Copycat Taziki’s Greek Lemon Rice

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:

• Quick & Easy Greek Yogurt Chicken Curry
• Grilled Tandoori Chicken Burgers
• Mediterranean Tortellini Pasta Salad

If you’ve tried this COPYCAT TAZIKI’S GREEK LEMON RICE, or any other recipe on the site, let me know in the comment section how it turned out, we love hearing from our readers! You can also follow along with me on PINTEREST, FACEBOOK, and INSTAGRAM to see more amazing recipes and whatever else we’ve got going on!

Copycat Taziki's Greek Lemon Rice

A simple side dish, this copycat Taziki's Greek lemon rice is fresh & full of bright lemon flavor making it ideal for virtually any meal.

4.20 from 46 votes

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Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: Greek

Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes minutes

Servings: 8

Calories: 276kcal

Author: Meaghan @ 4 Sons R Us

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Ingredients

• 2 cups basmati rice
• 3 cups water
• 4 oz butter
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1/2 cup lemon juice or roughly the juice of 4 fresh lemons
• 1/2 cup parsley fresh chopped

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• Add the water and rice to a large pot with a lid. Give the rice a stir.
• Bring the mixture to a rapid boil. Cover the pot, and reduce the heat to low.
• Let the rice simmer, cooking for 12-15 minutes. Stir the rice to fluff. If the water's all cooked out and the rice is just a hair underdone- remove the pot from heat, and let the rice sit covered for an extra 5 minutes.
• Transfer the cooked rice to a mixing bowl.
• Add the rest of the ingredients, stirring until completely incorporated.
• Serve immediately.

Notes

If you don't have basmati rice, you can sub another long grain rice like jasmine rice. Regular white rice; however, will not work.

I prefer this rice as is, but the Hubs suggests adding a dash of Greek seasoning to really take it over the top.

Nutrition

Calories: 276kcal | Carbohydrates: 38g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 30mg | Sodium: 401mg | Potassium: 90mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 670IU | Vitamin C: 10.9mg | Calcium: 24mg | Iron: 0.6mg

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