Rice with Leeks
Rice with Leeks is the perfect side for any meal. It’s full of flavor, easy to make, and so good that you can eat it plain!
If you’ve never tried white rice with leeks, you’re in for a delicious surprise. Cooking the rice is easy, cleaning the leeks is a bit tricky. So here’s how to clean leeks.

How to clean leeks
- Remove the roots by chopping the bottom of each leek off with a sharp knife.
- Make a shallow slit down the length of the leek and just through the outer layers.
- Start peeling the tough outer layers, until you reach the lighter, and more tender layers.
- Chop off the top dark green tough leaves. This part can be saved for stock later. The top dark green leaves are tough and best used for flavoring and discarded after.
- Give the leeks a quick rinse under running water to remove any dirt on the outside layers.
- Slice the leeks thin and place in a large bowl.
- Rinse the sliced Leeks several times to remove the dirt. You may use your hands to agitate the chopped leeks to release the dirt easily. Rinse thoroughly.
- Use a colander to drain the excess water from the chopped leeks.

Adding flavor to rice
One of the best ways to enjoy rice is by adding fresh herbs and spices. Onions, scallions, chives, and leeks add tons of flavor to the rice. Whether you’re cooking white, brown, yellow, red, or black rice, the key to flavoring is seasoning.
What are the ingredients in this Rice and Leeks dish?
- Rice: I used white rice for this recipe. I prefer using Goya Jamisne Rice, Kirkland Signature Enriched Long Grain White Rice, or Madame Gougousse Jasmine Rice.
- Oil: always extra virgin olive oil. It is light, aromatic and flavorful.
- Fresh garlic: chopped or minced fresh garlic cloves are always better to use than powdered garlic.
- Fresh Leeks: fresh chopped and thouroughly cleaned leeks
- Chicken Bouilon Powder: I use this brand – click here. The name of the product is Osen Chicken Consommé. You can use it practically as a chicken bouillon in soups, beans puree, other rice dishes, meat and poultry dishes.
- Whole cloves: this ingredient is optional. It contains great health benefits and is very aromatic in rice dishes.
- Water: when adding water to rice, never use cold or icy water; only warm or room temperature water. You don’t want to disrupt the cooking process and temperature.
Rice with Leeks
How to make Rice with Leeks
Always use a good pan or pot when cooking rice.
- First heat up the oil in the pan. Add the chopped garlic, and sliced leeks. Cook stirring occasionally until slightly softened. Season with chicken bouillon cubes or powder, or salt and pepper.
- Add cleaned rice, and stir to combine and cook for 2 minutes.
- Add water, and whole cloves. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Gently stir the rice mixture and bring to a boil. Once the water has almost evaporated, lower the heat and continue cooking the rice covered for about 25 to 30 minutes.
- Remove from the stovetop and serve hot.
Rice with Leeks Rice with Leeks
Notes and Tips to Cook the Rice and Leeks recipe
- Make this recipe as a side dish or main dish.
- Do not add too much water to the rice. The texture will be a bit pasty. You may want to follow the instructions on the packaging or add 1 cup of water for every cup of rice. If you need to add more water only add by increments of 1/4 cup of water.
- Make it with enduie! This homemade condiment will add more flavor. This is not a good option if you’re looking for a vegan dish. Enduie is cured salted pork.
- Use chicken broth or vegetable broth instead of plain water.
- Seasoning: chicken bouillon cubes are powdered chillen bouillon.
To serve this dish as a complete meal, add a simple salad of lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumber and Snapper in Creole Sauce, Turkey in Creole Sauce, or Oxtail.
Rice with Leeks
Ingredients
- 2 cup long grain white rice
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves chopped
- 2 leeks cleaned and sliced
- 1 tbsp Chicken bouillon cubes or in powder form low sodium, plus more for seasoning
- 2 cups water
Instructions
- First heat up the oil in the pan. Add the chopped garlic, and sliced leeks. Cook, stirring occasionally until slightly softened. Season with chicken bouillon cubes or powder, or salt and pepper.
- Add cleaned rice, and stir to combine and cook for 2 minutes.
- Add water, and whole cloves. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Gently stir the rice mixture and bring to a boil. Once water has almost evaporated, lower the heat and continue cooking the rice covered for about 25 to 30 minutes.
Notes
- Make this recipe as a side dish or main dish.
- Do not add too much water to the rice. The texture will be a bit pasty. You may want to follow the instructions on the packaging or add 1 cup of water for every cup of rice. If you need to add more water, only add by increments of 1/4 cup of water.
- Make it with enduie! This homemade condiment will add more flavor. This is not a good option if you’re looking for a vegan dish. Enduie is cured of salted pork.
- Use chicken broth instead of plain water. Seasoning: chicken bouillon cubes are powdered chicken bouillon.
- To serve this dish as a complete meal, add a simple salad of lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, and Snapper in Creole Sauce, Turkey in Creole Sauce, or Oxtail.
Nutrition
Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on the products used.
Nutrition info is automatically generated and provided as a courtesy and as an estimate only.