How Much Rice Per Person?

Making rice and not sure how much to cook? Here’s how much rice per person broken down into a simple answer!

If you’re anything like me, predicting how many cups of rice you need per serving is always tricky. But it doesn’t have to be! It’s simple:

• You need ¼ cup of uncooked rice per person if rice is a side dish
• You need ½ cup of uncooked rice per person if rice is the main course

The ¼ or ½ cup uncooked rice per person recommendation is only a starting point. We always make adjustments to this amount of rice based on a few other details:

• Hungry eaters? Teenagers, for instance, are going to eat a lot more than this standard serving!
• Low carb eaters? If anyone is known to be on a low carb diet or watching their weight, I’ll shave a bit off or make Cauliflower Rice as a second option.
• Leftovers? If I am having friends or family over whom I know I can send leftovers home with, I’ll bump up my amount by ¼ to ½..

When is Rice a Side vs Main Dish?

Determining how much rice to make per person all comes down to whether the rice is a part of the side dish, or if it’s the main dish.

Examples of rice as a side dish

If rice is by itself as a side with no meat or vegetables over it, it is a side dish.

If rice is provided to spoon into tacos or fajitas, I portion it as a side dish.

For cuisine like “bowls” where there is an assortment of other carbs in the bowl, like our favorite Tempeh Vegan Burrito Bowl you can likely plan it with ¼ cup of uncooked rice or even less.

Examples of rice as a main dish

If rice is instrumental to the cuisine like chili con carne over rice, that is a main dish and a ½ cup or serving is appropriate.

Recipes where rice is a key ingredient like this Lemon Basil Risotto warrant a ½ cup of uncooked rice per person. As would this Sticky Orange Cauliflower  or Thai Coconut Curry which are both laid over a bed of rice.

Rice Measurement Chart

Use the quick reference charts below to quickly determine how much rice to put into your pot based on the number of servings you need. You may find measuring rice by weight instead of volume to be easier for large parties if you have a kitchen scale.

How much uncooked rice to use for side dishes

Servings	Uncooked Cups	Weight (g)	Weight (oz)
1	1/4	46.5	1.6
2	1/2	93	3.2
3	3/4	140	4.8
4	1	186	6.4
5	1 1/4	232	8
6	1 1/2	279	9.6
7	1 3/4	325	11
8	2	372	13
9	2 1/4	418	14
10	2 1/2	465	1 lbs
20	5	930	2 lbs
50	12.5	2325	5 lbs
100	25	4650	10 lbs

How much uncooked rice to use for main dishes

Servings	Uncooked Cups	Weight (g)	Weight (oz)
1	1/2	93	3.2
2	1	186	6.4
3	1 1/2	279	9.6
4	2	372	13
5	2 1/2	465	1 lbs
6	3	558	1 lbs 3 oz
7	3 1/2	651	1 lbs 6 oz
8	4	744	1 lbs 10 oz
9	4 1/2	837	1 lbs 13 oz
10	5	930	2 lbs
20	10	1860	4 lbs
50	25	4650	10 lbs
100	50	9300	20 lbs

Cauliflower Rice

There has been an explosion of cauliflower rice recipes in the last few years as Americans see the advantage of replacing rice with cauliflower to reduce calories, reduce carbs, or to add vitamins and minerals lacking in rice. 

We won’t go into how to make cauliflower rice here, but you can check out our other posts on How to Make Cauliflower Fried Rice or perhaps try Chipotle Cauliflower Rice. Cauliflower “rice” doesn’t expand like normal grain rice does, so we use different planning factors in how much to make. There is no set norm here, but we generally make 1 to 1 ½ cups of cooked cauliflower rice per person.

What To do with the leftover rice

Since rice is relatively inexpensive, we tend to make more than needed and reuse the rest later. Storing leftover rice is simple. Just cool it and put it in an airtight container like a ziplock style bag or Tupperware. In a bag try to squeeze as much air out as possible. In a container put a piece of plastic wrap over the rice and press it down to squeeze out air and moisture before putting the lid on.

In the refrigerator the rice should stay fresh for 2-3 days. In the freezer it can last a month.

To reheat just pour the rice into a bowl, add a couple tablespoons of water, and put it in the microwave.

To Recap

How much uncooked rice per person? ¼ cup for side dishes or ½ cup if rice is an integral part of the main course.

How many cups of rice for 2 people? ½ cup for a side dish and 1 cup for a main course.

How many cups of rice for 4 people? 1 cup for a side dish and 2 cup for a main course.