Perfect Jasmine Rice
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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. The secret to cooking it perfectly lies in getting the right water-to-rice ratio. The package usually recommends 1½ cups of water for every 1 cup of rice, which works if you like your rice “al dente,” but I prefer mine a bit more tender, so I use a little more water. Some recipes suggest rinsing the rice first, but I find it’s not necessary—jasmine rice has a natural stickiness that helps the grains cling together, even after rinsing, which makes it easier to scoop or eat with chopsticks.
Rice may seem simple, but it can be tricky to get just right. The key is adjusting the ratio of water to rice or the cooking time. I usually start with less water than I think I need, then taste it after steaming. If it’s too firm, I’ll add a few tablespoons more water and let it steam a bit longer. Jasmine rice is ideal for making fried rice. For more foolproof rice and grain cooking methods, see my basmati rice and couscous recipes.
What You’ll Need To Make Jasmine Rice
Step-by-Step Instructions
Bring the water to a boil in a medium saucepan and stir in the rice and salt.
Cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 15 minutes until all of the water is absorbed.
Taste the rice to check for doneness. It should be perfectly cooked, but if it’s still too firm, just add a few tablespoons more water. Cover the pan again and let it steam off the heat for a few more minutes until it’s tender.
You can cook jasmine rice ahead of time and freeze it for later. Just store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 months. For easy storage, flatten the rice in sealable plastic bags so it takes up less space in the freezer. There’s no need to thaw it before reheating—just pop it in the microwave with 1 to 2 tablespoons of water, and it’ll be good to go!
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Perfect Jasmine Rice
Jasmine rice is the perfect side for your favorite Southeast Asian dishes. With the right water-to-rice ratio, you’ll have tender, perfectly-cooked rice every time!
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.
- Freezer-Friendly Instructions: Cooked jasmine rice can be frozen in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Putting it in a flat layer in sealable plastic bags works well, as the rice will take up less space in the freezer. There is no need to thaw the rice before reheating; simply remove it from the freezer and reheat in the microwave with 1 to 2 tablespoons of water.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (6 servings)
- Calories: 169
- Fat: 0 g
- Saturated fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 37 g
- Sugar: 0 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 3 g
- Sodium: 108 mg
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
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.
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Worked like a charm! Thank you!
I want to make rice for over 25 people. Should I just scale up this recipe or are there others changes I should make?
Btw- I will be feeding a big crowd near 4th of July in an Airbnb as we also celebrate my dads 89th birthday. Do you have some recipes you’d recommend for a large crowd? Must be kid friendly to the <5 age group as well. Thank you!
Hi Robin, I think you can scale the recipe up for 25 servings. And regarding ideas for the 4th, a few recipes that come to mind and are relatively easy to scale are these ham and cheese sliders, peel and eat shrimp, chicken salad, and grilled chicken wings. And here’s a post with a lot of dessert ideas. Keep in mind that you may have to scale these recipes up as well. Hope it’s a great celebration!
Followed recipe exactly. Turned out fabulous. This recipe forever from now on. Thanks, Jen.
As always you get me out of trouble. I put my jasmine rice in freezer for storage but neglected to put amounts and time on storage container. Quickly go to my favorite chef, and there was the info I needed. Thank you.
💗
Is it necessary to rinse rice well to take off the starch which causes it to be clumpy?
Hi Carol, Many recipes call for rinsing the grains before cooking but I think it’s an unnecessary extra step here; even when you rinse jasmine rice, the grains have a slightly sticky texture and cling together.
Please rinse your rice before cooking. Rinse it at least 3 times or until the water runs significantly clearer. To have super soft and fluffy rice, let the rice soak in water for 20 mins first. Add a pinch of salt to the water. If you use table salt intend of kosher salt, use even less.
I always keep jasmine rice for an occasional option from basmati rice. It pairs wonderfully with any sort of curry. I never rinse jasmine rice, thus it retains a little sticky quality.
thanks! we love jasmine rice, and we don’t usually add the salt, but we do add about a tbsp of olive oil when we cook it in the saucepan like this recipe; in the rice cooker, the rice comes out a bit more dry , [no oil used] but is great for eating with chopsticks!
also, this recipe works great for basmati rice!
First time I have ever made rice successfully. I followed the directions precisely and in 15 minutes I had perfect Jasmine rice. Thank you I have a love/hate affair with rice. It’s always either gummy or still hard. This was perfect. It’s my go to forever now.
Not sure what happened but this rice was so gummy. I followed the instructions exactly and it looked like I made porridge.
Next time try rinsing it in several changes of water (until the water runs clear); put it into a pot with filtered water and a pinch of kosher salt and bring it to a boil. Reduce to the lowest heat and cook for 12 minutes. You should have perfect rice using this method.