Every rice has its own thirst. Long-grain white, jasmine, basmati, brown, short-grain sushi rice, wild rice, black rice, arborio, and even quinoa each get their own ratio, cook time, and rest time here, for the stovetop, a rice cooker, or an Instant Pot. Enter cups, grams, or just the number of people you are feeding, and the calculator gives you the water in cups and milliliters. Stovetop ratios follow the USA Rice cooking chart; the rest follow common manufacturer guidance — treat all of them as starting points.
Cooking the rest of the meal? The meat cooking time calculator times the roast, the countdown timer tracks the simmer, and the unit converter handles any cups-to-grams detour. Brewing coffee to go with it? The coffee ratio calculator does the same ratio math for beans and water.
Frequently asked questions
What is the rice to water ratio for white rice?
The USA Rice Federation's cooking chart lists 2 cups of liquid per cup of long-grain white rice, simmered covered for 15 to 18 minutes. Many cooks prefer slightly less — about 1¾ cups — for firmer, more separate grains, especially if they rinse the rice first. Medium-grain white rice takes about 1½ cups and short-grain about 1¼ cups. Whatever you start with, rest the pot off the heat with the lid on for 5 to 10 minutes before fluffing.
Why does brown rice need more water and time?
Brown rice keeps its bran layer, which slows how fast water gets into the grain. USA Rice lists 2¼ cups of water per cup of brown rice and 40 to 45 minutes of simmering, roughly triple the time for white rice. In an Instant Pot, brown rice typically takes about 22 to 24 minutes at high pressure with only 1¼ cups of water, because almost nothing evaporates from a sealed pot. Follow either with a 10-minute rest so the grains finish absorbing the last of the moisture.
Why does the Instant Pot use less water?
A pressure cooker is sealed, so very little water escapes as steam. On the stovetop, part of the water you add simply evaporates during simmering, which is why stovetop ratios are higher. That is why white rice is usually cooked 1:1 in an Instant Pot for 3 to 5 minutes at high pressure, followed by a 10-minute natural pressure release so the grains finish steaming evenly. A heavier pot on the stovetop also loses less water than a thin, wide one.
How much uncooked rice per person?
One cup of uncooked rice makes about 3 cups cooked. A side-dish serving is about ½ cup of cooked rice, so one cup of dry rice feeds about six as a side. For a main-dish bowl, plan on about 1 cup cooked per person, or ⅓ cup dry. Choose Servings in the calculator, pick side or main, and it works out the dry rice and water for you. Wild rice swells a little more, yielding about 3½ cups cooked per cup of dry grain.
Should I rinse or soak rice first?
Rinsing removes surface starch so grains stay separate — it is standard for jasmine, basmati, and sushi rice. Soaking basmati for 20 to 30 minutes hydrates it ahead of time, so it needs less water and cooks in less time; choose the soaked basmati option for adjusted numbers. Enriched American long-grain rice is often left unrinsed because rinsing washes off added vitamins. Rice that was rinsed or soaked should get slightly less water than the chart. Drain soaked rice well before measuring the cooking water.