So you're a broke college student or just happen to live in a room with no stove. And you have a need to cook a wholesome nutritious home cooked meal that's affordable and filling? But wait, before you go out and buy a rice cooker you just happen to have a free coffee maker for use in your room or you know where you can pick one up cheap or free, right? Then boom, you're in business! This instructable will show you how to cook rice in a coffee maker! All you need is the rice, water and some coffee filters, everything else is optional!

***Disclaimer*** You do this at your own risk and are responsible for safe use and monitoring. I am not responsible for any accidents or harm due to using a coffee maker in this manner.

Also in case anyone is concerned about their rice or other food coming out with a flavor or scent of burnt on old coffee I do clean coffee makers inside and out thoroughly before using them as a cooking device. I don't smell or taste any old coffee when cooking with them after cleaning them. You can use whatever method works for you to clean them I scrubbed mine with baking soda and water and it works great removing the old coffee. Follow the manufacturer's instructions on how to clean a used maker and remove burnt on old coffee residues and potential mold inside them such as running vinegar and water through them in cycles. Any maker you buy used at a thrift shop or pick up for free should be cleaned thoroughly before use.

And in case you're wondering I dont use a coffee maker to make coffee, only to cook stuff. I make pour-over coffee using a stainless steel dripper, there are a few instructables already out there on how to make coffee this way if youre interested.

Step 1: Measuring Out the Water

Measure out water to just above the #2 line on the carafe. This is approximately 1 2/3 cups of water. This will be a little more water than is needed to cook the rice but will help prevent it from sticking to the bottom when cooking. Pour the water in to the maker. Its good to know that the conversion from the numbers on the carafe to actual liquid cup measurement is 2/3, so the number 6 on the carafe is equal to 4 cups of water (32 oz.). So basically 6 coffee cups is equal to 4 standard cups.

Step 2: Measure Out the Rice

I cook long grain brown rice and different types of rice may have slightly different cooking times and rice to water ratio. So I'll measure out enough rice to approximately fill the lower 'bowl' area of the carafe and that yields about 1 cup of cooked rice which I find is plenty for a single person meal.

Step 3: Cut or Rip Apart Coffee Filters and Lay on Top

Take 3 #2 coffee filters or a larger size of you have larger and peel them or cut them at the seams into cone shaped sections. Next lay them on top of the rice with the rounded sides up against the sides of the carafe and use as many pieces as you need to cover the rice completely. This will ensure the steam is trapped around the rice as it cooks getting it to absorb the water and cook properly. You can also use kale leaves from a wide leaf variety of kale or a similar wide flat edible leaf instead of the coffee filters, then when the rice is ready you can eat the steamed leaves too! Just make sure to remove the stems from the leaves and tear them into pieces before laying on top of the rice and cover the rice completely with them.

Step 4: Plug in the Maker and Turn It On

Next put the carafe in the maker plug it in and turn it on. Once the water has filled up turn a timer on for 1 hour and 30 minutes of cook time.

Step 5: The Rice Is Done.

When the timer goes off turn off the maker and carefully strain the excess water off into a jar or container and your rice is ready. Remove and throw away the coffee filters. Now you can add salt, butter or ghee, herbs etc to the rice and enjoy!

Step 6: *Cooking Times and Water Ratio Based on a 1000 Watt Coffee Maker

One caveat to be observed is to make sure you are using a coffee maker that is rated for 975 watts or higher, to check lift up the maker and look on the metal plate imprinting on the bottom metal plate for the rating in watts (w). Most older makers are 1000 watts. Some newer ones or single cup makers are lower, around 750-800 watts. A lot of hotels do have these lower rated makers in their rooms. You may be able to cook rice with these lower rated makers but it would take longer or may not completely cook. I have not tried it so I cannot say whether they work for this or how long the cook time would be.