How to Cook Perfect Brown Rice

May 29, 2019

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Repeat after me: No more mushy rice! No more mushy rice! I’ve been using this brown rice cooking technique for years, and it never fails.

A few reasons to love this recipe:

  • You don’t need a rice cooker or any special equipment (just a pot with a lid, and a kitchen stove).
  • You can use this technique on any type of brown rice (long, medium or short grain, as long as it’s not a quick-cooking variety).
  • It’s so easy to remember, you’ll never need to look up how to cook brown rice again.

brown rice before and after cooking

For this technique, you’ll boil your rice in an abundance of water for 30 minutes. Drain off the excess water, return the rice to the pot, cover, and let the rice steam for 10 minutes. Ta da! Perfect brown rice, every time.

I originally found this technique on Saveur, and I’m so thankful I did. Their recipe calls for 12 cups of water (that’s a lot!) per cup of rice, and I’ve learned that it really only needs 6 cups.

However, you don’t actually have to measure the water as long as you’re using a large enough pot. If too much water evaporates during the cooking process, just add more and return the water to a boil. Your rice will still turn out perfectly!

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How to Cook Perfect Brown Rice

  • Author: Cookie and Kate
  • Prep Time: 2 minutes
  • Cook Time: 30 minutes
  • Total Time: 32 minutes (plus 10 minutes for steaming)
  • Yield: 3 cups 1x
  • Category: Side dish
  • Method: Stovetop
  • Cuisine: Whole grain

Once you try this easy technique, you’ll never want to cook brown rice any other way. You can scale this recipe up or down as needed. The basic ratio is 1 part brown rice to 6 parts water, and which yields 3 parts cooked rice. As written below, the recipe yields 3 cups cooked rice.

Scale

Ingredients

  • 1 cup brown rice (short, medium or long grain brown rice will work, as long as it’s not a quick-cooking variety)
  • 6 cups water
  • Salt, soy sauce or other desired seasonings, to taste

Instructions

  1. Bring a large pot of water to boil, using at least 6 cups water per 1 cup rice. Add the rice and boil, uncovered, for 30 minutes.
  2. Drain off the remaining cooking water and return the rice to the pot. Cover the pot and let the rice steam, off the heat, for 10 minutes. Fluff, season as desired, and serve.

Notes

Recipe adapted from Saveur.

Make it gluten free: Rice is gluten free, so just be mindful of your additions. Soy sauce, for example, is not gluten free (substitute certified gluten-free tamari instead).

Wild rice option: For wild rice, use 8 cups water and boil for 40 to 55 minutes, until tender but pleasantly chewy.

▸ Nutrition Information

The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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5 Recipes Featuring Brown Rice

The following recipes feature this brown rice cooking technique. I have many more brown rice recipes here. You’ll find brown rice risottos, paella, mujaddara and more.

Homemade Thai red curry recipe with vegetables! So much better than takeout. cookieandkate.com

Gluten free and vegan

“Made this yesterday following the recipe quite faithfully. Hubby said it tastes exactly like the red curry at our favorite Thai restaurant! This is a winner and will be bookmarked and made often! The details provided in the recipe such as time to cook at each step ensure that you can’t go wrong with the recipe. And so I would feel confident making this recipe for company too.” – Poornima

Kale black bean burrito bowls make a delicious, redeeming, vegan dinner that packs well for tomorrow's lunch. cookieandkate.com

“I’ve made this twice now and love it! The lime juice-marinated kale totally converted me to eating raw kale! This is a perfect recipe to make for weekday lunches in the office because it’s easy to pack and reheat and leftovers taste just as great. Thanks!” – Lauren

Learn how to make vegetable fried rice—it's a fun and satisfying dinner recipe! Vegetarian and gluten free. cookieandkate.com

Gluten free and easily vegan

“I made this last weekend and love love loved it so I’m making it again this weekend! My husband really liked it too, and it’s a tall order to get him to eat a lot of vegetables so this will be entered into our regular rotation for sure. So glad I found this blog, I’ve email subscribed and have just purchased your cookbook! Thanks Kate!!” – Julia

roasted brussels sprouts, crispy baked tofu and rice recipe

Gluten free and vegan

“Another amazing recipe, perfect combination of sweet and spicy. I pitched this to my meat loving boyfriend as vegetarian general tso’s, and it worked! Every recipe I cook from this blog is so delicious – all I want to know is when is the Cookie and Kate cookbook release date! Thank you, Kate, your recipes have renewed my love of cooking and make breaking bread with loved ones even more special.” – Ailla

Super versatile kale salad recipe with an amazing green tahini salad dressing - cookieandkate.com

“Thank you so much for this lovely salad, beautiful and delicious! The dressing is such a nice combination. Just the thing after a weekend of not-so-healthful eating.” – Wendy

More resources you might appreciate: 23 make-ahead breakfast recipes, 16 recipes that pack well for lunch and 20 simple weeknight dinners. You can shop my essential kitchen equipment here. Don’t forget to follow us on Pinterest for a steady stream of recipe inspiration!

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