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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.
This 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
Summary: 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
Heat the oven to 375 degrees F.- 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.
- Bake undisturbed for 1 hour.
- Remove from oven, remove lid and fluff the rice with a fork, and serve.
- 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
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At ShockD, you’ll find scrumptious, tried & true, "scary good" recipes, tips and coaching to make YOU a fabulous home cook! Don't blame me if you need a 12-step program to wean yourself away!
E-mail me: Dorothy.Reinhold@gmail.com
{ 22 comments… read them below or add one }
It worked like a charm. Perfect rice and it was so easy. Thanks so very much!
April,
So glad you liked it! YAY!
Thanks for this. This is just what I was looking for. I’m definitely going to try it.
So happy I found this! Thank you for posting!
Grace,
Let me know how it works out for you!
Love this recipe and heats up the kitchen to keep me toasty too! #pinned
Deb,
I hadn’t thought about that side benefit, but with the results of the Polar Vortex, that’s a useful attribute!
just took my brown rice out of the oven and it’s perfectly cooked.
thanks for sharing a fantastic how-to technique!
Sassygirl,
You are welcome! Isn’t it just sort of a miracle how well it performs, with no fuss?
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…
Britastina,
A little poetry! Thank YOU!
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
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.
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!
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.
This seems like a great idea! I’m going to try it today. Thank you for sharing!
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!
love it – have been using Alton Brown’s Baked Brown Rice recipe for years now. It’s the only way we like brown rice.
Nancy,
Looks like I am late to the party!
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
Isn’t baking brown rice awesome! Have you tried short grain? That is my all time favorite for texture. 🙂
Karen,
I’ll have to try short grain next time!
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