How to Cook Perfect Brown Rice

Name: How to Cook Perfect Brown Rice
Prep time: 2 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 32 min
Yield: 3 cups
Cuisine: Whole grain
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

81 Comments

Jump to Recipe

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.

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!

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

★★★★★

5 from 23 reviews

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, 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

Bring a large pot of water to boil, using at least 6 cups water per 1 cup rice. Rinse* the rice in a fine mesh colander under running water to remove excess starch.
Add the rice to the boiling water. Reduce the temperature as necessary to prevent overflow, but maintain a steady boil. Boil, uncovered, for 30 minutes.
Drain off the remaining cooking water and return the rice to the pot. Cover the pot and let the rice rest, off the heat, for 10 minutes. Fluff, season as desired, and serve.

Notes

Recipe adapted from Saveur.

*Note on rinsing: I’ve forgotten to rinse my rice before, and the rice turned out almost as good. The cooked grains are a little more starchy—you can see a thin layer of gluey starch at the bottom of the pot after steaming. If you’re in a hurry, skip the rinse.

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.

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.

1) Thai Red Curry with Vegetables

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

2) Kale, Black Bean & Avocado Burrito Bowl

Gluten free and vegan

“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

3) Extra Vegetable Fried Rice

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

4) Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Crispy Baked Tofu with Honey-Sesame Glaze

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

5) Anything-Goes Kale Salad with Green Tahini Dressing

Gluten free and vegan

“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!

Similar recipes

Comments