Easy Batch Cooking Brown Rice

Freezer Brown Rice - haphazardhomemaker.com

More and more of the meals I am preparing these days have rice. I am mostly serving brown rice for the whole grain benefits, usually as an accompaniment to the meal, but sometimes as an ingredient. In the past, I hated cooking rice! It took a long time to cook, and invariably I would get distracted and it would boil over.

What a mess!

What makes this such a great idea is I can cook up enough rice to use over several days, or I can freeze it in meal size portions for later use. This is a fantastic time saver if you eat a lot of rice!

There’s a printable recipe card below.

How to Cook Brown Rice

It’s easy to cook any amount you’d like based on your intended use, family size, or whether it’s for the freezer. Just remember that rice doubles in size, and you need twice as much water as unprepared rice. Typically, a serving size of rice is 1/2 cup. This recipes makes 6 cups of rice or 12 servings.

3 cups brown rice, rinsed and drained several times
6 cups water
salt, a pinch, if desired.

Bring to a boil on medium-high in a large covered pot.

Reduce heat to simmer 30-45 minutes.

When done, remove lid and fluff the rice with a fork.

Let cool for 45 minutes to an hour.

When completely cool, put in a covered bowl in the fridge to use over the next 3 -4 days.

Or measure meal size potions into freezer bags, removing as much air as possible. I like to freeze my rice bags flat on a baking sheet. When frozen solid, you can either stack them, or stand them up straight, for easy storage in the freezer. Plus flat frozen packages thaw quicker.

To reheat the frozen rice, and 1-2 Tablespoons of water to the bag and microwave for 4-5 minutes. I prefer to thaw my rice first, before re-heating, but it isn’t neccessary.

Uses for Cooked Rice

I use brown rice the same as I would normally use white rice; serve under Stir-Fry or make Fried Rice, seasoned for Quick Spanish Rice , in Chicken & Rice casseroles, or in place of potatoes as a side dish. A favorite of mine is brown rice with a little bit of milk, brown sugar and cinnamon, maybe a few raisins warmed in the micro-wave for a mock Rice Pudding. Yummy!

Freezer Friendly Brown Rice