Nutty, chewy, nutritious brown rice is the same seed from the same plant as white rice, but its outer bran layer remains intact. This bran layer protects each grain of rice in its natural environment, but when it comes to cooking, it’s slow to absorb water and soften, so brown rice takes longer to cook and become tender than white.
Cooking Tips
How Should I Cook Brown Rice?
For the best and fastest brown rice, treat it like it’s pasta.
By Published Mar. 29, 2024.
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10 ingredients. 45 minutes. Quick, easy, and fresh weeknight recipes.
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However, my favorite cooking method for brown rice is the same one that I’ll often use for white rice—what we call the pasta method. Here’s how to do it. (This is our general method, but if you’re following a specific recipe, use the amounts of water, rice, and salt given there.)
- Bring 2 quarts of water to a boil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. (You can eyeball this, which is one of the benefits of this method!)
- Add 1½ cups of brown rice (enough to feed 4 people generously) and 1 teaspoon of salt to the boiling water. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the rice is tender. This will take about 25 minutes, though some products can take longer, so sample some to be sure.
- Drain the rice in a strainer, discarding the excess cooking water.
This method yields tender, chewy grains of rice that cook up distinctly, not mushy or sticky. It makes a perfect blank canvas to customize to suit your meal. Use it in our Spiced Pork Tenderloin and Brown Rice with Fruit and Pistachios, where we doll up the rice with tangy-sweet dried apricots and raisins, nutty pistachios, a lemony vinaigrette, and cooling fresh mint.
Spiced Pork Tenderloin and Brown Rice with Fruit and Pistachios
Pork tenderloin goes from mild to bold with a rub of cumin, coriander, salt, and pepper.For a meal that tastes just like your favorite holiday turkey, add some sautéed onion, celery, and sage to your brown rice; toss in some festive dried cranberries; and nestle in savory turkey meatballs.
Turkey Meatballs with Skillet Brown Rice Dressing
With turkey, sage, and cranberries, this meatball and rice dish is reminiscent of Thanksgiving dinner.Or opt for my go-to brown rice dish when the weather gets warmer: salad. That’s right, cooled brown rice tossed in a zippy dressing makes a shockingly delicious salad. It’s hearty, nutty, and sturdy enough to be crammed full with all your favorite ingredients. The best of the best is this one with cherry tomatoes, lightly charred corn, and ricotta salata cheese.
