How Much Water for 2 Cups of Rice? (Recipe for Dummies)

Plain rice is one of the best side dishes you can serve for most meals. And, let’s be honest, who doesn’t like rice? It’s a quick an easy go-to side dish and one I use in hundreds of meals I prepare.

2 cups of rice will serve 4 people, so this is a very common amount of rice to serve. If you’re serving 2 cups of rice, you will need 4 cups of water. The ratio of cups of water to cups of rice is 2:1 for most variations of rice. However, there are some types of rice where the ratio is different.

In this article, I’ll go through the measurements of rice and water for several types of rice and the  best recipes for plain white rice that you really can’t go wrong with.

How Much Water for 2 Cups of Rice? (Recipe for Dummies)

Recipe for 2 cups of rice (the perfect rice)

One thing that you need to remember when cooking rice is to use a pot that is large enough. When rice is cooked, it expands and this will prevent the water from pouring out while boiling.
If you need an easy and perfect recipe to cook 2 cups of rice, this one is perfect for you. It is simple to double or half the recipe to meet your needs. Just make sure to not let the pot run out of water or you will burn your rice.
5 from 1 vote
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 18 minutes
Resting Time 10 minutes
Course Side Dish
Cuisine American
Servings 4 People

Ingredients
  

  • 2 cups White long-grain rice
  • 4 cups Water
  • 2 tbsp Vegetable oil or butter
  • 1 tbsp Salt

Instructions
 

  • Use a medium saucepan and add the water,.
  • Turn on the stove to medium-high heat and bring the water to a boil.
  • When the water is boiling, add the salt and the vegetable oil. If using, butter, allow it to melt.
  • Add the rice and stir.
  • Reduce to low heat and cover the pot with the lid and let the rice simmer for about 16 to 18 minutes. Larger amounts of rice can take up to 25 minutes to cook.
  • The rice is cooked when you stop seeing water boiling in the middle of the rice grains.
  • Let the rice rest in the pot for about 10 minutes to make sure all the water is absorbed.
  • Fluff with a fork, let it sit for another 2 minutes and your rice is ready to serve.

Video

Notes

If you want to serve more people, you just need to double the ingredients. For example, for 8 people you need 4 cups of white rice and 8 cups of water. It's that simple.

How much water to use by type of rice

Even though there are many varieties of rice, the ratio of 2 cups of water to 1 cup of rice works for almost every kind of rice

One thing that can change while cooking your rice is the simmer time, because some varieties of rice take longer to cook, such as brown or wild rice.

What can usually change the ratio is the length of the grain. Take a look at the table below for the most common types of rice and how much water to use depending on the number of cups of rice.

Type of RiceCups of RiceCups of WaterSimmer time
White long-grain1216 to 20 minutes
White long-grain1/2116 to 20 minutes
White medium-grain11 1/215 minutes
White short-grain11 1/415 minutes
Brown1240 to 50 minutes
Sushi rice11 1/318 to 20 minutes
Basmati11 1/215 to 20 minutes
Jasmine11 3/415 to 20 minutes
Wild rice1245 to 50 minutes

How many cups of rice for 2 people?

One cup of rice is enough for 2 to 3 adults or 2 adults and 2 small children. Usually, adults eat about 1/3 cup of uncooked rice per meal and a child eats about 1/4 cup. Here’s a trick to know how many cups of water per cup of rice will yield a cup of cooked rice.

It’s a really simple formula: 1-2-3. That’s all you need to remember. So, you if want to cook one cup of rice you will need two cups of water to yield three cups of cooked rice. For example, say you want to cook three cups of rice. Just use the formula 1-2-3. 3 cups of rice – 6 cups of water – 9 cups of cooked rice.

How to reheat rice?

When you don’t have too much time to cook during the week, rice is the perfect side dish to use, as it lasts up to 5 days in the refrigerator.

You can reheat your cooked rice in two ways, using a pot or the microwave.

To reheat you rice using a pot, just give your rice a generous sprinkle of water to hydrate the grains and turn the heat on low. Stir and fluff the rice frequently until it is warm.

But if you want to use the microwave, just put the rice in a microwave safe bowl. Sprinkle with a bit of water, drape a damp paper towel over the top before heating, just to make sure the rice does not dry out.

Why is my rice mushy and soggy?

Rice tends to become mushy and soggy if you cook the rice for too long and use too much water. This is because rice absorbs water really well. Alternatively, if you use too little water, the rice won’t cook and will re-harden, making it stick to the bottom of the pan.

Final Words

Cooking rice can be tricky at times but understanding how much water and how long to boil the rice are key components in cooking this versatile side dish to perfection. If you are cooking different types of rice, make sure you refer to the chart in this article to get the rice to water ratio just right. As always, thanks for reading and keep that kitchen hot and salty!

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Candy Seideman has been cooking for most of her life. In fact she is referred to as "The Chef" by most of her close family not only because she attended culinary school and was an actual chef, but also because she has a passion for cooking for friends and family.