How long to cook rice, by type

Pick your rice and the timer runs both phases: the simmer with the lid on, then the ten minutes off the heat that finish it.

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Choose your rice

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How to cook rice in three steps

Rinse, then measure the water

Rinse until the water runs nearly clear – that is surface starch, and it is the difference between grains and porridge. Then measure by the cup, using the ratio in the table. Bring it to the boil uncovered.
Lid on, lowest heat

The moment it boils, turn it to the lowest setting that keeps a simmer and put the lid on. Start the timer here. Do not stir and do not look – every lift of the lid lets out the steam that is doing the cooking.
Off the heat, still covered

When the first alarm sounds, take the pan off the heat and leave the lid alone for ten more minutes. The top grains finish in the trapped steam and the bottom ones stop being wet. Fluff with a fork, not a spoon.

Rice cooking times and water ratios

For one cup of rinsed rice by the absorption method: water measured by the cup, brought to the boil, then the lowest simmer with the lid on. Rest is off the heat, lid still on, and it counts as cooking time.

Water ratio, simmering time and resting time for each type of rice
Rice	Water	Simmer	Rest
White long grain	1¾ cups	12 min	10 min
Basmati	1½ cups	10 min	10 min
Jasmine	1½ cups	12 min	10 min
Short grain, sushi	1¼ cups	13 min	10 min
Parboiled, easy cook	2 cups	20 min	5 min
Brown long grain	2¼ cups	25–30 min	10 min
Brown basmati	2 cups	25 min	10 min
Red camargue	2½ cups	35 min	5 min
Black rice	2 cups	30–35 min	10 min
Wild rice	3 cups	45–50 min	5 min

Doubling the rice does not double the water. A second cup needs only about another cup and a quarter, because the pan loses the same amount to steam whatever is in it – so measure the first cup by the table and add less for each one after.

Food safety

What the official guidance says

Cooling cooked rice: Chill leftover rice as quickly as possible, ideally within one hour. Spread it into smaller portions and do not leave it in the pan or rice cooker to cool.
Storing it: Keep cooked rice in the fridge for no more than one day before eating or reheating it.
Reheating: Reheat rice only once, and make sure it is steaming hot all the way through.
Why it matters: Uncooked rice can contain spores of Bacillus cereus that survive cooking. The longer cooked rice sits at room temperature, the more likely it is to become unsafe.

Source: UK Food Standards Agency , checked September 2026.

How to fix wet or crunchy rice

Wet and heavy means too much water or no rest. Tip it back on the lowest heat with the lid off for a minute or two and let the steam go.

Crunchy at the top means it ran dry before it was done. Add a splash of boiling water, put the lid back on and give it five more minutes off the heat – there is usually enough heat left in the pan to finish it.

Rice that plays by other rules

Risotto is not on the table because it is not absorption: arborio wants hot stock a ladle at a time and constant stirring, and it is done in eighteen to twenty minutes by taste rather than by clock.

A rice cooker ignores all of this, which is the point of one – it decides by temperature rather than time. Microwave rice in a bag runs to whatever the bag says, usually two minutes.

Salt, fat and the lid

Salt the water, about half a teaspoon to the cup. It is the only chance the grain gets, and rice served under a sauce still tastes flat without it.

A knob of butter or a spoon of oil in the water keeps the grains separate and does no harm. What matters far more is a lid that actually fits: a loose one lets out the steam the times assume is staying in.

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Questions about the online timer

How long does rice take to cook?

White rice needs about twelve minutes at a simmer with the lid on, then ten minutes off the heat with the lid still on. Brown rice takes twenty-five to thirty minutes and the same ten minute rest. The rest is part of the cooking, not a pause after it.

How much water per cup of rice?

A cup and three quarters of water to one cup of white long grain rice, a cup and a half for basmati, and two and a quarter for brown. Doubling the rice does not double the water – add about a cup and a quarter for each extra cup of rice.

Do I really have to let it rest?

Yes, and it is the step that makes the difference. At the end of the simmer the grains at the bottom are wetter than the ones at the top. Ten minutes off the heat with the lid on evens that out in the trapped steam; serve straight from the hob and the bottom is soggy while the top is still firm.

Should I rinse rice before cooking?

For long grain, basmati and jasmine, yes – rinse until the water runs nearly clear. It washes off loose surface starch, which is what makes rice claggy. Do not rinse risotto or paella rice: there the starch is the dish.

Why is my rice sticky?

Usually unrinsed rice, or stirring it while it cooks. Stirring breaks grains and releases starch, so once the lid goes on, leave it alone until the rest is over, then separate it with a fork.

Can I lift the lid to check?

Try not to. The pan is cooking with trapped steam, and every look lets some out and drops the temperature, which is how rice ends up crunchy on top. If you must check, do it once, near the end of the simmer.