How to Cook Jasmine Rice

Here’s how to cook jasmine rice that comes out perfectly fluffy! There are a few tricks to cooking this fragrant long grain rice.

Here’s our tried and true method for cooking up a pot of jasmine rice! It’s perfect for serving with Southeast Asian style curries and stir fries. Alex and I are partial to jasmine rice for its mild, buttery flavor and the texture of the grains when cooked. It makes any curry taste like it just came out of a Thai restaurant. Here’s how to cook jasmine rice: a spin on the traditional method that’s faster and more reliable!

How to cook jasmine rice: a tutorial

Here at A Couple Cooks, we like cooking rice using the “Pasta Method”. Using this method, you’ll cook rice like you would cook pasta: dump it into boiling water, instead of simmering it in water. This method avoids soggy or crunchy rice: the jasmine rice comes out light and fluffy every time.

Step 1: Rinse the rice.

Place the rice a strainer and rinse it with cold water. Is rinsing rice really required? Well, yes. (Here’s more about rinsing rice.) Rinsing removes surface starch on the grains, which can cause the rice to clump together or get gummy.

Step 2: Boil water, then add rice and cook 8 minutes.

What’s the rice to water ratio for jasmine rice? For the pasta method, it’s 6 cups water to 1 cup rice. Boil the 6 cups water, then add the jasmine rice and cook until it’s tender. It will take about 8 minutes. Once tender, strain the rice in a strainer and return it to the pan.

Step 3: Cover and steam.

Place the rice back in the pan and then cover it. This steams the rice and makes it even more fluffy. This step is absolutely necessary because it helps the grains to separate from each other (otherwise they come out soggy). Fluffy with a fork and you’re ready to go!

Alternative method: pressure cooker

If you have a pressure cooker, you can use it to cook jasmine rice! Alex and I like using our Instant Pot to cook rice since it’s hands off and frees up another burner on the stovetop. Go to Instant Pot Jasmine Rice.

What’s jasmine rice, anyway?

Jasmine rice is a long-grain variety of rice grown mostly in Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. It’s also known as Thai fragrant rice, and lumped into the category of rice called “aromatic rice”. These are medium to long grain rice varieties (like basmati) that have a nut-like aroma and flavor. You might notice it tastes like popcorn!

Jasmine rice is best paired with Southeast Asian style curries, like our Coconut Shrimp Curry (see below). It’s very similar to basmati rice, but it’s shorter and a little stickier. We save basmati rice for Indian-style curries like vegetable curry and chickpea curry. (See more at Basmati vs Jasmine Rice.)

How much is a serving size of rice?

If you’re planning to serving sizes of rice, here’s a handy cheat sheet:

• What’s the water to rice ratio? Use 6 cups of water for every 1 cup dry rice (for the Pasta Method!).
• How much does 1 cup dry rice make? 1 cup dry rice = about 3 cups cooked
• How much is a serving size of rice? ¾ cup to 1 cup rice per serving.
• How many calories in 1 cup of cooked rice? There about 180 calories in 1 cup cooked jasmine rice.

How to use jasmine rice in recipes

Jasmine rice is one of Alex and my favorite varieties: it reminds us of food we ate while traveling in Cambodia and Laos! Here are some ideas on what to pair with jasmine rice:

• Shrimp Curry This Thai-style shrimp curry it over the top delicious! Featuring silky coconut milk and veggies.
• Quick Coconut Lentil Curry This coconut lentil curry has it all: it’s a fast and easy dinner idea that’s healthy and full of flavor. Perfect for weeknights!
• Easy Stir Fry Vegetables This stir fry vegetables recipe is full of colorful veggies and an easy sauce that makes them taste irresistible!

This jasmine rice recipe is…

Vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, dairy-free, and gluten-free.

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More rice recipes

Here are all our go-to basic rice recipes :

• How to Cook White Rice and How to Cook Brown Rice Our basic recipes using the “pasta method” for cooking rice! It makes brown rice so much faster.
• Instant Pot White Rice and Instant Pot Brown Rice Same methods but in a pressure cooker! It’s nice because it’s hands off and keeps the stovetop free.
• Perfect Wild Rice Wild rice isn’t actually related to standard rice…but it’s treated like rice in recipes! Here’s how to cook it.
• 12 Rice Recipes to Make on Repeat A handful of our favorite ways to use rice in recipes!