Long-grain white rice substitutes

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.

Best for

pilaf, rice to serve under curry or stew, rice salads, fried rice, biryani

Rinse until the water runs clear and use a little less water than for plain long-grain, since basmati absorbs less. If you soak it for twenty minutes first, cut the water to about one and a quarter cups per cup and the cook time to twelve minutes.

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. 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.

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. 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.

The same grain shape with its bran still on. 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.

A shorter, plumper grain with more sticky starch. 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.

Not rice, but the most common gluten-free and higher-protein stand-in, and it does the practical job of a neutral absorbent base. 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.

The fastest emergency substitute in the list, ready in five minutes with nothing more than boiling stock and a lid. 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.