Standing in the rice aisle can feel a little overwhelming. Long grain or short, white or brown, jasmine or basmati? This guide to the most common types of rice explains how each one looks, cooks, and tastes, so you can pick the right rice for every dish.
Rice is a staple in kitchens all over the world. Paella and curry rely on it, you can’t make sushi without it, it brings a burrito together, and jambalaya wouldn’t be the same without it.
These edible seeds of the Oryza sativa plant come in many shapes, sizes, textures, and flavors. The biggest clue to how rice will cook is the length of the grain. The longer the grain, the fluffier and more separate it cooks. The shorter the grain, the more the grains stick together.
Jump To a Section
Which Type of Rice to Use
| If You’re Making | Reach For |
|---|---|
| A fluffy side of rice, like Mexican rice | Long-grain white rice |
| Curry or pilaf | Basmati rice |
| Fried rice or coconut rice | Jasmine rice |
| Risotto | Arborio or Carnaroli rice |
| Paella | Valencia (bomba) rice |
| Sushi | Sushi rice |
| Soups and stews | Calrose rice |
| Asian desserts | Sticky rice |
Long-Grain Rice
Long-grain rice is long and thin, just as the name implies. The grains cook up light, fluffy, and separate.
Long-Grain White Rice
This is the classic white rice. Its long, thin grains cook up fluffy, so they don’t clump together. Here’s my guide on how to cook white rice perfectly every time.
Basmati Rice
Basmati is a long-grain rice from India. It’s nutty and aromatic, which is why it’s often compared to jasmine rice. You’ve probably had it with curry, and it’s the rice to reach for if you want to make your own rice pilaf.
Jasmine Rice
Jasmine rice comes from Thailand, and it has an even nuttier flavor and stronger aroma than basmati. The grains are a little shorter, but the two can be used interchangeably. I use it all the time in my fried rice, and if you’re looking for a simple side dish, try my coconut rice.
Medium- and Short-Grain Rice
The shorter the grain, the more the grains stick together once cooked. These are the types to choose when you want rice that clings together or turns creamy.
Calrose Rice
Calrose is a medium-grain rice that has a sticky texture once it’s cooked. It soaks up flavors well, and like other sticky types of rice, it holds its own in soups and stews. It’s also my pick for a silky congee.
Arborio Rice
This is your go-to rice for risotto. Arborio holds on to more starch than many other types of rice, and that starch is released as it cooks, giving risotto its creamy texture. Once cooked, the grains still have a slightly firm bite.
Carnaroli Rice
Carnaroli is another premium Italian short-grain rice for risotto, and it’s the one many chefs prefer. It’s rich in starch, so it makes a creamy risotto, but the grains keep a firmer, more al dente texture than Arborio. You can swap it for Arborio in a 1:1 ratio.
Valencia Rice
Named after the region in Spain where it’s commonly grown, Valencia rice is best known for making paella. Its grains are short and round. You might also see it sold as bomba rice, one of the best-known varieties. Its superpower is that it absorbs more liquid than many other types of rice, so it soaks up more flavor, too.
Sushi Rice
Sushi rice is a short-grain white rice that cooks up sticky. It’s seasoned with rice vinegar and cooled before it’s rolled into sushi. You can also find the uncooked rice packaged and labeled “sushi rice.”
Sticky Rice
Sticky rice, also called sweet rice or glutinous rice, contains less amylose than other types of rice, which is why the grains stick together once cooked. It’s used in many Asian dishes, including desserts. It’s usually soaked in cool water, then steamed.
Brown, Black, and Red Rice
These types of rice bring more color and earthier, nuttier flavors to the table, and most take longer to cook than white rice.
Brown Rice
Brown rice still has its outer bran layer, which white rice loses during milling. That’s why it takes almost twice as long to cook: the water needs time to soften the bran and reach the center of the grain. You can swap it in for white rice in most dishes. Here’s how to cook brown rice so it turns out tender every time.
Black Rice
Black rice is sometimes called forbidden rice, though it’s not so forbidden these days, since it’s easy to find at most grocery stores. It tastes earthy and nutty. Its dark color comes from pigments called anthocyanins, the same ones that color blueberries and blackberries.
