Rice to water ratios: how much water for white, basmati, jasmine and brown rice

There is no single rice to water ratio. On the stove, by volume, long-grain white rice cooks well at about 1 cup of rice to 1¾ cups of water, rinsed jasmine at about 1 : 1¼, basmati at 1 : 1½, sushi rice at about 1 : 1.1 and brown rice at 1 : 2. Rice cookers lose less steam, so they need a little less. The rice water ratio calculator gives the water, time and yield for each type by cups, grams or servings, and this guide explains why the numbers vary.

The ratios by type

These are stovetop absorption ratios, rice to water by volume, with typical simmering times:

• Long-grain white: 1 : 1.75, simmer about 18 minutes.
• Jasmine, rinsed: 1 : 1.25, about 15 minutes.
• Basmati, rinsed: 1 : 1.5, about 15 minutes.
• Sushi or short-grain, rinsed: 1 : 1.1, about 15 minutes.
• Brown: 1 : 2, about 45 minutes.
• Parboiled: 1 : 2, about 20 minutes.
• Wild rice: about 1 : 3, around 50 minutes; it is really a grass seed.

Each needs a rest of about 10 minutes off the heat with the lid on, which finishes the cooking with trapped steam. Risotto rice is different again: stock is added gradually while stirring, roughly three times the rice's volume in total.

Why the ratios differ

Rice types differ in starch and structure. Fluffy long-grain rice keeps its shape, sticky short-grain rice releases more starch, and brown rice keeps its bran layer, which slows water getting in and needs more time and water. Freshly harvested rice needs less water than older rice, and your pan matters: a wide pan or loose lid loses more steam. The biggest trap is mixing volume and weight. A US cup of long-grain rice weighs about 185 g, while 1¾ cups of water is about 414 ml, so the same ratio by weight is about 1 : 2.2. Pick one system and stay with it; the cooking converter switches between cups and grams, and Metric vs imperial: how we got two systems explains why the units disagree.

Absorption versus boiling

The absorption method uses a measured amount of water that the rice soaks up completely: bring the water to the boil, add the rice, cover, turn the heat to the lowest simmer, and do not lift the lid until the time is up. It keeps flavour and nutrients in the pot but depends on getting the ratio right. The boiling method cooks rice in plenty of water, like pasta, then drains it. The ratio no longer matters and it is very forgiving, which suits brown rice and basmati, but the grains are less clingy and a little flavour goes down the drain. At high altitude water boils at a lower temperature, so rice takes longer and may need more water; the boiling point calculator shows how much.

Rinsing and soaking

Rinsing in cold water until it runs nearly clear washes off loose surface starch, which gives separate, less gummy grains and is standard for jasmine, basmati and sushi rice. Do not rinse risotto rice, whose surface starch makes the sauce creamy. Some enriched rice is coated with added vitamins, and its packet may advise against rinsing. Soaking, often 20 to 30 minutes for basmati, softens the grain so it cooks more evenly; soaked rice usually needs a little less water.

How much rice per person

Allow about 75 g of uncooked rice per person as a side, which is between ⅓ and ½ a US cup; rice roughly triples in volume when cooked. For four people that is 300 g, about 1.6 cups, which needs about 2.8 cups (670 ml) of water as long-grain white rice and makes nearly 5 cups cooked. To cook for a different number of people across a whole recipe, the recipe scaler adjusts every ingredient at once, and Ratios explained: how to simplify, scale, and divide an amount in a given ratio covers scaling by ratio.

Storing cooked rice safely

Uncooked rice can carry spores of the bacterium Bacillus cereus, which survive cooking. If cooked rice is left warm, the spores can grow and make a toxin that reheating does not destroy. Cool leftover rice quickly, ideally spread out in a shallow container, and refrigerate it promptly, within about an hour; eat it within a day or so and reheat it only once, until steaming hot throughout. Follow the official food safety guidance where you live.