This simple recipe for saffron rice includes butter, onion, and saffron. It has been used in my family for quite some time and has always been a favorite.
Mmmm, rich and creamy and delicious! Pretty and colorful too! I used half the amount of butter called for and it was plenty. Rather than dried parsley I used fresh, which added great fresh flavor and color. I cooked the rice in chicken broth, again adding more flavor, and used an extra pinch of saffron (love the stuff). The food coloring wasn't necessary. This paired perfectly with Sea Bass Cuban Style, the recipe also from this site.
Read Moreit would be better to grind the safron prior to adding it. otherwise it won't unfold it's yellow colour. also there is no need for artificial food colouring when using saffron.
Read More Mmmm, rich and creamy and delicious! Pretty and colorful too! I used half the amount of butter called for and it was plenty. Rather than dried parsley I used fresh, which added great fresh flavor and color. I cooked the rice in chicken broth, again adding more flavor, and used an extra pinch of saffron (love the stuff). The food coloring wasn't necessary. This paired perfectly with Sea Bass Cuban Style, the recipe also from this site.
it would be better to grind the safron prior to adding it. otherwise it won't unfold it's yellow colour. also there is no need for artificial food colouring when using saffron.
This is very exquisite. It really celebrates the saffron. It's ok to cut back on the butter and to use different flavors of broth or stock. Fresh parsley is better than dried. Really a great side dish. Food coloring is super not necessary. Also, a small splash of cream and a couple of tablespoons of parmesan cheese make this even better. Great comfort food side!
I used a mixture of butter and olive oil(1Tbsp each) and used chicken stock instead of water. Heat chicken stock and allow saffron to "bloom" in the stock for a few minutes. I used basmati rice and also added frozen peas. No need to use food coloring. Very good!
I changed the recipe a bit and the results were absolutely DELICIOUS! I used less butter (6 tbs) and I added thinly sliced smoked portuguese sausage. I sauteed the onions and sausage for about 2-3 minutes in 3 tbs. butter, then added the other 3 tbs. butter and the rice, I let the rice brown a bit, then I added the water and used italian seasoning instead of parsley and a few sprinkles of adobo instead of saffron and food coloring. I also added a few manzanilla olives and then I let it come to a boil and then simmered for 20 minutes. Absolutely delicious!! Reminds me of a dish I use to enjoy in elementary school when visiting the home of a Columbian friend. My family loved it!! I'm sure you will too.
Just bought saffron for the first time yesterday,so had to try this recipe w/it. I used 1/2 a small onion, & olive oil instead of butter ( 2 Tbsp.) also, chicken stock, not water, cause that's what I usually do. I did crush the saffron a bit into the stock & heated it in the microwave before adding it to the pan of rice. Hubs & I really liked this~we both cleaned our plates. If you have the saffron, give it a try. Didn't use any coloring-it was nice & golden by itself.
Great but I used butter instead of margarine and chicken broth instead of water. I skipped the food color as well.
Really Yummy!!! I only added about 4 tablespoons of butter which turned out fine. I didn't have any parsley so I omitted it. I did however add a pinch of curry and cumin. I used basmati rice which only took 15 mins. I will defiantly cook again! Thanks!
This is delicious! I don't often make plain white rice anymore as a side since finding this easy, somewhat sinful recipe. It's more than ok to cut back on the butter to at least half. I also use chicken stock in place of water, some bouillion, and saute some shallot and garlic instead of plain onion. I skip the food colouring. It's a nice bright yellow with the saffron alone. Everyone raves about this when I make it! Thanks!
I did not care for this rice dish. It was like eating a stick of butter. There weren't any other complementing flavors. I added some spices after cooking, however it was still much too buttery. Sorry.
Great basic recipe and went well curry! I used Trader Joe's Spanish Saffron. I soaked the saffron threads in the 2 cups of hot water before adding to the rice. The rice came out naturally yellow and I didn't need to use yellow food coloring at all.
This is a great way to showcase the saffron. I don't like the flavor of butter, so I sauteed my onions in extra virgin olive oil. I didn't bother with the food coloring - it's very appealing with the fresh, green parsley in it. I also substituted chicken broth in place of water.
a really good start! I cut the butter to 4 tsp. added 1 tsp. onion powder 1 tsp. garlic powder 1 tsp. paprika 1 tsp. salt and some black pepper. cooked in chicken broth and no food coloring. it tasted amazing.
