I Tried the TikTok 4-Ingredient “Brown” Rice Casserole and It Was Buttery Heaven

Often, it’s the simplest dishes — those with an ingredient list you can count on one hand — that are the most flavorful. This is definitely the case with my newest TikTok find, which is known as “brown rice casserole” or “stick of butter rice.”

Contrary to its name, this rice dish doesn’t actually contain brown rice, but rather long-grain white rice that is baked in a casserole dish with canned beef consommé and/or broth, canned French onion soup, and — you guessed it — a stick of butter! These four accessible ingredients are simply stirred together and baked until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender.

I first came across this recipe from Leah, ala foodwanderer on TikTok, who called it “stick-of-butter rice.” Her version calls for half a stick of unsalted butter and half a stick of salted butter, and she adds a few pinches of black pepper to the dish but no salt — presumably because it already contains a lot of salt from the canned soups.

Other versions of the dish, like the one above from Rachel Smith (rattchelmama on TikTok), include canned mushrooms in addition to the soups. Because mushrooms and beef pair very well together, this addition makes total sense!

I tried out this dish, basically following Leah’s instructions, which call for combining a cup of long-grain white rice (not instant), a 10-ounce can of French onion soup, a 10-ounce can of beef broth, half a stick of salted butter, half a stick of unsalted butter, and some pepper. You cover the mixture tightly with foil and bake in a preheated oven at 425˚ F for 30 minutes, and then uncovered until the liquids are absorbed — about an additional 30 minutes.

This dish was super flavorful and delicious! Plus, because of the salted butter and the salty soups, I didn’t think it needed even the tiniest bit of added salt. The onions towards the surface of the casserole even get a bit crisp, which is great. The rice softened and cooked nicely, too. The grains weren’t too firm or overcooked at all. Lastly, the buttery flavorful of this dish really shines through. That said, if you’re not a huge fan of oily dishes, consider cutting down on the butter and use a quarter stick each of the salted and unsalted butter — or you could use all unsalted butter and just add a pinch of salt to the dish.