5 Best Yellow Rice Brands Of 2023
If you’ve never tried yellow rice before, you should absolutely add it to your next shopping list.
This delicious dish, also known as arroz amarillo in Spanish, is made from long-grain rice, spices (such as turmeric), herbs, and veggies.
It’s a staple in many Latin American cultures and can be served plain as a side dish or simmered with chicken and other delicious ingredients to make the main course.
The rice itself often comes with all the herbs and spices included so you can just add water and cook!
So, how do you choose the best yellow rice brand? You’ll want to look at the seasonings to make sure it contains turmeric or saffron for that beautiful yellow color, try to find quick-cooking brands, and avoid products with MSG if you know that you react poorly to this seasoning.
Read on to learn what to look for when choosing the best yellow for your budget, kitchen needs, and taste buds and the 5 brands that make our best-of list!
How To Choose The Best Yellow Rice Brands
When it comes to choosing the best yellow rice brands, there are some things to look out for. Check out the following Buyer’s Guide to help you pick the best yellow for your budget, kitchen needs, and taste buds.
Check The Seasonings Of Your Yellow Rice Brand
The main thing to look for when you’re choosing your yellow rice brand is to take a look at the different seasonings they use.
To get the beautiful yellow color, you’ll want to make sure your rice includes either turmeric or the traditional saffron for a golden hue.
You’ll also want to look for seasonings such as coriander, bell peppers, garlic, onions, and chicken flavor since these are what give yellow rice its characteristic flavor profile.
You’ll also want to make sure it contains salt to bring all those flavors alive.
Look For Fast Cooking Yellow Rice Brands
Depending on how much time you have to spend making your meal, you may want to look for yellow rice brands that are designated as fast cooking or quick-cooking.
These brands can typically cook up in a few minutes so you have your side dish ready to go in no time.
Look For Yellow Rice With No MSG
While MSG adds a delicious savory flavor to foods, some people do have reactions to this seasoning. If you know you don’t react well to MSG, then look for brands that don’t contain this flavoring agent to prevent any reactions.
Always read your labels before purchasing since brands do sometimes change their ingredients and recipes.
The 5 Best Yellow Rice Brands
Now that you know what to look for in terms of the best yellow rice brands, you can check out the choices below to find the one that best fits your dietary requirements, taste preference, and budget.
Yellow rice, also known as arroz amarillo in Spanish, is a delicious dish made from long-grain rice, spices (such as turmeric), herbs, and veggies.
It’s a staple in many Latin American cultures and can be served plain as a side or simmered with chicken and other delicious ingredients.
The base for a high-quality yellow rice dish depends on the rice that you buy. You want to make sure you buy a blend that is exceptionally well seasoned and that cooks up light and fluffy.
Here are our top picks of the 5 best yellow rice brands that you can pick up to add a flavorful and delicious component to any meal, quickly and easily!
| Rank | Product | Key Features |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Iberia Yellow Rice | Parboiled for fast cooking, seasoned with turmeric, onion, garlic, spices, rich chicken flavor, and coriander. |
| 2 | Zatarain's New Orleans Style Yellow Rice Mix | Parboiled for fast cooking, seasoned with onion, salt, bell peppers, turmeric, & other spices. |
| 3 | Vigo Authentic Saffron Yellow Rice | Flavored with saffron, chicken seasoning, bell peppers, garlic, & other delicious spices |
| 4 | Goya Yellow Rice Spanish Style | Parboiled rice for fast cooking, seasoned with onion, salt, bell peppers, rich chicken flavor, coriander, & garlic. |
| 5 | A DOZEN COUSINS Bone Broth Spanish Yellow Rice | Cooked in chicken bone broth, seasoned with onions, spices, & roasted garlic. Comes in a microwaveable pouch for faster cooking. |
1. Iberia Yellow Rice Spanish Style Seasoned Rice
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This gorgeously colored yellow rice is seasoned with turmeric, onion, garlic, bell peppers, coriander, and other spices.
It’s also infused with rich chicken flavor for a super decadent and delicious blend.
This brand doesn’t contain any MSG.
Unfortunately, it’s not a super fast cooking rice, though it does have instructions for a simle microwaveable cooking time.
If you microwave the rice, it takes about 20 minutes of cooking time and 5 minues of resting time.
The stovetop time is about the same, but it could be a little messier since we’ve all had experience with rice that boils over and gets all over the burner and stove top.
2. Zatarain’s New Orleans Style Yellow Rice Mix
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This popular grocery store brand of yellow rice makes the list because it tastes so darn good.
If you react to MSG, you can safely purchase this brand since it doesn’t contain any of this seasoning.
It is seasoned with onion, salt, bell peppers, turmeric, & other spices, but there’s no mention lf chicken flavoring.
However, there are some natural flavors, which could mimic the savory richness of chicken. You can also cook this rice in chicken or veggie broth to infuse it with more flavor.
It cooks best on the stove top and takes about 25 minutes from start to finish. Make sure you add some butter for extra richness!
3. Vigo Authentic Saffron Yellow Rice
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One of the only yellow rice brands on this list to use saffron to color and flavor it is Vigo’s Authentic Saffron Yellow Rice.
It’s flavored with saffron, chicken seasoning, bell peppers, garlic, & other delicious spices for a rich and savory yellow rice dish that will have you coming back for more.
Like the first two rice brands on this list, it cooks in about 25 minutes in a pot on the stove. For best results add butter or olive oil for a rich and luscious texture. You can also cook it in chicken or veggie broth for an extra hit of flavor.
It may contain MSG under the name yeast extract, so if you react to MSG this might not be the best brand to buy.
4. Goya Yellow Rice Spanish Style
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Another popular brand in the US is Goya. This yellow rice doesn’t disappoint and tastes as close to authentic as you can get from a package.
It’s seasoned with onion, salt, bell peppers, rich chicken flavor, coriander, & garlic.
Like the Vigo brand, it does contain yeast extract, which may be a form of MSG. So if you know you react to MSG, this might not be the best brand to buy.
It cooks up in about 25 minutes on the stovetop and like the others, you can enrich the flavor by cooking it in veggie or chicken broth and adding some butter for extra creamy deliciousness.
5. A DOZEN COUSINS Bone Broth Spanish Yellow Rice
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We love this brand because it is made with real chicken bone broth for an authentic and rich chicken flavor.
This rice is parboiled, which means it should cook in about 20-25 minutes. It’s also got a beautiful golden yellow color from the turmeric.
There is a delicious blend of spices including onion and roasted garlic.
It doesn’t say anything about bell peppers, so if this is a flavor you really enjoy, you may want to finely dish some green or red peppers to throw in the pot with the rice while it cooks.
This brand doesn’t contain any MSG and as a bonus, this rice comes in a microwaveable pouch for super fast and easy rice in minutes!
