Baked Brown Rice
This baked brown rice is a cinch to throw together, is much healthier than white rice, and it is downright delicious. It turns out perfect every time.
Don’t hate me because I cook with white rice.
I know it isn’t nutritious and definitely is not en vogue with the healthy eaters of the world. But I swear to you, every time I have tried to make brown rice, it has been absolutely terrible.
I feel these faint twinges of guilt every time I put white rice on the table but it hasn’t been enough to get me past the pain and gag-quality of failed brown rice.
However, last week, my friend, who happens to be an extremely healthy eater and who I am sure wonders how she found herself to be stuck with me, coerced me into trying this baked brown rice concoction she had made.
And wow. I mean wow. It didn’t taste remotely like any brown rice I have ever made.
I’ve made it four times since then and have a feeling it will be replacing our white rice from here on out.
While it takes a bit more planning since the baking time is longer, it is a cinch to throw together, and it is downright delicious.
After all these years, this brown rice has continued to be an extreme staple. Love, love, love it. I make it with low-sodium chicken broth when I have it on hand or sometimes just with water and a little extra salt. Sometimes I even get all crazy and do half broth, half water. The real key is to keep your eye on it and make sure it doesn’t dry out and burn on the bottom.
I’ve included a few variations below the recipe that will take this simple brown rice and knock it out of the park.
FAQs for Baked Brown Rice
You want to use long grain or jasmine (basmati works, too); quick-cooking or instant rice won’t work for this recipe.
Yes, as a note, I would still use the same amount of time unless the rice water is in a much thinner layer in the smaller pan (in that case, you could probably cut 10 or so minutes off the baking time).
When I double this, I usually increase the baking time by at least 5-7 minutes.
Baked Brown Rice
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups brown rice
- 2 ½ cups low-sodium chicken broth or water, if using water, add 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease an 8X8-inch or 9X9-inch baking pan. Place the rice in the prepared pan and pour in the liquid. Stir to equally distribute the rice. Cover tightly with a double layer of aluminum foil and bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and let sit for five minutes before removing the aluminum foil and fluffing with a fork. If your rice still has a bit of liquid on the bottom or conversely, if it is dried out, adjust the baking time up or down to make changes.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: my friend Jennifer S.
Have you tried short grain brown rice? It’s my family’s favorite. It is moist and never dry like long grain brown rice can be. Cooked on the stove top with chicken broth and a teaspoon of olive oil, it is yummy!
Faye – I’ve never tried short grain brown rice but it looks like I need to! You are the second person this week who has brought it to my attention.
A friend of mine sent me a link to this recipe. I finally got around to making it tonight. Thank you for a great brown rice recipe. My kids and husband who normally won’t touch brown rice loved it!! Its a keeper and I’ll be making it again.
Thanks, Nicole! Glad you liked this brown rice. I make it at least weekly so I’m glad others are enjoying it, too.
I only eat brown rice because it’s healthier than white. That being said, I bet this recipe will make me think brown rice is tastier too! Thanks for sharing!
Question: We’re brown rice newbies, and we finally made this last night, and after following the directions carefully I still had rice that was a bit crunchy. I added some more water and microwaved the dish for 3 1/2 more minutes. It was much better than brown rice we’d had before! Do you think I need more water, a longer cooking time, or a combo of both? I just bought a 20 lb bag!, so I’m hoping to make this work great. Thanks!
Hi Julie – if your rice was still crunchy but didn’t have any residual liquid in the bottom of the dish, I would suggest adding 1/4 cup more liquid before baking and increasing the baking time by 10 minutes. If the rice was crunchy and still had liquid settling at the bottom, I would simply increase the baking time by 10-15 minutes. Hope that helps (and that you can use up that 20 pound bag!).
Delicious and easy to make. The rice turned out perfect. Will definitely make this again. Thanks Mel for your wonderful recipes!
Lorie – I’ve never tried this with white rice. I’m guessing there would need to be some adjustments made since the liquid to rice ratio differs between brown and white rice – and so does the cooking time. Sorry I’m not more help! If I try it with white rice, I’ll let you know (and you do the same!).
Hi Melanie, do you think this method will work w/ white rice?
Lorie – thanks for the tip about using a lid. I’m so glad you liked this rice. I hope it tastes ok out of the freezer.
Hi Melanie!
