Article — Uncooked to Cooked Rice Calculator
Uncooked to cooked rice calculator: yields by variety
Uncooked rice expands 2 to 3.5 times in volume when cooked. White long-grain, basmati, and jasmine triple in volume (1:3). Brown rice yields 2.5x. Wild rice expands 3.5x — the largest of the common varieties. Sushi (short-grain) sits at 2x, and arborio at 2.8x. The expansion comes from water absorption: rice grains soak up enough liquid during cooking to roughly triple in volume, even though the per-gram calorie density is unchanged.
The calculator above handles bidirectional conversion across all seven varieties. Pick the rice type, enter cups in either field, and the other updates instantly. The article below covers what the yield ratios mean, how to size a pot for a given party, and the differences between the major rice varieties on a US kitchen shelf.
How rice expands when cooked
Rice grains contain starch granules packed into a tight matrix. When heated in water, the matrix breaks down and the granules absorb liquid, swelling several times their dry volume. The cooked grain is roughly 68 percent water by weight. A cup of cooked white rice is about one-third rice grain by volume, with the rest of the cup made up of absorbed water and air pockets between the swollen grains.
Three factors set the expansion ratio. Grain structure dictates how easily water enters: long-grain varieties (basmati, jasmine, white) have tighter, more uniform starch matrices that absorb evenly. Bran layer on brown rice restricts water penetration, lowering expansion. Cooking method matters too — the standard absorption method (covered pot, fixed water) gives the published ratios; boil-and-drain (pasta-style) loses 10 to 15 percent of starch to the drained water and yields slightly less cooked volume.
Cooked rice yield by variety
The yields below are the standard cookbook values. Individual brands and ages of rice can vary by ±5 percent. Aged rice (stored 2 or more years) expands slightly more than fresh because it starts with less internal moisture.
- White long-grain: 1 cup uncooked → 3 cups cooked (1:3 ratio)
- Basmati: 1 cup uncooked → 3 cups cooked (1:3 ratio, aged basmati to 3.2x)
- Jasmine: 1 cup uncooked → 3 cups cooked (1:3 ratio, slightly stickier)
- Brown rice: 1 cup uncooked → 2.5 cups cooked (1:2.5 ratio)
- Wild rice: 1 cup uncooked → 3.5 cups cooked (1:3.5 ratio, longest cook time)
- Sushi (short-grain Japanese): 1 cup uncooked → 2 cups cooked (1:2 ratio)
- Arborio (risotto): 1 cup uncooked → 2.8 cups cooked (1:2.8 ratio)
How much uncooked rice per person
Two common serving sizes appear in US recipes. 0.5 cup of cooked rice per person for a side dish next to a protein and a vegetable. 1 cup of cooked rice per person when rice is the main carbohydrate (rice bowls, biryani, paella). For Asian cuisines where rice is the centerpiece, 1 to 1.5 cups cooked per person is closer to the actual portion.
Working back from servings to uncooked rice: divide cooked cups by the expansion ratio. Four main-course servings of white rice = 4 cups cooked = 4 / 3 = 1.33 cups uncooked. Six servings of brown rice = 6 cups cooked = 6 / 2.5 = 2.4 cups uncooked. The calculator above handles this automatically — enter the cooked total in the right-side field and read the uncooked amount.
The USDA FoodData Central database lists cooked white rice at 158 g per cup and cooked brown rice at 195 g per cup. Brown rice is denser per cup despite the lower expansion ratio because individual cooked brown grains pack closer together — the bran layer prevents the surface-tension fluffing that creates air pockets between long-grain white rice.
Cooked rice calories and density
Cooked rice has fewer calories per cup than uncooked, but the per-gram value is the same. A cup of uncooked white rice (185 g) contains about 645 calories. The same rice after cooking weighs roughly 540 to 615 g (depending on water absorbed) and yields about 3 cups at 206 calories per cup. The total calories are identical; the per-cup density drops because water is now occupying a large fraction of the cup volume.
This matters for nutrition tracking. A cup measurement on an uncooked vs. cooked basis can be off by a factor of three. The safe approach: track rice by weight (grams), not by volume. The same 100 grams of rice supplies about 130 calories whether measured raw or cooked — the constant per-gram calorie density is what FDA nutrition labels report.
Rice yield vs. water ratio
Yield ratio (3x for white rice) and water ratio (2 cups water per 1 cup rice) are different numbers. The water ratio is the input to the pot. The yield ratio is the output. Standard water-to-rice ratios:
- White long-grain: 2 cups water per 1 cup rice (covered, 15–18 min stovetop)
- Brown rice: 2.5 cups water per 1 cup rice (35–45 min stovetop)
- Basmati: 1.75 cups water per 1 cup rice (15–18 min)
- Jasmine: 1.75 cups water per 1 cup rice (15–18 min)
- Wild rice: 3 cups water per 1 cup rice (45–60 min)
- Sushi (short-grain): 1 to 1.25 cups water per 1 cup rice (rinsed first)
- Arborio: 3 cups stock per 1 cup rice (stirred risotto method)
Not all of the cooking water ends up in the cooked rice. Some evaporates from the pot, and the boil-and-drain method discards the rest. The published yield ratios assume the absorption method, where almost all the cooking water is taken up by the grain.
Brown rice yield and the bran layer
Brown rice is whole-grain rice with the bran and germ intact. The bran layer is about 2 percent of grain weight but contains most of the fiber, magnesium, and B vitamins that white rice loses during milling. It also limits how much water the grain can absorb during cooking, which is why brown rice expands to 2.5x instead of 3x and takes 35 to 45 minutes on the stovetop instead of 15 to 18.
The bran contains rice oil, which goes rancid in 4 to 6 months at room temperature. White rice keeps for 4 to 5 years in a sealed container because milling removes the oil. Store brown rice in the refrigerator or freezer for long-term storage; refrigerated brown rice keeps about a year, frozen indefinitely.
Sushi and arborio: the low-yield varieties
Sushi rice and arborio are both short-grain rices with higher starch content than long-grain varieties. They are denser uncooked, absorb less water relative to their dry mass, and stay stickier when cooked. Sushi rice yields about 2 cups cooked per cup uncooked — the lowest of the common varieties. Arborio is between sushi and white at 2.8x.
The low yield is the point. Sushi rice is meant to clump for hand-rolling. Arborio's surface starch dissolves during stirring to create the creamy texture of risotto. Treating either like long-grain white rice (more water, longer cooking) breaks the texture they are bred for.
Common cooked rice mistakes
Using the same water ratio for every variety. Basmati and jasmine need 1.75 cups water per cup rice — less than the 2:1 default for plain white. Brown rice needs 2.5:1. Wild rice needs 3:1. Using 2:1 across the board produces gummy basmati and undercooked brown rice.
Comparing cup measurements between raw and cooked. A cup of uncooked rice and a cup of cooked rice are wildly different amounts of actual rice. For nutrition tracking, weigh in grams.
For meal-prep portioning, weigh rice after cooking. 100 g of cooked white rice is about 130 calories. 150 g is about 195 calories. The per-gram value is consistent across brands and varieties (white, basmati, jasmine all at roughly 130 cal/100 g cooked), so the weight-based portion is the reliable way to hit a calorie target.
Skipping the rinse on sushi or basmati. Surface starch on these varieties produces a gluey cook if not rinsed off. Two to three rinses until the water runs clear is the standard prep step.