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Serving Size
How much rice is one serving will vary depending on appetites and what else is being served. As a general guideline—that you can adjust up and down, knowing appetites and what’s on the menu—the following are good starting points:
Main Dish — 1 serving of rice = 1 cup (cooked)
If rice is part of the main dish, as with Spanish Rice, Jambalaya, as a base for Beef Stroganoff or if a rice salad (see my recipe) is the main dish, allow 1 cup of cooked rice per person. See the table below for amounts of uncooked rice of different types to make one cup when cooked.
Side Dish — 1 serving of rice = 1/2 cup (cooked)
If that same rice salad is being served as an accompaniment to another main dish, or if rice is being served as a stand-alone side dish or otherwise as a side dish, generally allow 1/2 cup of cooked rice per person.
However, if you’re trying to “fill up” a big eater before they devour everything in sight, allow 1 cup or rice or even more as a “side dish.”
Cooking Rice
Literally thousands of individual strains of rice exist, and each one cooks slightly differently. The table below isn’t designed to go into all the fine distinctions between types of rice, but it will get you in the right ballpark if you don’t have any other information on how to cook the rice you have. Always cook rice with the pan lid on. Times refer to the time after the water comes to a boil (and you turn it down to simmer).
| Type | Uncooked (cups) | Water (cups) | Cook Time (minutes) | Cooked (cups) |
| White long grain | 1 | 2 | 15 – 20 | 3 |
| White medium grain | 1 | 2 | 10 – 15 | 2-2/3 |
| White instant | 1 | 1 | 5 | 2 |
| Brown | 1 | 2-1/2 | 45 – 55 | 3-1/2 + |
| Brown instant | 1 | 1-3/4 | 10 | 2 |
| Wild rice | 1 | 3 | 30 – 45 | 3-1/2 + |
If you wish, you can add 1/4 teaspoon salt per serving (using bouillon powder or part of a cube will add more flavor with less salt) and 1 teaspoon butter or olive oil per serving.
You can also cook rice in a thermos — it takes longer, but keeps the heat and steam out of the kitchen. Learn how.
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