Cooking rice for a crowd is SO easy! For a potluck, family reunion or church party, bake it in the oven and have up to 50 servings in less than an hour. 
Rice for a Crowd
Cooking large quantities of rice doesn’t have to be hard. In fact, it is pretty much one of the easiest things you can make for a crowd! used this method when I was serving 50+ people at our church’s Girls Camp and it worked like a charm. I love that you can hurry and prepare it and just forget about it while you are prepping other food. Why spend $25-$35 (or more) to have rice catered when you can literally make it for a few bucks? It is so so easy.
Cooking Rice in the Oven
Use a 20-3/4″ x 12-3/4″ x 4″ steam table pan (can be found HERE). It holds 15 quarts so plenty of room for rice expansion. You can also use a roasting pan. Just make sure that it can hold at least 10 quarts. I like using the steam pan because it seems to cook more evenly. It is only 4″ deep so not too shallow, not too deep. The closer you can get to the dimensions above, the better.
Seasoning Variations for Rice
For this recipe I used long-grain white rice. You can also use basmati or jasmine rice. The cooking times should remain the same. Once you get the gist of baking rice for a crowd it is SO easy to make variations and flavors depending on what you are serving.
- Spanish or Mexican Rice for a Crowd: Reduce water to 3.5 quarts and add 2 (28 oz) cans of Rotel, 2 c. tomato sauce, 1/3 c. taco seasoning, and more salt to taste (if needed). Continue directions as directed below.
- Seasoned Rice for a Crowd: Use 2 quarts water and 3 quarts chicken. Eliminate salt (or use very little, to taste- the chicken broth should have plenty of sodium). Cut up 2 cups of butter into squares (pats) and evenly place over rice (it doesn’t need to be perfect, this is just so it will melt evenly when the hot water is poured on). Combine 2 Tbsp. EACH of thyme, basil, and paprika. and 1 Tbsp. turmeric. Sprinkle mixture evenly over rice and butter. Carefully pour water over the top and lightly stir to combine butter and herbs/spices if needed. Bake as directed below.
More Ideas for Cooking for a Crowd
Need more ideas for cooking for a crowd? Have a big reunion coming up? Check out our Ultimate Family Reunion Meal Planning Guide HERE! Or try some of these delicious recipes that you can make in bulk:
- Omelets in a Bag
- Italian Pasta Salad
- Breakfast Freezer Sandwiches
- Mom’s Cheater Chili
- Traditional Macaroni Salad
How to Cook Rice for a Crowd
Ingredients
- 3 quarts long grain, white rice (12 cups)
- 5 quarts water (20 cups)
- 3 tbsp Kosher salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350-degrees.
- Place 3 quarts uncooked rice in large roasting pan (lightly sprayed with cooking spray), spread evenly. Set aside.
- In a large stock-pot, combine water and salt. Bring to a rolling boil.
- CAREFULLY pour boiling water over rice and stir so rice is even along the bottom.
- Immediately cover tightly with aluminum foil. Make sure you have a tight seal around ALL the edges.
- Place roasting pan in oven and bake for 40-45 minutes or until rice is tender.
- Fluff with a large wooden spoon & serve.
- **Note: If you want to wait to serve, just keep in the oven at 150 degrees or so or keep warm in an electric warming pan. Add a little water if necessary to keep from drying out.
Equipment
- Conventional Oven
Suzanne says
Hi, Ladies,
What is the finished serving amount to get 50 out of a batch?
Erica says
It is a 1/2 cup serving. Hope this helps!
Rachel Twogood says
Hello
I stumbled across this recipe while looking for ways to cook a large amount of rice ( 150 people ) for chipotle wraps for a graduation party. I’m leery of trying bulk rice because of it getting sticky. Will this rice stay fluffy or over time or become sticky and stick to the serving spoon etc…?
Thank you for your post!
Rachel
Erica says
No matter how you cook rice you will risk it getting sticky if it stays out. How long were you wanting it to be out over time? I think you should be fine, the rice comes out as it would if you were cooking it in a rice cooker. Hope this helps!
Laura B says
One way to help prevent sticky rice, no matter how you cook it, is to first rinse it in water til the water runs clear. This washes away the powder stuff that makes it starchy & sticky, and give the rice an overall better appeal.
Lisa Nash says
Can I use this formula with brown rice? Ty
Favorite Family Recipes says
We haven’t tested this recipe with brown rice, so I can’t say. I know brown rice takes much longer to cook.
Jim Mailhes says
I would like to use your Spanish rice for a Crowd recipe as a side at a church BBQ plate fundraiser. It is rated for 50 servings but it seems to me it will provide more than that if filling a side section of a foam plate box. Can you comment somehow? What is the size of your servings?
