Long-Grain White Rice substitute

Best substitute

Basmati Rice

Use the same amount using about 1 ½ cups water per cup of rice instead of 1 ¾ as the long-grain white rice you are replacing

Best for pilaf

Different taste

The best swap available, and arguably an upgrade. Basmati is an extra-long grain that elongates rather than plumping as it cooks, so it finishes even drier and more separate than standard long-grain white rice. It cooks faster, around fifteen minutes, and carries a distinct nutty, faintly floral aroma. That aroma is lovely under a curry and slightly out of place in, say, a Cajun dish or a mild rice pudding.

Other long-grain white rice substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Jasmine Rice
Taste and texture differ
Use the same amount reducing the water by about 2 tablespoons per cup of rice
Also a long grain, but a softer, moister one with more of the sticky starch, so it cooks tender and slightly clingy with a pronounced perfumed, popcorn-like aroma.
What changes
In a bowl of rice next to a stir-fry that is exactly what you want. In a rice salad or a pilaf where every grain should stand alone, it clumps into soft little clusters and the perfume can fight the seasoning.
Best for
rice under stir-fries and curries, rice bowls, plain steamed rice
Rinse it well, use less water than the packet suggests, and rest it covered off the heat for ten minutes before fluffing. Day-old refrigerated jasmine works far better for fried rice than freshly cooked jasmine, which is too moist and tends to clump in the wok.
3Parboiled or Converted Rice
Close match
Use the same amount using about 2 ¼ cups liquid per cup and 25 minutes
Rice that was steamed inside its husk before milling, which sets the starch so the grains stay firm and separate no matter how much you stir them or how long they sit.
What changes
It is the most reliable option if the dish involves long cooking in a lot of liquid, like jambalaya, or if the rice has to be held warm. The texture is chewier and slightly more resilient than plain long-grain, and the color is faintly more golden.
Best for
jambalaya, casseroles, rice held warm for a crowd, rice salads, jollof rice
It needs noticeably more liquid and about five to ten minutes longer than plain long-grain, so do not just swap it into a recipe's timings unchanged. It is not the same thing as instant rice.
4Long-Grain Brown Rice
Different taste
Use the same amount using about 2 ¼ cups liquid per cup and 40 to 45 minutes
The same grain shape with its bran still on.
What changes
The bran keeps every grain firmly separate, so it delivers the key property of long-grain rice well, but it changes the eating experience substantially: a firm, almost nutty chew, a definite whole-grain flavor, and a darker look on the plate. It also takes roughly two and a half times as long to cook.
Best for
grain bowls, rice salads, meal prep, serving under robustly flavored stews
The long cook time is the real constraint. Do not swap it into a one-pot dish that is finished in twenty minutes; either cook it separately or accept that everything else in the pan will overcook.
5Medium-Grain Rice such as Calrose
Different texture
Use the same amount reducing the water by about ¼ cup per cup of rice
A shorter, plumper grain with more sticky starch.
What changes
It cooks moist and mildly clingy, so grains stick together in tender clumps rather than standing apart. That is genuinely pleasant in a burrito bowl or a bowl of rice you eat with a spoon, and it is the wrong choice for a pilaf, a rice salad or anything where you want a fluffy, individually-grained result.
Best for
rice bowls, burrito bowls, arroz-style dishes, rice you eat with a spoon
Rinse it well to knock back some of the surface starch, and use less water. Do not stir it while it cooks, since agitation is what turns clingy rice into gluey rice.
6Quinoa
Taste and texture differ
Use the same amount using 2 cups liquid per cup and 15 minutes
Not rice, but the most common gluten-free and higher-protein stand-in, and it does the practical job of a neutral absorbent base.
What changes
Expect a much smaller grain, a light popping bite from the germ rather than a fluffy chew, and a distinctly grassy flavor with a slight bitterness unless you rinse it hard. It also does not reheat as pleasantly as rice.
Best for
grain bowls, salads, stuffed vegetables, a quick base under a stew
Rinse thoroughly in a fine mesh sieve to remove the bitter saponin coating, then toast it dry in the pan for two minutes to bring out a nuttier flavor. Rest it covered off the heat for five minutes and fluff with a fork.
7Couscous
Taste and texture differ
Use the same amount by volume, equal boiling liquid, 5 minutes off the heat
The fastest emergency substitute in the list, ready in five minutes with nothing more than boiling stock and a lid.
What changes
It looks vaguely rice-like from a distance and behaves as a mild absorbent base. It is pasta, though, so it tastes faintly of wheat and semolina, and the texture is fine, soft and fluffy rather than made of distinct grains.
Best for
a fast base under a stew or tagine, when you are out of rice entirely
Use plain fine couscous, not pearl or Israeli couscous, which needs simmering for about nine minutes. Fork it through with a little butter or olive oil the moment it has absorbed the liquid, or it sets into a solid block.