This was ok. I used half the amount of butter and it was still a little buttery for me. Also, I think this really needs some salt. Not bad but will probably try something else next time. It just didn't taste "authentic" to me.
Used chicken broth, tablespoon ea of butter and oil and a little more than a pinch of saffron. A nice change. Oh, I used coscous and that was so quick.
Not a bad recipe... Needs to be played with a little bit... I used chicken broth in place of water and added a little more onion.. Also added cumin and a drop of hot sauce... And half the recomended amount of butter... Wonder if a little cury would be good
Thanks for sharing this recipe! It was easy and tasty. I did however use 4 tbs of butter and it came out perfect, still buttery.
Adding the suggested amount of saffron, but couldn't taste it in the rice. The saffron was bought at Williams Sonoma - so I don't think it was cheap saffron
i used half olive oil and half butter, chicken broth instead of water, added some crushed red pepper, and left out the yellow food coloring. i served this w/ black bean and corn quesadillas from this site. very flavorful if you want something other than the usual mexican rice.
Loved this dish and will make it again. Very easy and a nice change from plain steamed rice. Following some other suggestions I used 1/2 the butter, fresh parsley, and omitted the food coloring, and steeped the saffron threads in boiling water first. The rice had a wonderful yellow color and a great taste at the end.
This was fabulous. I didn't have enough for everyone because I didn't realize it would be that popular. I'm making it again tonight for the ones who lost out last night! Great recipe.
I do recommend to try Iranian style to cook rice. It is easier and much healthier. Since, it is better to leave the rice soaking in water for at least 2 hours in the room temperature. Do not forget to add salt. If you do so, the rice will taste a bit sweet. Afterward, add the soaked rice to boiling water. You can add Saffron Rice ingredients to the boiling rice. When it turns soft, drain. Heat a saucepan, add vegetable oil (1-2 Ts will be enough for Saffron Rice ingredient)add the rice and cover the saucepan with lid. In about 30 minutes you will have a wonderful saffron rice. The tip #1: add saffron earlier than other ingredients. Then you can eliminate yellow food color. Tip #2: Add one Ts of vegetable oil before serving.
This turned out great and went well with paneer stuffed peppers (from BBC Food site). As suggested, I used half the amount of butter. I also used basmati rice. I'll definitely make this again.
This was really good! I doubled the recipe but not the butter. Also used onion powder for my kids sake; didn't add the food color! Thanks!
This was just ok - nothing special. It was quite easy to make though. I used 1 tbsp. of olive oil - 8 tbsp of butter is way too much. I did not like the idea of using food coloring in a "healthy" side dish, but I did want to get an authentic yellow color to the rice - I ended up sprinkling about 1/2-1 tsp of turmeric into the pot - and this achieved the desired color.
Just made this recipe, it is yummy! I used coconut oil and only 1 tablespoon of butter, as I am watching my weight. No other adjustments needed. Husband loved it and I did too!
What an excellent side dish!! I absolutely loved this rice and I am actually about to re-make it. If the OVER buttery taste is what gets to you, try something else. I use Saffola. For health AND taste reasons. It cooks just as good as butter, without the too "buttery" taste. You might try scaling the butter back a little. I went with the full amount, but i am going to cut it back to about 6 tbsps instead. Should help you butter-phobes out there. I would not recommend Smart Balance. I use the heck out of the stuff, but it really sucks to cook with. Happy Cooking!!
Great recipe. Who'd have thought it would be so easy? I used oil and a touch of salt instead of butter. Next time I'm going to use half as much oil since mine came out a little too oily. DELICIOUS, though!
Loved it! I used an entire onion..but thats our taste. I might do 1/2 and 1/2 butter and olive oil as others suggested next time. Great flavor!
Nice subtle flavor. Not 5 stars b/c the butter called for must be a typo...8TBS? I used two and that was more than plenty. Also, used fresh parsley. Thanks for the recipe it was my first time using saffron and we enjoyed it alot.
I have my own version of Risotto al Zafferano. I saute onion with pancetta (cut up small) and peas. Then I add the rice and make it toast a little. Add vegetable broth just enough to cover, add zafferon, salt, and pepper. Put in a preheated oven at 400F.or 200C. Cook for about 20 mins.or time indicated for the type of rice used. When cooked stir in parmiggiano cheese.