This worked perfectly for me! I also put a lid on top of the foil though. In any event, do you think this method would work w/ white rice? Not sure I can get the hubby to eat brown rice all the time 🙂 I did freeze some (with beans though) and it worked well. I have some in the freezer plain, so I will see how that tastes.
Thanks!
Lorie
Nikki – glad this worked out! Thanks for letting me know.
Stephanie D – I'm sorry that this rice didn't work out for you. If there was liquid at the bottom of the dish but it was still crunchy, my guess is that it needed to be baked longer (there can be many variations of oven temperature, baking dish size, etc. that may cause this). Also, the seal of the foil or lid needs to be really tight so that the rice steams perfectly. Once again, sorry it wasn't great – that's frustrating!
I made it last night and was bummed. First, brown rice is the single issue that has brought my husband and me closest to divorce. He HATES brown rice. HATES IT. In the past when I've tried to switch, he has threatened to leave me. But, when I saw you post the recipe, I thought it would surely sway him. Not so.I followed the directions and when I pulled it out of the oven and let it rest for 5, there was still a substantial amount of liquid at the bottom of the dish. I waited a bit longer and served it out of desperation, and it was still pretty crunchy and very brown ricey. I live at sea level (can see it from my kitchen window) so elevation wasn't a problem. What on earth did I do wrong?
Thank you! I made this tonight and it worked out great- the rice was perfect. I always dread cooking brown rice for some reason, until now. I will continue to make brown rice this way from now on.
Hi Camie – I'm sure you can although I never have. Read through the comments above – I think several people have indicated they use a rice cooker.
Can you make brown rice in the rice cooker?
Katie – congratulations on your Bosch! How fun…and I hope you love it as much as I love mine. As for powdered milk, I don't store mine in the freezer. I go through it fairly quickly but I've seen sites that recommend storing it in the freezer if you don't want it to start tasting stale. Happy bread making!
You've saved the day again. We've been eating brown rice but it rarely turns out. This will be perfect!
I have the same problem with brown rice, but I'm going to let you in on a little secret. I don't like to admit this to anyone, but I use trader joe's frozen brown rice. Three minutes in the microwave and you get perfect brown rice. When I started I thought I'd just use it when I didn't have the time, but of course now I use it all the time.
You have such amazing recipes! I have found that using a high-quality brown rice makes a big difference in the end result – no-name brands have not worked well for me. Someone gave me a baked white rice recipe several years ago that I've found works great with brown rice. It's basically the same as yours, but you add some slivered almonds and some chives before baking…yum! My family also loves to jazz up plain rice by sprinkling some dill weed on top. I thought it sounded weird till I tried it, but it's pretty tasty. Thanks for sharing – you've reminded me that I need to cook brown rice more often. :)Camille
Big YUMS up. I'm not a fan of brown rice, but this sounds GOOD! I'd certainly be willing to try it. Will have to go to the bulk food section and buy just enough to make this. Thanks for sharing!
Oh, you have to get a rice cooker! You will never go back! I am not all that handy in the kitchen and I think I put different ratios in my rice cooker all the time and it still comes out fine! Any excess moisture just steams out!Also, you inspired me to invest in a Bosch mixer, just arrived today! Cannot wait to try some rolls. Also do you keep powdered milk in the freezer or do you use it up quick enough? I want to make the orange rolls (again!) but now all I can find are gigantic boxes of the powdered milk…
Hi Suzanne – so glad this worked out for you, I've been wondering if anyone had tried it yet. Thanks for letting me know!
I've had the exact same problem with brown rice vs. white. Oh the guilt. Can't wait to try this recipe. 🙂
Thank you so much for posting this recipe!!! I can't tell you how much brown rice I have going to waste because I couldn't get it right, even in my rice cooker. I made this for dinner last night and it was a HUGE hit. I LOVED it. Thanks again!
I love brown rice! And I will be trying your variations. I tried 2 recipes last week that were NOt from your recipe blog. They failed. I will be much more loyal now! :~D
Just found your blog. We are brown rice eaters, but I'll have to try your method next time I make it up. I usually do it in the rice cooker, and after figuring out the ratios it works great.I have to tell you that I love how you have links to printer friendly versions of your recipes. love that.
Mine is in the oven right now. Crossing my fingers that my brown-rice hating husband won't complain 🙂
I, too, have had problems with making and liking brown rice. This looks like a great way to make it (especially with the variations) and fairly hands-free, too. Thanks!Nicole
I agree with Cammee about you being the Pizza God. Pizza has given me heart burn since my youngest was born…9 years ago. So I gave up eating it. But making my own at home has fixed that problem. Your sauce is amazing (but I leave out the extra sugar) and preheating the pizza stone…WONDERFUL crisp crust. Thanks for a great blog to read.
