Rice Cooker Water Ratio Calculator
Get the exact water for your rice cooker by rice type — the vented, sealed environment needs a different ratio than a stovetop pot.
How it works
water = uncooked rice × ratio · cooked yield ≈ uncooked rice × 3
A rice cooker is a sealed, thermostatically controlled pot that shuts off when the free water is gone and the temperature climbs past boiling. Because almost nothing evaporates, the ratios run slightly lower than the classic stovetop numbers — jasmine can go one-to-one where a pot would want more. Always rinse white rice until the water runs clear to wash off surface starch, and let the cooked rice steam with the lid on for ten minutes before fluffing.
Worked example
Two cups of brown rice at a 1:2 ratio needs 4 cups of water and yields roughly 6 cups cooked. Switch to jasmine and the same 2 cups wants only 2 cups of water — the tighter grain and rinsing mean it swells with far less liquid in the sealed cooker.
Frequently asked questions
Should I use the cup that came with the cooker?
That cup is about 180 ml, not a US measuring cup (240 ml). As long as you measure both rice and water with the same cup, the ratio holds — the numbers here use standard cups for both.
Why is my rice mushy or crunchy?
Mushy means too much water or skipping the rinse; crunchy usually means too little water or lifting the lid mid-cook and losing steam. Adjust in quarter-cup steps and keep the lid shut.
Is the ratio different from a stovetop pot?
Yes — a stovetop loses water to evaporation, so it typically wants more. This calculator uses the lower, sealed-cooker ratios; for open-pot cooking use the rice-to-water ratio calculator.
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This calculator is for educational purposes. Double-check important results before acting on them.