Garlic Parmesan Rice

This recipe for Garlic Parmesan Rice is quick and easy, and pairs well with just about anything.  It only just a few simple ingredients, like chicken broth, fresh garlic, parsley and Parmesan cheese, and packs a mean flavor punch.

Jump to:

• Easy Parmesan Rice
• Creamy Garlic Parmesan Rice
• What is the Best Rice to Use for Garlic Parmesan Rice?
• Ingredients in Garlic Parmesan Rice
• Step-by-Step: How to Make Garlic Parmesan Rice 
• What to Serve with Parmesan Rice
• Garlic Parmesan Rice Recipe

Easy Parmesan Rice

If you’re looking for an easy way to make rice a little more interesting, you’ve come to the right place.  Think of this Garlic Parmesan Rice as the smooth, buttery, deliciously cool cousin of your ordinary, everyday rice recipe.

The flavors are simple enough that your kids will love it, but sophisticated enough that you’ll have friends and family asking you what your secret is!  It’s also incredibly easy to adapt to make vegetarian or adjust the flavoring to your own family's tastes.  

Creamy Garlic Parmesan Rice

For any risotto fans out there who like their rice creamy, here are a couple of simple adjustments that you can make to help you achieve your dreams:

• Boost the butter by about 1-2 tablespoons.
• Cook your rice in half chicken (or vegetable) broth and half milk.
• After your rice is cooked and you have added in the Parmesan cheese, hit it with about ½ - ¾ cup of milk, depending on the level of creaminess that you like.

Boom - no sweat risotto!

What is the Best Rice to Use for Garlic Parmesan Rice?

These days there are so many readily available rices to choose from, even at your local grocery store.  

Our first choice would be to use Basmati rice, a long-grain variety that works great for dishes like this Garlic Parmesan Rice, or pilafs.  You could also substitute Jasmine rice (slightly stickier), or any other long-grain white rice that stays nice and fluffy after it’s cooked.  

For this recipe, you’ll want to avoid instant rice, or any short grain rice.  If you want to substitute brown rice, you’ll need to adjust your cooking time, as well as increase the amount of broth that you use.

Ingredients in Garlic Parmesan Rice

• Rice - we like Basmati or Jasmine rice best for this recipe, but any long grain white rice will work.
• Chicken Broth - broth adds an extra layer of flavor, compared with water.  You can substitute vegetable broth if you want to make this vegetarian.
• Butter - feel free to add a little extra to make your rice a little more creamy.
• Garlic - we used fresh minced garlic, but you could use garlic powder if you prefer.
• Parsley - this recipe calls for fresh parsley, but you can use dried if you’d like.
• Salt - you can adjust this according to your seasoning preferences.
• Parmesan Cheese - you want this to be freshly grated, not the stuff in the jar!  

Step-by-Step: How to Make Garlic Parmesan Rice 

Stove Top 

1. Heat a medium saucepan over medium heat and add the uncooked rice, chicken broth, butter, minced garlic, parsley, and salt.  Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to low.
2. Let simmer, without stirring, for about 18-20 minutes, or until the rice is tender and all water has absorbed.  Keep the lid on your pan until you need to check to see if the rice is done. 
3. Remove from the heat and let the rice sit, covered, for about 5 minutes.  Add the Parmesan cheese and fluff and stir the rice using a fork, then serve immediately.  Enjoy!

Instant Pot 

1. Add the uncooked rice, chicken broth, butter, minced garlic, parsley, and salt into the Instant Pot and stir.  
2. Close and lock the lid, then turn the venting know to “Sealing” position.
3. Pressure cook on High Pressure for about 6 minutes.  Once finished cooking, switch to “Venting” position using a kitchen towel to release the remaining pressure.  
4. Lift the lid carefully and mix in the Parmesan.  Stir with a fork, then serve immediately.

Rice Cooker

1. Add the rice, chicken broth, butter, garlic, parsley and salt to the rice cooker and press the “White Rice” setting.
2. Once the rice has cooked completely, stir in the Parmesan cheese and fluff using a fork, then serve immediately.

What to Serve with Parmesan Rice

Garlic Parmesan Rice will pair well with a full range of entrees, but would taste especially good with the following:

• Teriyaki Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry
• Basil Chicken Stir Fry
• Baked Lemon Ginger Chicken
• Mediterranean Grilled Chicken Drumsticks
• Parmesan Ranch Chicken

If you’ve tried this recipe, please rate it and leave a comment on this post. I love hearing feedback from you helps me and other readers too! If you love Pinterest,  feel free to leave a comment and photo there too.  Also, if you like to share, use the hashtag #thecarefreekitchen on Instagram and tag me @thecarefreekitchen so I can find you and give your post some love. You can also find me on Facebook at The Carefree Kitchen. Thank you!!

This recipe for Garlic Parmesan Rice is a quick and easy way to make rice a little more interesting.  It uses just a few simple ingredients, like chicken broth, fresh garlic, parsley and Parmesan cheese, to deliver a powerful flavor punch.

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