I think the tastiness of the brown rice depends in part on what kind of brown rice you're using. I just love brown jasmine rice, and brown basmati is good, too! Uncle Ben's probably not so much.Though actually brown rice isn't all THAT much healthier than white rice (it has a little more fiber, among a few other things). One of the major differences is that brown rice generally has a much lower glycemic index, but white basmati has a low glycemic index, too, so it's pretty much just as "healthy" as cooking with brown rice.(Hopefully, that's not too much TMI…)
I really love your blog! I was hoping you would still email me the template for the menu planning? linnlee@hotmail.com Thanks for continually giving me great recipes to share with my family!
don't be a rice-ist, melanie. 🙂
I've never heard of baking it, pretty clever. You should try short grain brown rice. It has a better texture and my kids snarf it up. I don't even think they realize it's brown rice!Mel, (can I call you that? We're friends now, right?) YOU ARE A PIZZA GOD!! Seriously, you are the master. I had all but given up on homemade pizza–soggy crust, yucky sauce, no crispy edges on my pepperoni. Your crust, sauce (oh, the sauce!) and preheated stone have changed my phone dialing ways!
Thank you!! My youngest daughter LOVES rice, but I too feel bad about serving the white rice. My brown rice always turns out…gummy. I am going to make this for her THIS WEEKEND!! Yay!
I wish I would've had this last night. I made brown rice to go along with our excellent tilapia, and of course, like always, the rice was just under cooked and BORING. I even added a tbsp of balsamic vinegar, some red peppers and green onions to it. Those parts tasted good, but the rice was just dumb. I decided the next time to try cooking it with chicken stock, and since I usually make my own stock, it will hopefully add a little zip to the rice. Boo on brown rice, yay for good recipes for it!
Thank you, thank you, thank you! I struggle with those same twinges of guilt over white rice. I tried brown rice once…only once, that's how bad it turned out. If this recipe works for me I really owe you one!
I've never heard of baking rice. Nice concept. I can't help but think of the energy savings that a rice maker could offer you though. After 3 or 4 trials, I've found the perfect balance of water to rice and mine comes out well every time. I encourage you to keep trying a more energy efficient way.
THank you so much. I like you have never been able to stomach brown rice around here because of never turning out right. We use whole wheat everything else but just couldn't convert to brown rice. I am definitely printing this off and using it next time we have a rice dish.
I don't mind brown rice but great ideas for giving it more pizazz! Oh and I made those oatmeal choc caramel bars from a few posts ago..and I now hate you ;-p…a 1/3, no let's say a 1/4, of the pan was gone before my kids woke up this morning, which means I can't blame it on them..I wish I hated those bars..then I wouldn't be as inclined to have them for breakfast this morning as well..;-D
Sounds delish.
Hmmm. I'll try it because you've never steered me wrong before. But, like you, I'm a pretty die hard white ricer, Basmati or Jasmine are hard to beat! Thanks again for all the effort you put into your blog. I really do enjoy it, as does my family when I put one of your recipes on the table!
i'll have to try this…i've never had success with brown rice, so i'm a white ricer for sure…but i feel guilty as well when that's what i eat. thanks!!!
Thanks, Cammee and Sonya. I'll try not to let all the niceties go to my head!
Hillary – don't hate me! I'm just trying to look out for everyone's sweet tooth!
Baking would be an alternative… I've never had a problem w/cooking brown rice on the stove…If u have a Trader Joe's try their bulk rice in bags.. 2-1 ratio and simmer for 40min…(yes 40, no lie) that's after bringing water to a boil and then 2nd boil after rice is added… foolproof
Another plus to this recipe–it helps heat the house! I love having something in the oven for dinner in the winter. When I don't turn the oven on for dinner, I feel it!I will have to try this some evening. The variation sounds pretty tasty.
What a great idea!
Thank you! We will have to try this. I don't always like brown rice so I find my self making the white rice more often.
I love brown rice and I'm looking forward to trying this method instead of on the stovetop. Thanks for sharing.
I'm so excited you posted this recipe as I bought a box of brown rice but have yet to cook it! I found a recipe but was still skeptical, but if you say its easy and good, I know it is!thanks!