Jon Gutierrez
If you, like me, thought “rice pilaf” was just one boring side dish your mom occasionally piled up against some boiled chicken, you might be surprised at how many different types are out there. “Pilaf” just refers to a dish, usually made of rice, that’s simmered in stock or spices while cooking. That covers a wide range of dishes from different cultures, so you never quite know what you’re going to get when you open up a rice pilaf box.
That’s where we come in. We assembled a table full of different rice pilaf brands (including wild rice pilaf, rice with orzo pilaf, and classic rice pilaf), judging each one on taste, texture and convenience, all in our quest to find the best rice pilaf for your dinner.
And while our original ranking involved 10 kinds of seasoned rice pilaf, we’ve now taste-tested 10 more, giving you an even better range of different rice types and flavors to find the best one for you.
Here are our picks for the seven best rice pilaf boxes you can find on your local store’s shelves or Amazon.
Best Boxed Rice Pilaf, Ranked
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- Rice-A-Roni Herb & Butter
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This mix of rice and pasta (it’s like short pieces of vermicelli) certainly delivers on the buttery taste. You get that buttery quality from the included sauce mix and from the fact that the first step in cooking it is sautéing everything in two tablespoons of butter. It all works. And this mix of rice and pasta comes out with a rich, creamy flavor with plenty of garlic, rosemary, and black pepper. (But let’s face it, butter will always be the star!)
Credit: Liv Averett / Instacart
- Near East Rice Pilaf (Original)
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While there are so many different blends of pilaf, this rice with orzo pilaf is probably what you think about when you think about a rice pilaf box. It’s a basic mix of long grain rice and orzo pasta, flavored with onions, garlic, and tumeric. But, it’s also a simple, tasty, homey dish. While it may not be as flashy or flavorful as some of the other rice pilaf brands on this list, it’s the best boxed rice pilaf for you if you’re looking for something that tastes like a dish your grandma used to make.
Credit: Liv Averett / Walmart
- Near East Wild Mushroom & Herb Rice Pilaf Mix
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If you’re a mushroom fan, this is the best rice pilaf mix to get. It has plenty of dried mushroom to give you all the earthy, umami flavor you’re looking for, plus some garlic and onion to round out the flavor. Now, just to be clear, this rice tastes of actual mushrooms—not the artificial mushroom flavor you get (and I devour) in ramen packets. But it’s still very tasty and the rice has a great, fluffy consistency, too.
Credit: Liv Averett / Amazon
- Lundberg Family Farms Long Grain White Rice & Seasoning Mix Spanish Rice
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When I was a kid, I used to think “Spanish rice” was just another variety of rice, like jasmine or basmati. But it’s actually a term for a rice pilaf dish that combines long-grain rice with tomato and spices, giving it a flavor profile that’s not far off from traditional salsa. And while all the Spanish rice varieties we tried were good, this one was our favorite, with plenty of strong tomato flavor and enough spices to give it a bit of heat that isn’t overpowering but slowly builds in your mouth as you eat. (And it makes a particularly good side dish with some shredded and melted Mexican-blend cheese.)
Credit: Liv Averett / Walmart
- Lundberg Family Farms Long Grain White Rice & Seasoning Mix Cilantro Lime Rice
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Was this the best cilantro lime rice pilaf we tasted? Yes! Was it also the only cilantro lime rice pilaf we tasted? That’s besides the point! Because the important thing is that this is really tasty. The lime gives it a really bright flavor, with enough cilantro to balance out the citrus, but too much that it steamrolls the rest of the dish. And the rice itself cooks up perfectly al dente. This rice pilaf box seems even more like a side dish than some of the other entries, but it’s a REALLY great side dish. And it’s also the only gluten free rice pilaf option on the list!
Credit: Liv Averett / Instacart
- Tasty Bite Organic Garlic Brown Rice
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While the box may focus on the garlic, this rice pilaf is actually seasoned with a mix of garlic and cumin, which gives the whole thing a tasty (and slightly spicy) Indian flavor. The label also says that it includes spinach, sweet corn, and carrots, but I’ll admit they were kind of lost in the nutty, earthy taste of the cumin. I’m definitely not complaining. Convenience-wise, this comes in a microwaveable pouch that’s ready in only 90 seconds, but still delivers a classic rice that fluffs up well with a fork. That’s impressive considering it starts out with the consistency of a rubber brick. Honestly, it deserves extra points for that trick.
Credit: Liv Averett / Amazon
- Rice-A-Roni Rice Pilaf
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Yeah, it’s a classic, but there’s a reason Rice-A-Roni rice pilaf has been around this long. The mix of rice and pasta blends so well. And there’s plenty of flavor, too, with lots of butter, chicken broth, onion, and garlic to round out the flavor. It’s a traditional rice pilaf flavor, only ramped up to where it could easily be a main dish. It really is a treat, San Francisco or otherwise. And it’s the best rice pilaf brand to buy.
Credit: Liv Averett / Walmart
Best Buttery
Best “Traditional”
Best Mushroom
Best Spanish Rice
Best Cilantro Lime Mix
Best Microwavable
Best of the Best
Other boxed rice pilaf mixes we tried:
365 Whole Foods Market Organic Garlic & Herb Rice Pilaf, 365 Whole Foods Market Organic Long Grain & Wild Rice Rice Pilaf, A Dozen Cousins Rice Cooked In Bone Broth, Ben’s Original Ready Rice Pilaf (With Orzo Pasta), Good & Gather 5 Grain Rice Pilaf (w/Red Quinoa, Buckwheat Groats, Black Barley, Millet & White Rice), Good & Gather 90 Second Rice Pilaf With Toasted Orzo, Lundberg Family Farms Fly By Jing Chili Crisp Rice, Near East Rice Pilaf Mix Spanish Rice, Rice A Roni Chicken Flavor (Low Sodium), Rice A Roni Spanish Rice, Seeds of Change Organic Brown & Wild Rice with Tomato & Roasted Garlic, Somos Mexican Brown Rice (with Peppers & Onions in Red Salsa), Yolélé Fonio Pilaf Jollof (Tomato, Onion & Garlic)
Griffin Parker
Will Morgan
Joe Rumrill
