Homemade Rice-a-Roni Recipe
Rice-a-Roni was always one of the things I would beg my mom for at the grocery store. I don’t know why. I just liked it. I think I first tasted it at a friends house and fell in love with it.
My mom was never much for buying prepackaged items but, if it was on sale, or if she was going to be out of town and we would need to make our own dinner, she would splurge and get some Rice-a-Roni.
I have to admit, over the past decade or so I had pretty much forgotten about Rice-A-Roni and my love affair with it.
A year or so ago I decided to check it out at the store. I was like, What? these boxes are tiny. I would have to get two or three just to have enough for my family. Also, even on sale they were still a dollar a box.
I knew it was time for me try making it myself. I did, it was great and I have been making it myself ever since.
Today I am sharing how I make it with the lipton soup packet and I will share the other version next time I make it and take pictures.
This side goes well with chicken and fish. My kids love it when I serve this with chicken nuggets and broccoli.
- 1 packet of Lipton Noodle Soup (generic works great too)
- 1 cup of rice
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp olive oil, canola oil works great too
- ⅓ cup finely chopped onion
- 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
- 3 tbsp dried parsley
- 1½ tsp lemon juice
- 3 cups of water, scant
- Put the butter, oil, garlic and onion in a large skillet that has a tight fitting lid, saute them for one minute over high heat.
- Add the rice and as many of the noodles from the noodle packet as you can scrap off the top without getting too much of the seasoning with it.
- Continue stirring constantly for 2-3 minutes until the rice has turned white and many of the noodles have browned.
- Quickly add the water, lemon juice, rest of the soup packet, and parsley, bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat to a simmer, cover with tight lid and allow it to simmer for 15-18 minutes or until most of the water has absorbed.
- Stir, Cover again and let stand for 5 minutes before serving.
Enjoy!
Keep it Real!!!
Maria
I would love to have your recipe for this ride with out the Noodle soup package, please!
Hi Courtney, If you don’t want to use a lipton soup packet, you can substitute chicken broth or stock in place of the water and break up an ounce or two of angel hair pasta into inch size pieces.
Did you mean 3 tsp? I think 3 tablespoons looks more than your picture so just wondering, thanks! It smells heavenly!
Hi Alison,
I actually do use three tbsp because it makes me feel like I am at least adding something green. You could use anywhere from 1 tsp to 3 tbsp depending on taste and appearance preferences. Thanks for commenting on this recipe. It’s been a long time since I made it and i know my kids would love to have it soon.
It was super delicious – I used 3 teaspoons and it was great but it could also use more 🙂
Thanks for a delicious and easy recipe!
Great, you are welcome!
Do I need to increase the amount of water if I am using brown rice?
Hi Stacy, I haven’t ever used brown rice in this recipe. I don’t think you will need to increase the amount of water but the cooking time will definitely increase by at least 25 minutes.