How to Cook Perfect Brown Rice
This post explains how to cook perfect brown rice that turns out fluffy and tender and delicious.
Brown rice. I love to hate you.
I freely acknowledge that brown rice is more nutritious and hearty and good-for-me than its white counterpart but most of the time, it tastes like terrible, crunchy grains of inedible quality or is so mushy it’s disgustingified.

The only way I’ve been able to really enjoy brown rice’s qualities is to bake it.
It turns out fluffy and tender and delicious. But sometimes, I just don’t have an hour plus to nurture brown rice to tasty proportions (or else my oven needs to be used for something else).
Imagine my delight when I found a better way to cook brown rice on the stovetop (the traditional method of cooking it like white rice, just with more water and longer, has never worked for me).
I was skeptical, so skeptical, but after trying it out, I am smitten again with the goodness of brown rice.
The true test was my kids – they growl when I serve stovetop-cooked brown rice because they just plain don’t like it (I can’t blame them). This version? Um, yeah, major hit. In fact, my 5-year old had thirds of rice with a bit of butter and salt and declared ownership of all the leftovers.
This really is a better way. I’m so happy that brown rice is in my life to stay.
One Year Ago: Smoked Salmon Chowder
Two Years Ago: Chicken Pot Pie Crumble
Three Years Ago: Baked Brown Rice
How to Cook Perfect Brown Rice
Ingredients
- 1 cup brown rice
- 6 cups water
- ½ teaspoon salt, optional
Instructions
- Bring water to a boil in a large pot with a tight-fitting lid. While the water is coming to a boil, rinse the rice under cold water for 30 seconds. When the water comes to a boil, stir in the rice and salt (optional), stirring once.
- Boil, uncovered, for 30 minutes.
- Pour the rice into a strainer/colander set in the sink. Let the rice drain for 10-15 seconds then return it to the pot off the heat (it will still be a bit moist).
- Immediately cover the pot with a tight-fitting lid. If your lid isn’t really tight, place a kitchen towel over the pot before nesting the lid tightly into the pot. Let the rice steam for 10 minutes before uncovering the pot and fluffing the rice with a fork. Season with more salt, if desired.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: found via Pinterest on Pinch My Salt, originally from Saveur (I decreased the water amount in my version)
Since you first posted this, I’ve used this method countless times for both brown rice and white rice. You’ve made rice cooking so much easier for me! I’ve since branched out and tried this method with white basmati rice (necessary for at home indian food!). The first few times, it turned out gummy and overcooked. I’ve found that boiling for 15 minutes, straining, and then covering for 10 minutes produces perfect basmati rice to go with butter chicken. I can’t recommend it enough!
It’s on its last 10 minutes sitting but it looks like it’s gonna be great! However, I have always cooked my rice in vegetable broth to give it more flavor, but since we strain it with this recipe I dont want to waste vegetable broth. Do you have any suggestions how I could still use some broth without staining it? Lol
I think you could still use it (for maybe half the liquid) – even though you strain it, it will impart the flavor while cooking.
Can you drain the liquid into another container to use later or in something else?
I followed this recipe to the letter and the rice came out perfectly! Thank you!
I made this last week, exactly as stated and it turned out great!! I’m making it again today. Thank you so much for sharing!
Works great. Goes against all package directions, and turns out 100% better. Thanks!!!!!
I’m so glad you liked it, Lynda!
Boil 30 minutes, uncovered?? It’s only 6 cups of water. 15 minutes in, all of the water had evaporated and the bottom was completely burned. Inedible
Did you lower the heat to a simmer? No need for a hard boil.
@K, to be fair, the directions do say “boil” for 30 minutes. I’m assuming the author meant boil otherwise the directions would have said “simmer”. What should it be?
Your recipe literally saved my dinner last night!
First time making Brown rice at home and after an hour of having it on the stove, I couldn’t figure out why it wasn’t cooking until I googled it and found your site!
Thank you a thousand times over!
I usually make Alton Brown’s oven-baked brown rice, which I love, but did a quick search to find a faster alternative and was happy to find this recipe (on a site I already love)! I thought it seemed a bit of a pain and did everything I could to ruin it, but it still came out fluffy and delicious! I used 1.5 c. of brown rice (which I forgot to rinse?!!) to 9 c. of water and, apart from a bit of a pond scum on the top as it boiled, there was no starchy ill-effect to not rinsing. I let it steam (though did fluff it after 10 minutes) with the lid on for a solid 20 minutes. I tried to ruin it but couldn’t. Though it still takes time to boil THAT much water, cook, then steam, it does save 15 min. or so on baked rice and the result is equally delicious. I’ll happily make this again.
