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!
Watch How to Cook Brown Rice
How to Cook Perfect Brown Rice
- Author:
- 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, which yields 3 parts cooked rice. As written below, the recipe yields 3 cups cooked rice.
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
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, 45 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!
Dolli
This is simply brilliant!
I am from Germany and my mother, who was an excellent cook,
did rice that way and it always came out perfect.
I had forgotten, so thank you very much for the tip.
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you, Dolli! I appreciate your review.
Ann kelley
The Extra Vegetable Fried Rice is so delicious! I use it all the time. So grateful to have found it.
★★★★★
Kate
I’m glad you found it too, Ann! I appreciate your review.
Mavis
#cookieandkate
Major fail on the brown rice, followed directions to a tee! Like porridge, I have tried so many recipes and was hoping this would work, however it did not. Love your other recipes, I give up on brown rice! Jasmine all the way, works every time!
★
Kate
Hi Mavis, I’m sorry to hear this. I have made this several Times without issues. Did you use a large enough pot? How long did you cook it?
nancy
this is an easy and successful way to cook rice. plus rice is a high arsenic food, and this method will leach about 50% of the arsenic out of the rice – throw away the cooking liquid – according to the healthline web site, so likely the healthiest way to cook it as well. thanks for the recipe.
★★★★★
Kate
You’re welcome, Nancy!
Stacy
I’ve tried a bunch of different methods to cook brown rice over the years, and I’m always disappointed. It never cooks through, it takes forever, and I usually end up with some burnt on the bottom of the pot. I had to up my cook time to 40 minutes but this worked! Brown rice cooked perfectly with none stuck to the bottom of the pot. I did have to add more water at one point. I used this for your vegetable fried rice recipe and it was so good. My husband actually commented that this was the “best rice” he’d ever had with fried rice.
★★★★★
Kate
Hooray! I’m glad this worked for you. Thank you for your review, Stacy.
Jim
Thank you for this, most people don’t understand about boiling rice and I think it’s a perfect way to decrease starch. I was looking for the time frame, and I finally found it with your recipe, I also like the 10 minute steam at the end to let the red settle.
★★★★★
Kate
You’re welcome, Jim! Thank you for your review.
Heidi Manti
Love it! Made the perfect brown rice recipe comes out perfect every time. Look forward for more recipes.
Thank you
Heidi
★★★★★
Kate
You’re welcome, Heidi!