient moisture, and form long chains between each other, giving a firm, independant structure to each grain. the liquid added to the pilaf provides a medium for shorter chains of starches to leave the grain, which allows the rice to bind to itself—so it's mouldable, etc. basically, sauteeing the rice beforehand allows you to have distinct rice kernals that adhere to each other for presentation, while giving you a bit of leeway–slightly overcooked rice will still seem perfect if sauteed in oil before adding water, because the outer parts of each grain are a little firmer because of the sauteeing."
Interesting, huh?
Great recipe. Even my husband, a non-pesto lover, liked it. We threw some leftovers into a casserole tonight. I was wondering if you know why you saute the dry rice first. I've seen this in other recipes (and I did it obediently), and I'd like to know if it makes the rice more flavorful or locks something in? Could you just throw all ingredients in a pot and still come out with something tasty? Thanks.
Arica, so glad it was a hit for you, and thanks for confirming that it will work for brown rice if you cook it longer.
I was a little skeptical about the combination of the lemon juice and the pesto but WOW! This was delicious!!! My family was so disappointed that there were no leftovers that I had to make it again the next night(and it was so simple to make so it was no big deal). I used brown rice and it did need to cook longer.
Thanks for yet another wonderful recipe!
Emily, that type of "instant" rice won't work cooked the way I describe in this recipe I don't think. But if you want to get a similar effect, I would make the rice following package directions, and then stir in the pesto at the end. You could probably add a little lemon juice in the cooking water as well. (BTW, this type of rice is not suitable for the South Beach Diet. Not lecturing you, just adding that information so it doesn't mislead others who might see this comment.)
This looks delicious! I have a few packages of brown rice that cooks in about 10 minutes–so I guess that falls into the "instant" category. Would the steps be the same for this? I guess I'm concerned about frying the rice before adding the chicken stock–that it'll make the rice too tough. Any suggestions? Thanks.
Montanna, thank you!
Helen, I am a big lemon fan too. In recipes that call for lemon juice I nearly always find myself increasing the lemon.
This sounds absolutely delicious – I have to try it next time I make fish.
I love the flavor of lemon on any fish but I can never seem to get quite enough flavor by cooking the fish with lemon. Maybe adding the lemon to the rice as well is the way to go!
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cuteellaisbold, it was definitely good!
Jacqueline, thanks so much; what a sweet comment. And if you like pesto, you will love this rice!
That sounds so simple, but great. You always think of things that never occur to me. Keep them coming Kalyn. I do so appreciate your recipes 🙂
Oh that sounds fantastic! I'm trying this with my next batch of pesto 🙂
Thanks all for the nice thoughts about this simple recipe. Really did love this; so full of flavor for such a simple dish.
Lately I've been adding lemon to everything, to get some bright flavor into this bleak winter. I hope I have some pesto hidden in my freezer; this would be a perfect side dish with the baked fish I'm making tonight.
No leftovers is a good sign! This looks great!
What a tasty side dish. My kids love pesto and the lemon sounds like it adds some nice bright flavor!
You can definitely never have too many rice dishes in your repertoire and this one is bursting with flavor!