Red rice nutrition per 100g: calories, protein, fibre and GI

The table below shows red rice nutrition per 100 g of raw grain beside two neighbours from the same tables, brown rice and raw milled white rice, so the numbers read in context. One honest caveat first: IFCT 2017 has no red-rice entry, so the red column borrows the nearest entry in those tables — parboiled milled rice — while the GI tests quoted later are of unpolished red rice. The red column shows 352 kcal, 7.81 g of protein, 0.55 g of fat, 77.16 g of carbohydrate, 3.74 g of fibre, 26.72 mg of magnesium, 142 mg of potassium, 0.72 mg of iron, 1.08 mg of zinc and 8.11 mg of calcium.

These are raw values. Cooked red rice weighs far more than the dry grain, since absorbed water makes up most of the difference; a 100 g spoonful of cooked rice therefore carries only a fraction of these figures, and the per-katori section below does that arithmetic. What the red column cannot show is the pigment: COWBERRY's product page describes red rice as naturally rich in anthocyanins, the compounds that give the bran its red colour.

Per 100 g raw, edible portion. Composition: IFCT 2017 (ICMR-NIN). GI: University of Sydney GI database. — means not reported. These are average values for the food; the label on a pack gives the values for that product.

Red rice calories per 100 g: 352, per the nearest IFCT 2017 entry. Against the same 100 g, brown rice holds 354 kcal and raw milled white rice 357, so the three entries nearly tie; the differences that matter sit in fibre and minerals, not in energy.

Nobody eats 100 g of dry grain. A katori of cooked red rice comes from about 40 g of raw rice, and that katori works out to about 141 kcal, 31 g of carbohydrate, 3.1 g of protein and 1.5 g of fibre, with the cooking water adding only weight. Two katoris double the grain to 80 g raw and about 62 g of carbohydrate; one cup of the dry grain, 200 g, cooks into roughly five katoris and holds 704 kcal in all. Water, salt and whatever oil the pot uses are not counted in those figures.

Protein in red rice reads 7.81 g per 100 g in the nearest IFCT 2017 entry, nearly level with raw milled rice at 7.94 g and behind brown rice at 9.16 g. Like other cereals, its protein is short on lysine; the dietary guidelines' fix sits on the plate beside it — cereals and pulses at three to one can meet the need for every essential amino acid. A katori of cooked red rice (40 g raw) contributes about 3.1 g of protein, and the dal or sambar next to it completes the set.

Fibre is 3.74 g per 100 g, about a third more than raw milled rice's 2.81 g, though brown rice leads both at 4.43 g. The guidelines spell out what that fibre does: it delays absorption of carbohydrate and fat, adds to satiety and increases stool bulk. Per katori the gap is modest, about 1.5 g of fibre for red rice against 1.1 g for white; the full comparison sits on red rice vs brown rice. What each nutrient does for you is on the list of red rice benefits.

The glycemic index of plain cooked red rice is not one figure. The University of Sydney database holds seven entries — a Thai red rice cooked in the UK, two red rices from Borneo tested in Indonesia, and four Malaysian tests of dehusked red rice — and they spread from 46 to 76, with a mean of 62. None of the seven was tested in India. On the database's scale, the low band runs to 55 and the high band starts at 70, so the mean lands in the middle while single tests fall on both sides of it.

The 62 is also not the last word. In a 2017 study, Sri Lankan researchers sorted red basmati as low GI and white basmati as medium, and found polishing made no difference to the GI, while a 2023 review in Foods notes the GI of rice moves with variety, composition, processing and what it is eaten with. Read the number per plate, not per grain: a katori of cooked red rice carries about 31 g of carbohydrate, which at a GI of 62 is a glycemic load near 19. On a diabetes plate, the portion and the pairing matter more than the colour; the full arithmetic is on is red rice good for diabetes.

The red rice entry lists these minerals per 100 g: 0.72 mg of iron, 1.08 mg of zinc, 26.72 mg of magnesium, 142 mg of potassium, 8.11 mg of calcium, 3.16 mg of sodium and 9.75 mcg of folate per 100 g; vitamin C is not reported. Magnesium and potassium run above the white rice values of 19.3 mg and 108 mg, zinc is nearly level at 1.21 mg, and the sodium is low enough that the salt in a red rice meal is almost entirely the cook's choice.

Two honest notes. First, this entry is the parboiled-milled stand-in, so read the mineral figures as indicative rather than as a measured profile of any particular red rice. Second, plant iron is better absorbed when a vitamin C food sits in the same meal, as the dietary guidelines advise, so a squeeze of lemon or a tomato-based curry beside the rice helps more than a bigger bowl. The red bran itself carries anthocyanins, and in a 2017 study, Sri Lankan researchers measured higher total phenolics, anthocyanins and antioxidant activity in red basmati than in white. For the grain's whole story, from growing to cooking, see the red rice hub.

Does red rice have protein?

Yes. IFCT 2017's nearest entry lists 7.81 g of protein per 100 g, nearly level with raw milled rice at 7.94 g and behind brown rice at 9.16 g. A katori cooked from 40 g of raw grain gives about 3.1 g. Its protein, like that of most cereals, is light on lysine — a dal or curd at the same meal fills the gap.

Does red rice have fiber?

Yes: 3.74 g per 100 g in IFCT 2017's nearest entry, roughly a third above raw milled rice at 2.81 g and below brown rice at 4.43 g. One katori (40 g raw) brings about 1.5 g of it. The dietary guidelines link fibre to slower absorption of carbohydrate and fat, more satiety and stool bulk; add red rice gradually and drink enough water.

Does red rice have carbs?

Yes, plenty: 77.16 g of carbohydrate per 100 g in the nearest IFCT 2017 entry, against 74.8 g in brown rice and 78.24 g in white. Red rice is a carbohydrate food, portioned like any rice. One katori (40 g raw) carries about 31 g of carbohydrate, so the second katori doubles the load rather than adding fibre alone.

Does red rice have more calories?

No, not meaningfully. The three entries nearly tie: 352 kcal per 100 g for red rice against 354 for brown and 357 for raw milled white, and per katori the spread is a kilocalorie or two. What red rice carries more of than white is fibre (3.74 g against 2.81 g) and the bran's pigment compounds; on energy the three rices are one family.

What is the glycemic index of red rice?

Sixty-two on average, from seven database entries for plain cooked unpolished red rice tested in the UK, Indonesia and Malaysia; the individual tests spread from 46 to 76, and none is from India. The mean sits in the medium band, since the scale marks 55 and below as low and 70 and above as high. A katori of it carries a glycemic load of about 19, from its 31 g of carbohydrate.

Is red rice good for weight loss?

It can sit in a weight-loss plan as the whole-grain swap for white rice, not as an extra serving. Its 3.74 g of fibre per 100 g is about a third above white rice's 2.81 g, and the dietary guidelines count fibre among what increases satiety; the energy is nearly identical, so the portion still decides the result. Keep a measured katori with dal and vegetables, and set the portion with a dietitian.

How many calories in one katori of red rice?

About 141, cooked from roughly 40 g of the dry grain at 352 kcal per 100 g. The same katori brings 31 g of carbohydrate, 3.1 g of protein and 1.5 g of fibre, plus the water it absorbed. Add the tadka, ghee or oil from your own recipe on top of that base.