Cooking Class: Perfect Brown Rice in the Oven

by Dorothy Reinhold on April 7, 2013


Print This Post Print This Post Perfect Brown Rice in the Oven on Shockingly Delicious. Recipe here: https://www.shockinglydelicious.com/?p=11566

It’s not so hard to cook rice, is it? I usually do it in a rice cooker. I can walk away and 30-45 minutes later, it’s done and ready for whatever awaits it on the plate.

But sometimes I want to do big-batch cooking to be time-efficient. In that case, the oven makes pretty perfect brown rice, with no muss and no fuss.

Perfect Brown Rice in the Oven on Shockingly Delicious. Recipe here: https://www.shockinglydelicious.com/?p=11566This technique makes perfectly cooked, chewy, nutty rice that isn’t gummy or sticky. The grains are each distinct, there is no chance for boil over on the stove, and no scorching. Bonus: the house smells amazingly, deliciously nutty while it is baking!

I like to make a big batch and keep half in the refrigerator for use in a day or three, and freeze the rest for another time.

Try it!

Recipe: Perfect Brown Rice in the Oven

Perfect Brown Rice in the Oven on Shockingly Delicious. Recipe here: https://www.shockinglydelicious.com/?p=11566Summary: For a big batch of perfectly cooked, chewy, nutty brown rice, use the oven! Easy, no-fail method.

Ingredients

  • 5 cups water
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 3 cups long grain brown rice (I used Trader Joe’s Brown Jasmine Rice)

Instructions

  1. Perfect Brown Rice in the OvenHeat the oven to 375 degrees F.
  2. In a 6-quart Dutch oven on the stove, heat water, oil and salt until boiling. Stir in rice, remove from stove, put lid on pot and place covered pot in hot oven.
  3. Bake undisturbed for 1 hour.
  4. Remove from oven, remove lid and fluff the rice with a fork, and serve.
  5. Makes 9 cups cooked rice.

Quick notes

This is deliberately under seasoned so it can be used in a variety of dishes. Season to taste when you use it.

To store

Since this makes so much, you can put half of it in a container in the refrigerator, for use within a day or three. The other half you can cool to room temperature, put into a zipper-top freezer bag, label and freeze for a night when you need rice but don’t have time to cook it.

Source and sub for a Dutch oven:

Alton Brown gives directions for baking the rice in a baking dish. Note that his recipe is half of this one, so if you use my proportions, you will likely need a 13- by 9-inch baking dish. I saw a version of this dish on Karen’s blog at In the Kitchen with KP, and she got it from Alton.

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour
Diet type: Vegetarian, Vegan
Diet tags: Reduced fat, Gluten free
Number of servings (yield): 12 (makes 9 cups)
Culinary tradition: USA (General)
My rating 5 stars:  ★★★★★ 

{ 22 comments… read them below or add one }

April April 17, 2019 at 8:44 pm

It worked like a charm. Perfect rice and it was so easy. Thanks so very much!

Reply

Dorothy Reinhold April 19, 2019 at 4:10 pm

April,
So glad you liked it! YAY!

Reply

Robert Gendron March 9, 2017 at 6:42 am

Thanks for this. This is just what I was looking for. I’m definitely going to try it.

Reply

gdub76 March 25, 2015 at 8:40 pm

So happy I found this! Thank you for posting!

Reply

Dorothy Reinhold March 26, 2015 at 3:04 pm

Grace,
Let me know how it works out for you!

Reply

Deb E January 10, 2014 at 12:01 pm

Love this recipe and heats up the kitchen to keep me toasty too! #pinned

Reply

Dorothy Reinhold January 10, 2014 at 1:17 pm

Deb,
I hadn’t thought about that side benefit, but with the results of the Polar Vortex, that’s a useful attribute!

Reply

sassygirl711 January 9, 2014 at 4:27 pm

just took my brown rice out of the oven and it’s perfectly cooked.
thanks for sharing a fantastic how-to technique!

Reply

Dorothy Reinhold January 10, 2014 at 8:08 am

Sassygirl,
You are welcome! Isn’t it just sort of a miracle how well it performs, with no fuss?

Reply

Britastina April 10, 2013 at 10:44 am

I just made a batch of this rice and it is amazing! I love brown rice but never have been able to make a successful batch. No more! No fear! Thank you, my dear…

Reply

Dorothy Reinhold April 10, 2013 at 2:37 pm

Britastina,
A little poetry! Thank YOU!

Reply

sallybr April 9, 2013 at 5:14 am

I ve done this a couple of times in the past, indeed it works like a charm! Thanks for reminding me, I definitely need to make a big batch, because we love brown rice and almost never make it because it takes so much longer than the white version

Reply

Dorothy Reinhold April 9, 2013 at 9:07 am

Sally,
Yes, that’s the downside of brown rice cooked stovetop or in the rice cooker…it takes twice as long, so too often I just grab the white because I need it finished faster. But if I have a bag of already cooked brown rice in the freezer (from making a big batch in the oven), it’s much easier to simply grab that and proceed.

Reply

kirsten@FarmFreshFeasts April 8, 2013 at 7:32 am

Dorothy, thank you for this! I always use my rice cooker, and it’s great for just the family or a small gathering, but if I’m bringing rice to a pot luck I always wish I had an easier way to cook more.

This is it.

Thank you!

Reply

Dorothy Reinhold April 8, 2013 at 11:13 am

Kirsten,
You are welcome! It was a revelation to me, as well. I have half a mind to try other grains in the oven. I have some freekah I want to try.

Reply

Renia Carsillo April 8, 2013 at 6:01 am

This seems like a great idea! I’m going to try it today. Thank you for sharing!

Reply

Rosemary C April 8, 2013 at 4:16 am

Well, I never would have thought to cook brown rice in the oven. I don’t have a rice cooker and I can’t stand when it burns, so I usually do it with too much water and drain it. This looks like a way better option, thanks!

Reply

Nancy Long April 7, 2013 at 1:30 pm

love it – have been using Alton Brown’s Baked Brown Rice recipe for years now. It’s the only way we like brown rice.

Reply

Dorothy Reinhold April 7, 2013 at 2:52 pm

Nancy,
Looks like I am late to the party!

Reply

Nena May 1, 2013 at 8:29 am

Dorothy, Thanks for the invite to the party….I had no idea this baked brown rice party was even happening! This is brown rice for busy moms! xoxo

Reply

Karen Hartzell (@InTheKitchenKP) April 7, 2013 at 9:36 am

Isn’t baking brown rice awesome! Have you tried short grain? That is my all time favorite for texture. 🙂

Reply

Dorothy Reinhold April 7, 2013 at 12:06 pm

Karen,
I’ll have to try short grain next time!

Reply

Leave a Comment

{ 1 trackback }

Previous post:

Next post: