Quick answer: To measure rice without scales, use volume. A standard adult portion of 75 g uncooked long-grain rice fills about 95 ml on a measuring jug, or roughly 6 level tablespoons. For two people, fill the jug to about 190 ml. Measure the rice dry, before rinsing, and cook it with water measured in the same container.
Rice is easy to over-cook by the bagful, and most of the excess ends up in the bin. The good news is that dry rice pours like sand, so a jug, a spoon or even your own hands give a repeatable portion. This guide sets out each method with the numbers behind it. You will find more kitchen conversions in our UK cooking measurement guides.
How much uncooked rice should you allow per person?
Allow 75 g of uncooked rice per adult for a main meal. That is the figure used by Love Food Hate Waste, the food waste campaign run by the charity WRAP, which describes it as two handfuls. For a side dish, it suggests one handful, or roughly half the amount.
Appetites differ, so treat 75 g as a starting point rather than a rule. The value of a fixed portion is that it makes the next step simple: once you know what 75 g looks like in your jug, you can scale it up for any number of people.
What do you need?
- A measuring jug with millilitre marks. This is the most accurate option for anything over one portion.
- A 15 ml tablespoon from a measuring set, for single portions and small top-ups. Cutlery spoons vary too much to rely on.
- A mug or cup you use every time, if you prefer the ratio method. You only need to check its capacity once.
- Your hands, for a quick estimate when nothing else is to hand.
If your kitchen is short of equipment, our guide to measuring tools explains which ones are worth having and how accurate each is.
How do you measure rice with a measuring jug?
Pour dry rice into the jug up to about 95 ml for each person. Uncooked long-grain white rice weighs roughly 78 g per 100 ml, so 95 ml comes out at about 75 g.
- Stand the jug on a flat surface. A tilted jug throws the reading out, especially on a small jug.
- Pour the rice in slowly, then tap or gently shake the jug so the surface settles flat.
- Read the level at eye height, looking straight at the scale rather than down from above.
- Tip the rice into a sieve and rinse it if your recipe or packet says to. Always measure before rinsing, because wet rice clumps and takes up a different volume.
- Measure the cooking water in the same jug. Using one container for both keeps the ratio right, whatever its markings.
| People | Uncooked rice | Jug volume (long-grain) | Level 15 ml tablespoons | US cups |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 75 g (2.6 oz) | about 95 ml | about 6½ | about 0.4 |
| 2 | 150 g (5.3 oz) | about 190 ml | about 13 | about 0.8 |
| 3 | 225 g (7.9 oz) | about 290 ml | about 19 | about 1.2 |
| 4 | 300 g (10.6 oz) | about 385 ml | about 26 | about 1.6 |
| 6 | 450 g (15.9 oz) | about 575 ml | about 38 | about 2.4 |
For four or more people a tablespoon becomes impractical, so switch to the jug. The figures are for long-grain white rice such as basmati or standard long-grain; shorter grains pack slightly more tightly, as the next section shows.
How many grams of rice are in a tablespoon?
A level 15 ml tablespoon holds about 12 g of uncooked long-grain rice. That means a 75 g portion is a little over six level tablespoons, and 50 g is about four.
The figure is worked out from US Department of Agriculture data, which gives 185 g for a US cup (236.6 ml) of raw long-grain white rice. Dividing 185 by 236.6 gives 0.78 g per ml, and 15 ml × 0.78 = 11.7 g. Heaped spoons hold noticeably more, so level each one with the back of a knife.
Does the type of rice change the measurement?
Yes, slightly: shorter, rounder grains pack more densely, so the same jug volume weighs a little more. The difference is under 10%, which matters for a pudding recipe more than for a weeknight curry.
In practical terms, a 75 g portion of short-grain rice fills about 89 ml rather than 95 ml. If you are cooking risotto or rice pudding from a recipe given in grams, fill the jug about 7% less than the long-grain figures above.
How do you measure rice with a mug?
Find out how much your mug holds, then use it for both the rice and the water. Mugs vary widely in size, so there is no single “mug of rice” weight. Checking yours once with a measuring jug solves that for good.
Fill the mug to the level you would normally fill it with rice, then pour that water into a measuring jug. Multiply the reading by 0.78 to get the weight of long-grain rice it holds. A mug that takes 300 ml to that level holds about 234 g of rice, which is three generous portions. Write the figure on a label inside a cupboard door and you will never need to check again.
The mug method shines for the absorption method of cooking, where you add a fixed amount of water and let the rice soak it all up. Packets give their own ratio, and many long-grain rices use around 1 part rice to 1½ to 2 parts water by volume. Because both are measured in the same mug, the ratio stays right even though you never know the exact weight.
Can you measure rice with your hands?
Yes: Love Food Hate Waste counts two handfuls of dried rice as one 75 g adult portion. It is the least precise method, because hand sizes differ, but it is quick and needs no equipment.
To calibrate your own hands, scoop two loose handfuls into a measuring jug and see where they land. If they reach roughly 95 ml, the rule works for you. If they reach 130 ml, your two handfuls are closer to 100 g, and one and a half handfuls is a better portion.
How much cooked rice does 75 g of dry rice make?
Cooked white rice typically weighs about two and a half to three times as much as the dry rice it came from. A 75 g dry portion therefore gives roughly 190 to 225 g of cooked white rice, depending on the variety and how much water it absorbs.
This matters if a recipe lists cooked rice. If it asks for 450 g of cooked rice, start with roughly 150 to 180 g dry, which is about 190 to 230 ml in a jug. For leftover cooked rice, follow the advice from Food Standards Scotland: cool it quickly, ideally within an hour, put it in the fridge, eat it within 24 hours and never reheat it more than once.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Measuring after rinsing. Wet rice clumps and traps water, so the jug reading is meaningless. Measure dry, then rinse.
- Using a different container for the water. If the rice goes in a mug and the water in a jug, the ratio only works if you know the mug’s capacity.
- Confusing dry and cooked weights. A recipe that says “200 g rice” almost always means uncooked. If in doubt, check whether the method includes a cooking step for the rice.
- Using US cup figures with a UK teacup. A US cup is 236.6 ml. A china teacup can be much smaller, so an American recipe measured with it will be short of rice.
- Heaping the spoon. Six heaped tablespoons can come to well over 75 g. Level each one.
The same volume approach works for other dry staples. See our guides to measuring pasta without scales and measuring butter without scales, or convert spoons, cups and millilitres with the cooking converter.
Frequently asked questions
How much rice is 75 g in a measuring jug?
About 95 ml of uncooked long-grain rice. Short-grain rice packs more tightly, so 75 g of it fills about 89 ml.
How many tablespoons of rice is one portion?
A 75 g adult portion is about 6½ level tablespoons of uncooked long-grain rice, at roughly 12 g per 15 ml spoon.
How much rice do I need for two people?
About 150 g of uncooked rice for two adults as a main meal. That is roughly 190 ml in a measuring jug, or four handfuls.
How many grams is a cup of uncooked rice?
A US cup (236.6 ml) of uncooked long-grain white rice weighs about 185 g. Medium-grain is about 195 g and short-grain about 200 g.
Should I measure rice before or after rinsing?
Before rinsing. Wet rice clumps together and holds water, so any volume reading taken after rinsing will be inaccurate.
Sources
- Love Food Hate Waste portion planner (WRAP): 75 g of dried rice per adult for a main meal.
- USDA FoodData Central: cup weights for raw long-grain, medium-grain, short-grain and brown rice.
- Food Standards Scotland: rice: advice on cooling, storing and reheating cooked rice.