This delicious turmeric rice is made with fluffy jasmine rice, aromatic spices, and creamy coconut milk. It’s ready in under 30 minutes for the easiest Indian-inspired side dish to pair with any main meal!

If you want to get fancy, you can call this golden rice or yellow rice, but no matter what you call it, turmeric rice is unbelievably delicious. It’s made with rice cooked in coconut milk and Indian spices and is the perfect side dish for almost any meal.
I eat rice often as a side dish, or in the case of my fluffy baked rice with chickpeas , I eat it for dinner. I find that it’s a versatile side, and this turmeric rice pairs well with many mains. Serve it as a side to curry, add a baked chicken breast, or turn it into an Indian-inspired rice bowl with some chickpeas and sautéed veggies.
Key ingredients in turmeric rice
Jasmine rice: This is a long-grain white rice that cooks up nice and fluffy, making it perfect for this turmeric rice recipe. It also has a wonderful fragrant smell—almost like popcorn!
Turmeric: I use ground turmeric to give the rice a warm, peppery flavor, while also turning it a vibrant yellow color.
Coconut milk: Full-fat, unsweetened coconut milk makes this turmeric rice rich and slightly creamy. Make sure you use a good blend of the solid white cream and water found in each can.

Serving suggestions
When serving turmeric rice, I like to keep the theme going and serve it with curry. My creamy coconut pumpkin dal is wonderful with this rice. Another recipe I love is this coconut lentil curry .

Golden Turmeric Rice Recipe
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Ingredients
- ▢ 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ▢ 1 tablespoon fresh ginger (grated)
- ▢ 1 ½ teaspoons ground turmeric
- ▢ 1 cinnamon stick
- ▢ 1 cup jasmine rice (rinsed)
- ▢ 1 cup water
- ▢ ½ cup full fat, unsweetened coconut milk
- ▢ 1 bay leaf
- ▢ ¾ teaspoon sea salt
- ▢ Freshly ground black pepper and chopped cilantro (for serving)
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan to which you have a lid. When shimmering, add the ginger, turmeric, and cinnamon stick. Toast over medium-low heat until fragrant, about 1 minute. 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, 1 ½ teaspoons ground turmeric, 1 cinnamon stick
- Add the rice, water, coconut milk, bay leaf, and salt. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat to low and cover. Cook for 12 minutes then turn off the heat and let it sit, covered, for 10 more minutes. 1 cup jasmine rice, 1 cup water, ½ cup full fat, unsweetened coconut milk, 1 bay leaf, ¾ teaspoon sea salt
- Fluff the rice with a fork and remove the bay leaf and cinnamon stick. Serve warm with a few grinds of black pepper and some chopped cilantro.
Nutrition
We have thoroughly tested this recipe for accuracy. However, individual results may vary. See our full recipe disclosure here .

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Golden Turmeric Rice Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger , grated
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground turmeric
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 cup jasmine rice , rinsed
- 1 cup water
- ½ cup full fat, unsweetened coconut milk
- 1 bay leaf
- ¾ teaspoon sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper and chopped cilantro , for serving
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan to which you have a lid. When shimmering, add the ginger, turmeric, and cinnamon stick. Toast over medium-low heat until fragrant, about 1 minute. 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, 1 ½ teaspoons ground turmeric, 1 cinnamon stick
- Add the rice, water, coconut milk, bay leaf, and salt. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat to low and cover. Cook for 12 minutes then turn off the heat and let it sit, covered, for 10 more minutes. 1 cup jasmine rice, 1 cup water, ½ cup full fat, unsweetened coconut milk, 1 bay leaf, ¾ teaspoon sea salt
- Fluff the rice with a fork and remove the bay leaf and cinnamon stick. Serve warm with a few grinds of black pepper and some chopped cilantro.