Cooking rice on the stove doesn’t have to be a mystery. This simple, reliable method shows you exactly how much water to use, when to cover the pot, and how long to cook it so your rice comes out fluffy—not mushy or crunchy—every single time. Once you know this basic technique, you’ll never need a rice cooker (or a backup plan) again.
Recipe by Katie Workman on September 30, 2022
Prep time: PT3M
Cook time: PT25M
Total time: PT28M
Rating
4.96 stars (233 reviews)
Keywords
how to cook white rice, how to make rice, rice recipe, white rice recipe
Ingredients
2 cups water
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon butter or oil ((optional))
1 cup long-grain white rice
Categories
Side Dish
Cuisine
American
Asian
Steps
Bring the water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add the salt and butter, if using, and allow the butter to melt.
When the water has returned to a boil, stir in the rice. Let the water return to a light simmer. Stir again, cover the pot, and turn the heat down to low. Keep the rice simmering slightly, and keep the pot covered (you may have to peek after a few minutes to make sure the heat is at the correct temperature, but then let it cook, covered). Start checking to see if the rice is tender and all of the liquid is absorbed at about 17 minutes. It may take up to 25, especially if you are making a larger quantity of rice.
When the rice is cooked, turn off the heat and let it sit for another couple of minutes to finish absorbing any liquid. Take off the lid, fluff the rice with a fork, and let it sit for another 2 minutes or so until some of the excess moisture in the rice dries off.
Nutitrion
Serving Size: 1 serving
Calories: 193.91 kcal
Carbohydrates: 36.98 g
Protein: 3.33 g
Fat: 3.15 g
Saturated Fat: 1.88 g
Cholesterol: 7.53 mg
Sodium: 324.24 mg
Sugar: 0.06 g
Reviews
Sherry Anne DesRoches on 2026-09-18 (5 stars): Best RICE EVER!! Thank you!!!
Me on 2026-09-14 (5 stars): Amazing every time!
Marcy gross on 2026-09-14 (5 stars): Love
cora moon on 2026-08-06 (5 stars): yeppers, this does the trick! moist but not mushy, flavorful and perfect on the timing. thank you!
wilson on 2026-05-24 (5 stars): This rice recipe is phenomenal!
Michele on 2026-05-13 (5 stars): This rice recipe is phenomenal! Easy to follow and the rice comes out perfect. Thanks for this recipe.
Pam on 2026-03-29 (5 stars): This is the best turnout for rice ever! It came out perfect, this will be my got to recipe always from now on. Thank You :o)
Diana S on 2026-02-20 (5 stars): Hands down, this is the best. The only thing that I changed was using 2 cups of chicken broth instead of the water.
Kevin on 2026-02-05 (5 stars): WOW! And I mean WOW! This rice recipe is so good that I ate it alone and had a second helping. I would have had more, but I had to restrict my intake after surgery. Moist, not sticky, and tasty. I finally found my rice recipe! Thank you so much! I even subscribed!
Mali on 2026-01-05 (5 stars): A lot of fun and easy great recipe
NewCookinProgress on 2026-01-02 (5 stars): I had the same issue with the bubbles coming through and had to use my wooden spoon to get it to go down and onto a separate burner. My family did get a new set of pots and pans and it’s stainless steel. Not really used to it as I’ve been using nonstick pans which helped me get a feel of how it cooked when I started to help cook for the family. But other than that it really just depends on the cookware we have. Just gotta adjust. The rice is really yummy tho! Definitely a keeper!
Adorisa on 2025-12-17 (5 stars): Finally! Perfect rice, every time.
Deborah on 2025-12-14 (5 stars): I followed recipe and all of the tips. The result: perfectly cooked, FLUFFY rice.
Araceli on 2025-11-18 (5 stars): Best rice I’ve made did not come out sticky,was the perfect fluff
Brian Murphy on 2025-09-21 (5 stars): Follow the instructions exactly and it's foolproof. I used this method and get perfect rice every time. Let it cool and then refrigerate it in a sealed container overnight for perfect rice for your favorite fried rice recipe.
Chuck on 2025-09-16 (5 stars): Best recipe I've found so far, and I intend to try some more of your rice recipes.
