How to Cook Rice on the Stove

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My tutorial on how to cook rice on the stove is an extremely well-tested personal method, y’all!! Developed over half a lifetime, this easy recipe yields soft, fluffy grains that stay separate and distinctive in all your delicious dishes.

Cooked white rice in a small pot with a whole parsley leaf garnish and a spoon handle in the top left side of the pot.

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How to Cook Rice on the Stove Perfectly Every Time is an Essential Life Skill

Learning how to cook rice on the stove lets you enjoy your favorite dishes without relying on a rice cooker, a separate piece of equipment you have to store when not in use. It’s also an essential life skill that you can use for meal planning, freezer meal prep, and making the taste and texture of your holiday dishes restaurant-quality.

My Life-Long Rice Eating and Cooking Experiences

My Cajun mom served rice to our family almost every day, usually alongside a gumbo or one of her super delicious stews. So, having rice at most meals is a very natural occurrence to me.

And, since it’s served with most of the Cajun and Creole dishes that I eat regularly, I’ve cooked well over 100 pots of rice on the stove to accompany my gumbos, stews, etouffees, and courtbouillons.

Therefore, this how-to make rice on the stove recipe has been lovingly developed over many years. I can say with complete confidence that it’s in its final, perfect form, creating tender, uniformly separate rice that’s never sticky, but distinctive grains that absorb the flavors of your dishes deliciously. Indeed.

Top Recipe Tips!

Stay close to the stove throughout the beginning stages of this stovetop white rice recipe. Letting the rice boil for too long can release too much water, making the cooked rice dry.
Adhere closely to the resting time. The final steaming process is super important to the texture of the cooked rice. So, set a timer for cooking and resting the rice to ensure the best results.

Cooked white rice in a round white bowl.

What to Serve With Freshly Cooked Rice

South Louisiana Shrimp Creole. One of New Orleans’ most famous dishes, this authentic shrimp Creole is best enjoyed with rice.
Chicken and Sausage Gumbo. The classic Cajun-style gumbo that locals enjoy with rice and potato salad.
Crawfish Étouffée. One of the most universally beloved South Louisiana dishes, always served with piping-hot white rice.
Cajun Chicken Stew. A dark roux, seasoned chicken, and veggies are made scrumptiously substantial when served over rice.
Cajun Butter Beans with Shrimp & Sausage. A very old-school regional recipe, this dish is ultra-flavorful comfort food that rice makes even better.
Cajun Smothered Chicken. One of the most unforgettable South Louisiana Sunday dinners, this one is best enjoyed with rice or mashed potatoes and a simple veggie side.
Catfish Courtbouillon. Layered flavors, a rich roux, and perfectly seasoned fillets are finished off with a serving of rice for an authentic company-worthy dish that’s truly South Louisiana legit.
Cajun Chicken Fricassee. Another time-tested classic that’s always paired with rice, this dish celebrates the slow-cooked chicken in a dark brown roux gravy.

Ingredients & Substitutions

Ingredients for how to cook rice on the stove in bowls.

I used extra-long-grain white rice, the most commonly used type of rice in South Louisiana, in my lifelong experience. Long-grain rice is the one that, when properly cooked, does not get clumpy or sticky. However, you can use this recipe for medium-grain or short-grain rice. But expect some level of mushiness in the prepared rice. But do not use brown rice, as it takes longer to cook than white rice, and the recipe will not turn out the same.
Regular table salt works perfectly in this recipe. You can also use kosher salt.
Filtered water lets the rice’s natural taste shine through in each bite. I’ve used different types of broth in the past – including chicken and vegetable broth – but believe that rice is best suited for cooking in water, which preserves its innate composition once prepared.

A Note About Rinsing the Rice

The dusty layer on most modern American rice sold in stores is composed of vitamins and other nutrients added to enhance its nutritional value, not dirt that’s been left on the grains. Therefore, it’s best not to rinse long-grain rice, which is used in this recipe, to preserve those nutrients throughout the stovetop cooking process.

Personally, I do not rinse my rice before cooking. While it does release excess starch, I feel like rinsed cooked rice has a somewhat mushy texture that’s definitely not as appealing to me as the tender, uniform texture of unrinsed cooked rice.