Done.. My husband and i liked it.
Would these measurements also work in my ricer for chewy, soft brown rice?
I’m not sure – do yo mean a rice cooker?
The whole family loved it! The rice was fluffy and light! Thank you Mel!
This was so good!! Instead of getting a spoonful of mushy rice; every grain was separate. I now love brown rice!!! Thank you so much for posting this.
I suck at making rice. Simple as that. This recipe was easy to follow and worked for me! Finally! I always either burn the bottom or it’s too moist and this came out great! Thank you so much for posting!!
Perfect!! Thank you
I made this and for the first time I was able to eat brown rice that was tender and not gritty. I cannot eat white rice. The processing of it causes blood sugar and heart beat issues. Anyone with insulin resistance should not eat white rice. This recipe is out of this world delicious. Thank you soooo much!!
This works with white rice too, however the boil time is about 10 to 12 minutes. I never time though. I just taste it for consistency like you would with pasta. Drain into an oven proof skillet at 400 degrees, put a little on top and bake for 10 minutes. Perfect for red beans and rice
Put a little butter on top. Whoops
6 cups of water to 1 c brown rice! That’s like eating mush. At the most 2 1/4 c water to 1 cup rice. I only use 2 c water to 1 cup rice. That’s perfect.
Hi Karen – did you read through the recipe? You drain off the extra water so the rice doesn’t get too soft. It really does make perfect brown rice! I encourage you to try it! 🙂
Thanks, Mel!! You are a magician! This is the first time I’ve ever made edible brown rice. Normally I’m scraping it off the bottom of the pot straight into the garbage. I made your Skillet Honey Garlic Chicken to go with it. Perfection!!
The rice turned out fluffy.
Traditional method of cooking brown rice have never worked for me either so I had the idea and thought “if I am thinking about it, there is probably a tutorial out there” so I headed to google to search for loose brown rice and this one was featured so had to give this a try! Amazing result! I will be going back to brown rice again!
Yay!
this was SOOOOOOOOO good. I doubled it too!!
Hi, Mel. I just wanted to say thanks! My dad just had a stroke and is having to change his eating habits and lifestyle. Before, he never would have let me serve home turkey burgers or brown rice or quinoa, but I’ve made all three for him this week. Thanks to your delicious recipes, he has enjoyed them, and he is having an easier time making these big changes. Thanks for all you do! I’ve been a loyal Mel follower for a few years now, and I really appreciate the confidence of knowing any recipe I make of yours will turn out.
Ah, thanks, Megan! Best of luck to your dad and his health! You are a sweet daughter. 🙂
For the first time ever, my girl ate her brown rice! Many thanks for posting your cooking method 🙂
Thanks. I use the process for even white rice. In South India, you get a rice cooking container with a strainer lid.
Hi Mel, I’ve never commened on any of he things I look for online. But this is worth it.. I made brown rice late last night looks disgusting and mushy and half cooked.. I will give your method a try today!!!
my method is really simple…………1 cup of brown rice, soaked in very warm water,
for about 1 hour. Drain, and let sit in colander. When i get home i make a
simple pilaf on the stove. Using the brown rice and the flat macaroni and vermicili.
Always tender, always fluffy. Never tuff or crunchy. The baking part suggested
here is just not necessary. Good luck all.
I think you mean to simmer for 30 minutes, not boil. I just tried it and my rice came out burnt. I thought it was weird but I wanted to try your directions step-by-step.
Hi there, do you stir the rice while it cooks? Mine starting sticking to the bottom of the pot but once I began stirring it, the consistency became mushy, almost like a risotto. Is the heat on high the entire 30 minutes? Do you use a non stick pot? Any insight is appreciated, I want to try again with hopefully better success.
I generally don’t stir but if it’s sticking you might try moderating the heat and turning it down a bit. I use a fairly heavy-bottomed saucepan. If your pan is thinner, it might be prone to sticking (lowering the heat will help a bit – it should be simmering but it doesn’t have to be burning hot).
WOW! I was about to give up on cooking brown rice on the stovetop and going back to the Uncle Ben’s microwaveable cups. Thanks to you I now know how to cook brown rice properly. THANKS! xx
Oh my gosh Mel!! THANK YOU thank you THANK YOU!!! Finally, we are eating FLUFFY brown rice! This works like a charm!
