How to Cook Brown Rice

posted in Soups, Salads, Sides and Sauces, Pasta, Rice and Grains by Kathy Maister

Brown rice is just like white rice, except that it still has it’s high-fiber bran coating. It’s this extra coating that makes brown rice more nutritious than white rice.
Brown rice has a light tan in color and has a nuttier flavor and chewier texture than white rice. (Think of whole-wheat bread vs. white bread!)

The only difference between cooking brown rice and white rice is the water to rice ratio. Because of the outer bran coating, more water and a longer cooking time is needed for brown rice.

My video “Cooking White Rice” uses the 1-2-3 ratio for perfect white rice. (1 cup of rice, 2 cups of water, will make 3 cups of rice.)

This formula does not work for brown rice. Check the back of the package of rice to determine how much water is needed for your particular brand of rice.

Adding butter and salt is optional but it does give the rice a nice flavor. One Tablespoon of butter and 1/2 teaspoon of salt, to 1 cup of rice, is the norm. Because brown rice has so much more flavor than white rice, I do often skip the salt and butter when I’m cooking it. This is totally your choice!

Start by bringing the water to a boil. Add the rice, salt and butter, and give it ONE stir. Cover the pot.

Return the pot to a boil, then turn the stove down to simmer and set the timer. It can take 45-55 minutes to cook brown rice.

When you uncover the rice it may look like all the water is absorbed but...

check to be sure by gently moving the rice to see if there is any water left on the bottom of the pan.

When cooking any and all rice, never stir the rice while it is cooking or you will end up with very mushy rice!
Store brown rice in an air-tight container. It should keep about six months in your cupboard. (White rice will keep almost indefinitely.)

Cheers!

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18 comments

Jennifer | posted on Sep 6, 2007

Great Kathy!

I love brown rice. It’s easy to cook and well worth the extra time. Unlike cooked white rice, brown rice stores extremely well in the fridge and heats up nicely. Leftovers can be used to make a fast stir-fry dinner for the next day.

If you want to cook it for kids - short grain brown rice is the best and has a chewy texture they'll love!

Kathy Maister | posted on Sep 6, 2007

Thanks Jennifer for all the great tips! Sometimes when I cook brown rice I swear it smells like pop corn! (Well all most...)!

Eve Parker | posted on Jan 9, 2008

Rice is one of the only things that I tend to mess up on but your tidbits have saved my rice making future!

To all you ladies who like to use leftover rice, be sure to avoid keeping it left out to cool for no longer than one hour and keep it stored in the refrigerator for no longer than one day. Due to the bacteria found in uncooked rice, temperature abuse can regenerate it.

Kathy Maister | posted on Jan 11, 2008

Thanks Eve! Great tip!

suman sehra | posted on Jan 12, 2008

I wanted to know how to make brown rice because my rice can not make easily and when we eat it looks uncooked

hector | posted on Apr 14, 2008

wow great tips i love startcooking.com i come here everyday im 16 years old and i lvoe cookin i cook for my whole family and i just wanted to know how to mak brown rice since ive never tried it i guess i will tomorow!! thanks!

Richard P. Eisner | posted on May 1, 2008

HELP...First time using BROWN RICE. Is 200 g of rice 1 cup??? Can you give me cooking directions that are not metric? Thank you Richard P. Eisner

Cherie | posted on May 2, 2008

Hello there I cook in a daycare for 100 kids canI cook brown rice in a rice cooker?

Kathy Maister | posted on May 2, 2008

Hi Richard,

1 Cup of brown rice =200 grams of rice

My recipe is not metric! Good Luck!

Mary | posted on May 22, 2008

Hi, I am new to your site but not a new cook. I have a gas stove and I find that when I cook white rice, it always cooks the rice very quickly. I usually have to check it early and I usually add more water than called for in the recipe. I'm not sure how this will work out with the brown rice recipe. Usually the white rice sticks on the bottom. Do you have any suggestions for this? Also, I'm not sure how my family (kids) will like brown rice.......do you have any suggestions for adding something to it? thanks for your time! :)

Justin | posted on May 22, 2008

Brown rice is a staple of my diet... Though I cook it in a ricemaker, so I can't help you with the gas burner, I can give you a great tip for making it delicious and kid friendly. My favorite way to eat brown rice is to put three tablesppons of garlic infused olive oil in it, squeeze 1/2 a lemon over that, add a pinch of salted herbs, then add a handful of sesame seeds... it's delicious and doesn't taste anything like you'ld expect rice to taste like.

Kathy Maister | posted on May 26, 2008

Hi Mary, Some gas stoves have a higher "simmer" level than others. My old stove was like that and simmering just about anything was really tricky. You might want to think about investing in a A "Flame Tamer". Also be sure to cook your rice on the smallest burner as well. Brown rice is chewier and nuttier tasting and who knows, your kids may love it! Good Luck!

KIM | posted on Jun 2, 2008

HI,

Please give me a recipe on how to cook brown rice with pressure cooker. In the past, my brown rice always turned out so hard, it make it difficult to chew … Any idea why? Please help. Thanks for your advice.

KIM

Kathy Maister | posted on Jun 4, 2008

Hi Kim,
First of all, be sure to accurately measure both the rice and the water! I do not own a pressure cooker so the best I can do is offer some links to other sites for directions. If you Google - Brown Rice in a Pressure Cooker- there are thousands of recipes to choose from.
Fastcooking looks very good.
Pressure Cooker Recipes gives cooking times and amounts for all types of rice.

Good Luck!

Susana Osorio | posted on Jun 16, 2008

Thanks for the tips. I have always make a delicious white rice, but I almost give up trying to make the brown one. I wanted to change for a more healthy rice, but it was always hard to chew and so salty.

Thanks, I am going to try your way now.

Susana

Dawn Bennett | posted on Jun 25, 2008

Hi Cherie, I live in Mauritius and I cook in a daycare for 35 children between 3 months and 3 years old - would you kindly contact me so we could share recipes

Thanks, Kathy, for the recipe for cooking brown rice - I'd done it before but it was always a little chewy - will try your way to night

rick | posted on Aug 30, 2008

I add dried black-eyed peas to the rice and once cooked add graded parmesan and parsley or basil. I usually start with cold water rather than boiled - is there a difference in taste or texture? a rice cooker works great for brown rice. per suggestion will try the pressure cooker next since it takes less energy. thanks.

Kathy Maister | posted on Aug 31, 2008

Hi Rick, there are many different methods for cooking rice. My recommendation is to follow the directions on the package of the particular rice you purchased.

I have used rice mixes that call for starting with cold water, adding the rice and bringing the whole mixture to a boil and then simmer until all the water is absorbed. I believe several of the Near East brand of rice mixes have you start by adding the rice to cold water. I have never tried this method with brown rice so I do not know how it would affect the texture of the cooked rice.

If you follow the directions on the package you should be safe!

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