Oven-baked Brown Rice

If you are anything like me, you have had trouble making rice. When I tried to make it on the stove top, it always seemed that it took much longer to cook that the instructions stated, it boiled dry, or it was wet and soupy. I grant you that some of those issues may have stemmed from my cookware issues ‡, but from what I have heard, I am not alone. I finally searched the internet for instructions on how to cook rice in the oven, and found these instructions. This is such a simple process, that I only made slight changes.

• 1½ cups brown rice

• 2 1/3 cups water

• 2 Tbs butter (this is approximate, since I usually just cut off a chunk from a stick of butter

• ¾ tsp salt

Lower the top oven rack as close to the middle as possible, preheat oven to 375°(app. 175°C*). Pour the rice into a covered baking dish, add salt and butter.

Bring water to a boil (I usually just use a tea kettle and measure the water after it boils) and pour over rice, quickly stir, put on the cover and put the dish into the oven.

Bake for 1 hour and then  fluff with a fork. At this point I often turn off the oven and leave the dish in to keep the rice warm, while I prepare the rest of the meal.  I usually either leave the rice in the dish to store the leftovers, or put it in a canning jar. I reheat a serving with a touch of salt and butter in the toaster oven as a quick side dish, or make rice pudding.


*I use an online conversion chart and round up or down, as seems appropriate. Please adjust according to your judgement, and send me a message if you find an error. Thank you.

‡ I received a set of stainless steel pots and pans made by a well-known company and branded by a famous TV chef as a wedding present. I loved them/thought that they were beautiful, until I tried to cook with them. These pans took forever to heat up, then overheated and scorched even on med-low temperatures. They were also a safety issue, as I discovered through my own experience and internet complaints. The bottom of some of the pans delaminated and popped off, several showed signs of melting (even though I followed the instructions not to use them on high heat), but according to the horror stories that I read, I got off lucky. Needless to say, I don't use those pans anymore, and I am gradually buying pieces to replace them.