Perfect Every Time Oven-Baked Rice
Say goodbye to crusty pots and crunchy or mushy rice! Here’s my perfect oven-baked rice — no rice cooker needed!
Everyone has that food that they cannot make if their life depended on it. Mine pretty much was rice (and kreplach, but we won’t go there…). I used to dread making rice or any similar grain side and would avoid it whenever possible. I hated standing over the stove and babysitting it. Too much water, not enough water; overmixing, undermixing. Such a simple food caused me so much stress.
So I rarely made it. Pepper steak for supper? I served it with noodles. Mini meatballs? Served it with noodles. Wanted to make sushi salad? Oh well, skipped that, even though I would have loved to have it on my menu.
My mother-in-law was always raving about her rice cooker. She insisted it was the best thing since sliced bread. Dump the rice in with water, plug it in and forget about it! But a) I refused to spend money on yet another kitchen gadget and b) I had zero space for yet another kitchen gadget!
And then came the most memorable aha moment in my cooking history: I discovered that you can make rice in the oven! So cool! No more sticky pots! No more over/undercooked rice!
It was a literal game changer.
I have now been happily making oven-baked rice for years. I make all kinds of rice this way — brown rice, jasmine, white rice, short grain.
The trick is taking it out when there is still a small amount of liquid on the bottom of the pan. I fluff the rice, cover it again, and as it cools the rest of the liquid is absorbed. I play around with the baking time if need be. If I take it out and it’s very liquidy or still a little crunchy, I will stick it back in the oven for another 10-15 minutes and that usually does the trick.
Here’s my general guide: for white rice, I use a 1:2 ratio (1 cup rice to 2 cups water).
For brown and whole grain rice, I still do 1:2 but then I add a little more water (I will overflow the cup).
How much to make? For my family of six, I find that 1½ cups rice to 3 cups water is the perfect amount.
If I am leaving the rice plain, once it’s done baking I will toss it with a little bit of oil so the rice doesn’t stick. If I’m adding something that contains oil like roasted veggies or fried pastrami or sausage, I won’t bother with the oil.
If I am adding something to the rice, I don’t bake it all together. I find that makes the additives get soggy. Instead, I toss it together once the rice is ready, right before serving.
I like to make my oven-baked rice directly in an oven-to-table dish so as soon as it’s ready I can add any extras, mix it, and my dish is ready to be served.
Wondering how healthy rice really is for you? In this article, there’s a clear breakdown of the myths and truths about rice and the wonderful benefits of including whole grains such as brown rice in your daily diet.
This rice freezes very well.
Now that you know my favorite rice shortcut, make this dish using my oven-bake method! https://mykitchenmystudio.com/rice-dish-with-sauteed-vegetables-and-pomegranate-arils/
Perfect Every Time Oven-Baked Rice
Ingredients
- 1 cup rice (any kind)
- 2 cups water
- 2 tsp oil (optional)
- Optional add-ins of your choice, (sauteed veggies, grilled sausage, fried pastrami, etc.)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉.
- Place rice and water in a 9×13 and cover tightly.
- Bake for 40 minutes.
- Remove from oven. If the rice is fully cooked and there is only a little bit of liquid left, fluff with a fork and cover the pan again. The steaming process will allow it to absorb remaining liquid.
- If the rice is still crunchy and there’s a lot of liquid at the bottom of the pan, return to the oven for another 5-10 minutes and then check again. Repeat until rice is fully cooked.
- If you are serving the rice plain, toss with 2 teaspoons oil before serving. If you are adding anything (veggies, sausage, etc.), add and mix before serving.
Notes
Recipe by Faigy Murray | https://mykitchenmystudio.com/perfect-every-time-oven-baked-rice/
When I was a kid my mom loved to make rice in the oven but instead of water she used milk, Besides butter I thought there was another ingr, She made it so often I disliked it now the years have passed and so has mom and my whole little family would like to know how she did that
Followed recipe to the letter but the rice sticks to the baking dish worse than when I cook on the stove top. I tried oiling the dish with high heat oil (grapeseed) but still so much rice was wasted being stuck (more surface area to stick to). Was not an easy cleanup either. I had to soak the dish and then scrub it clean. Would love to know what I could be doing wrong
Hmmm I wonder. Do you mix the rice well? What kind of rice are you using? Feel free to email me so we can trouble shoot this together and figure out what’s going on! Faigy@mykitchenmystudio.com
This is *awesome*. I have *never* left a review on an excellent recipe but I just had to for this one. I love that it is 99% hands off and so many other things can be done while rice cooks.
Did this exactly. It comes out with great texture, not crunchy or mushy/sticky.
No stuck on mess that requires soaking/scrunbing.
Comes off the pan like silk. 😀
No oil needed here (though every oven is different and it may be necessary. I realize the oven thing may sound made up to some, but I can verify that it’s true.)
Another plus ~ Since this cooks at 350 deg it is very versatile since many other dishes (like lemon butter garlic shrimp) also cook at 350 deg.
Thank you so so much, Faigy, for putting in the time to write this recipe and share it!!
-Madalyn