Instant Rice substitute

Best substitute

Cooked Rice You Already Have

2 cups cooked rice for every 1 cup dry instant rice called for

Best for casseroles

Close match

By far the most reliable option, because it removes the guesswork entirely. A cup of dry instant rice yields about two cups once hydrated, so matching cooked volume to cooked volume means the recipe's liquid does not need to change at all. Flavour and texture are better than instant, with firmer, more distinct grains instead of the slightly soft, hollow bite instant rice has.

Other instant rice substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Raw Long-Grain White Rice
Close match
Use ⅔ cup raw rice for every 1 cup instant, plus about 1 cup extra liquid
The swap most people actually need, and the one that ruins dinners when done 1:1.
What changes
Raw rice has to gelatinise, not just rehydrate, so it needs far more liquid and far more time. Done correctly the result is better than instant: separate, firm, properly rice-tasting grains rather than the slightly cottony texture instant rice gives.
Best for
baked casseroles, stuffed peppers and cabbage rolls, one-pot skillet rice, soups with long simmering
Add it at the beginning, not the end, keep the dish tightly covered so the steam does not escape, and add twenty to twenty-five minutes. In an oven casserole that means covering with foil for the first thirty-five to forty minutes. If the rice is still chalky when the timer goes, add a splash of hot stock and give it ten more minutes covered.
3Parboiled or Converted Rice
Close match
Use ⅔ cup dry for every 1 cup instant, plus about 1 ¼ cups extra liquid
The most forgiving raw rice for casseroles, because it has been steamed in the husk before milling and the grains stay firm and separate even after a long bake in a lot of liquid.
What changes
Where plain long-grain can turn gluey in a canned-soup casserole, converted rice reliably will not. It is slightly chewier and less tender than instant, which most people count as an improvement.
Best for
canned-soup casseroles, chicken and rice bakes, jambalaya-style skillet dishes, anything held warm before serving
It drinks more liquid than ordinary white rice and needs about twenty-five to thirty minutes. Give it a little more stock than you would give plain long-grain, and cover tightly.
4Couscous
Taste and texture differ
Use the same amount by volume
The closest thing to instant rice in behaviour, because plain fine couscous is also pre-cooked and dried and rehydrates in about five minutes.
What changes
It is the only swap that keeps the recipe's timing exactly as written. The honest catch is that couscous is pasta, not rice, so it tastes faintly wheaty and the texture is finer, softer and more granular, closer to a fluffy semolina than to grains of rice.
Best for
quick skillet dinners, stuffed vegetables, soups added off the heat, rice-adjacent side dishes
Use the same liquid the instant rice would have used, off the heat, covered, for five minutes, then fluff with a fork. Do not confuse it with pearl or Israeli couscous, which is much larger and needs simmering for about nine minutes.
5Fine Bulgur
Taste and texture differ
Use the same amount by volume, with equal liquid
Fine or medium bulgur is parboiled cracked wheat, so like instant rice it only needs to soak, usually ten to fifteen minutes in hot liquid.
What changes
It brings a genuinely nutty, wheaty, slightly toasted flavour of its own, which is a plus in a stuffed pepper or a tomato-based skillet dish and a mismatch in a mild cream-of-mushroom casserole.
Best for
stuffed peppers, cabbage rolls, tomato-based skillet dinners, grain salads
Only fine and medium bulgur are this quick. Coarse bulgur, grade 3 or 4, needs simmering for around twelve to fifteen minutes. Bulgur contains gluten, unlike rice.
6Orzo, Pastina or Other Small Pasta
Taste and texture differ
Use ¾ cup dry pasta for every 1 cup instant rice, liquid roughly unchanged
For skillet and soup recipes this is a fast, dependable swap that cooks in about nine minutes, sitting neatly between instant rice's five and raw rice's twenty-five.
What changes
It looks reasonably rice-like in the case of orzo. It does release starch, so a brothy dish will turn cloudier and thicker than the same dish made with rice.
Best for
soups, skillet dinners, cheesy one-pan dishes
Watch it closely: small pasta goes from firm to blown out in about a minute, and unlike rice it will not sit patiently in a warm casserole. Stir in at the end and serve promptly.
7Cauliflower Rice
Taste and texture differ
Equal cooked volume, with the recipe's liquid reduced
Worth including with a clear warning.
What changes
Cauliflower rice absorbs nothing and releases water, which is the exact opposite of what instant rice does in a recipe. A casserole built around instant rice relies on the rice drinking up a specific amount of liquid, so swapping in cauliflower gives you a soupy, watery dish unless you change the liquid.
Best for
low-carb versions of skillet dishes, stuffed peppers where excess liquid can drain away
Cut the recipe's added liquid by at least three quarters, cook the cauliflower rice separately first and squeeze it dry in a towel, then stir it in during the last five minutes. Never add it raw at the start of a casserole.