I would love to know if you can use this same method with white Jasmine rice? I could never get that to be light/fluffy; just gummy/sticky. I made the brown rice tonight, and worked out perfectly!
Not sure, but it’s worth a try. One thing I’ve noticed with Jasmine rice is that I don’t add quite as much water as with regular long-grain rice (so for every cup of jasmine rice, I only add 1 1/2 cups water). It helps the rice cook up fluffy instead of soggy.
i’m wondering if you don’t lose much of the nutritional value of the brown rice by pouring out the water it cooks in? (i once read in the name of a nutritionist that eating soup in which brown rice was cooked will give you much of the rice’s nutritional benefits even if you don’t eat the rice.)
I’m not sure – I haven’t investigated that particular idea!
Your recipe is definitely a little different though and you sound like you know what you’re talking about! I’ll have to give it a try! Thanks Mel!!!
Thank you, thank you , thank you! This is the first time I have successfully made brown rice, it turned out perfect!
It came out PERFECT! Thanks!
So happy when I googled “cooking brown rice on the stove” and your site came up first, because I know by now I can trust you! Thanks for saving me from having to turn on my oven today!
My question is: How many servings does the recipe make? (ie how many cups of cooked rice) Thank you so much!
Michelle – It makes about 2 cups of cooked rice.
This looks so easy! Mine always burns on the bottom, too. Do you use this recipe or your baked brown rice recipe more? Or do you just use each for different meals? I am interested to try this with Hawaiian haystacks and sweet& sour chicken. What would you suggest?
Hi Kate – good question…you know, I really just use whichever one I’ve planned for. I tend to do the baked brown rice more in the winter than the warmer months (since I try not to run my oven as much when its hot in my house) but really, the result is nearly the same and really delicious. I’d do whichever one is easier for you prep- and cooking-wise when you make those two dishes. If I had to pick, though, I’d say the stovetop “perfect” version. Good luck!
Hi Mel! I have been a huge fan of your site for about a year now, and I had to comment on this post. My family loves brown rice when we’re out at a restaurant, but I could never get it to taste as good at home. I tried your recipe tonight and it was SO fluffy and moist and perfectly cooked. Brown rice is back on the menu at our house! Thank you for all that you do and for sharing this great technique with us.
Hey Mel – at 64 I finally learned how to convert that hard, lumpy, stuck together mess of waterlogged grains into something absolutely light, fluffy and fantastic. I am a happy boy once again. – Thanks
Best way to make Brown rice!!!! I love brown rice, but this way is so much better and faster. I’ve used a ricer to make it and it’s never turned out as fluffy or moist as this!!!
I made this rice tonight to have with your so incredibly tasty black beans and rice. I too had given up on brown rice. I would spend all that time making it for it to come out awful tasting and gummy. I dug the half used bag of brown rice out from the back of the cupboard and skeptically, but determinedly, proceeded with this recipe. Wow, what an amazing surprise! It was fluffy, delicious, and perfectly cooked! I was convinced I didn’t like brown rice and my family wholeheartedly agreed. You changed our minds. There was a cereal size bowl leftover from supper and before I cleaned the kitchen, I ate every single grain. You are amazing, Mel!
Tried the stovetop method today. Came out perfectly! No more mushy rice! Thanks!
Alton Brown has a great recipe for “baked” brown rice! 5 STARS! I’m going to try yours too! 🙂
I love using my pressure cooker too. I place 1 c. brown rice, 1 1/2 c. water and 1/2 tsp salt in the cooker and put on the lid. Once it is up to pressure I let it cook for 8 minutes and then take it off the heat. I’ll have to keep this version in mind next time I need the pressure cooker for the main dish.
The only way I cook brown rice is in my electric pressure cooker! It is delicious and finished in about 30 minutes….perfectly cooked and the texture is better! BUT…I am going to try this method as well to see which one I like better!
I live at high elevation, so brown rice is always a challenge. I think this might be successful!!
OMG! It turned out fabulous. I’ve tried several times in the past, including using a rice cooker, but just couldn’t get it right. I had given up on it ….broke down and bought instant brown rice ….But now, I can cook my rice and eat it too. Thanks for the recipe.
It works!! No more sticky, gummy, mushy brown rice!! I doubled the serving and my rice was perfect!
Do you need to add more water if you double the recipe? I just made this, doubling it, and it turned out a little better than normal, but still kind of dry-ish. Maybe next time I’ll boil it longer.
Hi Molly – yes, if you are doubling the rice, you definitely want to add more water.
I will never make brown rice the traditional way again! This recipe is so easy and delicious!!