Quick answer: White rice has a glycemic index of about 73 (high). Its glycemic load is about 16 for a ½-cup cooked serving (medium) and about 49 for a 1½-cup restaurant portion (high).
Compare 15 everyday foods in our GI vs. GL chart
Yes, you can eat white rice with diabetes or prediabetes, and the portion matters most. Its GI of about 73 is high, and the number shifts by variety: basmati usually tests in the medium band, while jasmine and short-grain rice can run past 90. How much lands on your plate changes the real-world impact as much as the GI does, and swaps like farro, pearl barley and quinoa offer a steadier option with a similar texture.
The numbers
Long-grain white rice
The international GI tables average boiled white rice at 73 (73 ± 4 in the 2008 tables), well into the high range (70 or above). That is the regular long-grain rice most people picture. But "white rice" covers a wide range of products, and variety changes the number more than most people expect:
| Rice type | Typical GI | Why it lands there |
|---|---|---|
| Jasmine or short-grain white rice | High (up to 90+, some tests above 100) | Low-amylose, soft starch that digests fast |
| Regular long-grain white rice | High (about 73) | The average in the international GI tables |
| Basmati rice | Medium (about 50 to 69, most tests in the high 50s to mid 60s) | Higher amylose content slows digestion |
| Parboiled or converted rice | Medium, lower than the same rice cooked plain | Steaming before milling changes the starch structure |
| Brown rice (for comparison) | Medium (about 66 to 68) | The bran layer adds fiber, but the starch inside is similar |
Sources: white rice (73 ± 4) and brown rice (68 ± 4) from Atkinson, Foster-Powell and Brand-Miller, International tables of glycemic index and glycemic load values: 2008, Diabetes Care; jasmine and basmati ranges from tested entries in the University of Sydney GI database; carbohydrate per serving from USDA FoodData Central. GI bands: low 55 or below, medium 56 to 69, high 70 or above.
Glycemic load of white rice by portion
Glycemic load adds portion size into the picture: GI times grams of available carbohydrate, divided by 100 (our GI vs. GL guide covers the difference in depth). Same rice, same GI; only the serving changes:
| Cooked portion | Available carbs (g) | Glycemic load | GL band |
|---|---|---|---|
| ½ cup | 22 | 16 | Medium |
| 1 cup | 44 | 32 | High |
| 1½ cups (restaurant portion) | 67 | 49 | High |
GL bands per serving: low 10 or under, medium 11 to 19, high 20 or more.
The half cup stays medium; somewhere before a full cup, the load crosses into the high band. To try your own portion, or a different rice, plug the numbers into our glycemic load calculator.
Rice variety and cooking method change the number
Two things move the number for a specific bowl of rice, beyond the type on the package. First, variety: jasmine and short-grain white rice sit at the high end because they're lower in amylose, the slower-digesting type of starch, while basmati and parboiled rice run meaningfully lower because more of that starch survives cooking intact. Second, how you handle it afterward. Chilling cooked rice turns some of its starch into resistant starch, which digests more slowly. The same idea applies to cooked and cooled potatoes, like potato salad. The evidence for this cooling effect is genuinely mixed: one study found that cooling cooked white rice lowered the blood-sugar response (Sonia et al., Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2015), while a more recent, carefully controlled crossover trial found no meaningful change in glycemic index or starch digestibility (Wolever et al., American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2022). Treat it as a low-cost thing to try, not a guaranteed fix.
Farro (GI 63, medium) is a chewy whole grain with more fiber and protein than white rice, and a similar bite. Some secondary sources cite figures as low as 40, though the only lab-measured value in the international GI tables, per the University of Sydney's GI database, is 63. Pearl barley (GI about 28, low) has a very low tested GI for a grain. Quinoa (GI about 53, low) is a complete protein with a texture close enough to rice to use in the same dishes; see our full quinoa breakdown for the direct swap comparison. For bread and pasta swaps too, see the full swap breakdown on our low-GI grocery guide.
If you want another starchy side, sweet corn tests lower than its reputation. And if you're shopping for rice during pregnancy, our gestational diabetes grocery guide covers portions and swaps; follow your care team's plan for your targets.
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These figures are solid averages for "white rice" as a category, but the bag in your pantry is a specific product with a specific label. For the GI and glycemic load of what you're actually eating, rather than a category average, Glycemic Genius reads the nutrition facts panel and returns an AI estimate on the spot. See our comparison of glycemic index apps for how it stacks up against the alternatives.