Easy Baked Rice
This easy baked rice has without a doubt become the ONLY way I cook rice. Seriously. After my rice cooker broke, I had to figure out the easiest way to make it. Of course, you can cook it on the stovetop but honestly- I find that to be a bit stressful. (I don’t think I’m alone here…) Not to fret though, because now you don’t have to worry about it! Simply throw the rice in a pot with water, cover with a lid and bake in a 450 degrees F oven. After only 25-35 minutes (depending on the variety), you will have perfect fluffy baked rice. You’re welcome!
KEY INGREDIENTS FOR EASY BAKED RICE
For the additional ingredients we have a good drizzling of olive oil for flavor and richness, a big splash of rice vinegar that provides some sharpness and really makes the rice taste delightful, freshly cracked black pepper and sea salt because, duh, and the optional but totally amazing fresh bay leaves (you could used dried). These leaves provide an herbal hit that really gives the rice a nice flavor in the background. Once again, totally optional but I use them every time.
DON’T FORGET TO RINSE YOUR RICE!
One important step is to rinse the rice thoroughly. I mean, under running water for a few minutes, mixing and stirring the rice as much as possible. You may not get the water to run clear but do your best. The rice will be better because of it. In regards to rice variety, I recommend long grain white rice, white basmati, and white jasmine rice.
UPDATE
When I first started making this rice, I was cooking it at 350 degrees F for 40-50 minutes (depending on variety). But for the past few months, I have started only baking my rice at 450 degrees F because it is a quicker cooking time of only 25 minutes for white basmati and 35 minutes for long grain white/jasmine rice! So you can do either way. This recipes bakes best alone in the oven. As always, depending on your oven, you can test the rice to see if it’s done. If it needs a little more time, simply pop it back in. Once the rice is cooked, I fluff it with a fork, crack the lid, and let it sit for 10 minutes. And there you go, easy baked rice.
RECIPES THAT PAIR WELL WITH THIS EASY BAKED RICE
If you do make this, please leave a comment and a rating below as this greatly helps my recipes to be seen! And if you share it on social media please tag me, I love to see it! I can’t wait to hear what you all think of this recipe. Happy cooking, y’all!
–Timothy
Easy Baked Rice
Ingredients
- 2 cups white rice, rinsed thoroughly (basmati, long grain, or jasmine)
- 2 ½ cups filtered or spring water
- 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 2-4 fresh bay leaves, or dried, optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.*
- Rinse the rice thoroughly using a fine mesh strainer. The water should run close to clear.
- Combine all the ingredients in a pot with a snug fitting lid. (You can use double wrapped foil if you don’t have a lid you can bake with.) Give a good stir and place the lid (or foil) on top.
- Bake basmati for 25 minutes and long grain white/jasmine rice for 35 minutes. Depending on your oven, you might need to bake for an additional 5-10 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and fluff the rice with a fork. Crack the lid on top of the rice and let sit for 10 minutes. Enjoy!
After years of frustrations making rice on the stovetop and never getting a really nice result I tried this recipe and it’s PERFECTION… EXACTLY how rice SHOULD be.
It separates well & is NEVER sticky, under or overdone, and tastes delicious with the addition of the few bay leaves. I just bake it off in my little toaster oven and have perfect rice anytime we want. Thanks Timmy for another easy, wonderful recipe!!
Michelle! This is exactly why I shared this recipe. I truly believe that baking the rice creates the best texture—I have converted many people! Thank you for letting me know and happy cooking!
Any suggestions for the amount of water to use if I were to cut the recipe in half (1 cup of rice)? 1 1/4 cup of water? 1 1//2 cup?
Hey Steve! Yes, I would just cut it in half and do 1 cup of rice to 1 ¼ cup of water.
Baking rice is definitely the way to go, specially if you are cooking for a crowd. Comes out right everytime!
I agree! I particularly love this method to make a big batch!!
Hmmmm, I followed the recipe precisely and wound up with very sticky rice that was very much stuck to my Dutch oven. Wrong kind of pot??
Oh no, I’m sorry, Carole. I make this baked rice in a dutch oven all the time and although some may stick to the bottom, it’s not a crazy amount and after the 10 minutes with the lid cracked to cool.. it should be fluffy and delicious. That said, it may be because of the rice you used and cooking time. A few questions, does your oven run hot? How long did you bake it for? Did you maybe soak the rice in addition to rinsing? Exactly what kind of rice was it and what was the cooking time/temp you used?
I’ve started making my rice this way all the time, thanks for sharing this amazing and tasty recipe! I’d love to try it with fresh curry leaves, but haven’t had that opportunity yet.
That’s what I like to hear!! I love that you can pop it in the oven and work on other things while it bakes. So happy you like it. If you have an international or Indian market, look for curry leaves there. Otherwise, you can order a small tree from Etsy! That’s what I did. Happy cooking!
Delicious and soooooo easy! That’s all I need to say! I am a rice lover and this is the bomb! Thank you! ❤️❤️
That’s what I love to hear!! So happy you like this method. I make it weekly! Thank you for being here.
But the energy involved baking rice….just pour the rice into a pan, cover with 1.5 times the rice depth in water, and leave on medium heat until water has evaporated, then take off heat and leave for a minute or two to steam. I’ve NEVER had rice go wrong this way and couldn’t contemplate any other method. No anxiety.
Hi Jay! You certainly don’t have to bake your rice- if you have a way that works for you then that’s fantastic! I will say, I think the texture of baked rice is better than any rice I have tried. And I much prefer to pop it in the oven and use the stovetop for other things I am cooking. That’s my personal opinion!
This is a fantastic recipe! The flavor of the baked rice is really delicious on its own, and so unique. It’s become a weekly staple in our home!
I love to hear this!! Thank you!
If you add boiling water before placing the rice in the oven it cuts down the cooking time.
This is the best rice I’ve ever eaten, so good that you could eat only the rice. And super easy to make too. Thank you for this recipe!
I am so happy you like it. I honestly bake off a batch 2x a week because I love it so much. It stores great in the fridge, too, and you can make fried rice with whatever veggies you got! Try it with basmati- I think it’s my fave variety for this method. Happy cooking!
Can I just say, WOW! This is rice on another level. The flavor elements of the olive oil, and the bay leaves give this rice a “beefy” note. I’ve never tasted rice like this. I can imagine that choosing a flavored oil, or a different variety of bay leaves would change it completely. You could even throw in a bouquet garni, or herbs de province. Imagine if you chose juniper berries and played around with the different variety of peppercorns. The possibilities are endless.
I’m so glad I made enough to make fried rice tonight.
Ayyy, that’s what I love to hear. Thank you for this review. Happy holidays!
I’m in a bit of disbelief at how easy it is to make this rice! I’ve always dreaded cooking rice on the stovetop. This recipe was beyond simple, I made it exactly as written, and it was super delicious!
That’s what I love to hear!!!
LOVE this! Thank you for sharing – this is such a great alternative for lots of people. We use our InstantPot to cook rice but are currently out of town. I had to use the stove top to last night instead – the anxiety is real.
The anxiety IS real with stove top rice. I don’t think I’ve have been able to do it which is crazy because I cook A LOT. Baked rice it is! Sending you lots of love and happy cooking!