What is Long-Grain White Rice?

Long-Grain White Rice is milled rice whose grains run three to four times longer than they are wide and hold little of the sticky starch amylopectin, which is why it cooks up fluffy with the grains staying separate instead of clumping.

Cooking tips

Rinsing is the difference between fluffy and sticky. Put the rice in a bowl, cover with cold water, swirl with your fingers, pour off the cloudy water, and repeat three or four times until it runs nearly clear. You are washing away loose surface starch, which is the glue that makes grains stick to each other. This single step improves any long-grain rice more than a change of brand will.
The ratio most packets give is too generous. For plain long-grain white rice, one and three quarter cups of water per cup of rice is reliable, and if you have rinsed it you can go down to one and a half. Bring it to a boil, cover, drop to the lowest heat, and cook for eighteen minutes without lifting the lid.
Rest before you fluff. Take the pan off the heat with the lid on and leave it for ten minutes. The grains finish steaming and firm up, and the ones at the bottom stop being wetter than the ones at the top. Then fluff with a fork, never a spoon, which crushes grains and releases starch.
Salt the cooking water, not the finished rice. A grain of rice cannot absorb salt sprinkled on it after cooking, so seasoning at the end just leaves salt on the outside. About half a teaspoon per cup of dry rice makes the difference between rice that tastes of something and rice that tastes of nothing.
Match the grain to the job. Long-grain rice exists to stay separate, so if a recipe specifies it, the reason is almost always that the grains must not clump: pilaf, fried rice, rice salad, rice under a saucy stew. That is why arborio, carnaroli, bomba, sushi rice and glutinous rice are the wrong substitutes here. They are bred to shed starch and go creamy, which is a virtue in risotto and a problem in a pilaf.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use jasmine rice instead of long-grain rice?

Yes, in most everyday situations, with a small adjustment. Jasmine is technically a long-grain rice but a softer and stickier one, so use about two tablespoons less water per cup and rinse it well. Expect a moister result with grains that cling together in soft clusters, plus a noticeable floral, popcorn-like aroma. It is excellent as plain rice under a stir-fry or curry, and it is the weaker choice for a pilaf or a cold rice salad, where you want each grain distinctly separate.

What is the difference between long-grain and short-grain rice?

Grain shape and starch chemistry, which together determine whether the finished rice is fluffy or sticky. Long-grain rice is slim and three to four times longer than wide, low in amylopectin, so it cooks dry and separate. Short-grain rice is plump and almost round, high in amylopectin, so it cooks moist and cohesive and clings together enough to be picked up with chopsticks or shaped into onigiri. Medium-grain rice sits in between. This is why they are not interchangeable: a pilaf made with short-grain rice comes out gluey, and sushi made with long-grain rice will not hold together.

Can I substitute basmati for long-grain rice one for one?

Yes, and the swap is straightforward. Use the same volume of basmati but reduce the water to about one and a half cups per cup of rice, since basmati absorbs less, and check it at fifteen minutes rather than eighteen. The result is even fluffier and more separate than ordinary long-grain white rice, with an added nutty and slightly floral aroma. The only situations where that aroma is unwelcome are dishes with delicate flavors or sweet rice puddings, where it can taste out of place.

Can I use arborio or sushi rice instead of long-grain rice?

For most recipes, no, and it is worth understanding why rather than just trying it. Arborio and sushi rice are short and medium grains selected for a high proportion of the starch that dissolves during cooking, which is what makes risotto creamy and sushi rice hold together. Put them in a pilaf, a fried rice or a rice salad and you get a soft, sticky, clumped result. If they are genuinely all you have, rinse them far more than usual, use less water, and accept a moist clingy bowl of rice rather than a fluffy one.

How much cooked rice does a cup of dry long-grain rice make?

About three cups, which is roughly four modest side-dish servings or three generous ones. That threefold expansion is worth remembering when you are converting recipes, since a recipe that lists cooked rice by the cup needs only a third as much dry rice. It also matters when choosing a pot: rice needs headroom to expand and steam, so use a pan where the dry rice sits no more than an inch deep.

Related substitutes

More grains & starches substitutes

Long-Grain White Rice substitute

Other long-grain white rice substitutes

2Jasmine Rice

3Parboiled or Converted Rice

4Long-Grain Brown Rice

5Medium-Grain Rice such as Calrose

6Quinoa

7Couscous