Calasparra Rice substitute

Best substitute

Bomba Rice

Use the same amount rice, but increase liquid to about 3 cups per cup of rice as the calasparra rice you are replacing

Best for paella

Close match

Bomba rice is the closest swap and is often grown in Calasparra itself, but it drinks more liquid, so use about 3 cups of stock per cup of rice instead of Calasparra's 2 1/2. Any Spanish rice labelled arroz redondo or arroz para paella is effectively the same thing at the same ratio. Italian Arborio or Carnaroli will work if you cut the liquid to roughly 2 cups per cup of rice and never stir, though the result comes out creamier. Calasparra is not there for flavour; it is there for structure and absorption, which is why the liquid ratio is the whole substitution.

Other calasparra rice substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Spanish Arroz Redondo or Balilla-Sollana
Close match
Use the same amount including the liquid
Short round Spanish rice, usually sold simply as arroz redondo or arroz para paella, which is very often the same Balilla x Sollana variety that most Calasparra rice actually is.
What changes
Best for
paella, any Spanish rice dish, socarrat
Frequently the identical rice without the protected-origin label and the price that goes with it. Ratios, timings and behaviour are all the same, so this is a straight swap with nothing to adjust. If a Spanish grocer has a plain bag of round rice, buy it with confidence.
3Carnaroli Rice
Different texture
Use the same amount rice, reduce liquid to about 2 ¼ cups per cup of rice
The firmest of the Italian risotto rices, with enough amylose in the grain to keep its shape better than Arborio under a long flat cook.
What changes
Best for
paella when no Spanish rice is available, arroz al horno, baked rice dishes
The best Italian option. The grains hold their outline and you can still get a socarrat. It releases considerably more surface starch than Calasparra, so the finished paella is creamier and glossier and the grains cling to each other, sitting somewhere between paella and risotto. Cut the liquid as noted or it will be soupy.
4Arborio Rice
Different texture
Use the same amount rice, reduce liquid to about 2 cups per cup of rice
The most widely stocked short-grain rice in ordinary supermarkets, bred for risotto and therefore designed to release starch rather than hold it in.
What changes
Best for
paella in a pinch, baked rice, arroz con pollo
Workable but you can taste the difference. Arborio sheds a lot of starch, so the paella comes out distinctly creamy and soft, the individual grains blur together, and the crisp socarrat crust is harder to develop because there is more free starch to scorch. Do not stir it once the stock goes in, and pull it off the heat two minutes earlier than the recipe says, because it goes from done to mushy quickly.
5Japanese Sushi Rice or Calrose
Taste and texture differ
Use the same amount rice, reduce liquid to about 1 ¾ to 2 cups per cup of rice
Short-grain Japonica rice, widely available and cheap, with a high starch content and a naturally soft, sticky cooked texture.
What changes
Best for
paella as a last resort, arroz con pollo, baked rice dishes
It will cook and it will taste fine, but the grains clump together into a soft mass rather than staying loose and distinct, which is most of what makes paella paella. Rinse this one before cooking, unlike the Spanish rices, to shed excess surface starch, and it improves noticeably. A socarrat still forms, and quite readily.
6Long-Grain Rice (Basmati or Jasmine)
Taste and texture differ
Use the same amount rice, reduce liquid to about 1 ¾ cups per cup of rice
Standard long-grain rice, included here because it is what most people have and because it is worth being clear about what happens if you use it.
What changes
Best for
a rice dish with paella flavours, when nothing else is in the cupboard
Honestly, this is not paella rice and the result is not paella. Long-grain rice absorbs far less liquid and has almost no surface starch, so the grains stay separate and fluffy but the sofrito and saffron flavours sit around the rice rather than being drawn into it, and you will not get a socarrat. Rinse it, cut the liquid hard, and call the dish arroz rather than paella. It is a perfectly nice dinner and a poor imitation.

What is Calasparra Rice?

