Wild rice - How Many Calories?

Wild rice: dry weight and cooked servings

Wild rice provides 357 calories per 100 g when weighed dry, before cooking. A 50 g dry amount provides 179 calories. Use that uncooked weight in the calculator: entering the weight of a cooked serving would overestimate its nutrients. The reference is USDA's plain raw wild rice record. [1]

How many calories are in a cup of cooked wild rice?

USDA lists cooked wild rice separately at 101 calories per 100 g. Its 164 g cup measure provides about 166 calories; a 150 g serving provides about 152. These figures describe rice cooked without added fat. Water increases the weight during cooking, so calories per 100 g fall even though cooking does not simply remove the energy in the dry grain. Water uptake varies between batches. There is no single dry-to-cooked weight conversion that fits every pot, and oil or butter needs to be counted separately. [1]

Wild rice, black rice or a rice blend?

Wild rice comes from Zizania species. It is not the same food as black rice, brown rice, basmati or white rice. A packet labelled “wild rice blend” may contain other grains, so check the ingredient list and use the blend's own nutrition label.

When comparing wild rice with quinoa or another rice, start with equal weights in the same state: dry with dry, or cooked with cooked. Comparing dry grains with a water-rich cooked serving creates a misleading calorie difference. There is no need to choose one grain as the healthiest for every meal.

Is wild rice a useful choice for weight loss?

It can take the place of another grain in a meal. Try a modest serving with vegetables and a protein food, or use it in a salad. You do not need to stop eating white rice to lose weight; serving size and the way the meal is prepared matter too.

A 50 g dry amount contributes 7.37 g of protein and 3.1 g of fibre. That contribution does not make a side serving equivalent to a portion of beans, eggs or meat. Nor does this nutrient table establish that wild rice treats inflammation or prevents a blood sugar rise. If you have diabetes, include it in your meal's carbohydrate plan. [2]

If fitting grain portions into your meals is difficult, personal weight-loss and maintenance counseling can help you plan around the way you cook and eat.