How many cups are in a pound of rice

When planning meals for the week, I was recently at a loss about how much dry rice I should cook up. I wanted about 10 servings and had no clue how much dry rice that is. So, I did some extensive research and decided to share my findings with you.

1 pound of dry rice will make about 7.5 cups of cooked long-grain white rice. However, other rice types will usually yield a different amount depending on the size of the grains. Wild rice has the highest yield at about 9 cups, while jasmine rice has the lowest at 3.7 cups per pound of dried rice.

Cups of Cooked Rice in a Pound of Uncooked Rice:

Along the way, I found that I kept having other questions crop up. So, I decided to include those as well. Please read on to learn more.

Knowing the different rice yields can help with meal planning. It can teach you how much dry rice to pick up for your family. Cutting down on waste by not overbuying will help you save your money.

Following standard uncooked to cooked rice calculations works well when you are making long-grain white rice. However, if you use the standard ratio of 1 cup of uncooked rice equals 3 cups of cooked rice for another type of rice, your measurements could be off. Which can result in you preparing less rice than you need for dinner.

For example, a cup of uncooked brown rice yields 2 cups of cooked rice. This would only produce two portion sizes, while the standard measurement would have you believe you have enough rice for 3.

Through the table above, you can observe how grain size matters. 1 pound of dry wild rice is about 3 cups before cooking but it yields 9 cups of cooked rice. In fact, wild rice has the best yield of any other type of rice per pound. In contrast, jasmine rice has the lowest yield. It only nets 3.7 cups of cooked rice.

Raw vs. Cooked Rice and the Impact on Measurements

Measuring raw rice is more straightforward than measuring cooked rice since dry rice has not been expanded by water. These hard grains fit into a cup easily and cannot be condensed more. This makes their collected measurements more accurate.

In contrast, there is more room for the measurements of cooked rice to be skewed. One big cause of this variance in measurement is the packing of rice into the measuring tool. Measurement amounts will differ based on how tightly or lightly you pack your rice.

Different types of rice will take up different amounts of space in a cup. Grain size will not be the only factor that determines how much rice fits into a cup. The tactile experience of each grain type will influence how much cooked rice fits into a cup.

Some types of rice are stickier than others. White rice is less sticky than basmati rice. Basmati rice grains tend to cling to each other. The grains’ stickiness impacts how closely rice will be packed together.

Your cooked rice measurements could vary from the calculations above. For more accurate results, do not squish your rice down into your measuring apparatus. Instead, scoop it in gently.

How Many Cups Are in a 2 Pound Bag of Rice?

2 pounds of dry rice will make about 15 cups of cooked long-grain white rice. Again, the exact measurement depends on the type of rice and the size of each grain, which affects how much will fit into a cup.

Cups of Cooked Rice in a 2 Pound Bag of Uncooked Rice:

How Many Cups Are in a 50 Pound Bag of Rice?

You can get 375 cups of cooked long-grain white rice out of a 50 lb bag of rice. This type of rice is only second to wild rice, which produces 450 cups of cooked rice per 50 lb bag.

For more information on the yields of different types of rice, check out the table below.

Cups of Cooked Rice in a 50 Pound Bag of Uncooked Rice:

How Many Servings Are in a Pound of Rice?

As you probably guessed, how many servings you get will depend again on the type of rice being prepared and how many cups of cooked rice a pound of raw rice produces. It also depends on what you designate as a serving. While an “official” serving might be 1/2 cup, most people actually eat around 1 cup of rice per serving. To serve reality best, I’m going to go with 1 cup of cooked rice as a serving.

7.5 one-cup servings can be obtained from a pound of uncooked long-grain white rice. In contrast, medium white grain rice will produce roughly 6.3 servings. Just keep in mind that serving sizes will typically vary based on the caloric needs of the individual.

Number of 1 cup servings in 1 Pound of Uncooked Rice:

How Many Calories Are in a Pound of Cooked Rice?

A pound of dry long-grain white rice has about 1200 calories since it has 160 calories per serving and 7.5 servings per pound. Calories vary based on the type of rice. Medium grain white rice has the highest yield at 1,525 calories, while jasmine rice has the lowest at 670 calories per dried pound.

Caloric Analysis of 1 Pound of Uncooked Rice:

So, if you are looking to stock up on rice or build a survival store, medium-grain white rice will maximize your storage space.

What Rice Is the Cheapest per Pound?

The most affordable type of rice on the market is white rice. While the market fluctuates, white rice typically costs about 70 to 75 cents per lbs. In contrast, wild rice is one of the most expensive rice options on the market, though, technically, wild rice is grass. Wild rice costs about $6.88 per pound.

People consume white rice more often because of the price and neutral taste. White rice is an economical dish that can be combined with many ingredients in the main dish. Additionally, it can act as a side dish to many types of main courses.

Final Thoughts

In case you are wondering why I used long-grain white rice as a baseline in my example, it is because it’s the most common type consumed in the U.S. and is considered the standard unit of measurement when it comes to rice.

I hope this article has been helpful. Thanks for stoppin’ by!

If you want to learn more about how to “overkill” store rice for the long term, check out my article on the subject.

Hi, I’m Anne but my grandchildren call me Jelly Grandma. I have over 50 years of experience as a Southern cook and am a retired librarian. I love sharing what I have learned. You can find me on YouTube as well! Just click the link at the bottom of your page.

I hope your visit here has been a sweet one.