I know, I know…by the title you’re expecting the most exciting blog post, EVER. Right? Stick with me. To pump up the excitement factor, I’m giving away something super cute, too. You’ll want one. But let’s talk brown rice for a minute, shall we? Brown rice is a whole grain. It’s a plain grain of rice with only the outer husk removed. To produce normal, white rice, the next 2 layers (the bran and the germ) are removed, leaving just the starchy white center. While brown and white rice have similar amounts of calories and carbohydrates, brown rice has considerably more nutrients, including fiber, magnesium, healthy fatty acids, and much more. It’s a little chewier than white rice and has a mild, nutty, flavor. It’s definitely a great way to add healthy grains to your diet.
The problem is that it can be a little tricky to cook. It’s not hard, by any means. You can certainly just follow the instructions on the bag, but I find the results are incredibly varied. Sometimes it’s still crunchy when it’s done, other times it’s really gummy and sticky. I almost always have a layer of rice stuck like super glue to the bottom of my pan. For me it’s really hit and miss when I cook it in a pot on the stove. However, using this method, it’s perfect every single time. The grains are perfectly textured and fluffy, and I don’t have to think about it since it’s just sitting in my oven. Here’s how it’s done:
Place your dry brown rice in an 8×8 pan.
Combine 2 1/3 cups water with just a couple teaspoons of oil. Bring it to a boil, and then add a little salt. You can also use broth for a little extra flavor.
Pour it over the rice and give it a mix.
Cover the pan tightly with foil. You don’t want any of that moisture escaping and evaporating during cooking, so wrap it down tight.
Pop the pan in the oven and leave it there for about an hour. When it comes out, remove the foil,
and give it a quick fluff.
Immediately cover the pan with a clean kitchen towel. Notice how I pulled the towel tight over the top and tucked the edges underneath the pan. That’s so the towel doesn’t actually sit on the rice and just stick to it.
Normally, you’d just leave a pot of rice with the lid on, but what happens is that all of that hot steam evaporates and has nowhere to go. So it collects on the underside of the lid and then falls back into the rice, making it sticky and gummy. The towel allows the moisture to stay in the pan, keeping the rice moist and fluffy, but excess steam is absorbed into the towel.
The result is simply, brown rice perfected. Sometimes simple tricks are the best.
This is a great little recipe to print out and tape to your rice container, or on the inside of a cabinet for easy reference.
And if you want to double it, just use a 9×13 pan, and the baking time remains the same. You can also use a ceramic pan with a tight-fitting lid.
Foolproof Oven-Baked Brown Rice
Perfected by America’s Test Kitchen
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups brown rice
2 1/3 cups water
2 teaspoons unsalted butter or vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
Instructions
1. Adjust oven rack to middle position. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spread rice in an 8-inch square baking dish.
2. Bring water and butter or oil to a boil, either in a saucepan or in the microwave. Keep an eye on it and take it off heat immediately after it starts boiling. Immediately stir in salt and pour water over rice in baking dish. Cover baking dish tightly with 2 layers of foil, or heavy-duty foil. Transfer baking dish to oven and bake rice until tender, about 1 hour.
3. Remove baking dish from oven and uncover. Fluff rice with fork, then cover dish with kitchen towel and let rice stand for 5 minutes. uncover and let rice stand 5 minutes longer. Serve immediately.
Questions & Reviews
Thank you for this! I always feel like my brown rice turns out weird.
Thanks Sara! I always need help when it does to rice! Love your blog sooo much!
I love this! This is the ONLY way I cook my brown rice and I have never had any problems. It always comes out perfect. I always wondered why there were so many different notes on the web about how to cook it when it is so easy this way. The only difference I do is to use about a tablespoon of coconut oil in the pan. I usually always make 3 cups of rice and 6 cups of water. That way I have some left over to freeze!
Just wondering of this would work in a crockpot too, just increasing the time? I just had a baby this year and I’m trying to simplify life a little… This is nice and simple, but would be even better if the oven didn’t heat up the whole kitchen… Will definitely be trying this when it cools down a bit 🙂
OK. Maybe I’m weird, but I’ve never had any trouble cooking brown rice on the stove-top. One thing I do, however, is add 2-3 tablespoons of cold water to the hot pot once all the liquid is absorbed, then let it sit for 5 minutes or so. No sticking! It’s especially helpful if I’ve let the pot go a little too long.
