There are about 185 to 198 grams in a cup of rice, uncooked long grain white. The King Arthur Baking ingredient weight chart lists 1/2 cup of dry long grain rice at 99 g, or 198 g per cup, and USDA FoodData Central lists 1 cup at 185 g.
| Amount | Grams |
|---|---|
| 1 tbsp | 12.4 g |
| 1/4 cup | 49.5 g |
| 1/3 cup | 66 g |
| 1/2 cup | 99 g |
| 2/3 cup | 132 g |
| 3/4 cup | 149 g |
| 1 cup | 198 g |
The table uses the King Arthur figure. Using USDA's number, each amount is about 7 percent lighter.
Why a cup of rice can weigh different amounts
Rice grains are small and hard, so they settle tightly, but the fit still depends on a few things:
- Grain shape. Long grain, medium grain and short grain rice pack differently in a cup. Round grains nestle together in a different way than long, slim ones.
- Brown vs white. Brown rice keeps its bran layer, which changes the size and weight of each grain.
- Settling. Shake or tap the cup and the grains settle, making room for more.
- The cup itself. The plastic cup that comes with many rice cookers is smaller than a standard US measuring cup, so "1 cup" in a rice cooker manual isn't the same as 1 cup in a recipe.
That's why the two sources land about 13 g apart, and why weighing gives you a steadier result.
Grams in a cup of rice for common batch sizes
Using King Arthur's 198 g per cup:
- 1 1/2 cups uncooked is about 297 g.
- 2 cups uncooked is about 396 g.
- 3 cups uncooked is about 594 g.
If you cook the same amount of rice often, weigh it once, write the grams on the canister and you're set. For the water, follow the package directions. A milliliter of water weighs about a gram, so you can weigh the water too if you like.
Cooked vs uncooked: read the recipe closely
Rice soaks up water as it cooks, so a cup of cooked rice and a cup of uncooked rice are very different things. King Arthur lists 1 cup of cooked brown rice at 170 g, for example. When a recipe says "2 cups rice," check whether it means before or after cooking. Look for "dry" or "cooked" next to the gram amount to remove the doubt.
How to weigh rice
- Set your pot or bowl on the scale and press tare.
- Pour the rice in until you hit the target weight.
- Rinse it afterward if your recipe calls for it. Weigh dry rice first, since wet rice holds extra water.
- Write down the gram amount that gives you the batch size you like.
A practical tip: for small amounts, like a few tablespoons of rice for soup, a MeasureMate digital measuring spoon scoops and weighs in one step and reads in 0.1 g steps. It weighs up to 500 g, so you can scoop and tare as you go for bigger batches too.
Quick questions
How many grams is 1/2 cup of uncooked rice?
About 92.5 to 99 g. King Arthur lists 99 g, and half of USDA's 185 g per cup is 92.5 g.
Does brown rice weigh the same as white rice?
Not exactly. The grains are a different size and shape, so weigh a level cup of your own rice to know its number.
Is a rice cooker cup the same as a measuring cup?
No. Rice cooker cups are usually smaller than a US cup, so check your cooker's manual or weigh the rice instead.
Weights based on the King Arthur Baking ingredient weight chart and USDA FoodData Central.