Turmeric coconut rice is a simple, one pot side dish recipe that's full of flavor. With a slightly creamy and never-mushy texture, coconut milk, turmeric, fresh ginger, garlic, and more combine with basmati rice for a satisfying side that pairs well with many main dishes.
Preparing a side dish doesn't come naturally to me when I make dinner. A big green side salad with rotating produce, nuts, etc. was ever-present on our dinner table growing up and often acted as our side, and I seem to have adopted the same philosophy as an adult. Main dish, big green salad, maybe some bread? We're set.
My husband comes from a big side dish family, and over the years I've been training myself to intentionally think about making a non-salad side when the opportunity presents itself. Garlic sautéed green beans, air fryer baked potatoes, and creamy polenta from a tube have become some of my trusty options.
This turmeric coconut rice is based on the coconut rice my mother-in-law makes. I've added a few ingredients to zhush up the flavor even more for a satisfying side dish that jazzes up a main protein wonderfully -- though a side salad is always welcome, too.
Reasons to Make This Dish
- The coconut flavor shines and complements the earthy turmeric and ginger flavors.
- Turmeric coconut rice makes a great base for salmon and other fish, grilled chicken, air fryer tofu, and more.
- It can be made with ingredients you often can already have on hand (see my tip on freezing ginger root below).
- The cooked rice can be frozen for convenience.
Recipe Ingredients
- Basmati Rice: This is a long-grain white rice variety that fluffs up when cooked and doesn't turn too sticky. It's a great choice for absorbing the coconut milk and turmeric flavors here, but jasmine rice would also work.
- Coconut Milk: Use the canned variety (not a refrigerated carton, which is very watery and thin). Full-fat, lite, or unsweetened are all fine. The flavor will naturally be more "luxe" and flavorful with full fat, but using lite will have a considerable reduction in calories and saturated fat.
- Coconut Oil: Unrefined or refined work. Unrefined will provide even more coconutty flavor to this turmeric coconut rice, while refined is basically flavorless. You could also use a different cooking oil - I will sometimes use olive oil.
- Ground Turmeric: Bright in both coloring and flavor, this adds a pleasant "sharpness" and earthy flavor. In its fresh form it resembles a smaller ginger root, but ground turmeric is more accessible and used here.
- Ginger: Grated fresh ginger provides another flavor pop here. Do not use ground ginger as it's much milder and won't have the same effect.
- Broth: Vegetable or chicken (if not vegetarian) broth has an edge over plain water when cooking rice when it comes to flavor. I recommend going for a reduced-sodium variety if available.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Tip - Before beginning, place your rice in a large metal sieve and rinse it well under cool water. You can also add it to a bowl, cover with water, and swish it around with your hands before draining. Repeat until the water is clear.
This step rinses away excess starch and leads to fluffier cooked rice. This is applicable to both basmati and jasmine varieties.
- Sauté - Cook the onion in the coconut oil for 6-7 minutes, adding the minced garlic and grated ginger during the last minute of the cook time.
- Toast Rice - Stir in the ground turmeric, then add the rinsed rice (dry). Cook while stirring for 2-3 minutes.
- Add Liquid - Pour a bit of the broth to deglaze the pan (if needed), then add the remainder along with the coconut milk and give everything a big stir. If using regular full-fat coconut milk you may notice larger solidified chunks of coconut cream. That's normal, they'll melt very quickly.
- Cook - Bring everything up to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cover and cook for 10-15 minutes, or until the rice has absorbed all of the liquid. Fluff the turmeric coconut rice with a fork before serving.
Recipe Tips and Tricks
- Staining - Turmeric is so pigmented that it will easily stain utensils, dish towels, clothing etc. I recommend setting away any nice wooden spoons, sentimental linens, etc. before cooking this recipe.
- Serving Suggestions - Fresh chopped cilantro has a nice flavor for garnishing turmeric coconut rice. We also enjoy roasted cashews or peanuts as a topping.
- Freezing Ginger Root - Rinse ginger root with cool water and pat fully dry before freezing whole. When you need fresh grated ginger for a recipe, simply grate it along a microplane zester from frozen. There's no peeling necessary!
- Freezing Rice - Once fully cooled, transfer cooked rice into a zip-top bag. Press out as much excess air as you can before sealing, then freeze for 1-2 months.
Related Recipes
If you’ve enjoyed this recipe, I’d love for you to leave a star rating in the recipe card and/or a comment review below!
Turmeric Coconut Rice
Ingredients
- 2 cups basmati rice or jasmine
- 1 ½ Tablespoons coconut oil or olive oil
- 1 medium onion diced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 Tablespoon fresh grated ginger
- Big pinch kosher salt or to your liking
- Pinch freshly-cracked black pepper or to your liking
- 1 ¼ teaspoons ground turmeric
- 2 cups reduced-sodium broth vegetable or chicken, or water
- 1 13.5-ounce can coconut milk regular or lite
- Chopped fresh cilantro for serving
Instructions
- Add dry rice to a large metal sieve and rinse it thoroughly under cool water. Set aside for now.
- Heat coconut oil in a large saucepan over medium heat, then add the diced onion. Sauté for 5-6 minutes until starting to soften and turn golden, then add the minced garlic, grated ginger, salt, and pepper. Cook for 1 minute more.
- Stir in the ground turmeric, then add the rinsed rice. Stir until evenly combined, then let the rice toast for 2-3 minutes while stirring frequently.