The Best Pot to Use to Cook Rice on the Stove

My 100+ attempts at cooking white rice on the stove have included using a few different types of pots. Here’s what kinds I recommend and what I stay away from:

Vintage copper-bottom pots are my favorite rice-cooking vessels for this recipe. They always cook the rice uniformly and evenly. So, I keep one on hand at all times, which is usually just used to cook rice on the stove.
Stainless steel pots and saucepans are my second-favorite types of cookware for making rice. They are almost as good as copper-bottom pots, and almost always produce the perfect pot of rice on the stove.
Although I am a dedicated cast-iron cook, I avoid using them when preparing rice. First, you can only use enameled cast iron pieces to cook rice, or you will likely end up with greyish or blackish marks on some of the grains. Also, these pots tend to be bottom-heavy, a construction that makes some rice grains stick to the bottom of the pot once cooked. Therefore, I refrain from cooking rice in cast-iron cookware unless absolutely necessary.

What to Do if the Rice Pot Boils Over

It’s entirely possible, and likely a given, that the rice will boil over at some point. It’s honestly just part of the stovetop rice cooking process, and it only takes a few seconds to fix.

To rectify the situation, transfer the pot to an unheated part of the stove or a nearby countertop. Remove the lid and keep it off for just a few seconds until the water level in the pot returns to normal.

Wipe up the rice water on the stovetop to prevent hardening, then return the covered pot to the stove and continue cooking.

Storage

Store the leftover rice in the refrigerator, covered, for up to 3 days. You can freeze the rice in plastic bags or airtight containers. However, the rice may have a different texture after thawing and reheating.

How to Cook Rice on the Stove Step by Step

Pour the rice and salt into the bottom of a small pot.

A pot filled with rice and salt alongside and a Pyrex glass jug filled with water.

Add the water and bring to a boil.

Rice, water, and salt in a small pot on the stove.

Reduce the heat to low, cover, and continue cooking. (See section above to learn how to stop the pot from boiling over, if necessary).

Rice, water, and salt boiling in a small pot on the stove.

Finally, leave the pot covered for a bit to let the steam finish fluffing up the rice to the perfect consistency. Then, stir before serving, while the rice is still hot.

How to make rice on the stove final prep showing the cooked rice in a small pot.

And that’s it, y’all!!

As you can see, it’s super easy to learn how to cook rice on the stove. This recipe doubles and even triples easily, too. So, you can use it for everyday meals and larger holiday spreads throughout the year with ease.

I use this stovetop rice recipe for ALL of my favorite dishes, including Creole gumbo, chicken sauce piquante, and Cajun chicken white chili. It always lives up to my expectations, absorbing all the scrumptious flavors while remaining distinct in the dish. Indeed!

Share with those who stop and do for you when no one else is there to praise them, and genuinely care about your well-being when they have absolutely nothing to gain. Much food love, and see y’all on the yum side…

Freshly cooked white rice in a pot alongside a green napkin on a dark wood background.

This post was first published on October 16, 2020, and was updated and republished on January 6, 2026.

Discover These Delicious Cajun Rice Dishes

1 cup long-grain white rice I use this one
2 cups water
½ teaspoon salt

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Pour the rice, water, and salt into a small pot set over medium-high heat, and stir until combined.
Bring to a rolling boil.
As soon as the mixture begins to boil, turn the heat down to low.
Stir constantly for one minute to let the excess heat out of the pot.
Cover and cook for an additional 20 minutes. Do NOT lift the lid during this time, unless the pot starts to boil over. If so, transfer the pot to a cooler area of the stove and remove the lid just until it stops boiling over. Then, wipe off the burner, if necessary, and return the pot to the burner and continue cooking.
At the 20-minute mark, remove the pot from the heat, keep it covered, and let the rice sit for 10 minutes. This allows it to continue steaming, resulting in a perfectly soft and fluffy texture.
Uncover the rice and stir it gently throughout before serving.

Store the leftover rice in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 36 hours.
For best results, use a small copper-bottom or stainless steel pot.
Remain near the stove during the early stages of cooking the rice so you are present if it starts to boil over.
Rest the rice for the full 10 minutes to ensure the final steaming stage gives the rice grains the moisture they need to become perfectly soft and tender.

The information shown is an estimate provided by a third-party, online computer-generated nutrition calculator, not a registered dietitian or certified nutritionist. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods and individual portion sizes, along with other factors.

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