The Short Answer
So 300 grams of uncooked rice works out to about 1⅝ cups, and a full 500 grams comes to about 2⅔ cups. This is for uncooked rice — once rice cooks, it roughly triples in volume as it absorbs water, so a cooked cup and a dry cup are not interchangeable numbers.
Grams To Cups Converter
Convert grams to cups instantly for common cooking and baking ingredients.
The Mistake Most People Actually Make
Before getting into variety-specific numbers, it's worth flagging the error that causes more kitchen confusion than density ever does: confusing dry rice with cooked rice. A recipe that says "2 cups of rice" almost always means 2 cups measured before cooking — but plenty of home cooks measure out 2 cups of already-cooked rice by mistake, which is a completely different amount of actual grain.
One cup of uncooked white rice generally makes around 3 cups of cooked rice, although the exact yield, water ratio, and cooking time vary by rice variety. If a recipe doesn't specify whether rice is cooked or uncooked, check the recipe's ingredient list and cooking instructions before measuring.
Reference: USA Rice — How to Cook Rice
Grams to Cups Chart (Uncooked White Rice)
| Grams | Cups | Tablespoons |
|---|---|---|
| 25 g | ⅛ cup | 2 tbsp |
| 46 g | ¼ cup | 4 tbsp |
| 62 g | ⅓ cup | 5 tbsp |
| 93 g | ½ cup | 8 tbsp |
| 123 g | ⅔ cup | 10 tbsp |
| 139 g | ¾ cup | 12 tbsp |
| 185 g | 1 cup | 16 tbsp |
| 200 g | ~1⅛ cups | 17 tbsp |
| 250 g | ~1⅓ cups | 22 tbsp |
| 300 g | ~1⅝ cups | 26 tbsp |
| 400 g | ~2⅛ cups | 35 tbsp |
| 500 g | ~2⅔ cups | 43 tbsp |
| 750 g | 4 cups | 65 tbsp |
| 1,000 g | ~5⅜ cups | 86 tbsp |
Not All Rice Weighs the Same
185 grams per cup is a solid reference for standard long-grain white rice, but rice is a broad category — different varieties are cut, milled, and shaped differently, which shifts the number slightly:
| Rice Type | Grams per Cup | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| White rice (long/medium-grain) | ~185 g | The standard reference used throughout this guide |
| Jasmine rice | ~190 g | Slightly softer grain, aromatic |
| Basmati rice | ~185 g | Long, slender grains, similar density to standard white rice |
| Brown rice | ~190–195 g | Retains the bran layer, giving it a bit more weight per cup |
| Short-grain / sushi rice | ~200 g | Rounder, starchier grains pack more tightly |
| Arborio rice | ~200 g | Short and starchy, used for risotto |
The differences look small on paper, but they add up in a full recipe — and more importantly, different rice types absorb water differently once cooking starts, so swapping jasmine for basmati or brown rice for white changes more than just the dry weight; it changes how much liquid the dish needs and how long it takes to cook.
Does Packing the Cup Actually Matter for Rice?
Yes, more than most people assume. Rice grains are small and hard, but they still shift and settle depending on how the cup is filled. A gently leveled cup — poured in and scraped flat with a knife — lands close to the 185-gram reference. Shake the cup or press the rice down, though, and the grains settle into the gaps between each other more tightly, which can push that same visual "cup" up toward 220–240 grams. A very loose, unsettled fill can drop below 160 grams.
This is exactly why two people can each measure "1 cup of rice" and end up with meaningfully different amounts of actual grain — and why rice cookers, which rely on a fixed water-to-rice ratio, can turn out mushy or undercooked when the rice measurement isn't consistent.
Rice Cooker Cups Are Not the Same as US Cups
If your rice cooker came with its own plastic measuring cup, don't assume it matches a standard US cup — most rice cooker cups hold about 180 mL, which is roughly ¾ of a US customary cup (236.6 mL). That works out to around 140 grams of rice rather than 185 grams. Using a US measuring cup with a rice cooker's built-in water-line markings (which are calibrated for the cooker's own cup) will throw off the water ratio and can leave rice too wet or too dry. When in doubt, weigh the rice directly and use your cooker's markings only with the cup it came with.
How Rice Compares to Other Pantry Staples
| Ingredient | Grams per Cup | vs. Rice |
|---|---|---|
| Uncooked white rice | 185 g | — |
| Quinoa (uncooked) | ~170 g | -15 g |
| Rolled oats | ~90 g | -95 g |
| Dry pasta | ~100 g | -85 g |
| Lentils (dry) | ~200 g | +15 g |
| Chocolate chips | ~170 g | -15 g |
| Cornstarch | ~128 g | -57 g |
This is a useful gut-check when a recipe swaps rice for another grain or starch — matching the cup measurement doesn't mean matching the actual weight of food going into the pot, and that matters most for anything involving a fixed water ratio.
How to Measure Rice for a Predictable Result
- Scoop rice into the measuring cup, then level it off with a straight edge — don't shake or tap the cup to settle more rice in, since that's the packing effect described above.
- Use the same rice variety the recipe was written for. A cup of jasmine rice and a cup of brown rice don't behave the same way once water and heat get involved.
- For meal prep or repeat cooking, weigh the rice instead of scooping it. This is especially useful if you're switching between rice types or batch-cooking for the week — a scale keeps the yield consistent in a way a cup measurement alone can't guarantee.
Rough Serving Guide
As a general planning reference, about 50 grams of dry rice per person is a typical side-dish portion (this varies with appetite and whether rice is the main component of the meal):
| Dry Rice | Approx. Servings |
|---|---|
| 100 g | 2 servings |
| 185 g (1 cup) | ~3.5 servings |
| 300 g | 6 servings |
| 500 g | 10 servings |
Quick Reference
- 46 g rice = ¼ cup
- 93 g rice = ½ cup
- 185 g rice = 1 cup
- 370 g rice = 2 cups
- 11.6 g rice ≈ 1 tablespoon
The Bottom Line
185 grams per cup works well as a baseline for standard uncooked white rice, but the real accuracy depends on two things most charts skip: making sure you're measuring dry rice (not cooked), and accounting for how firmly the cup was filled. For everyday cooking, a level, unpacked cup gets you close enough. For rice cookers, batch meal prep, or dishes where the water ratio is unforgiving — risotto, sushi rice, paella — weighing the rice is the more dependable habit to build.
Other Ingredients
Grams-to-cups conversion isn't only useful for rice. Each of these has its own weight-per-cup because densities differ: