This best ever Orange Rice recipe is moist, flavorful, and super easy to make in the Instant Pot or on the stove. It's a simple citrus rice with cranberries, green onions, fresh orange juice, and zest. Get ready to fall in love with your new favorite rice pilaf recipe!
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Do me a favor. Grab your menu plan for next week and add this Orange Rice recipe to any night of the week. It’s sooooo delicious!
We've always enjoyed flavorful rice pilaf recipes, like this Pineapple Lime Rice, Easy Cilantro Lime Rice, or a host of other Instant Pot Rice Pilaf recipes. But something about orange rice is extra special. It has easily become my favorite rice to make and serve to others.
We have looked for the original inspiration for this recipe but just can’t find it. About 10 years ago we typed it out on a Word document and stuck it in our recipe binder. It's been called orange rice, citrus rice, and cranberry rice over the years, but no matter the name it's truly a family favorite!
🥇 Why It’s Great!
- It doesn't break the budget and you probably have most of the ingredients on hand already.
- It can be made in the Instant Pot (affiliate) or on the stove for an easy weeknight side dish.
- It can be frozen and reheated perfectly, using this guide on how to freeze cooked rice and reheat it.
- Because it is cost-effective and can be frozen ahead of time, this rice makes an excellent crowd pleaser.
- The flavors are subtle, yet bright. It compliments almost any fall or holiday seasonal menu, so you have a lot of serving options.
🍊Ingredients
A full list of the ingredients for orange rice is in the recipe card below, but here are a few noteworthy tips:
Rice: Basmati, jasmine, or another long-grain white rice work best.
Oranges: You will need both the zest and the orange juice. Fresh juice is best, but you can also use high-quality store bought juice if needed.
Dried Cranberries: We use dried cranberries, but make sure they aren't rock hard. You want them to be soft and chewy still.
Green Onions: A fresh punch of flavor added at the very end. Don't skip this one, I promise it's worth it!
🔪 How to make Orange Rice (Citrus Rice with Cranberries)
This can be boiled down to five easy steps. I think it's easiest to make it in the Instant Pot (affiliate), but it can also be made in a pot on the stove.
- Saute the onion and butter in the Instant Pot or in a pot on the stove.
- Stir in the rice and toast for 1-2 minutes.
- Add the chicken broth, orange juice, orange zest, bay leaves, and salt. Cook the rice on the rice setting in the Instant Pot or on the stove for about 20 minutes.
- Add cranberries and allow to steam for 5 minutes. Finally, sprinkle on the green onions and fluff with a fork. Enjoy!
👨👩👧👦 For a crowd
Because this rice freezes and reheats so beautifully, it is a no-brainer side when you’re serving a crowd. Serve the day of making, or follow the freezing instructions in the FAQ section and reheat the day of serving. This is great for dinner parties, holiday menus, or even as a Thanksgiving rice pilaf.
**Note: The size of your Instant Pot or pot on the stove may only hold 1-2 recipes. My 6 quart Instant Pot (affiliate) can hold a double recipe. If you need more, make separate batches.
🙋 Questions and Answers
Valencia oranges are very juicy, and so are navel oranges. The key is to look for oranges with a thin peel that smell fragrant (thick peels usually mean dry, bland oranges).
Using orange juice to cook rice adds extra flavor. You can't use only juice as it will become too concentrated. Instead, a mixture of broth and juice is perfect for cooking rice pilaf recipes.
Yes, definitely. You can make it and leave it covered on the stove for up to an hour before dinner. Or make it in a large batch and freeze ahead for a crowd. Or you can double the recipe and freeze half for the next time you need a hands-free side.
This citrus rice with cranberries freezes beautifully. Once it is fully cooled, spread on a sheet pan and freeze. Then store in a zipper bag or disposable pan. For a full guide, read this post on How to Freeze Cooked Rice.
📖 What to serve with orange rice
- If you haven’t tried this Mind-Blowing Maple Glazed Pork Tenderloin, now is your chance. It is the perfect main dish to complement citrus rice.
