Rice to water ratio by type of rice

The rice to water ratio for long grain white rice is 1 cup of rice to 2 cups of water on the USA Rice cooking chart. Cover and simmer for 15 to 18 minutes. Lundberg package directions for white basmati and jasmine, both long grain, print less, 1.5 to 1.75 cups, and the package wins when you have one. Brown rice takes 2.25 cups on the chart or 1.75 cups on a Lundberg package, for 40 to 45 minutes. The calculator above covers ten kinds of rice and quinoa, in cups, grams and mL, from the USA Rice chart or from package directions where each has a figure.

Enter how much dry rice you have, in cups or grams, and pick the type. The "Ratio from" control switches between the USA Rice chart and the package directions. The method box shows the other source's figure where there is one, the simmer time, the cooked yield and the side servings.

Quick answer: what is the rice to water ratio?

For long grain white rice, use 1 cup of rice to 2 cups of water, the USA Rice cooking chart ratio, then cover and simmer for 15 to 18 minutes. Brown rice takes 2.25 cups of water per cup on the chart and 40 to 45 minutes. When your rice package gives a ratio, follow the package.

Key takeaways

• Long grain white rice: 1 cup of rice to 2 cups of water on the USA Rice chart, so 2 cups of rice need 4 cups of water.
• White basmati and jasmine packages from Lundberg print 1.5 to 1.75 cups of water per cup.
• Brown rice takes 2.25 cups on the chart or 1.75 on a Lundberg package, for 40 to 45 minutes.
• The calculator does not cover pressure cookers; use your cooker's manual.

Worked example: rice to water ratio for 2 cups of rice

Two cups of long grain white rice need 2 x 2 = 4 cups of water by the USA Rice chart. Package directions at 1.75 cups per cup give 2 x 1.75 = 3.5 cups. Either way the pot ends up with about 6 cups of cooked rice, since 1 cup dry makes about 3 cups cooked.

Brown rice runs the same way with bigger numbers. For 1.5 cups of brown rice the chart ratio of 2.25 gives 1.5 x 2.25 = 3.375 cups of water, a little under 3 and a half. The package ratio of 1.75 gives 2.625 cups, a little over 2 and a half. Both simmer 40 to 45 minutes.

Weight works too. A 200 g bag of basmati is about 1.08 cups at the USDA figure of 185 g per cup for raw long grain white rice. The chart gives 1.08 x 2 = 2.16 cups of water; a 1.5 package ratio gives 1.62 cups. Each grain converts at its own USDA weight where our data has one: 185 g per cup for brown rice, 160 g for wild rice and 170 g for quinoa. So 200 g of wild rice is 1.25 cups and takes 1.25 x 3 = 3.75 cups of water by the chart. In metric, one US cup is 236.6 mL, so 1 cup of rice to 2 cups of water is 237 mL of rice to 473 mL of water.

The chart column comes from the USA Rice "How to Cook Rice" chart for US grown rice cooked by the absorption method. The package column comes from Lundberg Family Farms directions read from retailer listings, and the quinoa row from Bob's Red Mill. Where two Lundberg listings disagree, the table shows the range.

Is it 1 cup of rice to 2 cups of water?

For US long grain white rice, yes, that is the USA Rice chart figure. For almost everything else on the chart, no. Medium grain takes 1.5 cups, short grain 1.25, brown 2.25, arborio 4 and wild rice 3. Lundberg packages for long grain basmati and jasmine print 1.5 to 1.75 cups. Both are published directions, and the package was written for the rice inside it. That is why the calculator lets you pick either source, and the package wins when you have one.

How much water for 2 cups of rice, or 3?

Scale the ratio, because the water rises in step with the rice. Two cups of long grain white rice take 4 cups of water by the chart or 3.5 cups by a 1.75 package ratio. Three cups take 6 cups by the chart or 5.25 cups by the package. Three cups of brown rice take 6.75 cups by the chart or 5.25 cups at Lundberg's 1.75. For 4 cups of rice or more, keep the same ratio and move to a wider pot so the rice sits in a shallower layer. No source we hold publishes a tested cut for large batches, so the calculator does not invent one. The time does not scale: 15 to 18 minutes for white and 40 to 45 for brown, whatever the batch.

What is the rice to water ratio for a rice cooker?

USA Rice says to use the same ingredients as the stovetop and let the cooker run, and Lundberg's packages say the rice cooker uses the stovetop ratio. So start with the same column you would use in a pot. If your cooker's manual prints its own figure, the manual wins, the way the package wins on the stovetop. The calculator has no separate rice cooker column.

