9 Rice Pilaf Recipes to Complete Any Meal

Pilaf is a centuries-old style of cooking rice that originated in Middle Eastern cuisines and spread across the globe. Today, pilafs — beautiful dishes of rice cooked with other ingredients like vegetables, spices, nuts, and fruits — are a common feature of Caribbean, South Asian, and Mediterranean cuisines.

Pilafs vary in seasoning and appearance, but they share a fundamental technique. First, rice is rinsed or soaked to remove surface starches and to ensure that each grain is distinct and will cook to fluffy perfection. Next, the rice is usually toasted in fat with aromatics and spices to bring out its nuttiness and to pick up the flavors of the other ingredients. Steaming, the final cooking step, takes place in the same pan and is done by adding a flavorful cooking liquid (often broth, but it can also be tea or even wine), tightly covering the pan, and cooking until all of the liquid is absorbed. The key is to use just the right amount of liquid so that when the pilaf is ready, all you’re left with is perfectly fluffy, tender grains and all of the goodies you’ve cooked into the dish. Here, our favorite pilaf recipes use spices, nuts, and vegetables to add flavor and crunch to each bite; scroll down for options to make tonight.