- Skillet chickens, like this Easy Apricot Chicken, go great with cranberry rice.
- For another side, this Autumn Chopped Salad combines succulent pears, salty bacon, tart cranberries, sharp cheese, and crunchy pecans with a sweet balsamic dressing on a bed of romaine. WOW!
- For dessert, these Apple Pie Biscuits are coated in brown sugar & cinnamon, then baked with an easy apple pie filling. Sticky, gooey, and delicious!
👨🏼🍳 Tips & Tricks
- Zest the oranges before juicing them.. because zesting a squeezed orange will make a person crazy (speaking from personal experience). My favorite tool for this is a microplane/zester (affiliate).
- Allow the raw rice to toast in the butter for a few minutes before adding the liquids. This helps keep the granules separated - no sticky, clumpy rice here!
- When fluffing the rice, use a fork instead of a spoon. Spoons tend to smash the rice, but a fork will keep it fluffy.
- If your cranberries are old they will stay too hard in the rice. Use dried cranberries that are still moist.
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📋 Recipe
Orange Rice (Citrus Rice with Cranberries)
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoon butter
- ½ onion diced
- 1 ½ cups long-grain white rice (basmati, jasmine, or other variety)
- 1 orange zested
- 1 ½ cups chicken broth 1 ¾ cups for stovetop method
- ½ cup orange juice
- 2 bay leaves
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup dried cranberries diced
- 3 green onions chopped
Instructions
Instant Pot Instructions
- Select "saute" option. Once pot is very hot, melt butter and saute onions for 3-5 minutes until onions are translucent.
- Add rice and toast for 1-2 minutes, stirring well to coat every grain with butter.
- Add orange juice, chicken broth, salt, bay leaves, and orange zest. Seal the Instant Pot and press "rice."
- Once Instant Pot beeps to indicate it is finished, allow it to naturally release for 10 minutes (do NOT release the steam yet). After 10 minutes, release the steam and open the lid. Add cranberries. Cover with the lid and let sit for 5 minutes.
- Remove lid. Add green onions and fluff with a fork. Serve warm.
Stovetop Instructions
- Heat a medium saucepan on medium-high heat. Once hot, melt butter and saute onions for 3-5 minutes until onions are translucent.
- Add rice and toast for 1-2 minutes, stirring well to coat every grain with butter.
- While rice is toasting, microwave juice and 1 ¾ cups stock until hot. Add hot liquids, salt, bay leaves, and orange zest to pot. Cover immediately and cook on low heat for 20 minutes (should simmer softly).
- Once finished cooking add cranberries and allow to sit with lid on for 5 minutes. Remove lid. Add green onions and fluff with fork. Serve warm.
Notes
- Zest the oranges before juicing them.. because zesting a squeezed orange will make a person crazy (speaking from personal experience).
- Allow the raw rice to toast in the butter for a few minutes before adding the liquids. This helps keep the granules separated - no sticky, clumpy rice here!
- When fluffing the rice, use a fork instead of a spoon. Spoons tend to smash the rice, but a fork will keep it fluffy.
- If your cranberries are old they will stay too hard in the rice. Use dried cranberries that are still moist.
Nutrition
All nutrition information is provided by a third party and is an estimate only. Use your own nutritional calculator for more specific measurements.
Nia Joy says
instead of orange juice (too sugary) I just squeezed out mandarin juice and dropped in the rest of the mandarin slices. I also used brown rice. Its my new favorite rice.
Danielle says
Thank you so much for taking the time to give us your feedback! Mandarin sounds delicious!
YtheWait says
Love your recipe!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Misty says
Thanks, we're so glad you like it! It's my all time favorite rice recipe 🙂
Patricia G. says
I made this rice last night with the stovetop cooking method. I paired with a chicken and their roasted broccoli recipe. So easy and absolutely delicious! This reminds me of the perfect kind of rice for the upcoming holidays. I will definitely be making it again.
Danielle says
Thanks for your feedback! It is always great to hear when our recipes are loved by others!