Rice to Water Ratio Calculator

Water, time and yield for nine kinds of rice across four methods — and a warning about the little plastic cup that came with your rice cooker, which is the single most common reason Australian rice comes out wet.

Australian unitsFree, no sign-upReviewed 10 September 2026

Rice

Cooking it in

Rice

How much

Measuring with

Water

380 ml

1 cup of long grain white (200 g) needs 380 ml of water — a ratio of 1 : 1.5. Serves about 3 as a side or 2 as a main.

Rice

200 g

250 ml

Water

380 ml

1 : 1.5

Cook

12 min

Rest

10 min

lid on

Method

1
Rinse it
Swirl the rice in cold water and pour it off, three or four times, until the water runs almost clear. This washes away loose surface starch and is the difference between separate grains and a single block.
2
Bring it up
Put the rice and 380 ml of cold water in a saucepan with a tight lid. Add salt if you use it. Bring to the boil uncovered over high heat.
3
Drop and cover
The moment it boils, turn the heat to its lowest setting and put the lid on. Set a timer for 12 minutes and do not lift the lid.
4
Rest off the heat
Take the pan off the heat, still covered, and leave it for 10 minutes. The rice finishes in its own steam and the bottom layer unsticks itself.
5
Fork it through
Lift and separate with a fork rather than stirring with a spoon, which crushes the grains.

About long grain white. The default in most Australian recipes. Rinsing until the water runs clear is what keeps the grains separate.

The 180 ml cup problem

The cup that comes in the box with a rice cooker is a Japanese gō and holds 180 ml. An Australian measuring cup holds 250 ml — nearly 40 per cent more. Every water line moulded inside the cooker bowl assumes you used the small one. Measure the rice with a kitchen cup, fill to the matching line, and you have just added far too much water, which is why so many rice cookers get blamed for something the cup did.

Either use the cooker's cup and the cooker's lines and ignore every ratio you read anywhere, or use a real measure and the millilitres above and ignore the lines. The two systems are both correct and mixing them is what ruins the rice.

Rice to water ratio chart

Water per 1 part rice, by volume
Rice	Saucepan	Rice cooker	Pressure cooker	Microwave	Simmer time
Long grain white	1 : 1.5	1 : 1.25	1 : 1	1 : 1.75	12 min
Basmati	1 : 1.5	1 : 1.25	1 : 1	1 : 1.75	11 min
Jasmine	1 : 1.25	1 : 1.15	1 : 1	1 : 1.5	12 min
Medium grain white	1 : 1.5	1 : 1.25	1 : 1	1 : 1.75	13 min
Short grain / sushi	1 : 1.25	1 : 1.1	1 : 1	1 : 1.5	12 min
Brown rice	1 : 2.25	1 : 2	1 : 1.25	1 : 2.5	35 min
Wild rice	1 : 3	1 : 2.5	1 : 1.5	1 : 3	45 min
Red or black rice	1 : 2.25	1 : 2	1 : 1.25	1 : 2.5	35 min
Arborio / risotto	1 : 3.5	1 : 3	1 : 2	1 : 3	20 min

Ratios are by volume, which is how rice is measured everywhere. Pressure cooker figures are lower across the board because a sealed pot loses nothing to steam. Every variety except arborio should be rinsed until the water runs clear.

One Australian cup of raw rice

Weight, water and yield per 250 ml cup
Rice	Weight	Water (saucepan)	Rest	Serves as a side
Long grain white	200 g	375 ml	10 min	3
Basmati	190 g	375 ml	10 min	3
Jasmine	195 g	313 ml	10 min	3
Medium grain white	200 g	375 ml	10 min	3
Short grain / sushi	205 g	313 ml	15 min	3
Brown rice	190 g	563 ml	10 min	3
Wild rice	160 g	750 ml	10 min	3
Red or black rice	190 g	563 ml	10 min	3
Arborio / risotto	200 g	875 ml	3 min	3

One Australian cup of raw rice serves about three as a side or two as a main, and roughly triples in volume as it cooks.

When it goes wrong

Common rice problems and what caused them
Problem	Cause	What to do
Wet, sloppy rice	Too much water, or the lid came off and the steam escaped before the rice absorbed it.	Tip it into a wide pan over low heat, uncovered, for two or three minutes to drive the water off. Next time cut the water by a quarter cup.
Hard, chalky centres	Not enough water, or the heat was too high and it boiled dry before the grains softened.	Sprinkle over two tablespoons of hot water, cover, and give it five more minutes on the lowest heat.
Burnt on the bottom	Heat too high, a thin pan, or a cooktop that will not go low enough.	Do not stir it in. Tip the good rice off the top and leave the crust behind — then use a heavy pan or a heat diffuser next time.
One solid block	Unrinsed rice, or stirring it during cooking.	Rinse until the water runs clear, and never stir absorption rice once the lid is on.
Rice cooker overflows	Almost always the 250 ml cup used with the cooker’s 180 ml water line.	Pick one system and stay in it: the cooker’s cup with the cooker’s line, or a real measure with the ratios above.