Thanks
Erica Walker says
Each serving is 1/2 cup of cooked rice. If you are aiming for it to fit in a little section of a foam plate you will probably get more than 50 servings (if you are going 1/4 c. – 1/3 c. servings) does that make sense?
Tammy says
We run a food truck and typically are not used to pre making large portions of rice. Due to the climate today, we did a catered event for drive-thru orders instead of on demand. I needed a recipe where I could do a large amount of rice.
This recipe is phenomenal! I needed 100 portions so I just doubled this recipe. The rice turned out perfectly fluffy!
I used yellow rice, so I mixed water and chicken broth together for extra flavor.
Thank you for such an awesome recipe and this will be in my arsenal for the future!
Jackie says
Can disposable aluminum pans be used for cooking the rice?
Favorite Family Recipes says
Yes! That should work!
Matt Sutton says
Took an hour and a half too cook. Boo!
Erica Walker says
Hi Matt- it definitely shouldn’t take that long to cook. How deep was your pan? Did you bring the water to a rolling boil before adding? Was it covered well?
Danielle Hailey says
I don’t know if this will make a new comment or just thread off the last. I am sorry for any confusion. I am wondering why you are only using the roaster as a warmer and not actually cooking the rice in the roaster pan it’s self? Wouldn’t that be the same method and just like you cook rice on the stove?
Favorite Family Recipes says
So, you do cook the rice in the roaster pan. You just boil the water in the pot and then pour it over the rice.
Sally Vest says
This recipe saved my life!!! Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!!
We did a semi taco bar back in February for 400 kids!! Whew! I thought I was going to die, but this recipe totally helped. We used the parboiled rice from Sam’s Club… 10 lbs. for $5. Can’t beat that!
This recipe is delicious and my children have asked for it again. Now, i just have to make it in a smaller amount…
Thank you so much again for such a great recipe! AND an eye opener to the ease of cooking rice!
Emily Walker says
Thanks Sally! I am so glad this recipe helped!!
Erica Walker says
Hi Sally- Thank you so much for sharing your experience with us. WOW, that is a lot of kids to feed! Way to go! Glad it turned out well! Thank you so much for the 5-stars and for the kind comment 😀
Erine Harrison says
Can this be done in a glass oven proof dish? Looking for a simple way to make rice at a school and this sounds great but we only have deep ovenproof pans
Favorite Family Recipes says
I think that should work!!
Bennett says
Hi.
I am terrible.at cooking rice. I was asked to cook for a famy function rice for at least 30. I became nervous. How am I going to pull it is off.
I found your recipe and tried. I did not have big enough pan and dscided to split the rice and water into 2.
Oven 170 Celsius. 45 min.
I have never made such perfect rice.
Thank you, Thank you.
Bennett
Daisy says
How much water for jasmine rice
Favorite Family Recipes says
It should be the same amount as listed in the recipe!
Sharonda Archie says
Can u cook the yellow rice a day ahead? And how can i rewarm it?
Favorite Family Recipes says
Sure! Just add a little water to the pan and rewarm it in the oven.
Bennett says
Apologies…not famy……family. Also I used Jasmine rice.
Bren says
I need enough rice for 150 people for Hawaiian haystacks. What would you suggest the amount of rice I would need?
Erica Walker says
If it were me, I would triple the recipe. You will have to gauge it by how big of eaters you have. If you are feeding a bunch of hunger teenage boys you may want to 4-5 times the recipe. Hope this helps!
Kathryn Fitzgerald says
When using a 20x12x4 pan as recommended, it was very heavy and I thought I might not be able to lift it in oven. Very heavy with water and rice in it. Next time I would use 2 pans.
Erica Walker says
Great suggestion if you feel your pan is too heavy!
Pedro says
Do you recommend replacing the water for vegetable broth to enhance the flavor?
Favorite Family Recipes says
I haven’t tried that before, but I think it would work!
Bonnie Kane says
Can you tell me the how to make the mexican rice for about 30-35 people? What would be the ratios?
Erica Walker says
Hi Bonnie- We usually just make the full batch. If you are doing 30-35 you will want to adjust the recipe to about 3/4 of the original amounts. Hope this helps!
Dayna Gonzales says
What is the ratio for the Mexican rice if serving 80 people? How much tomato sauce? And Water?
Erica Walker says
We have only have the measurements for the recipe above for the Mexican rice. You would probably be safe doing 1 1/2 times what is mentioned above for the Mexican rice adjustments. I think it would probably be close enough. Hope this helps!
keira says
does the water have to be boiling before we mix with the rice? or can we just use cold water?
Erica Walker says
It must be boiling. Hope this helps!
keira says
since this is serving 50 people, how big would the serving sizes be?
Erica Walker says
The serving size is 1/2 cup cooked rice. Hope this helps!
Angelika82 says
This recipe fits perfect for the church program my church has coming up were the ladies of the church will be serving dinner this service they wanted to put me on more than just cakes. So since i still have to Make the cakes I wanted something to add that went well but would be costly as well as take to much time, so I pick Rice and Gravy. I know how to make rice, but i have never made it for 50 or more people
Erica Walker says
So glad this recipe worked out for you and your church group! Glad you were able to find our recipe to hopefully make it easier for you!
Linda says
One commenter said to rinse the rice before doing the recipe. Do you recommend this? I have to cook the Jasmine rice at home, drive an hour and the rice won’t be served for an hour after I arrive. What is the best way to keep it warm and not get sticky?
Erica Walker says
It’s always good practice to rinse your rice. I would reduce your water by 3-4 cups if you rinse it because the rice will hold some of the water after rinsing. As far as your arrival time, I would just turn the oven off or keep it at a really low heat and keep the rice in there. I would fluff the rice with some butter or a little oil to keep it from sticking. Hope this helps!
Harriet says
I’m interested in making rice and beans for 100. Any suggestions?
Erica Walker says
Are you wanting to make it all combined like this recipe: https://www.favfamilyrecipes.com/brazilian-beans-rice-sausage/ or are you talking more refried beans with Mexican rice?
Carol Snead says
I have tried this and it was so perfect. Thank you You’all made me look good!!
Sherilyn says
I am cooking rice for 50 women I don’t have nor can I afford steamer pans. If I used tin foil roaster pans, and poured water on the rice while it is already on the oven shelf and then slid it in, do you think that would work?
Favorite Family Recipes says
I haven’t tried it that way so I’m not sure how it would affect the texture. Let us know how it goes if you do try it!
Dlinhay says
There is a YouTube video of a Chef/guy using that method – & gives measurements, explains well ! I am doing the same version as you . Just type in oven cooked rice . Hope this helps
Karen says
Put your foil pan on a sheet pan so the bottom is supported. This worked for me.
Margaret says
If I were to 1/2 of the recipe or triple the recipe (for the seasoned rice for a crowd), would I need to alter the cooking time at all? Same question – if I only had smaller pans and divided the recipe listed in half, would that alter the cooking time? Thanks! Looking forward to trying this method as I cook it for my church family.
Favorite Family Recipes says
It is hard to say how these changes would affect the cooking time. I would recommend just keeping an eye on it and testing the rice every 5-10 minutes.
Fenna Corry says
I read through the comments and wondered how you felt about using short-grain or sushi rice using this method. I need to cook it for a crowd soon, so hope you are able to respond with your thoughts.
Favorite Family Recipes says
We have only tested this method with long-grain rice, basmati and jasmine rice.
Fenna Corry says
Thanks. I’m not up to last-minute snafus, so will use longer grain rice.
Melanie says
I would like to follow your exact recipe measurements given for 50 people but using jasmine rice. Is the water measurement the same? Can I use broth instead and if so do I use the same amount?
Read through some comments and some suggest washing rice ( I usually do ) and you have suggested using less liquid, if so how much less?
Favorite Family Recipes says
The water measurement is the same for jasmine rice. I have used chicken broth to cook rice and it turns out great! Hope this helps!
CorieLeigh says
I have a dinner party for 25-30 people & I am making shish kabobs & fried rice. I usually use a bag of mixed frozen veggies.
Should I just add this in with the rice & boiling water & keep an eye on it.
Also, I figured 6 cups of long grain (rinsed) rice & 10 cups of (boiling water)
Am I right? 🙂 Thank you for your help!
Favorite Family Recipes says
Those calculations are correct! Since veggies will cook much faster than the rice, I would suggest adding them after the rice is cooked! You don’t want mushy vegetables!
Elisa says
When making the Mexican rice, do you add the seasoning and rotel, etc… after you pour in the boiling water or before?
Favorite Family Recipes says
Either way is fine! I usually do it before!
Karen Smith says
This turned out great! I really had no idea you could bake rice in the oven.
However, I made some flavor variations. I cooked up a chicken broth stock with Spanish tomato seasoning, a chopped onion, a bit of fresh minced garlic, pepper, a stick of real butter and two bay laurel leaves and salted to taste. Brought all to a boil and simmered for about 20 minutes. Poured over rice and some canned diced tomatoes. Baked for about an hour. I was so pleased. It was for 40 for a church food kitchen. I served Enchiladas and this rice. I will definitely use this technique again!
Echo Blickenstaff says
First of all, I admire you for working in a church food kitchen. We need more people like you in this world! Thank you for giving of your time and talents so generously! I’m thrilled this recipe was a success for you. Thank you for sharing the variations you used.