I don’t think I’d want to fire up my oven just for rice (or at all, in the summer heat) – but I’ll definitely remember this trick if I’m already baking something else.
Love this! I was wanting to make some rice up and freeze it before school started so life would be a little less stressful and I could eat a little healthier without all of the time…
First perfect bacon, now perfect rice? I’m gonna have to start giving my oven more respect! Will try this for dinner tonight!
Congrats on reaching 50k! I’ve taken so many of your recipes to potlucks and then point them to your blog that I’m responsible for at least a few of those “likes”. Thanks for the fun giveaways…. I might have to get me one of those adorable aprons if I don’t win it. 😉
Would it work to do a mix of white and brown rice? I haven’t really done brown rice for my kids before and I usually like to go half&half for a while when I’m introducing the healthier version of something we eat pretty regularly. I know on the stove brown rice takes a lot longer to cook, but in the oven could you cook them together?
Great post! I like baking my rice, too. I do it similar to you but I didn’t know that about the towel. I’m going to try it next time. Thanks.
THANK YOU!!!! You know how people sometimes say things like – i just can’t bake. or, I just can’t grill. and you’re like “why? just follow the directions…” Well i just can’t cook brown rice. at all. like – i’ve tried everything. tupperware microwaveable rice cooker, 10 minute boil packs, all of it. i am so excited to try this way!!
What a great idea! And the apron is so cute!!!
Would this work with wild rice too?
I would assume so, but the proportions might be a little different. I’ll have to experiment next time I make wild rice!
I was actually just lamenting on how I can never cook brown rice correctly. I’ll have to try this! Hopefully it works so I don’t waste the huge costco bag of brown rice I bought a few months ago. 🙂 Does your recipe work for short grain brown rice?
Yep, I’ve used both short and long grain.
We’ve switched completely to brown rice. This method sounds great if I have the time to do it, but I usually don’t. I have had great success using my rice cooker!
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I’ve been needing this post for a long time!
Just made brown rice last week & it was CRUNCHY! Can’t wait to try this recipe! Thanks so much!
Thanks for sharing! This is a really cool way to cook rice!
This post came at the perfect time! The last time I was at the store I grabbed brown rice because I had been hearing how much more it had beneficial for us. I cooked it like the instructions said and it was very gummy, with a bit of a bite in the center. We didn’t like it at all, so of course there’s a ton still in the pantry just sitting there! Would any of your recipes on OBB work with brown rice instead of white rice? We love the lime-cilantro rice with pineapple!
love this! i was just about to buy some brown rice and start cooking that, b/c i’ve been told it’s so much healthier for you. i’m going to trying this tonight!
I have always wanted to switch to brown rice but never could because of texture and taste. I cant wait to try this out and take one more step towards healthy eating.
Trying out brown rice is on my food to do list. Thanks for the how to!
Thank you Thank you!! I’ve always wanted to ask this question, but hate to burden you with a request when you probably get so many….so this was awesome.
Oh goodness, we’re never burdened by questions and requests- feel free to ask stuff any time!
Can’t believe I hadn’t already FB “liked” you guys! Honored to be the 50,000!
Janet in Atlanta
Love this! Totally gonna try it 🙂
Thank you! We have recently switched to brown rice and I’ve been having a hard time cooking it.
I always make my rice this way – perfect every time! Other types of rice cook well using this method, too. I cook basmati rice like this all the time.
Hi Amy!
Did you have to do anything special or different with basmati rice? Want to try this tomorrow for guests but maybe shouldn’t experiment on dinner company 🙂 regular brown rice works great but basmati fits the indian spiced kabobs perfectly! Thanks!
LOVE THIS! I make brown rice all the time and have to scrub and soak, scrub and soak the pan for days. Seriously!
Can’t wait to try this out tomorrow night! (after I win that apron of course!)
Use vinegar to soak for a bit, you will be surprised.
If I were to come up with all the different ways possible to cook rice, I don’t think this would ever have entered my mind. What a perfectly painless carefree way to accomplish this task. Thank you! And thank you ATK!
Maybe I will actually cook brown rice now…I don’t like cleaning out my rice cooker and it’s so messy on the stove. Have you tried this with white rice too?