White Rice is a starchy staple and a NOVA group 1 food. The headline figures on this page are for cooked White Rice. This matters because pack portions are weighed dry, and pasta and rice roughly triple in weight as they absorb water, so a 75g dry portion becomes about 220g cooked on the plate. The panel below shows both. It is a source of manganese. Work out the numbers for any cooked portion and age, then see the full breakdown.
Long grain, boiled.
Packs weigh white rice dry, but you eat it cooked, and it soaks up water to roughly three times its weight. So the same food looks very different on the two labels. A typical 75g dry pack portion becomes about 220g cooked. The figures elsewhere on this page are for cooked white rice.
The tables below put each macronutrient against age-appropriate guidance, because what matters for a 4 year old is very different from an adult.
A cooked serving (about 180g) contains about 0.2g of sugar, and it is all natural (intrinsic) sugar that comes packaged with fibre and water. It has 0g of added or free sugar, so it does not count toward the daily free sugar limit the NHS sets. The table shows those limits by age; White Rice contributes nothing to them.
White Rice is naturally very low in fat, with about 0.54g per portion and 0g of added fat. Only around 0.18g is saturated, well within the daily maximum for every age group.
Fibre supports healthy digestion, and most people in the UK do not get enough. A portion provides about 0.72g. Because children need less fibre than adults, that same portion covers a bigger share of a younger child's target.
There is about 50.4g of carbohydrate per portion. There is no single daily target, but roughly half of daily energy should come from carbohydrate; the reference values below are based on that.
Starchy foods also add protein to the day, about 4.9g per portion. Wholegrain versions and wheat pasta give a little more than white rice. The table shows how that compares with the daily amount by age.
Percentages are share of the daily Nutrient Reference Value (NRV). Under UK and EU rules a food is a source of a nutrient at 15% NRV per 100g and high in it at 30%.
These tables show how the nutrients compare to daily needs across different ages, using UK Reference Nutrient Intakes (RNIs). This differs from the source of and high in labels above, which use the single adult figure (NRV) set for food packaging. Children's needs are lower, so a portion goes further.
Manganese contributes to normal bone formation and helps protect cells from oxidative stress. A cooked serving (about 180g) contains 0.9mg. Because children need less than adults, that same portion covers a bigger share of a younger child's daily target. These figures use safe intake levels, as no formal UK RNI is set.
Selenium helps protect cells from damage and supports the immune system. A cooked serving (about 180g) contains 14ug. Because children need less than adults, that same portion covers a bigger share of a younger child's daily target.
Folate is needed to make healthy red blood cells and is especially important before and during pregnancy. A cooked serving (about 180g) contains 5ug. Because children need less than adults, that same portion covers a bigger share of a younger child's daily target.
No. Plain white rice is a NOVA group 1 staple, just the dried grain or wheat with nothing added. What you cook and serve it with makes the bigger difference, and wholegrain versions add more fibre.
Nutrition data from McCance and Widdowson and UK FoodData Central, per 100g raw edible portion; values are reference figures and can vary by variety and ripeness. Reference intakes: EU NRVs for labelling and UK RNIs (SACN) for age-based needs. For guidance only.