Slow Cooker Greek Rice
Slow Cooker Greek Rice has delicious flavors from red bell pepper, Feta, and Kalamata olives, and this is a perfect easy side dish. Or see notes below for a low-carb cauliflower rice casserole with similar flavors.
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I first made this delicious Slow Cooker Greek Rice with Jake a few years ago, just before I packed up my house where I’d lived for 25 years and moved to the new house. At the time I remarked about how good this was, even if it wasn’t that photogenic. Now I think the new version made in the Crock-Pot Casserole Crock Slow Cooker (affiliate link) is actually quite pretty, but a large oval slow cooker would work for this recipe too!
I’m a real convert to slow cooker rice; have you tried it? Cooking the rice in the slow cooker means you don’t have to watch it much, and if you want a summer side dish for something cooked on the grill, you can make this without heating up the house. I think this rice also makes a nice vegetarian main dish with all the flavors going on here. I loved this when I first made it with Jake, and loved it even more when I made it in the Casserole Crock to get these greatly-improved photos.
What ingredients do you need for this recipe?
- Olive Oil (affiliate link)
- rice, preferably Uncle Ben’s Converted Rice (affiliate link)
- onion
- Minced Garlic (affiliate link)
- Greek Seasoning (affiliate link)
- Dried Oregano (affiliate link), preferably Greek Oregano (affiliate link)
- canned chicken broth (affiliate link) or vegetable broth
- red bell pepper
- green bell pepper
- sliced Kalamata olives
- Feta cheese
- green onion
- fresh-squeezed lemon juice, I used my fresh-frozen lemon juice
- salt and fresh-ground black pepper to taste
What gives this slow cooker rice Greek flavors?
This slow cooker rice recipe is loaded with Greek flavors from Greek Seasoning, dried Greek oregano, red and green bell pepper, Kalamata olives, lemon, and of course plenty of tasty Feta cheese!
Want a Low-Carb Version of this Recipe?
Of course rice isn’t low in carbs, but try my Greek Cauliflower Rice Bake if you’d like a low-carb version of this that cooks in the oven.
How to Make Slow Cooker Greek Rice:
(Scroll down for complete printable recipe including nutritional information.)
- Heat olive oil and saute the rice until it’s nicely browned.
- Add rice to the slow cooker.
- Add a little more oil and saute the onions until they’re starting to barely brown, about 4-5 minutes. Then add the garlic, Greek Seasoning (affiliate link), and Oregano and cook a couple of minutes more.
- Deglaze the pan with 2 cans chicken or vegetable broth and enough water to make 4 cups.
- Add the broth/onion mixture to the slow cooker, stir, and cook on high about 1 1/2 hours (or until the rice is partly softened but not done.)
- While rice cooks chops the red and green pepper and green onion, slice the olives, and crumble the Feta.
- When rice has cooked until it’s partly softened, stir in the peppers and cook about 15 minutes.
- Then add the olives and crumbled Feta and cook another 15 minutes, or until rice is done.
- When the rice is done to your liking, stir in the lemon juice and season with salt and fresh ground pepper to taste.
- Sprinkle the rice with the rest of the crumbled Feta and sliced green onions and serve!
More Slow Cooker Side Dish Ideas:
CrockPot Sweet Potatoes ~ Kalyn’s Kitchen
Side Dishes Index Page ~ Slow Cooker or Pressure Cooker
Slow Cooker Rice Casserole with Green Chiles and Cheese ~ Kalyn’s Kitchen
Slow Cooker Summer SideDishes ~ Slow Cooker or Pressure Cooker
Slow Cooker Butternut Squash ~ Kalyn’s Kitchen
Weekend Food Prep:
This recipe has been added to a category called Weekend Food Prep to help you find recipes you can prep or cook on the weekend and eat during the week!
Slow Cooker Greek Rice
This Slow Cooker Greek Rice with Red Bell Pepper, Feta, and Kalamata Olives is a perfect side dish when you want something that can cook mostly unattended.
Ingredients
- 1 T + 1 tsp. olive oil
- 2 cups Uncle Ben’s Converted Rice
- 1 onion, chopped small
- 1 T minced garlic
- 1 tsp. Greek Seasoning
- 1 tsp. dried oregano (preferably Greek oregano)
- two 14 oz. cans chicken or vegetable stock plus enough water to make 4 cups
- 1 red bell pepper, seeds removed and finely chopped
- 1 green bell pepper, seeds removed and finely chopped
- 3/4 cup sliced Kalamata olives (see notes)
- 1 cup crumbled Feta cheese (see notes)
- 1/4 cup sliced green onion (or more)
- 2 T fresh-squeezed lemon juice
- salt and fresh-ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large heavy frying pan, add Uncle Ben’s Converted Rice and saute until the rice is nicely browned (watch it carefully.) Put the browned rice into the slow cooker.
- Add the other teaspoon of oil and the onions and cook until they start to brown, about 4-5 minutes. Then add the garlic, Greek seasoning, and dried oregano and cook a couple minutes more.
- Add the stock/water mixture and scrape the pan to remove any browned bits; then add the onion/stock mixture to the slow cooker with the rice. Cook on high for 1 1/2 hours.
- While the rice cooks finely chop the bell peppers, slice green onions, and crumble the Feta.
- After 1 1/2 hours (or when the rice is fairly softened, but not completely done) add the bell peppers and cook 15 minutes more.
- Then add the Feta and sliced olives to the slow cooker and cook another 15 minutes.
- Check to be sure the rice is as cooked as you’d like it, then stir in the lemon juice and season with salt and fresh-ground pepper to taste.
- Top with additional crumbled Feta and green onions as desired and serve hot.
Notes
I used my Crock-Pot Casserole Crock Slow Cooker (affiliate link) for this recipe. You can use regular black olives if you prefer. You can use 1/2 cup more crumbled Feta for sprinkling on top if desired.
Recipe adapted from Greek Rice in Crock-Pot 365 Year-Round Recipes.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 368Total Fat: 20gSaturated Fat: 7gUnsaturated Fat: 12gCholesterol: 110mgSodium: 669mgCarbohydrates: 17gFiber: 1gSugar: 3gProtein: 28g
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:
Because some starchiness is removed in the converting process, Uncle Ben’s Converted Rice is actually the most low-glycemic type of rice you can buy, making Slow Cooker Greek Rice a great dish for low-glycemic diets or Phase 2 or 3 of the original South Beach Diet, and this recipe is also gluten-free and can be vegetarian if you use vegetable stock. Rice isn’t low in carbs, but this rice with added vegetables, olives, and cheese would be lower in carbs than most rice dishes. Greek Cauliflower Rice Bake is a similar low-carb side dish that cooks in the oven.
Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Slow Cooker Recipes to find more ideas like this. 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. Click here to see Slow Cooker / Pressure Cooker Recipes on my other site!
Historical Notes for this Recipe:
Slow Cooker Greek Rice was first posted March 2013 and was updated with greatly improved photos June 2016. The recipe was last updated with new information in 2021.
30 Comments on “Slow Cooker Greek Rice”
Making this tonight as our stove just conked out! Will have to brown the rice in an electric frypan, but that’s okay!
Oh man, sorry about the stove! But hope you enjoy it!
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This sounds yum. Do you have any idea if you increase liquid or how you would cook regular rice? I don't use the converted type.
Without trying it, I am not sure how you'd need to adjust to cook regular rice (or even how regular rice will work in a slow cooker; I think the converted rice stays a bit firmer.) You might be able to tell by googling the two types of rice and comparing the amount of liquid and cooking times.