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Brown Rice in the Oven.

5 · Dec 1, 2014 · 10 Comments

perfectly cooked, perfectly easy brown rice in the oven

Maybe youโ€™re awesome and you can cook rice on the stovetop without it boiling over and/or sticking to the bottom of the pot and/or turning out wet since it didn’t absorb all the water, but for some reason this is a skill that escapes me. Or at least, it escaped me five years ago when I learned the oven method, and I have never looked back. After maybe five minutes of prep, the rice goes in the oven and you don’t have to think about it again until you pull it out, perfectly and beautifully cooked every.single.time.

So: Preheat the oven. Measure and start boiling the water. Dump the rice into a baking dish.

measuring brown rice

Sprinkle with salt (stirring with your teaspoon is optional).

stirring brown rice

Carefully pour on boiling water.

brown rice and boiling water

Cover tightly with two pieces of foil (don’t be stingy like I always am – you deserve that extra inch of foil and you’ll be glad you have it).ย Put it in the oven and forget about it for an hour!

brown rice covered and ready for the oven

The hardest part is remembering – once the foil is on – that you just put a bunch of boiling water in there, and you shouldn’t slosh it around willy-nilly on the way to the oven!

I’m sure some of you are already doing this, or can handle the stovetop method, but this was life-changing for me! And later this week, I’ll show you my very favorite way to use this lovely, perfect brown rice!

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perfectly cooked, perfectly easy brown rice in the oven

Brown Rice in the Oven.

★★★★★ 5 from 1 reviews
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 1 hour
  • Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
  • Yield: 4-6 as a side dish
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Ingredients

  • 2-1/3 cups boiling water
  • 1-1/2 cups brown rice (any kind – I usually buy short grain from the bulk bins)
  • 1/2 teaspoon table salt
  • 2 teaspoons butter or olive oil (optional – I usually do a little oil drizzle)

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 375. Bring the water to a boil (I use our electric teakettle, or a covered saucepan). Meanwhile, measure the rice into a 8×8 baking dish and sprinkle with salt. Drizzle with oil or dot with butter (if using).
  2. Pour on boiling water and immediately cover tightly with two layers of foil. Carefully place in preheated oven and bake for 1 hour.
  3. After an hour, Cook’s Illustrated recommends fluffing it with a fork and letting it steam under a dish towel for 5 minutes, but ain’t nobody got time for that around here. You can go the extra mile or just dig in as soon as it comes out of the oven!

Notes

You can easily double the recipe for a 9×13 pan (like in the pictures above), and that’s what I usually do since extra rice freezes well for those times when you need it quickly!

This method is from Cook’s Illustrated

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Recipes, Veggies & Sides Make Ahead, Rice, Side Dishes

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Laurie says

    July 24, 2015 at 1:08 am

    I still have never tried this. I need to. (I can handle the stovetop method, mind you, but I would like to compare…) ๐Ÿ˜‰

    Reply
  2. Christen Marshall says

    October 2, 2015 at 6:58 pm

    Making dirty rice this way is also delish…you just have to watch the amount of sodium in that. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Reply
    • Bet says

      October 3, 2015 at 1:51 am

      Oooh, that sounds like an awesome idea!

      Reply
  3. Rosie udouj says

    January 20, 2016 at 12:52 am

    Thanks for this one! I am a rice failure. This will help me!

    Reply
    • Bet says

      January 20, 2016 at 1:01 am

      I know, man. It’s okay, we can be competent and successful in other areas of our lives and fall back on the oven in our time of need. ;o)

      Reply
  4. Chris says

    November 16, 2017 at 1:19 pm

    Hi Bet! I have oven-cooked brown rice before and it’s definitely the way to go!

    I notice your little helper in the photos ๐Ÿ™‚ is measuring what looks like more than 1.5 cups into what looks like a 9″x13″ pan. Were you doubling or tripling the recipe that day? I am cooking dinner for 30 people soon and thought I’d offer the choice of brown rice vs. white rice. So I was thinking about tripling the recipe (maybe even quadrupling??), but am not sure what size pan to use. Would 9×13 be large enough, or should use something bigger like a roasting pan or of those big foil pans? Would appreciate your thoughts!

    Reply
    • Bet says

      November 16, 2017 at 2:45 pm

      Hi Chris! Yes, I regularly do a double batch (3 cups of rice) in a 9×13 pan and that works great! I think you would need a larger pan to do more. Or you could do 2 9×13 pans for a quadrupled recipe. I’m assuming it would do fine in a large roasting pan but haven’t actually tried it! So I might do 2 separate pans to be safe!

      Reply
  5. Elizabeth says

    April 10, 2018 at 4:56 pm

    Oh my GOSH– I am so glad to know that I am not alone with my inability to cook rice! I can cook, but rice has always been elusive. Thank you for this recipe– I may actually start cooking rice again!

    Reply
    • Bet says

      April 10, 2018 at 5:36 pm

      Haha – I know, every once in awhile I try again and it all sticks to the bottom of the pot and I think – nope, still canโ€™t do it! ๐Ÿ˜‚ This method has never failed me though!

      Reply
  6. Laurie says

    March 25, 2021 at 3:00 pm

    I make this… almost once a week. WHY do I still have to look up the quantities? WHY won’t it just stick in my brain?!?!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

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About Me

Hey, I’m Bet! I love food and welcoming family and friends to the table with it. This is where I share what we’re eating – mostly “real”, family-friendly, doable dinners, plus breakfast foods, snacks, and of course, my favorite homemade sweet treats. I love to meal plan, hoard freezer meals, and include my girls in the cooking process as much as I can (while still preserving a little sanity). Thanks for visiting – I hope you find some new favorite recipes here!

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