Black Glutinous Rice
Black glutinous rice, also called black sticky rice, is a sticky rice with a dark purple-black bran layer. Like white sticky rice, it’s low in amylose, so the grains cling together once cooked, and it’s usually soaked before it’s steamed. It’s a favorite in Southeast Asian desserts. Don’t confuse it with the black rice above, which isn’t a sticky rice.
Red Cargo Rice
Red cargo rice has a nutty flavor and a chewy texture once cooked, and it leaches some of its red color as it cooks. Some people find its texture a little too gummy.
Other Types of Rice
Parboiled Rice
Parboiled rice, also sold as converted rice, is processed differently than regular white and brown rice. The rice is soaked and steamed with the hull (husk) still on, then dried before the hulls are removed and the rice is packaged. Once cooked, it’s dry with a firm texture.
Instant Rice
Instant rice has already been cooked and dried, so it only needs a few minutes in hot water to rehydrate. It’s the fastest option on busy nights, but it cooks up softer and with less flavor than regular rice. You’ll find both white and brown versions. Follow the package directions, since the cooking time and amount of water vary by brand.
Wild Rice
Interestingly enough, wild rice isn’t actually rice. It’s made of seeds from a type of marsh grass, but it looks, cooks, and acts like rice, so it gets to borrow the name. Like long-grain white rice, it has a fluffy texture, but it tastes more rustic and earthy. The bowl pictured here is a mix of wild and brown rice.
Cook with Rice
Frequently Asked Questions
It depends on the variety, but it’s typically 1 part rice to 1½ to 2 parts water. Long-grain rice needs the most water (1½ to 2 parts), and medium-grain needs slightly less (1½ to 1¾ parts). Short-grain rice needs the least, and it’s often soaked in cold water for several hours and then steamed rather than simmered. The best place to check is the package, which usually lists a recommended rice-to-liquid amount. Often, you can add about ¼ cup more or less water for drier or softer rice.
Rice swells to about three times its size, so 1 cup of dry rice makes about 3 cups of cooked rice for most types. A generally recommended serving is 1 ounce of dry rice, about ½ cup cooked. Most rice packages list ¼ cup of dry rice as a serving, which works out to about ¾ cup of cooked rice per person.
It depends on the type, shape, and amount. White rice cooks the fastest, in 15 to 25 minutes, because milling removes its fibrous outer bran layer. Brown rice takes almost twice as long, since the bran needs time to soften so water can reach the center of the grain. Wild and black rice take 30 minutes or more, and most sticky rice is soaked in cool water, then steamed for 30 to 45 minutes.
Yes. Both are long, aromatic grains with a nutty flavor, so you can swap one for the other. Jasmine rice is a little more aromatic, and its grains are slightly shorter.
Sushi rice is short-grain white rice. The name usually refers to the cooked rice once it’s seasoned with rice vinegar for rolling sushi, but you’ll also find the uncooked short-grain rice sold in bags labeled “sushi rice.”
Now you know which rice to reach for, whether you’re making risotto, paella, or a simple pot of fluffy white rice. If you found this guide to the types of rice helpful, please let me know in the 📝 comments below!
Mel says
This is really interesting and informative.
I would say that jasmine rice cannot always be used interchangeably with basmati. Persian rice dishes are made almost exclusively with basmati, and many would fall apart or not set correctly if made with jasmine, since jasmine is shorter grain.
Dheep' says
Have always blended Long Grain White & Parboiled. It makes for a great blend of Rice.
Everyone seems to like it & it works great for Fried Rice, as it did today. As Long as you make it very early, or the day before. After it is all broken up, you put in in the Frig to cool for all day or overnight.
Just minutes away from testing another batch of Fried Rice. So far so good
Jessica Gavin says
Thanks for sharing! I will have to try that rice blend next time I made fried rice.
Ruth (Canada) says
I’ve heard about a favourite Indian variety of rice called Swarna – what does it taste like and where can I purchase it in Canada?