Why absorption, and why you must not stir

The method every ratio here assumes is absorption: a measured amount of water goes in, all of it ends up inside the rice, and nothing is drained away. That is why the ratio matters so much — there is no second chance to correct it. It also means the lid stays on. Every time it comes off, steam leaves that the rice was supposed to absorb, and the grains at the top end up hard while the bottom is wet.

Stirring is the other temptation to resist. Agitating absorption rice while it cooks knocks starch off the grains and glues them together, which is precisely what rinsing was meant to prevent. Boil, drop to the lowest heat, lid on, timer, and leave it alone. When the timer goes, take it off the heat entirely and let it stand, still covered, for the resting time — the rice finishes in its own steam and the layer stuck to the base releases itself.

How much rice per person

A third of a cup of raw rice per person as a side, half a cup as a main, two-thirds for big eaters. That is about 65 g, 100 g and 130 g. Rice roughly triples in volume, so a cup of raw makes about three cups cooked — which is why a rice cooker that claims to be a “10 cup” model is quoting cooked capacity in 180 ml cups and is really about a 1.8 L bowl.

The varieties, briefly

Long grain white is the Australian default and the most forgiving. 1:1.5 in a saucepan.
Basmati rewards a 30-minute soak, which lets it cook faster and stretch longer. If you soak it, drop the water to 1:1.25 or it goes claggy.
Jasmine looks like it should be thirstier and is not — it wants less water than long grain, at 1:1.25.
Short grain and sushi rice need a full 15 minutes standing, covered, because they finish in their own steam more than the others do.
Brown rice still has its bran, which resists water. More liquid, three times the time, and genuinely better in a pressure cooker.
Arborio breaks every rule here: never rinse it, add hot stock a ladle at a time, and stir constantly. The surface starch you wash off other rice is what makes risotto creamy.

Leftovers, and the one genuine safety rule

Cooked rice is the one thing in an Australian kitchen worth being strict about. It carries Bacillus cereus spores that survive cooking and produce a toxin if the rice sits at room temperature. Cool it fast — spread it out rather than leaving it in the pot — refrigerate within an hour, and eat it the next day. Reheat until steaming hot, once only. Our food storage chart has the detail, and it is the single entry there where vacuum sealing buys you nothing at all.

If you are weighing rather than measuring by volume, a set of kitchen scales makes all of this exact, and the cups to grams converter handles the rest of the recipe. For cooking rice inside a bigger dish, the slow cooker converter covers when to add it — which is late, always.

Rice ratios — Frequently Asked Questions

What is the ratio of rice to water?+

For long grain white rice in a saucepan it is 1 part rice to 1.5 parts water by volume. Jasmine wants less at 1:1.25, brown rice wants more at about 1:2.25, and a pressure cooker needs only 1:1 because nothing evaporates. The calculator above covers nine varieties across four methods.

How much water for 1 cup of rice?+

In an Australian 250 ml cup, one cup of long grain white rice takes about 375 ml of water in a saucepan, 310 ml in a rice cooker and 250 ml in a pressure cooker. That single cup of raw rice serves about three as a side dish or two as a main.

Why does my rice cooker overflow or come out wet?+

Almost always because of the cup. The plastic cup supplied with a rice cooker holds 180 ml, not 250 ml, and the water lines inside the bowl are calibrated to it. Measure with a normal Australian 250 ml cup and fill to the line and you have added about 40 per cent too much water. Pick one system and stay in it.

Should I rinse rice before cooking?+

For everything except risotto rice, yes. Swirl it in cold water and pour it off three or four times until the water runs almost clear. That removes loose surface starch, which is what makes grains stick together in a single block. Arborio is the exception — its surface starch is exactly what makes a risotto creamy.

How long does rice take to cook?+

White long grain takes about 12 minutes at a bare simmer plus 10 minutes standing off the heat with the lid on. Basmati is a minute or two quicker, brown rice takes around 35 minutes, and wild rice 45. In a pressure cooker white rice is 3 minutes at pressure and brown is 22, plus the time to come up and release.

What is the ratio for brown rice?+

About 1 part rice to 2.25 parts water in a saucepan, and 35 minutes rather than 12. The bran layer is still on the grain, so it resists water and needs both more liquid and roughly three times the cooking time. In a pressure cooker it drops to 1:1.25 and 22 minutes.

How much rice per person?+

About a third of an Australian cup of raw rice per person as a side dish, or half a cup as a main. That is roughly 65 g and 100 g respectively. Rice roughly triples in volume as it cooks, so one cup of raw rice makes about three cups cooked.

Can I cook rice in a multicooker or pressure cooker?+

Yes, and the ratios are much lower — 1:1 for white rice — because a sealed pressure cooker loses nothing to steam. Use saucepan quantities and you get porridge. Let the pressure drop naturally for about 10 minutes rather than doing a quick release, which makes the grains burst and sprays starchy water out of the valve.

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