How to Cook Brown Rice

Portions: servings

Calories: 417kcal

If you are looking to try something new, learn how to cook brown rice, and enjoy your rice while keeping your carbs intake lower, you'll love this brown rice pilaf that takes inspiration from the Spanish Caribbean preferred way of eating rice.

Why I ❤️ it • Recipe • Ingredients • Preparation

Brown rice pilaf.

Why I ❤️ it

I do love brown rice, and it's not just because it is healthier and richer in fiber and vitamins, has a lower glycemic index, is gluten free, and is also vegan. I do actually enjoy the texture. Its taste is richer and more nuanced than white rice.

I have yet to meet a kid who doesn't love pasta or one who enjoys eggplants. Likewise, little ones who may not enjoy the sophisticated texture and taste of brown rice over ol' regular white rice may be convinced to dig into this flavorful brown rice side dish.

Brown rice recipe

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If you've never tried a brown rice dish that you loved, I invite you to try this brown rice pilaf: it will make a convert out of you.

Course: Dinner, Lunch

Inspiration: Vegan

Category: brown rice, gluten-free, lighter, rice, vegan, vegetarian

Author: Clara Gonzalez

Prep Time2

Cook Time30

Total Time2 30

Utensils and tools

1 2-quart dutch oven with lid [2-liter capacity]

Ingredients

3 cups of brown rice
5½ cups of boiling-hot vegetable broth
3½ teaspoons of salt (may not be necessary)
3 tablespoons of olive oil
2 tablespoons of minced fresh parsley or cilantro

Preparation

Before starting, please make sure you have all the ingredients and utensils ready.

Step 1: Soak the rice

Soak the rice in 3 cups of water and let it rest for 2 hours.

Remove the unabsorbed water from the rice, add the liquid to the broth, and set the rice aside for a moment.

Step 2: Season broth (may not be necessary)

Taste the broth and season with salt to taste. If you are using, unsalted broth, add all the salt.

Keep the broth heated to a very gentle boil (steaming but no bubbles rising).

Step 3: Sauté rice

Heat the oil over medium-high heat in the dutch oven.

Add the rice and cook and stir for a minute until the grains are coated in oil.

Step 4: Cook the rice

Add 5 cups of broth to the pot. Cook until all the liquid has evaporated, occasionally stirring to prevent it from sticking to the bottom.

Cover with a tight-fitting lid and simmer over low heat for 15 minutes.

Step 5: Stir rice

Uncover and stir, moving the rice from the bottom to the top. Cover again and simmer for another 15 minutes.

Uncover and taste it. The rice should be tender but firm, with grains that separate from each other. If it is still uncooked in the center, add the rest of the broth, cover again, and simmer for 5-10 more minutes.

Step 6: Serve

Mix in the parsley or cilantro. Scoop the rice into a serving bowl or platter and luff with a fork.

Some rice may have stuck to the bottom of the pot. This is not a mistake. To Puerto Ricans and Dominicans, this is the best part of rice, and we call it pegao or con-con. Scrape it from the pot and serve in a separate bowl. This is a treat for the lucky ones at the table.

Top tips

In my search for the perfect plate of brown rice, I have tried many methods. This is by far the one that gives me the best, most consistent results. Better yet, it is full of flavor, because I don't use water for cooking, but vegetable broth. The end result is a dish that it's very enjoyable all on its own.
If you don't have broth at hand, use water and season the boiling water with your preferred herbs and spices, you can add onion and garlic powder, black pepper, minced herbs, and even some grated carrots for extra flavor and color.
The rice to water ratio if you previously soak the rice (as instructed in the recipe) is 1:1. This may vary, and sometimes you may need to add just an extra bit of liquid (as suggested in the recipe).
You can store the leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator, and heat by adding a couple of tablespoons of water before heating covered in the microwave.

Brown rice pilaf served with egg. — Brown rice pilaf.

Serving suggestions

For a vegan meal, some salad or steamed veggies. Some great vegan main dishes to go with brown rice pilaf are this chickpea dish with Moroccan spices, and this spiced lentil dinner. You can also serve with this vegan sofritas recipe.

If you prefer non-vegan dishes, it goes great with anything from a simple fried egg to this quick and easy spicy beans with pork sausage, this creamy stuffed chicken breast, or this beef picadillo.

Variations

This is a great vegan dish, but if you don't keep a meatless diet, you can use chicken broth and butter instead of olive oil.

You can use either long-grain rice or whole grain basmati. I used long grain rice.

Nutritional information

More rice recipes

See more: rice recipes meatless recipes dinner recipes

FAQs

How to make brown rice taste good?

The best and easiest way to make great-tasting brown rice is to use broth instead of water to cook it. You can pick from vegetable broth to your preferred meat-based broth (my preferred one is chicken).

How many carbs in brown rice?

The carb content in brown rice will depend on the variety of brown rice you use. Some contain more carbs than others. Long-grain brown rice contains approximately 5 grams of carbs, of which 3.5 grams is indigestible dietary fiber.

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