Rice to water ratio by weight, in grams

By volume, 1 US cup is 236.6 mL, and 1 mL of water weighs about 1 g. The USDA figure the calculator uses for long grain white rice is 185 g of dry rice per cup. So the chart ratio of 1 cup rice to 2 cups water is 185 g of rice to 473 g of water, about 2.56 times the rice weight. Lundberg's basmati ratio of 1 to 1.5 is 185 g of rice to 355 g of water, about 1.9 times the rice weight. For 200 g of basmati that comes to 511 g of water by the chart or 383 g by the package. Those are the same 2.16 and 1.62 cups as the worked example above. Wild rice is lighter, at 160 g per cup, so the chart's 1 cup to 3 is 160 g of rice to 710 g of water, about 4.4 times the rice weight. For the weight of other ingredients per cup, use the grams to cups converter.

How much water does brown rice need?

More than white, and more than twice the time. The USA Rice chart gives 2.25 cups of water per cup of brown rice, long or medium grain, for 40 to 45 minutes. Lundberg's package directions give 1.75 cups for 45 minutes, for both long and short grain brown rice. Parboiled brown rice is the exception on the chart: the same 2.25 cups, but only 25 minutes.

For brown basmati, the chart has no separate row. Treat it as brown rice: 1.75 to 2.25 cups of water and 40 to 45 minutes. Lundberg's brown jasmine, the closest package figure we hold, uses 1.75 cups.

What is the ratio for basmati rice, and for jasmine rice?

The USA Rice chart puts US grown white jasmine and white basmati at 2 cups of water per cup of rice for 15 to 18 minutes. That is the same as other long grain white rice. Packages print lower figures: Lundberg white jasmine 1.5 cups, Lundberg white basmati 1.5 to 1.75 cups depending on the listing. When you have the package, use its figure. Without one, start with the chart.

Does rinsing change the ratio, and should you soak rice?

USA Rice says US grown rice "does not require washing or rinsing", and that rinsing enriched rice washes away the added iron, niacin, thiamin and folic acid. No source we hold gives a tested number of tablespoons to take off for rinsed rice, so the calculator does not subtract any. If your package tells you to rinse or soak, use its own ratio and time with those steps. The calculator has no soak input.

What is the difference between long grain and short grain rice?

On the USA Rice chart, white rice needs less water as the grain gets shorter. Long grain takes 2 cups of water per cup, medium grain 1.5, and short grain 1.25, all for 15 to 18 minutes. Arborio is the odd one out at 4 cups for 20 to 30 minutes.

Why is my rice mushy, or still hard when the water is gone?

The chart and the package print different figures for the same rice, and neither says which one suits your pot. If the chart column leaves your rice mushy, use the package column next time. If the package column leaves it hard with a dry pot, use the chart column next time. Altitude also slows the pot. Water boils at 203 °F at 5,000 ft against 212 °F at sea level, per Colorado State University Extension, which says simmered foods may need one-fourth more time there. The egg boiling timer has the full boiling point table by elevation.

How much cooked rice does 1 cup of dry rice make?

About 3 cups, per USA Rice, so 1 quart of dry rice makes 3 quarts cooked and 1 lb dry makes 2 lb or more cooked. For servings, the FDA reference amount for plain grains such as rice is 140 g prepared or 45 g dry. At 185 g per cup, 45 g dry is about 1/4 cup, which cooks to about 3/4 cup. So 1 cup dry gives about 4 side servings. If rice is going into a burrito bowl, the Chipotle nutrition calculator has the chain's published figures per scoop.

Quinoa water ratio

Quinoa is close to long grain white rice on the stovetop. Bob's Red Mill gives 2 cups of water per 1 cup of quinoa, simmered covered for about 15 minutes until absorbed. Package text on the same brand gives 12 minutes of simmering and then 15 minutes standing. One cup dry yields about 3 cups cooked, the same multiplier as rice, so the calculator's yield and serving lines work for quinoa too.

Frequently asked questions

Does the ratio change for a pressure cooker or Instant Pot? The calculator does not cover pressure cookers, and no source we hold gives a tested ratio for them. Use your cooker's manual.

What is the ratio for parboiled rice? The USA Rice chart gives 2.25 cups of water per cup for 20 minutes, and 25 minutes for parboiled brown.

Why do sources give wild rice 3 cups or 1.75? USA Rice's 3 cups for 40 to 50 minutes is for wild rice on its own. Lundberg's 1.75 cups for 45 minutes plus 10 minutes standing is for a wild blend, not pure wild rice. Check which one your bag is.

How much water for 3 cups of rice? For long grain white rice, 6 cups by the USA Rice chart or 5.25 cups by a 1.75 package ratio. For brown rice, 6.75 cups by the chart or 5.25 cups by Lundberg's directions.

How much water for 1 cup of brown rice? 2.25 cups by the USA Rice chart or 1.75 cups by Lundberg's package directions, simmered for 40 to 45 minutes.

Conclusion

Start from the USA Rice chart, and switch to your package's ratio when the bag prints one.

From our cookbooks: rice is the base of several dishes in our Pakistani recipes cookbook. See Pakistani Cookbook for the Pakistani recipes.