Guide September 2026 · 6 min read

Calories in Rice: White, Brown, Sushi, Fried — and Why Cooked Weight Matters

Quick answer: Cooked white rice has about 130 kcal per 100 g; brown rice about 120; jasmine and basmati 120–140; seasoned sushi rice around 150; fried rice 170–190. A typical serving of 150–200 g cooked is 200–260 kcal plain. The biggest mistake in rice tracking is not choosing the wrong type — it is logging the dry weight. Rice roughly triples in weight when cooked, so 100 g dry (about 360 kcal) becomes 280–300 g cooked. Log what is on the plate, in its cooked state, and pick the matching database entry.

Calories by type, cooked

Rice, cooked	Per 100 g	Per typical serving (180 g)	Carbs / 100 g	Protein / 100 g	Fiber / 100 g
White, long-grain	130 kcal	235 kcal	28 g	2.7 g	0.4 g
White, short-grain / Japanese	130 kcal	235 kcal	29 g	2.4 g	0.3 g
Jasmine	130 kcal	235 kcal	29 g	2.7 g	0.4 g
Basmati	125 kcal	225 kcal	27 g	2.8 g	0.5 g
Brown, long-grain	120 kcal	215 kcal	25 g	2.7 g	1.6 g
Wild rice	100 kcal	180 kcal	21 g	4 g	1.8 g
Sushi rice (seasoned with vinegar and sugar)	150 kcal	270 kcal	33 g	2.5 g	0.3 g
Fried rice (restaurant, egg and oil)	170–190 kcal	300–340 kcal	24 g	5 g	0.8 g
Risotto (butter, stock, parmesan)	150–180 kcal	270–320 kcal	20 g	4 g	0.5 g
Rice cooked in coconut milk	180–200 kcal	320–360 kcal	26 g	3 g	0.5 g
Rice cooked in stock or with butter	145–160 kcal	260–290 kcal	28 g	3 g	0.4 g

Values are typical averages; brands and cooking methods vary by ±10%.

Dry vs cooked: the error that doubles your count

Rice absorbs its own weight in water two to three times over.

Dry	Cooked (approx.)	Calories
50 g	140–150 g	~180 kcal
75 g	210–225 g	~270 kcal
100 g	280–300 g	~360 kcal

The same 360 kcal exists whether you weigh it dry or cooked — but if you weigh 200 g of cooked rice and log it against a "dry" database entry, you record 720 kcal for a 260 kcal portion. In the other direction, weighing 75 g dry and logging it as "75 g cooked" records 100 kcal for a 270 kcal portion. Either way the day's total is wrong by 200+ kcal.

Rule: log the state you weighed. If you photograph the plate, the app sees cooked rice and should use a cooked entry — check that it did.

What a portion actually is

Most people underestimate rice portions. Reference points:

A Japanese rice bowl (茶碗) holds 150 g cooked, about 200 kcal. A large one, 200–250 g.
A restaurant side of rice is typically 200–250 g, 260–330 kcal.
A takeaway container of plain rice is often 300–400 g, 390–520 kcal — before the curry.
A cup of cooked rice (US measure) is about 160–185 g, 210–240 kcal.
A fist-sized portion is roughly 100–150 g.

If you eat rice twice a day at 250 g a time, that is 650 kcal from rice alone, all of it fast carbohydrate with almost no fiber or protein. Not a problem in itself; a problem if it is unaccounted for.

Does brown rice really matter?

For calories: barely. Brown rice saves about 10 kcal per 100 g. For everything else: somewhat. It has four times the fiber (still only 1.6 g per 100 g), more magnesium and B vitamins, and a slightly lower glycaemic response, meaning a smaller blood-sugar spike and a longer feeling of fullness. If you like it, it is a marginal improvement. If you do not, white rice with vegetables and protein on the plate achieves the same effect on the meal's glycaemic load.

What changes the number

Cooking fat. A tablespoon of oil or butter in the pot adds 120 kcal to the batch. Rice cooked in coconut milk adds 50–70 kcal per 100 g.
Stock and seasoning. Stock adds little energy but 1–2 g of salt per portion.
Sushi seasoning. Vinegar, sugar and salt add about 15–20 kcal and 3–4 g of sugar per 100 g — and sushi rice is packed densely, so a roll contains more rice than it looks.
Fried rice. Oil, egg, soy sauce: 40–60% more calories than plain, plus 2–3 g of salt per serving.
Cooling and reheating. Cooking rice, cooling it overnight and reheating increases resistant starch, which modestly lowers the digestible calories (by roughly 10%) and the glycaemic response. Real, small, and a nice side effect of meal prep.

How to log rice accurately

Barcode: works for packaged rice, but the label is dry weight. Log the cooked portion against a cooked entry, or weigh dry before cooking and divide across servings.

Photo: the app sees cooked rice. Portion is the hard part — rice piles hide depth. Say the amount if you know it ("about a cup", "a small bowl") or use a short video that shows the plate from an angle.

Voice: "a bowl of rice", "200 g of jasmine rice", "fried rice, restaurant portion". Naming the type and preparation matters more than for most foods because fried rice is nearly 50% more than plain.

CalMePlease logs rice from a photo or a spoken note and applies a cooked entry by default; saying "fried" or "coconut" adjusts it. The salt and fiber it returns per portion — near zero for both, in plain white rice — is usually the more useful number for planning the rest of the plate.

FAQ

How many calories are in a cup of cooked rice? About 200–240 kcal for white rice (160–185 g cooked); 215 kcal for brown; 250 kcal for sushi rice; 300+ for fried rice.

How many calories are in 100 g of rice? Cooked white rice: ~130 kcal. Cooked brown: ~120. Dry, uncooked white rice: ~360 kcal per 100 g — nearly three times more, because the water is not yet in it.

Is brown rice lower in calories than white rice? Only slightly: about 120 vs 130 kcal per 100 g cooked. Its advantages are fiber, minerals and a smaller blood-sugar spike, not calories.

Does rinsing rice reduce calories? No measurable effect on calories. Rinsing removes surface starch and improves texture.

Does reheated rice have fewer calories? Cooking, cooling and reheating raises resistant starch and can reduce digestible calories by roughly 10%. It is a small, real effect.

Can I eat rice and lose weight? Yes. Rice is 130 kcal per 100 g — comparable to bread or pasta. Portion size, cooking fat and what accompanies it determine whether it fits a deficit.

CalMePlease logs rice from a photo or a voice note, cooked weight by default. Free on the App Store.