Medium-Grain Rice substitute

Best substitute

Arborio rice

Use the same amount as the medium-grain rice you are replacing

Best for rice pudding

Close match

Italian medium-grain rice with a chalky core, sold everywhere as risotto rice.

Other medium-grain rice substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Calrose or any bag labeled medium grain
Close match
Use the same amount
California-grown medium-grain rice, sold under names like Calrose, Botan, Nishiki or simply medium grain rice.
What changes
Best for
any recipe calling for medium-grain rice, rice bowls, arroz con pollo, rice pudding
Not really a substitute, just the same product you were looking for. If a recipe specifies medium-grain rice and the store only stocks sushi rice or Calrose, buy it, because it is almost always the identical grain class. Cook 1 cup rinsed rice to about 1 1/2 cups water.
3Short-grain white rice or sushi rice
Different texture
Use the same amount with about 2 tablespoons less water per cup
Round, plump rice one step stickier than medium grain.
What changes
Best for
rice pudding, stuffed vegetables, rice bowls, croquettes and arancini
Only one small step away, and the direction of the change is more cling, not less. Rice pudding and stuffed cabbage will be excellent. In a jambalaya or arroz con pollo the grains will mass together a little more than they should, so the dish looks less like distinct rice and more like a soft pilaf. Reduce the liquid slightly, since short grain absorbs less.
4Long-grain white rice
Different texture
Use the same amount with about ¼ cup more water per cup of rice
Standard slender white rice that cooks up dry and separate.
What changes
Best for
jambalaya, arroz con pollo, pilafs, everyday side dishes
The swap most people actually make, and it is fine in savory rice dishes where separate grains are welcome, though the result is drier and the sauce sits around the rice rather than clinging to it. Where it genuinely fails is rice pudding and risotto-adjacent dishes, because long-grain rice releases very little starch, so the pudding stays thin and watery no matter how long you simmer it. Long grain also wants more liquid: about 1 3/4 cups water per cup against 1 1/2 for medium.
5Bomba or Calasparra rice
Different texture
Use the same amount with about ½ cup more liquid per cup of rice
Spanish paella rices bred to soak up a great deal of broth while keeping their grains separate.
What changes
Best for
paella, arroz dishes, brothy rice, soups
For a paella or any rice cooked in flavored broth these are better than plain medium-grain rice, because they absorb roughly a third more liquid without going soft or gluey, which means more flavor in the grain. That thirst is also the catch: use the original liquid quantity and the pot will come out dry and undercooked. Not a good choice for rice pudding, since they deliberately hold their starch in.
6Basmati or jasmine rice
Taste and texture differ
Use the same amount
Aromatic long-grain rices, one nutty and dry, the other floral and soft.
What changes
Best for
plain side dishes, serving alongside stews and curries
The weakest option here and worth naming honestly. Both are strongly perfumed, which will read as out of place in a Creole jambalaya or a Spanish arroz, and both cook up so separate that they cannot deliver the moist, faintly creamy quality medium grain is chosen for. Use them if they are all you have, but season more assertively and abandon any dish where the rice is supposed to thicken the liquid.

What is Medium-Grain Rice?

Medium-Grain Rice is Medium-grain rice is any white rice whose grains are about twice as long as they are wide, sitting between fluffy long-grain and sticky short-grain, and cooking up moist and tender with just enough cling to hold a sauce.

Cooking tips

The liquid ratio changes with grain length and this is the adjustment people forget. Roughly: short grain 1 cup rice to 1 1/4 cups water, medium grain to 1 1/2 cups, long grain to 1 3/4 cups. Swap the rice without swapping the water and you get either a scorched dry pot or a soupy one.
Rinsing is a dial, not a rule. Rinse a medium-grain rice or arborio well when you want separate grains, as in arroz con pollo, and skip the rinse when you want the starch to thicken things, as in rice pudding or a creamy baked rice. This single choice does more to the final texture than which brand you buy.
Medium-grain rice is what rice pudding recipes are written for because its released starch is what makes the pudding creamy. If you only have long-grain rice, a pudding will stay thin. Either use arborio, or accept it and thicken with an extra egg yolk or a tablespoon of cornstarch slurried into the milk.
In jambalaya and arroz con pollo the rice absorbs flavored broth rather than water, so the grain's thirst directly controls how seasoned the dish tastes. Substituting a thirstier rice like bomba means more flavor absorbed but also more liquid needed, so increase the broth rather than diluting it with water.
Let any rice dish rest covered off the heat for 10 minutes before fluffing. Medium-grain rice in particular is still redistributing moisture at the end of cooking, and stirring it too soon smears the surface starch and makes the whole pot tacky.

Frequently asked questions

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

In most savory dishes yes, with about 1/4 cup more water per cup of rice, though the result will be drier and the grains more separate. In rice pudding, risotto-style dishes or anything where the rice is meant to thicken the liquid, no, because long-grain rice releases very little starch and the dish will stay thin. Use arborio for those.

Is Calrose or sushi rice a medium-grain rice?

Calrose is, yes; it is the standard American medium-grain variety. Bagged sushi rice in North America is very often Calrose too, though some brands are true short grain, which is a shade stickier. Either will work when a recipe asks for medium grain, with a small reduction in water if the bag says short grain.

Can I just use whatever rice I have?

Usually the dish will still be good, so the answer is often yes. But adjust the water to the grain length, and be aware of the one case where it really matters: any recipe that relies on the rice thickening its own liquid, such as rice pudding, arroz caldoso or a creamy baked rice. There, grain type is the recipe, not a detail.

Can I leave the rice out or use a different grain?

Rice is nearly always the base of these dishes rather than a seasoning, so it cannot simply be omitted. Other grains will make a meal but a different one: orzo or pearl couscous will work in a pilaf-style dish and even give some starchy body, while quinoa and bulgur cook far too fast to sit in a long-simmered jambalaya without disintegrating.

What job is medium-grain rice doing in a recipe?

It occupies a texture midpoint on purpose. It has enough surface starch to come out moist, faintly creamy and just clingy enough to hold sauce and stay on a fork, but not so much that the grains fuse. In rice pudding that released starch is the thickener. In arroz con pollo or jambalaya it is what makes the broth coat the rice instead of pooling at the bottom. Judge a substitute on how much starch it sheds, not on flavor.

Related substitutes

More grains & starches substitutes

Medium-Grain Rice substitute

Other medium-grain rice substitutes

2Calrose or any bag labeled medium grain

3Short-grain white rice or sushi rice

4Long-grain white rice

5Bomba or Calasparra rice

6Basmati or jasmine rice