Rice For A Crowd
Tender, fluffy rice is lightly seasoned with butter and chicken broth to make a big batch that easily feeds 50 people.
Cook five pounds of rice in an oven or electric roaster in 30 minutes. Serve with our Shredded Chicken for a Crowd, Brisket or your favorite protein for a quick and easy meal to feed a crowd!
Why I Love This Rice For A Crowd Recipe
When preparing meals for a crowd at a graduation party, family reunion, fundraiser, homeless shelter we are always looking for easy side dishes.
Our rice for a crowd recipe is hard to beat when you need an easy, no-fuss side dish for a big party or celebration. It’s simple to make, easy to keep warm, and just as dependable as our simple corn for a crowd and green beans in a roaster recipes.
What You’ll Love:
- Easy to Keep Warm – A little extra butter and liquid help this rice stay moist and tender, making it easy to keep warm for hours without sacrificing quality.
- Simple to Make – The biggest challenge is lifting the heavy pans! If you’re prepared or have help moving them, this is an easy way to make a lot of food quickly.
- Budget Friendly – Rice is the main expense, and the simple ingredients—salt, butter, and chicken broth—add plenty of flavor without adding much cost.
- Lots of Ways to Serve It – Rice pairs well with chicken, taco meat, sausage, beans, and more. You can also season it in many different ways to complement the rest of the meal.
- Consistent Cook Time – Some of our big-batch meals can have a wide cooking window, but this rice has a much more predictable cook time, with only a 10-minute window.
Ingredients Needed
- Basmati Rice – a 5 pound bag works great.
- Chicken Broth – we love using about 1/2 a cup Better Than Bouillon, but my friend prefers to use 5 – 32 ounce cartons of broth.
- Salt – Use 1 1/2 tablespoons if using broth and 3 tablespoons if using water.
- Butter – the key to holding rice on warm and serving over a couple hour time period.
Start with boiling liquid (water or chicken broth). Because you are working with 5 pounds of rice and 20 cups of boiling liquid be very careful when pouring liquid.
Make sure you are using a heavy duty pan and be careful when moving the pans into the oven as it is heavy and hot. Do not lift foil for first 25 minutes to allow the rice to steam properly.
How Much Rice for 50 People?
Through testing we have found that 5 pounds of dry Basmati rice mixed with 20 cups of chicken broth or water creates about 40 one cup servings. In our experience when served with protein and a vegetable this will easily feed 50 adults.
We have prepared this big batch of rice for 50 men at a shelter and for our family. In our experience the serving size that people take varies greatly.
One man mentioned growing up in foster homes and eating so much rice each day that he didn’t want any. Another mentioned spending time in Asia, loving rice and that he would love to eat it everyday. The amount of carbs that the people in our family crave also varies greatly depending on the day and what else is on the menu.
Benefits of Using Wide Foil To Seal the Pan Tightly
Covering the dish or roaster pan tightly with foil traps in more moisture than a lid alone. This helps the grain cook more quickly and results in tender rice.
We tested this recipe both with and without foil. Without foil, the rice takes about 10 minutes longer to cook, and you’ll need an additional ½ to 1 cup of water to maintain the same moisture level and tender texture.
How To Make Rice in A Roaster
The steps and strategy are exactly the same whether you use a large pan in a traditional oven or use an electric roaster oven!
Rinse the rice in a bowl by covering with water and gently pouring the cloudy water out. Repeat until the water becomes clear.
Preheat the oven or roaster to 350°F. And have a sheet of foil laying nearby.
Pour rinsed rice into a pan generously coated with non-stick cooking spray. Coat up the sides well.
Note that rinsed rice left in a hot electric roaster without liquid will start to burn after a few minutes. To avoid this add rice and boiling water quickly. Or add two cups of hot water to rice to prevent burning.
Sprinkle salt and slices of butter over the rice.
Carefully pour 20 cups of boiling chicken broth or water over top of the rice. Plan out the steps, angles and hot pads used to avoid burning yourself!
Stir gently and then quickly cover tightly with foil and cook for 30 minutes.
Once rice is done fluff with a fork, place foil and lid back on the pan and set to 150°F or the keep warm setting while waiting to serve.
We recommend eating shortly after finished cooking, but through testing we did determine that the rice does not become sticky, mushy or hard while holding at a low temperature and maintaining moisture by adding water as needed.
Jennifer’s Recipe Tips & Tricks
- The day before you cook make sure your pan will hold 20 cups of water plus the rice. Finding a properly sized pan is the biggest limitation in making this recipe.
- Mentally walking through how to do each step and having all equipment ready before beginning will help making the rice go much more smoothly.
- Once you add boiling water to the pan be ready to cover and cook ASAP. Losing heat will affect the cooking time.
- Be prepared to lift and move a heavy pot of boiling water and a pan full of rice and really hot water safely. If you are not confident in your strength then do not make a big batch of rice using the suggested method.
- If making rice for 50 in the oven only use a strong, firm, metal pan. Do NOT use an aluminum foil pan as there is a lot of weight to handle.
More Warm Side Dish Ideas to Feed A Crowd
- Scalloped Potatoes for a crowd of 50
- Corn Casserole for a Crowd
- Bulk Mac and Cheese recipe
- Baked Beans for 100 people
Rice for a Crowd
Ingredients
- 5 pounds Basmati rice
- 1 1/2 tablespoons sea salt
- 20 cups chicken broth or water
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉. Coat a roaster pan that is at least 17 ¼ x 12 ½ x 8 ½ or a roaster oven that is at least 18 quarts generously with non-stick cooking spray.
- Thoroughly rinse rice in cold water until water is clear.5 pounds Basmati rice
- Bring broth or water to boil.20 cups chicken broth
- Add rinsed rice to pan, sprinkle with kosher salt and butter.1 1/2 tablespoons sea salt, 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- Carefully pour boiling broth or water over rice.
- Place foil over pan and place roaster lid on top of foil.
- Bake in oven or electric roaster oven for approximately 30 minutes.
- Lift a corner of foil to check for doneness of rice. Be careful of steam that will come out when foil is lifted.
- Once rice is done, fluff with fork and serve. Keep rice warm, covered in a 150 degree oven or set roaster oven to keep warm. Stir once every 30 to 60 minutes and add a cup of hot water as needed to keep moist while serving.
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