Rice and Noodle Pilaf (With Video and Step-by-Step)

Prep Time:

5 mins

Cook Time:

30 mins

Total Time:

35 mins

Servings:

8

Yield:

2 quarts

Shake up your rice routine with this delicious rice-and-noodle pilaf. It's a staple side dish in countries such as Armenia, Turkey, and Lebanon, and it gets its savory flavor from toasted vermicelli noodles and chicken stock. Sautéed onions add a buttery richness and even more depth. It pairs well with anything from roasted chicken to grilled fish to stuffed vegetables and is a recipe you’ll turn to again and again. You can pull this dish together in about 30 minutes, and while it’s hardly more difficult than making a plain pot of rice, it’s much more flavorful and delicious.

Bowl of rice and noodle pilaf with a spoon — Jacob Fox

What Is Vermicelli Rice?

Vermicelli rice is a staple dish in Lebanese, Turkish, Egyptian, and Armenian cuisines. It consists of thin vermicelli noodles, which are toasted in fat (typically butter or ghee) before being cooked with rice in either chicken stock or water. Some recipes, like ours, which is based on the Armenian version, feature sautéed onions for an additional layer of flavor. Rice with vermicelli is served as a side dish for soups, stews, casseroles, and grilled meats.

Tips for Making This Recipe

Be generous with the butter: Using enough butter is key to browning the noodles and caramelizing the onion. While some recipes use olive oil or ghee, we opt for butter to capitalize on the deep, nutty flavor from the browned milk solids.

Toast the noodles thoroughly: Cook the noodles until they are deeply golden. They should stand out from the rice and bring a striking contrast to the end result. To keep your onion from burning, cook it for only two to three minutes before adding the noodles; it should be translucent at that point but should not have taken on any color.

Don't over-stir: Once you've added the broth to the pot, stir briefly to combine everything, but stop there; stirring too much will cause starch to release from the rice, making the dish gummy.

The Right Noodles to Use

A key component of this popular Armenian and Lebanese rice dish is the dried vermicelli noodles. Be sure to buy wheat-based noodles, not the vermicelli rice noodles used in Thai and Vietnamese cuisines.

Before adding them to the pot, break them into small pieces—about an inch long—by hand. This will allow them to be evenly distributed throughout the rice and make the dish easier to eat.

Directions

Ingredients for a rice and noodle pilaf including uncooked pasta rice butter broth chopped onions and salt — Jacob Fox

Cook onion:

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat, add 2 tablespoons of the butter, and as soon as the butter melts, add the onion. Cook, stirring constantly, until the onion is translucent, 2 to 3 minutes.

Jacob Fox
Add noodles:

Add the noodles, lower the heat to medium, and cook, stirring constantly, until the noodles are golden brown and the mixture gives off a nutty aroma, 5 to 8 minutes.

Jacob Fox
Add rice:

Add the rice, stir to combine, and add the remaining tablespoon of butter.

Jacob Fox
Add chicken broth and simmer:

Stir in the chicken broth and salt. Raise the heat to high and bring to a full rolling boil. Cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 20 minutes, or until the rice and vermicelli have absorbed all the liquid. Fluff with a fork and serve.

Jacob Fox

Storing and Reheating

This vermicelli rice dish can be refrigerated for up to four days in an airtight container. Reheat it in a covered saucepan over medium heat with a splash of water or broth.

What to Serve With Rice and Noodle Pilaf

This versatile side dish is delicious alongside a classic roast chicken, or serve it with these wine-braised chicken thighs for soaking up all the delicious sauce. Another braised dish, these vinegar-braised pork chops would make a fitting entree, as would our braised fish with fennel and tomato.

If it's grilling weather where you are, consider pairing the rice with kofta kebabs, our saffron yogurt chicken kebabs, or grilled fish fillets. And should you find yourself with leftovers the next day, make like Lucinda Scala Quinn and top a bowl of the hot rice-and-noodle pilaf with a fried egg for breakfast or lunch.