Kitchen notes · a little help before you start
How to Cook Brown Rice
A bowl of tender brown rice has a satisfying chew and a gentle nutty flavor. It is a useful, simple dish to have ready for the table. Give the grains their covered rest after cooking, then fluff them lightly and enjoy them warm.
- Prep
- 5 min
- Cook
- 55 min
- Total
- 60 min
- Original yield
- Serves 4
- Ingredients
- 3 listed
Make it part of your week
Recipe categories & planning details
- Meal type
- Dinner · Sides
- Preparation & total time
- Prep: 15 minutes or less · Total: 31–60 minutes
- Dietary characteristics
- Dairy free · Gluten free · Vegan · Vegetarian
- Dish type
- Rice dishes
A few quick notes
1. Rinse before starting
Use well-rinsed rice, combining it with water and olive oil in the pot before bringing everything to a boil.
2. Lower after boiling
Cover and reduce heat to low once the mixture boils, keeping the rice at its forty-five-minute simmer.
3. Rest off the heat
After simmering, take the pot off the heat and leave it covered another ten minutes before fluffing with a fork.
Get to know the ingredients
Uncooked brown rice
The rice goes into the pot uncooked and well rinsed. Its longer simmer is followed by a separate covered resting stage.
Measured water
Combine the listed water with the rinsed rice before heating, keeping the recipe's one-to-two rice-to-water ratio for this method.
Extra-virgin olive oil
Add the olive oil with rice and water for the stovetop method. Omit it when using a rice cooker.
Let’s make it
Choose your servings, then check things off as you go.
Original recipe: Serves 4. Original quantities shown.
Check ingredients as you prepare them. These checks stay on this page.
How to make it
0 of 2 steps completeMake room for How to Cook Brown Rice
Review ingredients in your pantry before anything is added. Meal plans use your household size; grocery-only additions use the servings selected above.
The last little job
Fluff gently with a fork
Remove the lid after the covered rest and fluff the warm rice with a fork before serving from the pot.
A little more help as you go
A rice-cooker option
You can use the same rice-to-water ratio in a rice cooker, using its brown-rice setting instead of the stovetop stages.
Cover for both stages
Keep the rice covered during its low simmer and its off-heat rest, opening for the final fluff once both stages are complete.
A few questions you might have
Should I use the rice cooker's white-rice setting?
Use the brown-rice setting when cooking this rice-to-water ratio in a rice cooker instead of the stovetop pot.
Does the oil belong in the rice cooker too?
Skip the olive oil in the rice cooker. It is included in the stovetop version.
Should I keep cooking during the ten-minute rest?
Remove the pot from the heat, leaving the lid on for that rest before the rice is fluffed with a fork.
Do I boil the water before adding rice?
The directions combine rice, water and olive oil first, then bring the mixture to a boil before covering and lowering heat.
What utensil is used for the finish?
Use a fork to fluff the rice after its off-heat covered rest, following the final direction before serving.
Any more cooking tips?
This rice-to-water ratio also works in a rice cooker using the brown rice setting. If you're using a rice cooker to cook your rice, skip the olive oil.
Storage & reheating safety
For cooked, perishable leftovers, refrigerate within 2 hours (1 hour above 90°F), using shallow containers for prompt cooling. Keep the refrigerator at 40°F or below, use refrigerated leftovers within 3–4 days, and reheat hot leftovers to 165°F, checked with a food thermometer. Follow any shorter package limit.
These are general safety limits, not a tested storage or freezing recommendation for this particular dish. USDA leftovers guidance · Safe cooking temperatures
Recipe source: loveandlemons.com. Ingredient names and quantities may be adapted for the pantry.
Preparation notes follow the recipe shown here.