How To Cook Brown Rice

Step 1

Rinse 2 cups of brown rice. Add enough water to fill the pot an inch above the level of the rice, and let it soak for at least 20 minutes––ideally 90 minutes or even overnight.

Step 2

When you are ready to cook the rice, pour off all the soaking water from the pot, leaving only the rice. Add fresh water in the same volume as rice. Since we started with two cups of uncooked rice, we added 2 cups of fresh water.

Step 3

Cover the pot and put on the stove on high heat. Once the liquid comes to a boil, turn the heat to the lowest setting and continue to cook, covered, until all the water has evaporated and the rice is cooked through (about 15 to 20 minutes). Turn off the heat, and let your rice sit covered on the stove for another 10 minutes to finish cooking.

Step 4

Measure out your rice using the cup that came with the rice cooker! These cups are roughly ¾ of a cup, so using 2 cups results 1½ U.S. standard cups and will yield about 3¾ U.S. cups of brown rice. Give your brown rice a good rinse in the rice cooker pot before cooking and drain.

Step 5

If your rice cooker has a brown rice setting, add enough water up to the water level lines for brown rice. If you added 2 of the rice cooker cups (1½ standard cups), fill the pot with fresh water up to the 2 cup water line.

Step 6

If your rice cooker does not have a brown rice setting, add water so the water line is slightly above the 2 cup line. It’s also a good idea to let your rice sit in the rice cooker for an additional 10 minutes after it is “done” without opening the rice cooker lid to let it continue cooking inside the pot.

Step 7

Let the rice sit in the water for at least 20 minutes, but ideally 90 minutes, before pressing the brown rice button (or regular "cook" button).