As written, I found it to be a little bland. Also,there was no need at all for adding any food coloring. It was just ok.
Too much butter here. I use only 1-2 tablespoons of butter, and skip the food colouring. If you lightly grind up the saffron in your fingers as you add it to the pot it will loosen up and allow its own natural yellow colour into the rice. Otherwise, this is just how my mother made saffron rice, a favorite of mine as a kid.
This was good. I halved the butter and did not put in the food coloring. I also used a bullion cube and only put in 1 1/2 c of water. My rice only had a hint of saffron, but that's my fault. I guess my idea of a pinch is different from the recipe submitter's! I added in golden raisins like I've had in restaurants. I will definitely make it again with more saffron. Thanks!
I've just begun cooking with saffron and this is the best recipe I've tried so far. I agree with the reviewer who said to steep the saffron. We loved it!
I give this 5 stars because it worked like it was supposed to and it tasted very good. What more can you ask for when you try a recipe for the first time?
It was pretty good. I would use half of the butter and substitute some olive oil next time.
I made this using a combo of chicken and vegatable broth and double saffron, really rich and delicious. Fresh herbs made a huge differance and I was able to use half the butter in the original. No food color was necessary. I would not use margarine as you miss out on a lot of flavor and the caloric differance is not really significant per serving.
It was quite good and easy to make, although I used half the butter and used italian seasonings as was recommended in another review. I am not a fan of artificial colors or flavors so the yellow food coloring was unneccesary. Otherwise, I will definitley be making this again.
Whenever I try a recipe for the first time, I put my own rating (from 1 to 10)on my printed page of the recipe. I gave this one 10/10. It would go with almost anything with it's rich but mild flavor.
Too much butter, not enough saffron. An entire stick of butter is too much. Saffron's expensive, so if I'm going to cook with it, I'll use it, not food coloring. Another reviewer incresed the onion and used chicken broth, both worthy additions.
A good recipe I make it in the oven as I never seem to get it right when I cook rice on top of the stove. I also add 2 or 3 caramom pods to add some different flavour to the rice as well.
Upon other's advice, I cut the butter in half, but it still may have been too much. I did use the food coloring and liked the color it gave the rice, but it is unnecessary to the recipe. I used jasmine rice. This was a side to olive chicken ii from this website.
wonderful.. I did use chicken stock like some others suggested and cut the butter to 4 tblspns. That was plenty.. the texture of the rice was great--I'm not generally a fan of rice.
I only used 3 tablespoons butter. It still came out really buttery, even though I used 1.5 C of rice. I added a bit of chicken broth concentrate for flavor. The consistency is like risotto - much wetter and creamier than I expected. Tasty - although it's missing something??? A bay leaf? My son enjoyed it though. I would reduce butter to 2 tablespoons next time and add the bay leaf.
I used orzo instead of rice, 1/2 the butter and it was ok. I think I will try making it but I will add vegetables added and some spicy seasoning.
What I did: Added (only) 2 Tbsp butter, 1/4 onion (cut large), rice, chicken broth (instead of water), parsley, and saffron to a rice cooker. Set the cooker to "white rice" and it came out great! Other things I did: Ground up the saffron, added a shake or two of curry power, cumin and salt. I think this is a good starting point recipe. Definitely doesn't need all that butter! And no need for the food coloring, mine was yellow. It also reminds me of rice-a-roni (which I love but don't eat considering how unhealthy it is) so I may make this next time with some peas and carrots, and maybe some different spices, to make a kid/ crowd pleasing side.
Followed directions exactly. Very greasy and I may have used too much saffron. How much is a pinch? Will use 10 saffron threads per cup of rice.
Will try again with much less butter and will use saffron plus other spices such as red pepper, garlic and onion powder.
So easy and so delicious! Go for the good stuff: use basmati rice and plenty of saffron (if you need food coloring, you're not using enough saffron!). I also prefer the onion cooked very soft, but not deeply browned. Yes, you can use less butter and it will still be very good, but consider using more of everything else instead -- I make 1 1/2 times or double the recipe, and there's never any left over!
