You’re halfway through a recipe — maybe a curry, maybe a stir-fry — and it calls for “1 cup of rice.” You don’t own American cup measures (very few UK kitchens do), and you need grams. So: how many grams in a cup of rice?

The quick answer: 1 US cup of uncooked long-grain white rice weighs approximately 185–200 grams. But that’s not the whole story, because “a cup of rice” varies by rice type, and cooked rice weighs something completely different. Here’s the full breakdown so you never have to guess again.

Grams per Cup: Uncooked Rice by Type

A US cup is 240 ml by volume. Different rice varieties pack differently, so the weight varies:

• Long-grain white rice (e.g. basmati): ~185 g per cup
• Short-grain white rice (sushi/pudding rice): ~200 g per cup
• Long-grain brown rice: ~195 g per cup
• Wild rice: ~160 g per cup (it’s lighter and less dense)
• Jasmine rice: ~185 g per cup
• Arborio (risotto) rice: ~200 g per cup

For most everyday cooking with basmati or standard long-grain, 185 g per cup is the number to remember. If a recipe just says “rice” without specifying, 185–190 g is a safe bet.

What About Cooked Rice?

This is where people get tripped up. Rice roughly triples in weight when cooked as it absorbs water. So:

• 1 cup cooked white rice: ~155–185 g (cooked grains are fluffier, so a cup of cooked rice weighs less than you’d expect from the tripling rule applied to volume)
• 1 cup cooked brown rice: ~195 g

Practical rule of thumb: 75 g of uncooked rice per person makes a sensible serving, cooking up to roughly 200–225 g of cooked rice. For hungrier appetites or a main-course fried rice, go 100 g uncooked per person.

Handy Rice Conversion Table

• ¼ cup uncooked long-grain ≈ 45–50 g
• ⅓ cup uncooked long-grain ≈ 60–65 g
• ½ cup uncooked long-grain ≈ 90–95 g
• ¾ cup uncooked long-grain ≈ 140 g
• 1 cup uncooked long-grain ≈ 185 g
• 2 cups uncooked long-grain ≈ 370 g

Common UK Supermarket Rice: What the Pack Tells You

Most rice sold in UK supermarkets (Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Aldi) lists serving guidance on the pack — typically 75 g per person for main meals. A standard 1 kg bag therefore gives you roughly 13 servings, and a 500 g bag about 6–7. If you’re meal-prepping for the week, a kilo bag covers a family of four for three dinners with a bit left over for next-day fried rice.

Worth knowing: “easy cook” or parboiled rice weighs the same per cup as regular long-grain (~185 g), but it absorbs slightly less water and holds its shape better — handy if your rice has a habit of going mushy. Microwave rice pouches (typically 250 g for two servings) are just pre-cooked rice; convenient, but at roughly £1–£1.50 a pouch they’re about five times the price of cooking from dry.

Why UK Cooks Should Just Use Scales

Here’s an honest opinion: cups are a faff. Volume measures are inherently imprecise — how tightly you pack the cup, the grain size, even humidity can shift the result. A basic digital kitchen scale costs under a tenner at Tesco or Argos and gives you exact, repeatable results every time.

Most modern UK recipes (BBC Good Food, etc.) already give weights in grams. If you’re converting an American recipe, weigh the rice once using the table above and note it down — future you will be grateful. The BBC Good Food site is excellent for UK-measure versions of popular dishes.

Tips for Perfect Rice (Since You’re Here)

• Basmati: rinse until the water runs clear, then use a 1:1.5 rice-to-water ratio. Bring to a boil, lid on, lowest heat for 12 minutes, then rest 5 minutes off the heat. Don’t lift the lid.
• Brown rice: needs more water (1:2) and more time (35–40 minutes). It’s chewier and nuttier — great in hearty grain bowls.
• Don’t stir rice while it cooks — it releases starch and goes gluey (unless you’re making risotto, where that’s the entire point).
• Day-old cooked rice makes far better egg fried rice than fresh — the dried-out grains fry up instead of steaming into mush. Just cool it quickly and refrigerate within an hour for food safety.

Rice Conversion FAQs

How many grams is a cup of cooked basmati rice?

Approximately 155–175 g, depending on how fluffy it is. Cooked rice is less dense than uncooked, so a cup weighs less than the “tripled” figure might suggest.

Is a UK cup the same as a US cup?

Not exactly. A US cup is 240 ml; the old imperial cup was 284 ml. Modern UK recipes overwhelmingly use grams or millilitres, which is why converting matters. When a recipe says “cup” without specifying, assume US (240 ml).

How much uncooked rice for 4 people?

About 300 g (roughly 1⅔ cups) for standard servings, or 400 g for generous portions. Leftovers keep 1 day in the fridge — great for next-day fried rice.

Does the type of rice change the weight much?

A little — short-grain and arborio are denser (~200 g/cup), wild rice is lighter (~160 g/cup). For most cooking purposes, the difference won’t ruin a dish.

The Bottom Line

One cup of uncooked long-grain rice = about 185 grams. Remember 75 g per person as your serving guide, cook to fluffy perfection, and consider investing in kitchen scales to skip conversions forever. Your curries will thank you.