Are you looking for a delicious and easy-to-make side dish that will wow your family and friends? Look no further than this tasty and aromatic Lemon Thyme Wild Rice Pilaf!
Packed with flavor—and only requiring a few ingredients—this dish is sure to become your go-to side for any occasion. With the addition of wild rice and herbs, the classic pilaf recipe is elevated to a whole new level of deliciousness.
And the best part? It can be made in only 45 minutes. So, get ready to impress your guests with this aromatic and deliciously satisfying Lemon Thyme Wild Rice Pilaf!

This simple side dish pairs will with beef, chicken or fish.
You can make it with brown, white or converted rice. Or a combination of those.
But, each of those take slightly different cooking times and may need additional liquid. I have detailed it in the recipe below. But, basically you want to cook both the wild rice and "other" rice in stock until done.
You can do it in two separate pots and then combine them at the end as the original recipe instructed. But, I am not big on washing extra dishes.
Variations to Lemon Thyme Wild Rice Pilaf
This recipe is not only simple and healthy, but it's also incredibly customizable.
Swap the thyme for other fresh herbs like oregano, rosemary or basil, Use lime or orange instead of the lemon.
You could also add a sprinkle of feta cheese or maybe a handful of dried cranberries or chopped nuts.
Lemon Thyme Wild Rice Pilaf

Ingredients
- 1 cup wild rice
- 5 cups chicken broth (mixed use)
- 1 cup converted white rice (or brown rice or conventional white rice)
- juice and zest of one lemon
- 1 ½ tablespoon fresh thyme (or 2 teaspoons dried thyme)
- 1 tablespoon honey
- ¾ cups tomatoes (peeled, seeded and diced)
Instructions
- For BROWN RICE: add full 5 cups of stock to a large pot and bring to a boil. Add wild rice and brown rice at the same time. Cook until done, about 45 minutes.
- For CONVERTED or CONVENTIONAL WHITE rice: bring 3 cups of chicken stock to a boil and add wild rice. Reduce heat, cover and simmer. Let brown rice cook for 25 minutes, then add remaining stock and white rice. Cook until done, an additional 20 minutes.
- Taste test rice, if not done add up to an additional ½ cup of water or stock and allow rice to cook an additional 5 minutes.
- Add lemon juice, zest and thyme. Cook until the liquid had evaporated. Remove the stalks of thyme. Add honey and season to taste with salt and pepper. Fold in tomato.
Sound fabulous? Share it!
Until next time, happy eating.
~Audrey
Cathy
This rice looks delicious! I love the lemon thyme combo! I think this is a great dinner dish that I am going to try!
Cathy
Stacey Gannett
Oh wow, that looks really good! We are really big rice eaters in our family and I try to change things up to give a bit of variety. I will be giving this one a try at some point with the family! Thank you so much for sharing and have a great week! #ibablogger
Kathy
this looks delicious. And so easy to make!
Thank you for sharing.
Amber
Looks good! I love rice.
erlene
Yum this looks wonderful. I love wild rice, but I don't make it very often. Pinned so I can give this a try. Thanks for sharing.
Joanne T Ferguson
G'day! Looks great! Reminds me of childhood yum!
Cheers! Pinned!
Joanne
Nic
Yum! I love wild rice, it has such a great crunch to it. Thanks for sharing!
Lou Lou Girls
Oh my! This looks so good. Pinned. Lou Lou Girls
Sharon@Blue Willow House
This rice combines two of my favorite flavors. Thanks for sharing at the Southern Special #30.