The right rice to water ratio for every rice and every pot
How much water for rice depends on two things most charts ignore: the kind of rice and the way you cook it. Basmati in an open pot wants about 1½ cups of water per cup of rice; the same basmati in a pressure cooker or Instant Pot, where almost nothing evaporates, wants 1¼. Brown rice needs twice its volume on the stove but only 1¼ under pressure. This rice to water ratio calculator combines ten grains with five methods and gives you the water, the cooking time, the resting time and a soaking note for the amount you are actually cooking.
It covers basmati, jasmine, long-grain white such as sona masoori, short-grain and sushi rice, brown, parboiled (sella), red matta rice and wild rice, plus quinoa and millets like foxtail, little, kodo and barnyard. Enter the rice in cups or grams, choose a US, metric or rice-cooker cup, and tick the box if you have soaked the rice.
Ratios are by volume, so they work with any cup as long as you use the same one for rice and water. Everything is calculated in your browser.
How to use the Rice to Water Ratio Calculator
- Choose the Rice or grain and the Cooking method — stove-top pot, rice cooker, stovetop pressure cooker, Instant Pot or microwave.
- Enter the Amount of dry rice in cups or grams, and pick the cup you measure with (US 237 ml, metric 250 ml or the 180 ml cup that comes with a rice cooker).
- Tick Rice is rinsed and soaked if you soaked it; the calculator takes ¼ cup of water per cup of rice off the ratio for grains that benefit from soaking.
- Read the water amount in cups and millilitres, the cooking and resting times and the soaking note. The table underneath shows the ratio for every other method with the same rice.
- Cook, rest with the lid on for the stated minutes, fluff with a fork, and note any adjustment for next time.
Rice to Water Ratio Calculator features
Ten grains × five methods
Fifty combinations of rice and cooking method, each with its own ratio, time, rest and tip, rather than one “2 : 1” rule for everything.
Cups or grams
Enter 2 cups or 370 g; the calculator converts with typical dry weights (185–200 g per US cup for most rice, 170 g for quinoa).
Three cup sizes
US, metric and the smaller rice-cooker cup are all supported, so the millilitre figure matches your measuring cup.
Soaking adjustment
Soaked basmati, brown, sushi, parboiled and millets absorb water before cooking; the water drops by a quarter cup per cup of rice.
Yield and servings
See roughly how much cooked rice you will get and how many side or main servings that makes.
Honest ranges
Cooking times are given as the ranges real kitchens see, and the tips say what to watch for — the white tail on quinoa, the natural release on a pressure cooker.
Why the ratio changes with the method
Rice absorbs roughly its own volume of water as it cooks — a little more for brown and parboiled rice, a little less for sushi rice. Everything beyond that is evaporation. An open pot on the stove loses a quarter to half a cup of water in fifteen minutes; a rice cooker loses less; a sealed pressure cooker loses almost none. That is why the same basmati needs 1½ cups per cup of rice in a pot and 1¼ in an Instant Pot, and why doubling a recipe does not double the extra water — the evaporation stays about the same, so large batches need proportionally less water.
| Rice (1 cup) | Pot | Rice cooker | Pressure cooker | Instant Pot | Microwave |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basmati | 1½ | 1¼ | 1¼ | 1¼ | 1¾ |
| Jasmine | 1.4 | 1¼ | 1.1 | 1 | 1½ |
| Long-grain white | 1¾ | 1½ | 1½ | 1¼ | 2 |
| Sushi / short-grain | 1.2 | 1.1 | 1 | 1 | 1½ |
| Brown | 2 | 1¾ | 1¾ | 1¼ | 2½ |
| Parboiled / sella | 2 | 1¾ | 1½ | 1½ | 2¼ |
| Quinoa | 1¾ | 1¾ | 1½ | 1¼ | 2 |
| Millets | 2½ | 2¼ | 2 | 2 | 2½ |
Fixing rice that went wrong
- Mushy or gluey: too much water or stirring. Next time cut the water by ¼ cup per cup of rice, rinse until the water runs clear, and leave the lid alone.
- Hard centre, burnt bottom: too little water or too much heat. Add 2–3 tablespoons of hot water, cover and steam on the lowest heat for 5 more minutes.
- Wet on top, done underneath: it needed the rest. Keep the lid on for 10 minutes off the heat before fluffing.
- For dal–rice combinations, khichdi or pulao with vegetables, start from the pressure-cooker ratio and add ¼–½ cup for the extra ingredients. Scale the rest of the dish with the recipe scaler, and set the countdown timer for the rest.
Rice to Water Ratio Calculator FAQ
What is the rice to water ratio for basmati rice?
About 1½ cups of water per cup of rinsed basmati in a covered pot, 1¼ in a rice cooker, pressure cooker or Instant Pot, and 1¾ in the microwave. If you have soaked the rice for 20–30 minutes, use ¼ cup less.
How much water do I need for 2 cups of rice?
Multiply the ratio for your rice and method by two: 3 cups for basmati in a pot, 2½ in a rice cooker, 4 cups for brown rice on the stove. The calculator shows this directly — enter 2 cups and read the result.
Does the ratio work by weight as well as by volume?
The ratios here are by volume, which is how most people measure rice. If you enter grams, the tool converts to cups first using typical dry weights (about 185 g per US cup of basmati), then applies the volume ratio and shows the water in millilitres.
Why does my rice cooker cup give different results?
The cup supplied with Japanese-style rice cookers holds 180 ml, not 237 or 250. Choose “Rice-cooker cup” in the cup size menu and the millilitres and grams will match; the ratio itself does not change.
Should I rinse and soak rice?
Rinse almost all rice to remove surface starch, which makes it less sticky. Soak basmati, sushi rice, brown, parboiled and millets for better texture and shorter cooking; do not soak jasmine or quinoa. Always drain soaked rice before measuring the water.
How long should rice rest after cooking?
Five to ten minutes with the lid on and the heat off. The steam redistributes moisture from the bottom to the top of the pot; skipping the rest is the usual cause of wet rice on top and dry rice below.