Serving Size Of Rice – What Does It Look Like?
Having a fridge full of leftover food can be annoying, with cooked rice being perhaps one of the most common leftovers.
It happens to all of us: you cook a cup of rice expecting to finish it in one sitting and it turns out that it was more than the entire family could eat! So, how much uncooked rice do you need for a single serving?
What is a serving size of rice and what does it look like? A serving size of cooked rice is 1/2 cup or 1 cup per person depending on if the rice is served as a main dish or side dish. A cup of cooked rice may be visualized to be the size of a fist while the 1/2 –cup serving of rice is the size of a cupcake wrapper.
This article is a comprehensive guide to the serving size of rice and how much uncooked rice you need to end up with the right amount of cooked rice per person.
Is Rice Healthy?Â
Rice is one of the most popular and commonly eaten grains. It is a rich source of carbohydrates and can keep your energy levels high if you consume it alongside healthy fats and protein.
There are thousands of rice varieties and the nutritional value differs from type to type.
White rice that has the bran and germ removed is considered to be an empty source of carbs by many people. This is because the bran provides the fibers in rice and the germ provides the nutrients.Â
So, what’s left behind? Is white rice bad for you? While white rice is not as nutritious as brown rice, it is usually enriched with such nutrients as iron and B vitamins.
You can certainly incorporate white rice in your diet as a good source of carbohydrates.
If you need a healthier option, we recommend you eat brown rice. Brown rice is a good source of dietary fiber.
It is also rich in a range of vitamins and minerals, including vitamins B1, B3, B6, B5, magnesium, phosphorus, manganese, selenium, copper, iron, and zinc.Â
What Is A Serving Size Of Rice And What Does It Look Like?Â
The typical serving size of rice is 1/2 cup or 1 cup per person. While the amount served to each person may slightly differ depending on the particular rice variety you are cooking, 1/2 cup to 1 cup of cooked rice per serving is a safe choice.Â
How much rice you will be serving per person also depends on what you are serving the rice with and if the rice is the main dish.
 f it is the main dish, such as Spanish rice, serving a cup of cooked rice per person is the right choice. But if you are serving plain rice as a side dish for cooked veggies and meat, 1/2 cup of rice per serving will do.Â
With this said, what you are serving alongside rice matters too.
If the rest of the dishes on the table are high in carbs, such as potatoes or bread, then going with 1/2 per person is surely right. In certain cases, a cup per person as a side dish is fine too.Â
Another thing to consider is who you are serving the rice to.
If you are serving rice as a side dish to a close friend of yours and know their eating preferences, then you can go ahead and serve them a cup of cooked rice instead of 1/2 cup.
Knowing how much rice to serve per person is important when putting together a balanced plate.
Additionally, it is always helpful to know how much of each food is typically eaten. This is one way to avoid overeating certain foods as preventing weight gain.Â
But the tricky part about the serving size of rice is that uncooked rice yields 2 to 4 times more cooked rice. And the ratio is different for each type of rice.