Calasparra Rice is Calasparra is a protected-origin short-grain rice grown in cold mountain water in Murcia, Spain, and it is prized for paella because it drinks up a great deal of stock slowly while its grains stay separate rather than collapsing into creaminess.

Cooking tips

Measure the stock against the rice you actually have, not the rice the recipe assumed. Calasparra wants about 2 1/2 cups of liquid per cup of rice, bomba about 3, Carnaroli about 2 1/4, Arborio about 2 and long-grain about 1 3/4. Getting this one number right matters more than anything else in the substitution.
Do not rinse Calasparra, bomba or Spanish round rice for paella. The light dusting of surface starch helps the grains sit tight against the pan and is part of how a socarrat forms. The exception is Japanese sushi rice, which is starchy enough that a quick rinse genuinely improves it.
Never stir after the rice goes in. Stirring is a risotto technique that deliberately releases starch; in a paella it makes the rice gluey and destroys the separate-grain texture that Calasparra was chosen for. Spread the rice evenly once and then leave it alone.
Use a wide, shallow pan so the rice sits in a layer about half an inch deep. Calasparra absorbs from below and evaporates from above, and in a deep pot it steams and cooks unevenly no matter how carefully you measured the stock.
Rest the finished pan off the heat for five minutes covered with a clean towel, not a lid. The towel absorbs steam instead of dripping it back onto the rice, and the grains finish evening out their moisture.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between Calasparra rice and bomba rice?

They overlap. Calasparra is a place and a protected designation in Murcia, and the rice grown there includes both the bomba variety and the more common Balilla x Sollana variety. In practice a bag labelled Calasparra is usually Balilla-Sollana, which absorbs about two and a half times its volume in liquid, while a bag labelled bomba absorbs closer to three times. That is the substitution: use the same amount of rice and add about half a cup more stock per cup if you switch to bomba, or half a cup less if you switch from bomba to Calasparra. Bomba is also slightly more forgiving about timing, which is why restaurants like it.

Can I use regular rice for paella?

You can cook a rice dish with it, but it will not be paella. Regular long-grain rice absorbs far less liquid and holds very little surface starch, so the grains stay dry and fluffy, they do not draw the sofrito and saffron flavours into themselves, and you will struggle to get a socarrat, the toasted crust on the bottom that is the best part of the dish. If long-grain is all you have, cut the liquid to about 1 3/4 cups per cup of rice, rinse it, and manage your expectations. Arborio, sold in almost every supermarket, is a much better fallback.

How much liquid does Calasparra rice need?

About 2 1/2 cups of stock per cup of rice for a standard paella, though the exact figure depends on how wide your pan is and how hard the heat is, since a wide pan evaporates more. Start with 2 1/2, keep a little extra warm stock on the side, and add a splash only if the rice is still chalky and the pan has gone dry. Adding stock late is fine; adding it early and ending up with soup is not fixable.

Do I need to rinse Calasparra rice?

No, and you should not. Rinsing washes away the surface starch that helps the grains hold together against the pan and contributes to forming the socarrat. This is the opposite of the advice for basmati or for Japanese rice, which is why the question comes up. If you are substituting sushi rice or Calrose for Calasparra, then a quick rinse does help, because those are stickier than you want.

Can I just leave the special rice out and use something else entirely?

The rice is not a seasoning you can skip; it is the body of the dish and its job is to absorb stock while staying in separate grains. If you have no short-grain rice at all, you have three honest options: cook the sofrito, seafood or chicken and stock as a stew and serve it over whatever rice you have, cooked separately; make the dish with Arborio and accept a creamier result; or use orzo, which is a genuinely good pan-toasted alternative and gives you a dish closer to a Spanish fideua. All three are better than pretending long-grain rice behaves like Calasparra.

Related substitutes

More grains & starches substitutes

Calasparra Rice substitute

Other calasparra rice substitutes

2Spanish Arroz Redondo or Balilla-Sollana

3Carnaroli Rice

4Arborio Rice

5Japanese Sushi Rice or Calrose

6Long-Grain Rice (Basmati or Jasmine)