Rice to Water Ratio Calculator
How much water for your rice, by type of rice and how you cook it, and how much rice per person
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Tells you how much water to add for a given amount of rice, by type of rice and cooking method, and how much rice to cook for a number of people. It is useful when a recipe uses a different cup from yours or when you cook a new kind of rice.
How to use
- Under "Start from", choose "Amount of rice" and enter it with the cup or grams you use, or choose "Number of people".
- Pick the "Type of rice" and how it is "Cooked in".
- Read the water in millilitres and in the same cup. Move "Softer or firmer" to add or remove water.
- If your rice turns out better with another ratio, change it and press "Save as my ratio".
How it works
- Water = dry rice volume × ratio × (1 + adjustment). Water weighs 1 g per mL, and dry rice is taken as about 0.84 g per mL.
- Stovetop ratios come from Milk Street and Japanese Wikipedia; values marked * are estimates with no source, shown so you have somewhere to start.
- A rice cooker cup holds about 180 mL, less than a US cup (236.6 mL). Saved ratios stay in this browser.
Questions and answers
- How much water for 1 cup of long-grain white rice?
- About 1½ cups of water in a pot, using the same cup for both, which is a ratio of 1 : 1.5.
- How much water for brown rice?
- More than for white rice: about 1¾ cups of water per cup of long-grain brown rice in a pot.
- Is a rice cooker cup the same as a measuring cup?
- No. The cup that comes with a rice cooker holds about 180 mL; a US cup holds 236.6 mL. Use the same cup for rice and water.
- How much rice per person?
- This page starts from about 50 g of dry rice per person; change "Dry rice per person" to your usual portion.