Simple to make and delicious! I doubled the recipe so I could have leftovers to bring for lunch.
It didn't have much flavor. I think next time I will cook it in broth with the saffron.
I made this for dinner as a side dish, except instead of using "3 drops yellow food coloring", I used a smidgen pinch of turmeric for added color. Would've used more saffron except at $19 for .01 oz (on sale, I might add) that's pretty spendy for a spice! (Good thing I'm growing my own this year!!) I also used homemade chicken stock instead of water. Very delicious! Thank you for sharing. Will definitely make again.
This was decent. The only change I made was to increase the rice to 1 1/2 cups, and the water to 3 cups. My family all liked it but didn’t rave about it.
I have made this recipe several times. I use half water and half broth. Or broth for all the water. In both cases, the flavor is excellent. I also cut back on the butter and it always comes out delicious.
Really great!!! Only thing I have to say is, I recommend putting a bit of salt in there for even more flavor!!!
I only used half the butter and chicken stock instead of water. I still felt like the butter flavor overwhelmed the saffron! The finished rice was definitely creamy, but missing some flavor, probably needs more salt too.
I omit the food colouring, but other than that this recipe is a huge hit in my house! Thanks!!
This is a good recipe. I recommend putting the saffron in an ounce or two of boiled water before adding to the recipe. I also added a bit of olive oil to raise the burning point of the butter. I also added a quarter teaspoon of salt.
Very, very good. Like others, I cut the butter by half and it was perfect. This was my first time using saffron, so estimating a "pinch" was difficult - I'll add just a little bit more next time.
Cooked with basmati rice & saffroind saffron, The flavor & aroma of this saffron is awesome.
I didn't have an onion! So I used a couple tablespoons of Tastefully Simple onion onion, (dehydrated onion) And I sautéed it in the butter til it was soft, and added the rice, water etc. It turned out great, I didn't even get any, they all hogged it! I will make this regularly, so nice and quick..
Before I read the other reviews, I did the same thing as most - cut butter in half, used fresh parsley, Arborio rice and chicken stock and no food coloring. It still came out a nice yellow color. Also, I wish I would of sliced up the saffron as suggested by others b/c my 3 year old didn't like the "red stuff" and wouldn't touch it, while my super picky eater, the 7 year old, chowed down and thanked me for making the special rice. Will be making again!
This was the first time I ever made Saffron Rice. I loved it served with Sauteed Cabbage, Orange Glazed Carrots and Slow Cooker Pernil Pork. All these recipes are keepers.
Recipe is great! As for me, I added a bit of salt as it taste a bit bland. Thanks for the recipe.
Personally I think Ghee would be a better option than butter. Otherwise it was really good.
I cut the butter down to 1 tablespoon and added another tablespoon of olive oil. The onion was sautéed until golden, not until brown. I used two pinches of saffron, did not grind them, and no food coloring. The yellow color came out as soon as I stirred the water. I used fresh chopped parsley instead of dried. And I used a teaspoon of chicken broth powder, which further enhanced the yellow color and eliminated the need for salt.. Delicious!
Made according to the directions and it was an awesome side dish. My neighbor is vegan and adds veggies and lentils and it is also very good. Will definitely make it again.
This is very, very good! Based on other reviews, I tweaked it a tiny bit. For 1/2 cup butter, 1/4 cup onion is too little. Adjust to your liking. I used a whole diced onion and still could have cut down on the butter. I used chicken broth in lieu of water and crushed the saffron threads before adding them. This is easy to make and my family lived it.
Thank you for sharing the recipe, my family enjoyed it as an alternative to plain rice. This is the first rice recipe they have liked in many I have tried
I'm surprised by all the reviews about how wonderful this is. I followed this recipe to the letter and found it extremely bland. It definitely has potential, but needs tweaking.
I would not make this recipe again. I was expecting a light and fragrant rice, instead o got an overly buttery and burnt onion flavor. It may be my cooking, but I followed the directions and I think it went wrong in step 1, “Reduce heat to medium-low, and continue cooking and stirring until the onion is very tender and dark brown, 15 to 20 minutes more.” Not only did the “dark brown” onion make it taste burnt, but there was no other flavor added besides parsley. I do not recommend this recipe, a serious waste of rice and expensive saffron. I should have know when they suggested adding food coloring. SMH!
