Carnaroli Rice substitute

Best substitute

Arborio rice

Use the same amount as the carnaroli rice you are replacing

Best for risotto of any kind

Different texture

The everyday risotto rice, with a bigger, chalkier grain than carnaroli. It gives up starch quickly, so the risotto turns creamy sooner but also turns to porridge sooner, and the grains can go soft on the outside before the centre is done. The finished dish is a touch stickier and less distinct grain by grain.

Other carnaroli rice substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Vialone nano
Close match
Use the same amount
Veneto's preferred risotto rice, and an excellent swap.
What changes
Smaller and rounder than carnaroli, it cooks a few minutes faster, around 15 minutes, and gives a looser, wavier risotto, the all'onda texture Venetian cooks aim for. The bite is a little more delicate and less resilient than carnaroli.
Best for
seafood risotto, risi e bisi and other loose risottos, risotto for people who like it soupy
Because it cooks faster, hold back some broth rather than committing it all. If you want a stiffer risotto, use slightly less liquid than the recipe says.
3Bomba or Calasparra rice
Different texture
Use the same amount but expect to use more liquid
Spanish paella rice.
What changes
It absorbs a great deal of liquid, up to about three times its volume, while releasing much less starch, so the result is drier with separate, distinct grains rather than a creamy mass. It makes a good rice dish and a mediocre risotto.
Best for
paella, baked rice dishes, risotto in an emergency
If you must make risotto with it, stir more vigorously to knock starch off the grains and be generous with the butter and cheese at the end. Add roughly a quarter more broth than the recipe calls for.
4Sushi rice or other short-grain white rice
Different texture
Use the same amount
A genuine emergency swap that works better than most people expect, because short-grain rice is starchy.
What changes
Do not rinse it, which is the opposite of how you would normally treat it. The result is sticky rather than creamy, and the grains lose their individual definition and turn slightly gluey rather than staying separate in a silky sauce.
Best for
last-minute risotto, rice pudding, when the shop has no Italian rice
Rinsing washes away the exact starch you need, so skip it. Reduce the total liquid by about a fifth and check for doneness from 13 minutes, since it cooks faster than carnaroli.
5Pearl barley or farro
Taste and texture differ
Use the same amount by volume, plus about half again as much broth
Not a rice at all, but northern Italy makes orzotto with barley and farrotto with farro, and both are genuinely good.
What changes
Nutty and pleasantly chewy, they never reach the same silky creaminess and the grains stay firmly separate. Cook time roughly doubles, to 35 to 45 minutes for barley.
Best for
hearty winter risotto-style dishes, mushroom and sausage dishes, when you want more fibre and chew
Toast the grain in fat first exactly as you would rice, then add hot broth in the same way. Barley and farro will not thicken the dish much on their own, so finish with a generous knob of butter and grated cheese.
6Long-grain rice such as basmati or jasmine
Taste and texture differ
Use the same amount
This is the honest failure case.
What changes
Long-grain rice is high in amylose and sheds almost no surface starch, so no amount of stirring will produce a creamy sauce; you will get seasoned, separate grains in a broth. It is not risotto and there is no way to make it into risotto.
Best for
a pilaf-style rice dish instead, when there is genuinely nothing else in the house
If you go this route, stop pretending and change the dish: cook the rice pilaf-style in the same flavourings, then stir in a tablespoon of mascarpone, cream or butter and plenty of grated cheese at the end to fake some richness. It will taste good and it will not look or feel like risotto.

What is Carnaroli Rice?

Carnaroli Rice is Carnaroli is a short-grain Italian risotto rice from the Po Valley whose grains shed a lot of surface starch while keeping a firm core, which is why Italian cooks and chefs usually specify it over arborio.

Cooking tips

Never rinse risotto rice. The dusty starch clinging to the outside of the grain is the entire mechanism that thickens the dish, and washing it off guarantees a thin, watery risotto no matter what you do afterwards.
Toast the dry rice in the fat for a minute or two until the edges look translucent and the centre is still white. This step, tostatura, firms the outside of the grain so it can be stirred for 18 minutes without disintegrating, and it is the difference between risotto and rice soup.
Carnaroli is the forgiving one, which is why it is the right rice for a nervous cook. It holds a good al dente bite for roughly 16 to 20 minutes, so a two-minute distraction does not ruin dinner. Arborio gives you a much narrower window.
Keep the broth at a simmer in a separate pan. Adding cold liquid drops the pan temperature, stops the starch releasing, and stretches the cooking time so the outside of the grains overcooks before the middle is done.
Constant stirring matters less than people say; adding hot liquid in small doses and keeping the rice moving every 30 seconds or so is enough. What actually makes it creamy is beating in cold butter and grated cheese off the heat at the end, the mantecatura.
Count on 60 to 80 g of rice per person for a main course. Carnaroli roughly triples in volume, and a risotto that looked right in the pan will keep absorbing liquid on the plate, so serve it slightly looser than you think it should be.

Frequently asked questions

Is carnaroli really better than arborio?

It is more forgiving, which is a real advantage rather than snobbery. Carnaroli grains hold their firm centre for several minutes longer, so the window in which the risotto is perfect is wider and the grains stay distinct in the sauce. Arborio, cooked attentively and pulled off the heat a little early, makes an excellent risotto too. If a recipe specifies carnaroli and you have arborio, cook it and taste earlier.

Can I use regular white rice for risotto?

Short-grain white rice, including sushi rice, works in a pinch if you do not rinse it. Long-grain rice such as basmati or jasmine does not, because it barely releases any starch, so you will end up with separate grains sitting in broth rather than a creamy dish. If long-grain is all you have, make a pilaf instead and enrich it with butter and cheese.

Can I leave the risotto rice out or swap it for pasta?

The rice is the dish, so it cannot be left out, but you can change the dish honestly. Small pasta cooked risotto-style, sometimes called pastarisotto or a pasta risottata, works well: cook ditalini or broken spaghetti in small additions of hot broth and finish with butter and cheese. Barley and farro also work, as orzotto and farrotto.

How much liquid does carnaroli need?

Plan on about three to four parts hot broth to one part rice by volume, added a ladle at a time, and treat the number as a guide rather than a rule. How much a batch of rice drinks varies with the age of the rice, the width of your pan and how fast it is simmering, so keep extra hot broth on hand and go by texture.

Is carnaroli the same as risotto rice?

Risotto rice is a category, not a variety. Carnaroli, arborio, vialone nano, baldo and maratelli are all sold as risotto rice, and a bag simply labelled risotto rice is most often arborio. Carnaroli is the specific variety many Italian cooks and restaurant kitchens prefer, sometimes marketed as the king of risotto rice.

Related substitutes

More grains & starches substitutes

Carnaroli Rice substitute

Other carnaroli rice substitutes

2Vialone nano

3Bomba or Calasparra rice

4Sushi rice or other short-grain white rice

5Pearl barley or farro

6Long-grain rice such as basmati or jasmine