Easy Stovetop Brown Rice

Name: Easy Stovetop Brown Rice
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 1 cup brown rice

Jump to Recipe·Print Recipe

The easiest way to cook brown rice ever! Get perfect brown rice every time using this simple stovetop method.

Cooking rice is intimidating. There – I said it. Even for someone with years of experience as a home cook, I still find rice “tricky.” Maybe it’s because there are so many different ways to do it.

Do I invest in a rice cooker?

Do I use the rice function on my instant pot?

Stovetop?

Microwave?

Rinse first?

No rinse?

What proportion of water do I use again?

Also, every package of rice seems to have different instructions on how to prepare it. This confusion is especially true for me for white rice, and I fully admit that I still haven’t committed to one way of cooking white rice every time.

But brown rice? I actually love cooking brown rice because years ago I discovered a fool-proof, easy stove top method.

An overhead shot of a bowl of uncooked brown rice.

The Best Way to Cook Brown Rice (Ever)

Instead of fiddling with ratios or water to rice or fancy pieces of rice cooking equipment, you cook it like pasta. You read that right: cook brown rice like pasta!

Just follow these steps:

Boil water.
Add rice, stir, simmer.
Cook for 25-30 minutes.
Strain rice from water.
Let rice rest for 5 minutes, fluff with a fork, then serve.

No more overcooked or undercooked rice. No more babysitting it to see if you got the water to rice ratio correct. This 30 minute, no stress method gets you perfect brown rice every time.

A pot with cooked brown rice, after the water has been drained.

Stovetop Brown Rice FAQs

Should I use short or long grain brown rice?

Either would work! For short grain brown rice, just check it closer to the 25 minute mark for doneness. Long grain brown rice tends to take a little longer to cook.

How do I know when brown rice is “tender?”

Brown rice will be tender or done cooking when it’s absorbed some of the water, so the grains will grow in size a bit. Also, if you taste it close to the end of the cooking time, the grain should be chewy, not crunchy.

Can I use a regular pasta colander to strain the rice?

You’ll want to use a strainer that has small holes. If your pasta colander has small enough holes so that the grains of rice won’t slip through and down the drain, you can use it. Personally I like to use a fine mesh strainer for this task. A fine mesh strainer set over a pot, the strainer contains cooked brown rice.