Learn how to make this fluffy & fragrant Lebanese Rice (aka Arabic Rice) with gluten free vermicelli or noodles. It’s simple, satisfying and makes a great side to serve along with a variety of different mains making it a staple side dish in Middle Eastern cooking for good reason!
A few Notes about this Lebanese Rice Recipe
- It’s made with gluten free noodles:
- Instead of using wheat-based Italian-style vermicelli pasta, use rice vermicelli (often used in Asian cooking) or even a basic gluten free spaghetti. You can also use gluten free angel hair spaghetti and even regular spaghetti.
- Watch the pot & stir often when frying the noodles:
- Don’t walk away from your pot when frying the noodles. They only need a few minutes to cook and you want to keep them moving so they don’t burn.
- The pine nuts are optional, but worth doing:
- Toast pine nuts in a day pan for a few minutes until golden-brown. They add a rich, nutty flavor and a satisfying crunch to the finished pilaf.
How to Make Lebanese Rice with Gluten Free Pasta
Prep: Rinse the rice until the water runs clear to remove excess starch. Break up your vermicelli/spaghetti into smallish pieces (about 1/2-1 inch pieces).
Fry Noodles: Warm olive oil over a medium-high heat in a medium sauce pan with a fitted lid. Add the broken up vermicelli/noodles. Cook for about 4-5 minutes, stirring often, until the noodles are golden-brown and crisp.
Add Rice & Cook: Stir the rinsed rice into the pot. If the pot is looking a bit too dry, feel free to add an extra drizzle of oil. Cook a minute or two then add the water/stock and cinnamon.
Raise the temperature enough to get the liquids to start boiling, then add the lid and reduce the temp as low as it can go. Let the rice cook, about 15-20 minutes until all rice has absorbed all the liquids.
↳FYI – cooking Temperature & Time
Every stove top/burner is different and this can have an impact on how you cook your rice best. I find I have to slightly alter temperatures, cook times and even water amounts depending on which burner I use on the same stove.
After you add the lid and reduce the temperature, keep an eye on your pot. If the water is still rapidly boiling a couple minutes after your reduced the temperature as low as it can go, turn off the heat. The residual heat of the burner will keep cooking the rice, but you might need to leave it longer to cook before fluffing.
Rest: Once the rice has fully absorbed the liquid, take the pot off the burner and let it rest with the lid still on for 5-10 minutes.
Fluff & Add-ins: Remove the lid and use a fork to gently fluff up the rice. Stir in pine nuts and parsley and serve.
Ingredient Notes & things to Keep in Mind
- Rice: Use white basmati rice. Basmati is a long-grain rice ideal for making light & fluffy pilaf dishes like this. It’s mildly aromatic, grain, low-starch and doesn’t get mushy as easily as other varieties.
- Vermicelli/Noodles: Use rice vermicelli or gluten free spaghetti. Glass noodles look similar to rice vermicelli, but they’re made with mung beans and don’t work as well. They can work, but they’re trickier to fry because they don’t easily crisp up or golden in color. I also found them surprisingly difficult to break up – for that reason alone I don’t recommend glass noodles.
- Water or Stock: Use either or a combination of both to cook the rice. If you use all water you may want to consider adding/increase the salt. If you use all stock/broth then I recommend using a low-sodium variety so it’s doesn’t get too salty. I personally find the sweet spot to be an even mix of water/veggie stock.
- Cinnamon: You don’t need much, but it does add a subtle warmth and flavor to the rice.
- Parsley: It’s not 100% necessary, but fresh herbs mixed in at the end make everything better.
- Pine Nut Options: You can leave the pine nuts out completely or swap them out for lightly toasted/fried pumpkin seeds (nut free option) or slivered almonds.
- Make it Low FODMAP: Use water or a low FODMAP stock.
- Make it Vegan/Vegetarian: Use oil or a vegan/dairy free butter to fry the noodles/rice and a veggie stock or water to cook the rice.
Mains & Sides to Serve With Lebanese Rice
Enjoy!
Let me know if you try this Lebanese Vermicelli rice recipe! Leave a comment and review with your thoughts. I always appreciate the feedback and serving suggestions that you come up with!
Lebanese Rice with Fried Vermicelli Recipe
Swap out the standard wheat-based vermicelli with rice vermicelli or gluten free spaghetti to make this classic Lebanese rice
Ingredients
- 2 cups uncooked long grain white basmati rice (400g)
- 3 tbsp olive oil (45ml)
- ½ cup uncooked gluten free vermicelli noodles, broken (55g)
- ⅛ tsp ground cinnamon
- ¾ tsp salt - omit if using broth or stock
- 3 ½ cup water or chicken/vegetable stock (840ml)
- ⅓ cup toasted pine nuts - optional
- small handful fresh parsley, chopped - optional
Instructions
- Rinse rice: Place rice in a fine mesh strainer and rinse with water until the water runs clear.
- Fry vermicelli: Warm the olive oil in a medium-sauce pan over a medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the vermicelli. Cook about 4-5 minutes until the noodles are crisp & golden brown. Stir often and adjust the heat up and down as needed.
- Toast rice: Add the rinsed rice to the pan. Stir well to coat the rice fully in oil. Stir in the salt & cinnamon.
- Add liquid & cook: Stir in the water (or stock) to the pot. Raise the temperature to boil the rice then cover with a fitted lid and immediately reduce the temperature back down to a low heat. Let the rice cook, without stirring, about 15-20 minutes or until the rice has absorbed all liquid.
- Rest/cool: Remove the pot from the burner and rest the rice for 5-10 minutes with the lid still on.
- Fluff, garnish & serve: Fluff the rice up with a fork. Add garnishes and toppings if desired (fresh herbs, black pepper, toasted pine nuts) and serve.
Notes
- Toast Pine Nuts: Warm a medium pan over a medium-low heat. Add pine nuts and spread over the bottom of the pan in a even layer. Stir or gently shake the pan every so often to toast all sides and keep them from burning. Cook for about 3-5 minutes until they smell nutty and are lightly browned in color. Don't be afraid to raise or lower the temperature to get them to cook. Just make sure to keep an eye on the pan the whole time so they don't burn.
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