This Is The Most Foolproof Way To Cook Brown Rice

Oven baked brown rice starts with putting the rice and butter in an oven safe dish with boiling water, and ends with fluffy, perfectly cooked brown rice.

Cooking Brown Rice In An Oven Is Unbelievably Easy

When I originally encountered the idea of baking brown rice in an oven rather than cooking it on a stovetop, I was eager to give it a try! It turned out perfectly, and not just the first time either — this oven brown rice method produced perfectly cooked brown rice time after time, which is why I’ve taken to calling it “foolproof!”

Before I learned about the oven method, I didn’t make brown rice very often — but not because I didn’t like eating it! It just takes longer to cook brown rice compared to white rice, and I didn’t love having to keep an eye on a pot for an hour to make sure it didn’t boil over or run dry!

Luckily, there are no such issues when you bake brown rice in an oven. The rice comes out fluffy and tender, and you get consistent results every time. This method makes it easy to enjoy the benefits of incorporating more brown rice into your diet (and I’ll tell you about some of those benefits later in this post!)

Related: Add This One Ingredient To Make The Best Rice Ever

How To Make Foolproof Oven-Baked Brown Rice

Adapted from Cooks Illustrated

to make oven baked brown rice all you need is brown rice, salt, butter, and boiling water.

Ingredients:

  • 3 cups brown rice, rinsed (see link below)
  • 4 2/3 cups water
  • 4 tsp butter
  • 1 tsp salt

Related: Should You Rinse Rice? The Answer Is Surprisingly Important

Start your brown rice by putting it in an oven safe dish and adding pats of butter.

Directions:

Spread rice out in an even layer in the bottom of a 9×13 inch baking dish, then top the rice with 4 pats (teaspoons) of butter.

Before adding the water to your oven safe dish of rice, boil the water and add the salt to it.

Bring the water to boil in a saucepan, your microwave, or in a kettle, then stir in the salt.

Once you've added the boiling salted water to the rice and butter in the casserole dish, cover it tightly with two layers of foil.

Pour the salted water over the rice in the baking dish, then cover the dish tightly with a double layer of aluminum foil

The oven baked brown rice turns out perfectly cooked and fluffy.

Bake at 375°F for 1 hour, or until the rice is tender. After an hour, remove the baking dish from your oven, remove the foil, and fluff the rice with a fork. Re-cover the baking dish with the foil and let it stand at room temperature for 10 more minutes before serving.

This oven baked brown rice is tender and fluffy.

BONUS: 5 Benefits Of Brown Rice

  1. Brown rice contains more nutrients than white rice because only its outermost layer, or hull, is removed during processing. White rice, on the other hand, is stripped of several of its outer layers in to reveal the white color beneath.
  2. Brown rice contains more than 80% of the recommended daily value of manganese, a coenzyme that aids in metabolizing carbs and protein, and that helps keeps your immune and reproductive systems in good working order.
  3. The fiber in brown rice helps you feel full, thereby decreasing your chances of overeating.
  4. The fiber and selenium found in brown rice may also have a protective effect against certain types of cancer, which is never a bad thing!
  5. Whole grains like brown rice can help lower bad cholesterol.

There you have it: five good reasons to incorporate more brown rice into your diet. And there’s simply no easier way to cook brown rice than by baking it!

Do you prefer brown rice or white rice?

Oven baked brown rice starts with putting the rice and butter in an oven safe dish with boiling water, and ends with fluffy, perfectly cooked brown rice.

Foolproof Oven-Baked Brown Rice Recipe

Jill Nystul
I love how easy this recipe is, and that it produces perfect brown rice every time!
4.78 from 9 votes
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Rest Time 10 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Course Side Dish
Cuisine American
Servings 6
Calories 368 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 3 cups brown rice
  • 4 2/3 cups water
  • 4 teaspoons butter
  • 1 teaspoon salt

Instructions
 

  • Spread rice in a 9×13" baking dish and top the rice with 4 pats (teaspoons) of butter.
  • Bring water to boil, remove from heat, stir in salt and pour over rice.
  • Cover baking dish tightly with a double layer of foil. Bake for 1 hour at 375°F, or until tender.
  • Remove baking dish from oven and uncover. Fluff rice with fork, then re-cover and let stand for 10 more minutes before serving.

Nutrition

Calories: 368kcalCarbohydrates: 72gProtein: 7gFat: 5gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0.1gCholesterol: 7mgSodium: 422mgPotassium: 255mgFiber: 3gSugar: 0.002gVitamin A: 83IUCalcium: 38mgIron: 2mg

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Jill Nystul (aka Jillee)

Jill Nystul is an accomplished writer and author who founded the blog One Good Thing by Jillee in 2011. With over 30 years of experience in homemaking, she has become a trusted resource for contemporary homemakers by offering practical solutions to everyday household challenges.I share creative homemaking and lifestyle solutions that make your life easier and more enjoyable!

About Jillee

Jill Nystul

Jill’s 30 years of homemaking experience, make her the trusted source for practical household solutions.

About Jillee

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