Saffron rice is a delciously eye-popping and elegant addition to a regular meal making everyone delighted. Its fluffy smooth texture and floral taste notes pair greatly with savory as well as sweet food dishes. But in case, if you are running short on saffron for prepping saffron rice, what should be the best saffron rice substitute?
Rather than substituting saffron in rice, you can entirely replace saffron rice with other closely flavorful recipes. For instance, all kinds of yellow-colored rice can swap the original recipe in terms of texture and look at the serving table.
Herein, we presented a comprehensive collection of alternatives one can manipulate according to recipe serving requirements instead of saffron rice.
Saffron Rice Substitute
Most of the time, it becomes challenging to replace saffron rice especially when you are craving this splendid food at holiday gatherings. And because of the heavy cost and rare availability of saffron, you must know its substitutes to end up your dishes professionally.
Interestingly, turmeric and curry are closer alternatives to saffron in rice with a different flavor and fragrance profile. So, despite altering the saffron rice flavor, switch the whole recipe with other rice dishes.
For instance, yellow fried rice, biryani, rice pilaf, and yellow sweet rice are some creative replacements for saffron rice you can try freely.
Yellow Fried Rice – Another Elegant Option!
Another magically graceful side dish similar to savory saffron rice is yellow fried rice, also common as java rice. Its addition to your regular meal will bestow a ton of flavor and bold color to your central recipes.
Moreover, it pairs wonderfully with a variety of star dishes such as chicken, shrimp, meat, and pork. Its bright yellow color will mask the craving for saffron rice delectably.
The best thing of this replacement is that java rice gets its pronounced color from turmeric, a natural spice rich in anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. So, you can maintain a nutrient balance in your diet using this saffron rice substitute.
Biryani Rice – A traditional Substitute
Biryani rice gives you more flexible and versatile options than saffron rice in terms of flavor and diet preferences. The best advantage of this replacement is that you can manipulate its ingredient profile easily.
For instance, you can replace biryani chicken with veggies and even you can prepare plain biryani rice without chicken and vegetables. Not limited to this, biryani could be your flavorful side dish or even a star recipe on your serving table.
You can get its characteristic light yellow color from either yellow food coloring or turmeric spice. In short, biryani rice is a great savory saffron rice alternative you’ll definitely try again and again.
Rice Pilaf – A Flavorful Addition!
Similar to biryani, rice pilaf is also a workhorse recipe you can either serve as a side dish or a main dish. Moreover, it’s versatile enough that one can make it in a variety of different ways owing to its flexible recipe ingredients.
When compared with saffron rice, pilaf can mimic the similar yellow color and fluffy texture of the original recipe, yet lacking the metallic earthiness of saffron. However, as a wonderful saffron rice substitution, rice pilaf can deviate the flavor of your taste buds satisfyingly.
In rice pilaf, turmeric spice is commonly used to give a nice color profile to the dish that is closer to saffron color.
Yellow Rice – A Sweet Saffron Rice Substitute!
Besides the savory substitutes for saffron rice, there’s also a delicious dessert option for you. Similar in texture and color, yellow sweet rice is an excellent choice for dessert lovers in place of saffron rice.
Yellow sweet rice gets its saffron-like color from a pinch of food coloring making everyone delighted. And if you’re also craving something special rather than the usual version of rice, try this recipe to satisfy your sweet tooth.
Mostly, this umami dessert is served as a side creation with a variety of sweet as well as savory food dishes. So, serve your central dishes with any of the given saffron rice substitutes without a noticeable difference.
