Oven-baked rice is the easiest way to make a lot of rice for serving a crowd of 25, 50, or even 100 people or more. This is a simple, basic recipe on which you can build your meal. Make and serve straight away for a hot fluffy rice side dish, add seasonings and ingredients to ramp up the flavor, or make in advance to then make stir-fry or hibachi rice later. The sky is the limit for making delicious fluffy rice no matter how many you are serving.

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wood spoon inserted into oven-baked rice

Why oven baking rice is best

If you have a large rice cooker, then congratulations. My rice cooker at home makes 2 cups of rice. So, if I’m making rice for 50 people, my rice cooker isn’t going to cut it. My cooker also takes a long time and when I’m trying to knock out a lot of food, it is just not suited for the task.

Then there is the stove top. and cooking rice on the stove works well for many people. I am not one of those people. No, I either burn it dry, or I end up with wet rice, every single time.

Oven-baked rice is best for cooking a LOT of rice (in the absence of an industrial rice cooker). We just dump the rice and salt into a hotel pan with some boiling water, cover with foil, then bake. That’s it.

The math is easy, and the method is easy. We are then free to work on other dishes and simply have to wait for the timer to go off. Then fluff. When cooking for a crowd, oven baking rice is the best.

About the ingredients

Rice, water, and kosher salt. That’s all there is here.

Now, about the salt: use kosher salt. Kosher salt tastes different than table salt, and table salt, especially iodized table salt, does not taste good. So, in a recipe like this where the salt is so important, use kosher salt. Also, bland rice is not good rice – so, use kosher salt and enough of it to the point where you can taste it.

How much rice to serve a crowd

Five pounds of uncooked rice feeds 50 people; 10 pounds feeds 100. For every 10 people you are serving, use 1 lb uncooked rice, 4 cups water, and 2 teaspoons kosher salt. A serving size is 1/2 cup cooked rice.

buffet line with hotel pan of baked rice in the foreground

Serving suggestions and additions

This is where you can have fun! There are so many ways to change up plain rice to make it fit perfectly with your main course. Here are some things I have done. No matter how you make your rice, always finish with a sprinkling of fresh herb like parsley (this is a golden rule!).

Chile rice: cook the rice with chopped fire-roasted green chiles. Once cooked, season to taste with garlic powder and black pepper, and top with fresh cilantro or flat-leaf parsley.
Cilantro lime rice: cook the rice as per the recipe card, then once cooked, add fresh lime zest, lime juice, garlic powder (to taste) and chopped fresh cilantro.
Hibachi rice: once cooked, allow the rice to cool completely (this can be overnight in the refrigerator). Then cook the rice with vegetables, egg, seasonings, and teriyaki sauce on the griddle or in a wok to make fried rice. Don’t forget to finish with a drizzle of yum yum sauce!
Confetti rice: add diced carrots, corn, and peas (thaw from frozen) for a kid-friendly confetti rice.
Middle eastern rice: add turmeric (2 tsp per 1 lb rice) with the salt to cook the rice. Then add golden raisins and toasted pine nuts or slivered almonds.
Pilaf: replace half of the water with chicken stock to cook. Then once cooked, add slivered almonds and fresh herbs.

pan of cooked rice in front; large Blackstone griddle in back cooking stir-fry rice — This was a neighborhood cookout where we got out the outdoor griddles and each brought a dish for Hibachi.

Tips

It is very important to start with boiling water. Not warm, not hot from the tap… boiling water. This is what makes this technique work.

Because of the above, this recipe means we are slinging large amounts of boiling water. So, we have to be very careful pouring the water into the pans, and we have to be very careful moving the pans into the oven to cook.

Wide foil makes covering hotel pans much easier. It doesn’t have to be heavy duty foil, but wide foil means you can cover the pan in a single piece.

FAQs

How can I keep rice warm after cooking?

Once cooked, keep rice covered in a 150F oven to keep warm.

Can rice be cooked in advance and then reheated?

Unfortunately, no. Unless you are going to stir-fry or griddle-cook, Hibachi-style rice (in which case, yes, we do want to make the rice in advance so it can cool off and not get sticky). But otherwise, rice is best served fresh.

I’m making less than 5 lbs rice. What pan should I use?

5 lbs of rice will FILL a hotel pan once cooked, so if cooking even 2-1/2 lbs rice, I would still use a hotel pan. Under that, switch to a 13×9-sized pan or a lasagna pan.

plain oven-baked rice in a full sized hotel pan

Oven-baked rice is perfect to serve with my Mojo Pulled Chicken. Add veggies, toppings (green onion, salsa, cheese, sour cream), salad, and dessert, and you’ve got dinner done for a crowd.