Showing you exactly how to cook rice with step by step photos! There are three important steps to ensure you get perfect, fluffy rice each and every time, whether you are making long grain white or brown rice.
Rice is such a staple in our house, we eat it at least three times a week. While I've shared seven different rice recipes to jazz up plain rice, today we're talking about the important principles that will get you the perfect, fluffy texture each and every time.
The good news is that perfect rice is something that everyone can achieve, whether you are a kitchen newbie or a culinary pro! Let's discuss.
This post covers
- how to cook rice (with photos)
- cook times for long grain rice
- tips to add more flavor to your rice (for very little effort!)
Don't forget to pin this post to save it for later!
How to cook rice (with photos)
1. Rinse the rice
Rinsing your rice removes extra starch from the surface of the grains that can make it stick together and get gummy. Some people rinse using a colander, however I've found the most effective way is to cover the rice in the pot with 2-3 inches of water.
Swirl, dump the water (through a colander or just carefully without). Repeat 5-6 times for long grain white rices or until the water becomes more clear. For long grain brown rice, you only needed to do it 1-2 times.
2. Add vinegar
This might sound unusual, but is another great tactic to get perfect, fluffy rice. Add a teaspoon of vinegar (apple cider or white vinegar both work) to the cooking liquid of your pot of rice. The acid of the vinegar is thought to break down more of the starches inside the rice, helping each grain of rice absorb more liquid (1).
I find this particularly helpful in getting perfect, fluffy brown rice.
3. Always rest the rice
Resting the rice might sound like a skippable step when cooking rice, but it is crucial to allow the moisture to evenly distribute and absorb into the rice. If you skip this step, you could end up with crunchy rice on the bottom and soggy rice on the top.
To rest your rice, take the pot off the burner and let it sit on a cold burner (no peeking!) for 10 minutes.
4. Fluff up the rice
Fluffing the rice helps separate the grains, break up any clumps, and allows trapped moisture to evaporate. This should be the last step before serving it! Using a fork, gently stir up the pot of rice until light and fluffy.
You can also stir butter or coconut oil right into the pot when you do this step, helping to coat and flavor the rice grains.
Would you like to save this?
Cook times for long grain rice
While 'long grain white rice' is a term that is often used interchangeably, there are actually several different types, each of which has different water and cook time requirements. Make sure to always refer to the package for water quantities and cook times.
Water ratios/cook times for long grain rice:
- jasmine rice- 1 cup rice : 1 ¼ cups cooking liquid; 12 min cook time, 10 min rest time
- basmati rice- 1 cup rice : 2 cups cooking liquid; 15 min cook time, 10 min rest time
- American long grain rice- 1 cup rice : 1 ½ cups cooking liquid; 12 min cook time, 10 min rest time
- long grain brown rice- 1 cup rice : 2 cups cooking liquid; 40 min cook time, 10 min rest time
Using a rice cooker
I absolutely love using a rice cooker to cook my rice as it always produces perfectly fluffy rice. Because of the built in programs and sensors in rice cookers, you shouldn't need to select any specialized program beyond choosing whether you have white or brown rice.
The resting period is built into the rice cooker program, you do not need to rest your rice; once the rice cooker beeps, the rice is immediately ready to fluff and serve.
I use (and love!) this 8 cup rice cooker.
Using an Instant Pot
While the Instant Pot has a built in rice program, in a side by side comparison, I actually preferred using the manual pressure setting. When cooking long grain white rice in the Instant Pot, here are a few tips:
- Use a natural pressure release as the 'resting' period.
- Skip the vinegar, as it seems to interact too vigorously with the high pressure, resulting in gummy rice in the Instant Pot.
- Fluff the rice up with fats such as butter or coconut oil, then put the lid back on for a few minutes. This step really helps to get that 'fluffy' texture.
See my perfect, fluffy Instant Pot basmati rice recipe!
Storage and reheating
If not handled properly, rice can be at risk of growing harmful bacteria that can make you sick. If you follow the following steps, you will be perfectly fine:
- Get it into the fridge within 2 hours of cooking- do not let it sit at room temperature for too long as this is the temperature at which harmful bacteria can replicate
- Store in an air tight container for up to 4 days
- Reheat until steaming hot
- Do not reheat more than once
Read more about rice & food safety here!
Freezing
Rice freezes well. You can freeze it in meal prep containers or in freezer bags (I love these re-usable silicone freezer bags!). Some people add a little bit of water when re-heating freeze/thawed rice, as it does end up slightly dryer than fresh rice.
