This post may contain affiliate links. Read my full disclosure policy.
Learn how to cook jasmine rice perfectly every time—an essential skill for making delicious Thai, Vietnamese, and Southeast Asian food at home.
Named after the fragrant jasmine flower, jasmine rice is a long-grain rice native to Thailand, known for its delicate floral aroma and buttery taste. This jasmine rice recipe is a simple stovetop method that produces tender grains with a little natural stickiness—just right for scooping up with chopsticks or serving alongside your favorite curry.
What You’ll Need To Make Jasmine Rice
Tips For Perfect Jasmine Rice
- Use the right amount of water. I use 2¾ cups water for 1½ cups rice, which is a little more than many packages recommend. I find that the extra water makes the rice more tender, just the way I like it. Keep in mind that the exact amount of water needed can vary depending on your rice, saucepan, and how tightly the lid fits.
- Skip rinsing the rice. I know many rice recipes tell you to rinse the grains first, but I don’t find it necessary here. Rinsing removes some of the surface starch, but jasmine rice naturally has a slightly clingy texture. Just be sure to use unrinsed rice for this recipe, since that’s what the water measurement is based on.
How To Make Jasmine Rice
Bring the water to a boil in a medium saucepan, then stir in the rice and salt. Cover the pan, turn the heat down to low, and let the rice simmer for 15 minutes, or until all the water has been absorbed. Give it a taste to make sure it’s tender. If it’s still a little firm, don’t worry! Just add a few tablespoons of water, cover the pan again, and let it steam off the heat for a few more minutes. That’s all there is to it!
Storage, Freezing & reheating Instructions
Cool leftover rice quickly and refrigerate in an airtight container within 2 hours of cooking. It will keep for up to 3 days in the refrigerator or 3 months in the freezer. To reheat, sprinkle with a little water, cover, and microwave until steaming hot throughout. There’s no need to thaw frozen rice first. Leftover jasmine rice is also great for making fried rice!
Perfect Jasmine Rice
Ingredients
- 2¾ cups water, plus more if necessary
- 1½ cups jasmine rice
- ¾ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Bring the water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Stir in the rice and salt; cover the pan and reduce the heat to low. Simmer for 15 minutes, until all of the water is absorbed.
- Taste the rice to test for doneness; it should be perfectly cooked, but if it is still too firm, add a few more tablespoons of water, cover the pan, and let the rice absorb the water off of the heat for a few more minutes.
Nutrition Information
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Gluten-Free Adaptable Note
To the best of my knowledge, all of the ingredients used in this recipe are gluten-free or widely available in gluten-free versions. There is hidden gluten in many foods; if you’re following a gluten-free diet or cooking for someone with gluten allergies, always read the labels of your ingredients to verify that they are gluten-free.
You May Also Like
Add a Comment
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
This jasmine rice recipe really is “Perfect”. I had always struggled making rice before on the stovetop & this recipe is my new go to – works every time. I used it with Beef & Broccoli & Curry chicken dish from this site. Easy & exactly as you’ve written it out – thanks Jenn!!!
This recipe works every time. Jasmine rice has such a lovely flavor. It even smells great raw.
So looking forward to the cookbook. Every recipe I have ever tried from this website has been five stars, every single one!!
I’m rice challenged and can’t ever get a good batch of rice. This recipe worked perfectly & I finally have delicious moist rice!
In your recipe for jasmine rice, you say if the rice is still firm, add a few tablespoons of water and let it cook/absorb off the heat. do you mean it should not be simmering still but rather off the burner but keeping rice covered, allowing heat to absorb this extra water?
Hi Lilly, The rice can be over a low heat if you need to add the water and cook it for a few extra minutes. Hope that helps!
Perfect perfect. This recipe made a perfect jasmine rice and I added a touch more water because I wanted softer rice.
Hi there! I thought this would be a great side for our second round of Thai chicken grilled skewers (such a winner with the fam!!) – I had heard from a friend of mine that she cooks her jasmine rice with coconut milk and chicken broth. Do you have any suggestions for doing so? Will it be too sweet?
Thanks again for the wonderful recipes!
Hi Steph, I think that sounds delicious but I would go easy on any added sugar (which most recipes call for). Definitely cut the coconut milk with broth or water or the cooking liquid will be too heavy.
Thank you for the instructions I opted for the soft and fluffy and added a little more water and it came out divine! I also added my own twist and instead of salt added chicken knorr powder! thanks again! So fast and easy. It was my third time making any type of rice!
Can you use the same measurements for brown rice?
You can use the same amount of rice, but check the rice package to see how much water you need to cook it in.
I don’t understand what happened, but I followed the directions and it came out bad. Was not fully cooked after bringing the water to a boil first, then adding in the rice and reducing the heat to low for 15 min. After the 15 min the rice was still too crunchy, so I added 3 tbs of water and left it to soak up but no luck. The bottom layer of rice was soggy and mushy and the top was still undercooked. Very disappointed.
If I want to 3X this recipe — would the water/rice ratio stay the same?
Hi Libby, I always find I need to adjust it a bit when making more. I would start with the same ratio — if the rice is still tough at the end of the cooking time, I would add more water little by little and continue cooking until done.
Can I make this in my rice cooker? I don’t have much success cooking rice on the cooktop.
Hi Patsy, Sure but you may need to change the water to rice ratio.
Do you know what that ratio might be?
Hi Patsy, Here’s a link with a good how-to: http://www.splendidtable.org/story/steamed-jasmine-rice-khao-suay