Copycat Taziki's Greek Lemon Rice (2024)

This copycat Taziki’s Greek lemon rice is a bright, fresh side dish that goes well with almost any meal. Lemony and a little creamy, this fragrant side dish will have everyone begging you to make it.

Have you ever been to Taziki’s? It’s a Mediterranean casual counter service restaurant.

Think Panera but with a much narrower focus on Greek food and the Mediterranean lifestyle. They combine good health with delicious food.

I’m all about quick casual food that I can grab on a busy day of running my boys from place to place.

Especially now that we’re in the time of the year when I find myself shuttling the kids from the pool to a friend’s house to an activity. It feels never ending.

So I often stop at places like Panera because I just love their mac and cheese.

However, in this warm weather, I want food that feels lighter and fresher than some of the soups and sandwiches at Panera. Taziki’s satisfies that.

Their menu is full of items like homemade hummus, lemon chicken soup, and a selection of made to order gyros. Most of their sandwiches and platters come with a choice of potatoes or rice.

While their potatoes are delicious, I almost always choose their rice (when it’s not sold out).

It’s probably the best seasoned rice I’ve ever had with tons of freshness from lemon and parsley and a hint of creaminess from butter. It really shines on its own.

I’m clearly not the only one who thinks that either. Taziki’s rice almost always sells out fast. It’s also made fresh in stores daily, so it’s first come first serve.

I decided to do something about that though and make my own at home with this copycat Taziki’s Greek lemon rice.

The recipe is as easy as boiling rice and stirring some finishing touches in. However, this is one of those recipe where the devil’s in the details.

Since there are only a handful of ingredients it’s important to not substitute. For example, make sure you use basmati rice instead of plain white rice.

Basmati rice is an aromatic long grained rice. It has a nutty slightly floral flavor sort of like jasmine rice. There are both white and brown varieties of basmati and for this we use white.

To make this Greek lemon rice, start by adding the rice and water to a pot. Stir and then bring it to a hard boil.

Then, turn the heat down to low and let the rice slowly simmer while covered for 15 minutes. When the rice is done. the water should be cooked out.

At this point, you can stir in the butter, lemon juice, salt, pepper and fresh parsley.

And then you’ve got a delicious lemon rice side dish that will make you want to banish boring rice out of your kitchen forever. Bonus? You can enjoy it even when Taziki’s sells out of theirs.

Pair This Recipe With These Options For A Full Meal:

• Grilled Tandoori Chicken Burgers
• Mediterranean Tortellini Pasta Salad

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