Adding extra flavor to your rice
While I have a whole post devoted to this topic with seven different rice recipes, here are a few quick tips for you:
- swap water for chicken or vegetable stock
- always add salt to the cooking liquid
- sauté a finely chopped onion or 2 cloves of garlic before adding other ingredients
- sauté the rice until golden in a little oil or butter (5 or so minutes until it develops a golden brown color) before adding the cooking liquid
You could also check out the following rice recipes:
(these were tested with basmati rice, but you can adjust the liquid ratios for other long grain rices)
- Herb Lemon Rice Recipe
- Coconut Rice
- Saffron Rice
- Mexican Rice Recipe
- Cilantro Lime Rice
- Pesto Green Rice
- Turmeric Yellow Rice
Did you make this? Tag me on social @sweetpeasandsaffron and be sure to leave a comment and rate the recipe!
How to Cook Rice (perfect + fluffy, every time!)
Ingredients
- 1 cup basmati rice uncooked
- 2 cups water or broth; see note 1
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vinegar white or apple cider vinegar work
Instructions
- Rinse- In the bottom of a 4 L/quart pot, cover the rice with 2-3 inches of water. Swirl until the water becomes cloudy and pour off into the sink (you might want to pour through a colander). Repeat until water is not cloudy (5-6 times for long grain white rice, 1-2 times for long grain brown rice).
- Combine- After rinsing and discarding extra liquid from the rice, add the water/broth, salt and vinegar to the pot. Make sure no rice is stuck to the side and that it is fully submerged in the liquid.
- Cooking- Place the lid on the pot and bring to a boil (look for steam coming out from under the lid). Reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes (*for cook times of other types of rice, see note 1). Do not lift the lid or stir the rice.
- Rest- When 15 minutes are up, remove from the burner to a cold burner or a trivet. Allow the pot to sit for another 10 minutes. Do not lift the lid until the time is up.
- Fluff- When the 10 minutes rest time is up, remove the lid, fluff rice with a fork, and serve. You can also stir 1 tablespoon of butter or coconut oil into the pot when you do this step.
Would you like to save this?
Tips:
- jasmine rice– 1 cup rice : 1 ¼ cups cooking liquid; 12 min cook time, 10 min rest time
- basmati rice– 1 cup rice : 2 cups cooking liquid; 15 min cook time, 10 min rest time
- American long grain rice– 1 cup rice : 1 ½ cups cooking liquid; 12 min cook time, 10 min rest time
- long grain brown rice– 1 cup rice : 2 cups cooking liquid; 40 min cook time, 10 min rest time
- do not let rice sit at room temperature for extended periods; get it into the fridge within 2 hours of cooking
- store in an air tight container for up to 4 days
- reheat until steaming hot
- do not reheat more than once.
- swap water for chicken or vegetable stock
- always add salt to the cooking liquid
- sauté a finely chopped onion or 2 cloves of garlic before adding other ingredients
- sauté the rice until golden in a little oil or butter (5 or so minutes until it develops a golden brown color) before adding the cooking liquid
Nutrition Information
© Sweet Peas & Saffron - Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited.
Paula says
Hi Denise!
Ever since we spoke about your rice tips it has been a life changer!
So thankful for that.
Did you know that if you cook it with coconut oil and refrigerate it for a day you can not only make it’s starch more resistant (lower glycemic spikes) but trick the body into absorbing less of the calories it contains?
Plus a day’s old rice has worked much better for me in recipes like fried rice. So it’s a win-win!!
Thank you for the great content!
Denise Bustard says
Hi Paula! I'm so happy to hear you've had fluffy rice success! You know, I was just reading about the coconut oil trick-- how incredibly cool! For anyone else wondering, here's a great article on it: https://time.com/collection/guide-to-weight-loss/3754097/rice-calories-resistant-starch/
Homie says
It's is so much better also by chopping
everything as small as you can and the rice is really done because to much texture runes good rice and try not to let it lie to long for it will have a bitter taste left for year's to come .
Mary says
Thank you a bunch for this recipe video. I have been in self isolation far away from home as my son and I cannot travel on account of his SLE. This site has been the guide I so much needed. Cooking rice is the combination of art and science. Thanks a milly.
I sometimes see chefs sprinkling salt and olive oil when preparing rice, whats your take on this?
And would you get the same results if you used short or medium grain variety?
Denise says
Hi Mary! Sending lots of love your way through all of this. I am so happy to hear you've enjoyed the recipes on my site! I never personally add olive oil after cooking my rice, but I do find that a few teaspoons of coconut oil can really give it a great texture. I would try ghee or butter if you don't have coconut oil. As for medium and short grain rice, I am not 100% sure as those are not varieties we often cook. Wish I could be of more help!