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Rice Calculator
How much dry rice to cook per person, how much water it needs, and what it weighs once cooked.
Your results
Dry rice
360 g
Water
540 ml
Cooked weight
1.08 kg (2.4 lb)
Salt
4 g
Sixty grams of dry rice per person as a side, ninety when the rice is the meal. Rice roughly triples in weight as it cooks, so 60 g dry becomes about 180 g on the plate — which is why every first attempt at cooking rice for a crowd produces far too much.
The water ratio depends on the grain, not on the pot. Long grain white takes 1.5 times its volume, basmati and jasmine slightly less because they are rinsed and already hold water, and brown rice takes more than double and about twice the time.
For large quantities, the oven beats the stovetop. A covered roasting pan of rice and boiling water at 350°F (175°C) for twenty-five minutes cooks evenly with no stirring and no scorched bottom, and it frees the burner you need for everything else.
Questions people ask
How much rice for 20 people?
1.2 kg of dry rice as a side dish, or 1.8 kg if rice is the base of the meal. That cooks up to roughly 3.6 kg and 5.4 kg respectively.
How much water per cup of rice?
One and a half cups for long grain white, one and a quarter for rinsed basmati, and two and a quarter for brown. Measure the rice, not the pot.
Should I rinse rice?
Yes for basmati, jasmine and anything you want separate and fluffy — rinsing removes surface starch that makes grains stick. No for risotto or paella, where that starch is the point.