Uncooked-To-Cooked Rice ConversionsÂ
In the table below you can see how much cooked rice a cup of uncooked rice yields depending on the variety.Â
| Type of Rice (1 cup, uncooked) | Cooked |
|---|---|
| Long grain white rice | 3 cups |
| Medium-grain white rice | 3 cups |
| Short grain rice | 3 cups |
| Brown rice | 3-4 cups |
| Wild rice | 3 cups |
| Instant white rice | 2 cups |
| Sticky rice | 3 cups |
| Basmati rice | 3 cups |
| Jasmine rice | 3 cups |
Rice varieties differ not only in how much cooked rice they yield but also in how long they take to cook. For example, instant rice cooks the fastest. It takes instant white rice only 5 minutes to cook.Â
Regular white rice may take 10-20 minutes to cook depending on the grain size. Brown rice and wild rice, on the other hand, may take around 45 minutes to cook.Â
Serving Size Of Different Types Of Rice (Uncooked)
Here’s a table that tells how much uncooked rice you need to cook a serving of rice for 1 person, and 2, 4, and 6 people assuming 1 cup of cooked rice per person.Â
| Type of Rice (Uncooked) |  1 person | 2 people | 4 people | 6 people |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Long grain white rice | 1/3 cup | 2/3 cup | 1 1/3 cups | 2 cups |
| Medium-grain white rice | 1/3 cup | 2/3 cup | 1 1/3 cups | 2 cups |
| Short grain rice | 1/3 cup | 2/3 cup | 1 1/3 cups | 2 cups |
| Brown rice | 1/ 4 cup | 1/2 cup | 1 cup | 1 1/2 cups |
| Wild rice | 1/3 cup | 2/3 cup | 1 1/3 cup | 2 cups |
| Instant white rice | 1/2 cup | 1 cup | 2 cups | 3 cups |
| Sticky rice | 1/3 cup | 2/3 cup | 1 1/3 cups | 2 cups |
| Basmati rice | 1/3 cup | 2/3 cup | 1 1/3 cups | 2 cups |
| Jasmine rice | 1/3 cup | 2/3 cup | 1 1/3 cups | 2 cups |
If you’ll be serving rice as a side dish, i.e. 1/2 cup cooked rice per person, here’s how much uncooked rice you will need for 1 person, and 2, 4, and 6 people.Â
| Type of Rice (Uncooked) |  1 person | 2 people | 4 people | 6 people |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Long-grain white rice | 1/6 cup (2.5 tbsp) | 1/3 cup | 2/3 cup | 1 cup |
| Medium-grain | 1/6 cup (2.5 tbsp) | 1/3 cup | 2/3 cup | 1 cup |
| Short-grain rice | 1/6 cup (2.5 tbsp) | 1/3 cup | 2/3 cup | 1 cup |
| Brown rice | 1/8 cup (2 tbsp) | 1/4 cup | 1/2 cup | 3/4 cup |
| Wild rice | 1/6 cup (2.5 tbsp) | 1/3 cup | 2/3 cup | 1 cup |
| Instant rice | 1/4 cup | ½ cup | 1 cup | 1 1/2 cups |
| Sticky rice | 1/6 cup (2.5 tbsp) | 1/3 cup | 2/3 cup | 1 cup |
| Basmati rice | 1/6 cup (2.5 tbsp) | 1/3 cup | 2/3 cup | 1 cup |
| Jasmine rice | 1/6 cup (2.5 tbsp) | 1/3 cup | 2/3 cup | 1 cup |
What Does A Serving Of Cooked Rice Look Like?
So, now you know how much uncooked rice you need for a serving of one person. However, you may not always measure your rice before cooking.
What if you have cooked a large pot of rice and suddenly have guests over? How much rice should you place on each plate?
Pulling out your measuring cup and measuring the cooked rice for each serving may not be a good and practical idea. The best thing you can do is to what a serving of cooked rice looks like.
A 1-cup serving of cooked rice may be visualized as a size of a fist.Â
A 1/2-cup serving of cooked rice, on the other hand, can be thought of as a size of a cupcake wrapper.Â
What To Do With Leftover Rice?
Even if you know what is the perfect serving size of cooked rice per person, there are still chances that you may end up with leftover cooked rice.
You can keep leftover rice in the fridge in an airtight container for 3-4 days. But what can you do with it?
You can, of course, reheat the rice and eat it with a sauce or some side dishes. But you can also get creative and do a lot more with your leftover rice. Here are a few ideas.
- Make a hearty casserole. Leftover rice is the perfect excuse to cook a delicious and cozy casserole dish with whatever you have in your fridge. Chicken, mushrooms, broccoli, ground beef – these are only a few of your options.
- Stuff some veggies. Vegetables stuffed with seasoned leftover rice make a perfect vegetarian dinner. You can also mix minced beef with rice and stuff some tomatoes, bell peppers, eggplants, and zucchinis for those who don’t have diet restrictions.
- Make rice frittata. If you have cooked too much rice for dinner, don’t worry about the leftovers. You can use them to make rice frittata for the next day’s breakfast.
- The good old rice pudding. You can turn your leftover rice into a sweet treat by making sweet and creamy rice pudding and serving it with your favorite ingredients –raisins, fruits, seeds, nuts, etc.
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