Brown Rice – Easy & Excellent Every Time!

Here are two easy cooking techniques for brown rice, both provide extremely similar (and excellent) results. (Try medium or short grain brown rice – learn why)

Technique 1:  Boiling brown rice just like pasta:
I added 1.5 cups of rinsed brown rice to a large pot of boiling water, stirred it once, cooked it uncovered for 30 minutes, drained it for 15 seconds, then added it back to the pot and put the lid on to allow it to steam (off the heat) for a few minutes.

Technique 2: Baked brown rice in the oven: (step-by-step pictures in the Prep Smart Picture Gallery)
I spread 1.5 cups of rinsed brown rice in an 8-in square baking dish and preheated the oven to 375F while I brought 2.5 cups of water, 1/2 tsp of salt and 1 tsp of canola oil to a boil on the stove. I poured the boiling liquid onto the rice, stirred it once and quickly covered it with heavy foil (or two sheets) and baked it for 1 hour.

The brown rice is cooked perfectly via the oven method!

While there are many quick cooking brown rice products available, I like to save money and buy uncooked brown rice. I simply cook it in larger batches (1 cup of uncooked brown rice makes ~3 cups of cooked rice) and freeze what I don’t use right away in 1.5 cup amounts. It thaws well in the fridge and then is ready be used in other recipes, topped with a stir-fry or made into a delicious salad/side dish.

I experimented with both techniques one afternoon and found that both came out delicious.  I used the cooked rice to make Citrus-Infused Mediterranean Rice and Lime Cilantro Rice.

Read about the real differences between white and brown rice in the newspaper article I wrote that featured these recipes!

Timaree Hagenburger, a plant-based registered dietitian nutritionist (RDN), certified exercise physiologist with a master’s degree in public health, has over 20 years of experience as a nutrition professor. She is a sought after speaker, media personality and author, who works with private clients, and in corporate wellness, has contributed to several cookbooks and published her own cookbook, The Foodie Bar Way: One Meal, Lots of Options, Everyone’s Happy (www.foodiebars.com)! Timaree is also the founder of an incredible online membership community, The Foodie Bar Way of Life, that makes loving the food (and living a life) that loves us back… simple, satisfying, sustainable AND FUN! You can contact her about working with her through 1:1 dietitian nutrition coaching, for hands-on cooking instruction and to inquire about arranging a speaking engagement.