The Trick That'll Cut Down On The Time It Takes To Cook Brown Rice

Though brown rice offers a few more health benefits than white rice, our favorite reason for making this swap is the flavor. White rice is dense, chewy, and delicious, but lacks the lightly sweet nuttiness of the brown variety. These flavors are the perfect complement to sweet recipes like tres leches rice pudding or sweet and sticky Thai rice. The only hiccup is that basic steamed brown rice can take up to 45 minutes, while white rice takes less than half that time.

The reason brown rice takes so much longer is because the grains are covered in a hard outer casing called bran. This bran contains many of the nutrients that give brown rice its health food status, but the tradeoff is that it takes nearly an hour to make. White rice cooks faster because the bran is removed during processing, allowing water to easily penetrate the grains. However, soaking your brown rice prior to steaming can reduce its cooking time by more than half.

While it takes a little forethought and planning, soaking helps soften brown rice's hard bran layer, so part of the cooking process is done before you start heating it. This hack is also super easy to do — just add the amount of brown rice you intend to cook to an airtight container, cover it with twice as much water, and put it in the fridge overnight. The next day, cook it as you normally would — it should be ready in 20 to 30 minutes.

Though this tip won't help you if you're in a hurry, it's useful for when you know you'll be pressed for time later on. For instance, say you're serving something a little labor intensive, like wild rice and walnut stuffed acorn squash (swapping wild rice for brown). Soaking the rice beforehand will make the recipe come together much faster, allowing you to easily put the filling together while the acorn squash bakes.

Soaking is also great for meal-planning quick and easy weeknight dinners. It makes a delicious side for seared chicken breasts, a tasty and filling base for burrito bowls, or a simple addition to help stretch leftover soup or chili a little further. Additionally, brown rice is full of fiber, B vitamins, magnesium, and other vital nutrients, so taking a few minutes to prep it a few nights a week could help you stick to a nutritious and delicious meal plan.

If your family is always on the go, and you don't have 20 minutes to spend babysitting dinner, you can make this process even faster by steaming brown rice in your microwave. It still takes the same amount of time, but you won't have to worry about it boiling over or burning. Once it's done, you can use it to make fried rice, layer it into burritos, or create sweet rice porridge with a pat of butter, cinnamon, and a pinch of brown sugar.