About the Rice to Water Ratio Calculator
This rice to water ratio calculator tells you how much water to add for the type and amount of rice you are cooking, along with how long to simmer, how long to let it steam off the heat, and how much cooked rice you will end up with. Enter your rice in cups or grams — handy when you weigh rice or follow a recipe written in metric.
Different rices absorb very different amounts of water. Rinsed jasmine and basmati need about 1½ cups of water per cup on the stovetop, standard long-grain white about 1¾, sushi rice only about 1¼, while brown and wild rice need 2¼–3 cups and much longer cooking. The calculator also shows the reduced amount of water used in an electric pressure cooker, where almost nothing evaporates.
Ratios are for the absorption method in a pot with a tight-fitting lid: bring to a boil, cover, simmer on low, then rest off the heat. For very large batches (6+ cups of rice) you can cut the water slightly because proportionally less evaporates; for the pasta method, just use plenty of boiling water and drain.
With the default inputs, the water (stovetop) is 3.5 cups. Change any value above to recalculate instantly.
How to use the rice to water ratio calculator
- 1Pick the type of rice.
- 2Enter the amount of uncooked rice in cups or grams.
- 3Bring the rice and the given amount of water to a boil.
- 4Cover, turn to low and simmer for the stated time.
- 5Rest off the heat with the lid on, then fluff with a fork.
Formula and method
Each rice type has a stovetop absorption ratio — cups of water per cup of uncooked rice — based on typical package and rice-industry guidance: 1.75 for long-grain white, 1.5 for jasmine, basmati and medium-grain, 1.2 for sushi rice, 2.25 for brown, 2.5 for parboiled, 3 for wild rice and about 3.5 for risotto (added in stages). Pressure cookers use less water because the sealed pot loses very little steam.
Grams are converted to cups using the approximate weight of one US cup of that uncooked rice (about 185 g for long-grain white). Cooked yield is roughly three times the dry volume for most rice, and servings assume ¾ cup of cooked rice per side portion. 1 US cup = 236.6 ml.
- Ratio
- Cups of water per cup of uncooked rice
- Yield
- Cups of cooked rice per cup of uncooked rice
Worked examples
2 cups of long-grain white rice
At 1¾ cups of water per cup, 2 cups of rice need 3½ cups (about 828 ml) of water. Simmer 18 minutes, rest 10, and you get about 6 cups of cooked rice — 8 servings of ¾ cup.
300 g of basmati
300 g of basmati is about 1.62 cups (185 g per cup). At a 1 : 1.5 ratio it needs 2.43 cups (about 575 ml) of water and makes roughly 4.9 cups of cooked rice.
1½ cups of brown rice
Brown rice keeps its bran layer, so it needs more water and time: 1.5 × 2.25 = 3⅜ cups of water and about 45 minutes, for 4½ cups cooked. In a pressure cooker use 1⅞ cups.
Frequently asked questions
What is the ratio of water to rice?+
For long-grain white rice on the stovetop use about 1¾ cups of water per cup of rice; rinsed jasmine and basmati need about 1½, sushi rice about 1¼, brown rice 2¼ and wild rice about 3 cups. Package directions often suggest 2 cups for white rice, which gives softer grains.
How much water for 2 cups of rice?+
Two cups of long-grain white rice need about 3½ cups of water; jasmine or basmati about 3 cups; brown rice about 4½ cups. Two cups of dry rice makes around 6 cups cooked — enough for 6–8 people as a side.
How much rice per person?+
Plan about ¼ cup (roughly 45–50 g) of uncooked rice per person for a side dish, or ⅓–½ cup for a main dish. Rice roughly triples in volume, so ¼ cup dry gives about ¾ cup cooked.
How much water do I use for rice in an Instant Pot?+
Pressure cookers lose very little steam, so use about 1 cup of water per cup of white rice (jasmine, basmati, long-grain) and about 1¼ cups for brown rice. Cook white rice around 4 minutes and brown about 22 minutes at high pressure, then let pressure release naturally for 10 minutes.
Should I rinse rice before cooking?+
Rinsing removes surface starch so grains stay separate — recommended for jasmine, basmati and sushi rice. Do not rinse risotto rice (the starch makes it creamy) or enriched American rice if you want to keep the added vitamins.