Name: EASY Blue Butterfly Pea Flower Rice
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 20 min
Ingredients: 1.5 cups hot water; 10 dried butterfly pea flowers (or sub with 1/2 teaspoon butterfly pea flower powder); 1 cup jasmine rice; 1 stick lemongrass (bruised (optional but recommended)); 3 kaffir lime leaves ((optional but recommended))

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Stunning blue rice, made with butterfly pea flowers and jasmine rice. Usually served in Malaysian nasi kerabu & Thai khao yum, it makes you want to dig in immediately!

Blue butterfly pea flower rice served on a white plate, with a spoonful of the blue rice shown.

Ingredients and Substitutions

Butterfly pea flowers: Natural blue coloring that gives that stunning blue color! You won’t taste much but the color makes a lot of difference!
- I’m using dried butterfly pea flowers here but you can also use fresh ones if you have access to them.
- Otherwise, you can also substitute with blue butterfly pea flower powder.
Jasmine rice: Since this dish originated in Malaysia and Thailand, use jasmine rice to make this Malaysian/Thai blue rice.
- Unfortunately, brown rice will not work in this recipe since the color won’t show.
- However, all other kinds of white rice work! From short-grain white sticky rice to long-grain basmati rice!
Lemongrass (optional but recommended): Adds a bright, citrusy aroma.
- You can also use dried lemongrass powder as a substitute.
Kaffir lime leaves (optional but recommended): Brings a bold, lime-like fragrance to the rice.
- Feel free to use dried ones or skip them if you don’t have access.
- A quick tip here is to get the frozen ones! They last for years in the freezer and are way easier to work with than the dried ones!
Hot Water: Used to steep the flowers and cook the rice to fluffy perfection.

Ingredients for Malaysian blue rice using dried butterfly pea flowers or butterfly pea flower powder.

How to Make Blue Rice

Steep the butterfly pea flowers with the hot water for 5-10 minutes, resulting in a vibrant blue tea.

Steeping blue butterfly pea flowers to make a blue tea.

Prep the lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves. For the lemongrass, bruise its root by pounding it with the back of your knife. For the lime leaves, simply tear their sides.

Pounding the root of a lemongrass using the back of a knife.

Combine rice, tea, and aromatics in a rice cooker or pot.

Cook the rice until tender, then cover and let it steam for 5 minutes after.

Remove the lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves, then serve this stunning blue jasmine rice!

If you would like to make a nice rice mound, simply put the rice in a small bowl, top the bowl with a small plate, and then flip (see the last picture below).

Straining the blue butterfly pea flowers into the pot that contains jasmine rice.

Adding the aromatics into the Thai blue rice before being cooked.

Top Tips

Control the color intensity. If you want a deeper blue color, steep the butterfly pea flowers longer or add more flowers. Similarly if you want the blue color to be less intense.
If you want speckled blue rice, you can skip making the blue tea and just add the dried flowers directly to the pot/rice cooker.
- This way, the flowers will only dye the rice around them, but it won’t dye all the rice grains uniformly!
Don’t skip steaming the rice. After cooking, let the rice sit covered for around 5 minutes. This extra step helps the rice fluff up and prevents it from sticking to the pot.

Three bowls of blue nasi kerabu with butterfly pea flowers, a blue napkin, and a bowl of jasmine rice around.

Serving Suggestions

This blue butterfly pea flower rice goes well with any dish that is served with rice! I highly recommend pairing this with my Indonesian vegan rendang or my crumbled tempeh recipe for a Southeast Asian pairing.

However, they also pair great with Korean bulgogi tofu and Japanese eggplant teriyaki. And of course, you can also turn them into fancy vegan sushi simply by swapping the jasmine rice with short-grain white sushi rice!

Prefer something simpler? Then serve this blue rice in your rainbow poke bowl or other grain bowls, making it similar to Thai khao yum (rainbow rice salad)!

A serving of butterfly pea flower rice with dried flowers and a blue napkin around.

Storage and Meal Prep Instructions

Store leftover blue butterfly pea flower rice in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. This also means that they are great for meal prep!

If the rice dries up, simply sprinkle a bit of water before you reheat them.

Blue butterfly pea flower rice with a bowl of dried jasmine rice grains and more dried flowers.

FAQ

Butterfly pea rice has a delicate, slightly earthy flavor, with subtle floral notes from the butterfly pea flowers. The flavor is quite mild since it is mostly used for its color.

People also often use lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves to this blue rice, so there might also be a citrusy hint.

Blue rice is made by infusing rice with butterfly pea flowers or butterfly pea flower powder, which gives it a vibrant blue color. Often, lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves are also added for their aroma.

Nasi lemak rice can be blue when it’s prepared with butterfly pea flowers, adding color and a subtle floral flavor, though traditional nasi lemak rice is typically white.

The Malaysian dish with blue rice is nasi kerabu. It is a Malaysian blue rice dish often served with herbs, sambal, and other dishes like vegetables such as bean sprouts and long green beans, alongside various fried proteins.

You can read more about Malaysian nasi kerabu and Thai khao yum here!

Yes, you can! Adding coconut milk will make it more like nasi lemak (or nasi uduk for our Indonesian friends), but both the coconut rice and the regular blue rice versions are delicious!

Close-up of cooked Malaysian blue jasmine rice.

Want Other Unique Rice Recipes?

Then check out my peanut butter rice which is inspired by a Zimbabwean dish! Or try making some plant-based sushi using brown sushi rice to up your fiber game!

EASY Blue Butterfly Pea Flower Rice

Malaysian blue butterfly pea flower jasmine rice with a spoon.

Stunning blue rice, made with butterfly pea flowers. Usually served in Malaysian nasi kerabu & Thai khao yum, it makes you want to dig in immediately!

Jem @ The Fruity Jem

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 10

Steaming Time 5

Total Time 20

Serving Size 4 servings

Ingredients

1.5 cups hot water
10 dried butterfly pea flowers or sub with 1/2 teaspoon butterfly pea flower powder
1 cup jasmine rice
1 stick lemongrass bruised (optional but recommended)
3 kaffir lime leaves (optional but recommended)

Instructions

Steep the butterfly pea flowers in hot water for 5-10 minutes. Then strain and discard the flowers.
1.5 cups hot water, 10 dried butterfly pea flowers
Pound the root side of the lemongrass using the back of your knife. Then cut the lemongrass into 3 pieces.
1 stick lemongrass
Tear the sides of the kaffir lime leaves to release their fragrance (refer to the pictures above on how to tear them).
3 kaffir lime leaves
Combine the rice with the blue butterfly pea tea in the rice cooker or a small pot, then add the kaffir lime leaves and lemongrass.
1 cup jasmine rice
In a rice cooker or small pot, combine the jasmine rice, butterfly pea tea, lemongrass, and kaffir lime leaves.
If using a pot, bring to a boil, then reduce to low heat. Cover and simmer until the water is absorbed and the rice is cooked (refer to the rice package for the timing).
Once the rice is cooked, cover the pot/close the rice cooker for around 5 minutes to let the rice steam. Remove the lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves before serving. Enjoy!