Indian Food
How Many Calories in 1 Cup of Rice?
By The NutriNudge Team · August 12, 2026 · 3 min read
Quick answer
One cup of cooked white rice, about 150 grams, contains roughly 200 calories, 4 grams of protein and 45 grams of carbohydrate. The same cup measured raw would be about 550 calories, because rice roughly triples in weight as it absorbs water. Confusing the two is the single most common calorie-tracking error with rice.
How many calories in rice?
Cooked, unless stated otherwise. Almost every mistake with rice comes from mixing up the raw and cooked figures.
| Rice | Portion | Calories | Protein |
|---|---|---|---|
| White rice, cooked | 1 cup, 150 g | ~200 kcal | 4 g |
| White rice, raw | 50 g (makes ~1 cup) | ~180 kcal | 3.5 g |
| Brown rice, cooked | 1 cup, 150 g | ~190 kcal | 4.5 g |
| Basmati, cooked | 1 cup, 150 g | ~195 kcal | 4 g |
| Jeera rice | 1 cup, 150 g | ~250 kcal | 4 g |
| Fried rice | 1 cup, 150 g | ~300 to 350 kcal | 6 g |
Brown rice is not a calorie saving. It is about 10 calories lower per cup and brings more fibre, which helps with fullness. If you switched to brown rice purely to cut calories, the maths does not support it.
Why does raw versus cooked matter so much?
Because rice absorbs water. Fifty grams of raw rice becomes roughly 150 grams once cooked, but the calories do not change — water has none. The same food now weighs three times as much.
This causes errors in both directions. Log 150 grams and pick the raw database entry, and you record around 550 calories for a cup that actually contained 200. Weigh raw and pick the cooked entry, and you undercount badly.
The fix is to choose one method and stay with it. Weighing raw is more precise, since cooked weight depends on how much water was absorbed. Weighing cooked is more practical when someone else cooked. Either works, as long as the database entry matches what you weighed.
How do you portion rice sensibly?
Rice is calorie-dense by volume and easy to over-serve, which is its real risk. A heaped plate can hold two and a half cups without looking excessive — that is 500 calories from the rice alone.
- One cup cooked, about 200 kcal, is a normal serving alongside dal and sabzi
- One and a half cups, about 300 kcal, suits a larger appetite or an active day
- Two cups or more, 400 kcal plus, is a lot unless it is your main energy source for the day
A practical trick: serve the dal and vegetables first, then fill the remaining space with rice. Most people naturally take less rice that way, without measuring anything or feeling restricted.
The bottom line
Use 200 calories for a cup of cooked rice. Check whether your database entry says raw or cooked before logging, because that single mistake dwarfs every other rice-related error.
Rice is not fattening. Serving it by eye, on a large plate, next to something rich, is what pushes the number up.
Frequently asked questions
- How many calories in 100g of cooked rice?
- About 130 calories for cooked white rice. A standard cup is roughly 150 grams, which is around 200 calories.
- Is brown rice better than white rice for weight loss?
- Only slightly. The calories are nearly identical. Brown rice has more fibre, which can help you feel full for longer, but it is not a meaningful calorie saving.
- How many calories in 1 plate of rice?
- It depends entirely on the plate. A typical restaurant serving is 1.5 to 2 cups, so roughly 300 to 400 calories before anything is added.
- Should I weigh rice raw or cooked?
- Either, as long as your database entry matches. Raw is more consistent because cooked weight varies with water absorbed; cooked is easier when someone else prepared the meal.
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