- If there are any brown bits stuck to the bottom of the pan, pour in a little bit of the broth to deglaze and scrape them up. Then stir in the remainder of the broth and the coconut milk. Stir to combine.
- Raise the heat to bring everything to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to a simmer and cover the pan. Cook for 10-15 minutes, or until the rice has absorbed all of the liquid. Fluff the cooked rice up with a fork before garnishing with cilantro and serving.
- Store leftover portions in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is provided as an estimate. As it can vary due to many factors (brands used, quantities, etc.), we cannot guarantee its accuracy.
Food Safety and Nutrition DisclaimerNote - This recipe was updated in April 2023 from its initial publish date in 2016. It was scaled up to use one full can of coconut milk for convenience, and now reflects my preference to use broth in place of water. If you're returning from a saved link, you may recognize some of the original photos below.
Jess says
Just a tip- you should always add black pepper to any dish that has turmeric, it brings out all the health benefits! I'm going to make this today.
Alyssa says
Thanks for the tip, Jess! Hope you enjoy. 🙂
Jess says
Oh my god this rice is SOO GOOD! For anyone with a rice cooker-I sautéed the onion, garlic & ginger in coconut oil then added it to my zojirushi rice cooker with the rice, water, turmeric and coconut milk. it came out amazing. Thanks for the great recipe!
Alyssa says
Awesome! Thanks for the rice cooker tips! I've never made this rice in one, but now I'm intrigued. Glad it worked out for you!
Gwen says
I love the Coconut Basmati rice and my husband said i went and had some one made it for me, becsuse you only eat white rice well here is somthing else i eat . Thank you
Alyssa says
I'm so glad you enjoyed it, Gwen! It's one of our favorite rice dishes. 🙂
Beverly says
We just think this rice dish is fabulous. The best taste ever ! The house just smelled so nice . Thanks so much for the recipe. It's my go to rice recipe.
Alyssa says
I'm so happy to hear that, Beverly! It's certainly one of our favorite rice recipes, too. In fact the last few times I've made rice - this has been it! 🙂
Kate says
Made this rice last night it was fantastic. Served it with a Thai grilled Salmon with a chili lime sauce.
Alyssa says
So glad to hear that, Kate! This rice and that salmon sound like a perfect pairing. 🙂
Deb says
On a scale of 1-5, this was a 0. Sooooo bland, really, really disappointed-- this time spent preparing it was just a waste and so was all the ingredients in it I threw it away Was a waste of time and a waste of ingredients I threw all of it away and prepared some red potatoes making dinner late
Alyssa says
Hi Deb, I'm sorry this rice didn't work for you. I've made this multiple times as written and we really enjoy the flavor, but I do realize everyone has different tastes.
Gwen says
You needed to put your on selt r pepper to it
Carolyn says
Do you have any recommendations for what to pair this with? Thank you!
Alyssa says
Hi Carolyn, I like to pair this rice with salmon. Usually something that has an Asian-type marinade and either baked or grilled. Someone else wrote in that they paired it with garlic turmeric shrimp and enjoyed it, too! It's flavorful without being too overpowering, so I can see it pairing well with chicken, beef, etc. -- especially if there is a soy sauce- or ginger-based sauce. I hope you enjoy!
Tara says
This. Was. Gorgeous. I feel like I can still taste it (in a good way). It made sense to make a double recipe since 7oz of coconut milk is half a can, so we ate the lunch leftovers for supper and still have some left. Even my kids raved about this and couldn't get enough. I admit I was nervous about the large amount of turmeric (most recipes call for 1/4 tsp or so) but I swallowed my doubt and wow! And these are ingredients always in my pantry as we love ethnic food. A big win.
Alyssa says
I'm so glad to hear this, Tara! This rice is one of our favorites, too. Doubling the batch is a great idea. Thanks so much for writing in!
Sarah says
Can you use jasmine rice?
Alyssa says
Hi Sarah, I know jasmine rice has a different flavor than basmati and may be stickier, but I haven't used it in this recipe so I'm not sure how it would compare. Let me know if you give it a try!
Holly says
I made this tonight and it was delicious!! I will definitely make it again. I paired it with turmeric garlic shrimp and they went well together
Alyssa says
I'm so happy to hear that, Holly! Turmeric garlic shrimp sounds amazing (and a great protein to pair this rice with)!
Alyssa says
Hahaha a shopping spree at a spice store sounds like a dream! 🙂
marcie says
I love coconut rice, and this even more special with the ginger and turmeric! Plus that yellow color is so gorgeous! I definitely need to make this. 🙂
Alyssa says
Thanks Marcie! I love the flavor here...and the color. 🙂
Ashley | The Recipe Rebel says
I feel like tumeric is something I don't use enough! It's so pretty and adds such a boost of flavor. Love this!
Alyssa says
I'm going to make an effort to use it more too, Ashley. Thanks!
Fred says
Make it in the Instant Pot. Quick and easy!
Alyssa says
I keep hearing good things about the Instant Pot - I have to check it out. Thanks Fred! 🙂
Alyssa says
I'm totally on board Rebecca! I think your golden cauliflower puree is next. Mmmm 🙂
Alyssa says
Ok turmeric milk is next on my list! I'm on a mission to turn as many of my foods yellow as can be haha. Thanks Ashley!