What is Instant Rice?

Instant Rice is Instant rice, sold as minute rice, quick-cooking rice or boil-in-bag rice, is ordinary rice that has been fully cooked and then dried, so it only needs to rehydrate for about five minutes rather than actually cook.

Cooking tips

Learn the volume conversion once and every boxed recipe becomes easy. One cup of dry instant rice makes about two cups cooked. One cup of dry regular long-grain rice makes about three cups cooked. So a cup of instant is replaced by roughly two thirds of a cup of raw regular rice, or by two cups of already-cooked rice.
Raw rice needs about twice its own volume in liquid on top of whatever the recipe already contains, because instant rice barely takes any. For each cup of instant you are replacing, add about a cup of extra stock, water or milk, and cover the dish tightly so that liquid stays in.
For any casserole built on a can of condensed soup, the least risky path is to cook the rice separately and fold it in. Condensed soup is thick and low in free water, which is precisely the environment where raw rice fails to soften and you end up serving crunchy grains under melted cheese.
If you are converting a recipe with a tight bake time, say a chicken-and-rice bake at thirty minutes, do not use raw brown rice. Brown rice needs forty-five minutes or more even with plenty of liquid, and no amount of extra stock will speed it up. Use raw white rice with extra time, or pre-cooked brown rice added at the end.
Instant rice contributes almost no flavour, so any substitute is also a chance to improve the dish. Cook raw rice in stock rather than water, add a bay leaf or a smashed garlic clove to the pot, and salt the liquid before the rice goes in, since salting afterwards cannot season the inside of a grain.

Frequently asked questions

Can I substitute regular rice for instant rice one for one?

No, and this is the mistake that ruins the dish. Instant rice is already cooked and only rehydrates, so it takes very little liquid and about five minutes. Raw rice needs roughly twice its volume in liquid and twenty minutes or more. Using an equal amount of raw rice with the recipe's liquid gives you crunchy, chalky grains and a dry dish. Use about two thirds as much raw rice, add roughly a cup of extra liquid per cup of instant replaced, and add twenty to twenty-five minutes of covered cooking.

How much cooked rice equals a cup of instant rice?

About two cups. A cup of dry instant rice hydrates to roughly two cups, so if you are working from leftover or frozen cooked rice, measure two cups of it for each cup of instant the recipe lists, and do not add any extra liquid at all. This is the safest conversion in the whole list because it removes the liquid maths completely. Stir the cooked rice in during the last five to ten minutes just to heat it through.

Is minute rice the same as parboiled or converted rice?

No, though the packaging can make them look related and some brands sell both. Parboiled or converted rice is steamed in its husk before milling and then sold raw, so it still needs about twenty-five minutes of cooking. Instant or minute rice has been cooked all the way through and then dehydrated, so it is finished food that just needs hot water. If a recipe says minute rice and you reach for converted rice without adding time and liquid, the rice will be undercooked.

Can I leave the rice out of a casserole entirely?

Only if you also cut the liquid, because in these recipes the rice is a sponge as much as an ingredient. It absorbs the stock, milk or condensed soup and turns a loose mixture into something that holds together on a fork. Take it out and you get a thin, sauce-heavy bake. If you want to skip rice, either reduce the added liquid by about a cup per cup of rice omitted, or replace its absorbing job with something else that drinks liquid, such as small pasta, cubed potato, or bread cubes for a savoury pudding effect.

Does boil-in-bag rice work the same as loose instant rice?

Not quite. Most boil-in-bag rice is parboiled rather than fully pre-cooked, so it takes around ten minutes of active boiling, not five minutes of steeping. It is also awkward to use inside a casserole because it is portioned in a sealed bag. Cut the bag open and treat the contents as parboiled rice, adding liquid and time accordingly, or boil the bag separately and stir the cooked rice into your dish at the end.

Related substitutes

More grains & starches substitutes

Instant Rice substitute

Other instant rice substitutes

2Raw Long-Grain White Rice

3Parboiled or Converted Rice

4Couscous

5Fine Bulgur

6Orzo, Pastina or Other Small Pasta

7Cauliflower Rice