How many carbs are in brown rice?
Brown rice has 49.9 g of total carbs per 1 cup cooked (195 g) — about 46.8 g net carbs after 3.1 g of fiber. That's 25.6 g of carbs per 100 g, roughly 18% of the 275 g Daily Value.
USDA FoodData Central · long-grain, cooked · FDC 169704
Carbs by portion
| Portion | Total carbs | Net carbs | Fiber | Sugar | Calories |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 cup cooked (195 g) | 49.9 g | 46.8 g | 3.1 g | 0.4 g | 240 |
| 100 g | 25.6 g | 24 g | 1.6 g | 0.2 g | 123 |
| 1 oz (28 g) | 7.3 g | 6.8 g | 0.5 g | 0.1 g | 35 |
Net carbs = total carbs − fiber (the carbs that raise blood sugar, used in keto/low-carb tracking). Values computed from USDA per-100 g data (FDC 169704, SR Legacy). long-grain, cooked.
Brown rice is, first and foremost, a carbohydrate. A cooked cup (195 g) carries about 49.9 g of total carbs, which is 25.6 g per 100 g, and there’s very little else competing for the calories — only ~1 g of fat and ~5.3 g of protein per cup. So when people ask “how many carbs in brown rice,” the honest answer is the same as for its white cousin: most of it. The thing brown rice does better is bring a little fiber to the table, which slightly softens that carb load — but only slightly.
Why net carbs barely move the number
The figure that matters for keto, low-carb, and diabetes tracking is net carbs — total carbohydrate minus fiber. With high-fiber foods like beans, fiber takes a real bite out of the total. Brown rice does better than white here, but it’s still a modest dent: a cup carries about 3.1 g of fiber, so the net carbs land near 46.8 g against a 49.9 g total. White rice has under 1 g of fiber per cup, so this is genuinely brown rice’s edge — a few grams of fiber that white rice simply doesn’t have, which is why brown digests a touch slower and lands a bit gentler on blood sugar. But “a touch slower” is the right expectation: the fiber trims the net by roughly three grams, not thirty. The total carbohydrate is nearly the same as white rice.
How a cup fits a daily budget
In practical terms, a cup of brown rice is a lot of carbohydrate — enough that on a strict keto plan (20–50 g net carbs a day) a single cup can use or exceed the whole budget. The fiber doesn’t rescue it into “low-carb” territory; it just makes it a better high-carb choice. On a moderate or diabetic-friendly plan, the smart move is to treat brown rice as a portion-controlled carb: a half-cup (~23 g carbs) alongside protein and vegetables behaves very differently from a heaping bowl, and the modest fiber plus the slower-digesting bran help it land more steadily than white rice would. Brown rice isn’t “bad” — it’s a whole-grain staple — it’s just dense in the one macro you’re usually counting, with only a little fiber to cushion it.
For the white-rice version of this breakdown, see carbs in white rice.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many carbs are in a cup of brown rice?
About 49.9 g of total carbohydrate in a 1-cup cooked serving (195 g), which is 25.6 g per 100 g (USDA FDC 169704). With about 3.1 g of fiber per cup, the net carbs land around 46.8 g.
What are the net carbs in brown rice?
Roughly 46.8 g net carbs per cooked cup — total carbs (49.9 g) minus fiber (3.1 g). Brown rice has more fiber than white rice, but not enough to change the picture much: it's still a high-carb staple, and the net number stays close to the total.
Is brown rice low-carb or keto?
No. A single cup at about 46.8 g net carbs would use up — or blow past — a typical 20–50 g daily keto budget on its own. Brown rice is a whole-grain carbohydrate staple; it's a fine steady-energy food, but not a low-carb one. Cauliflower rice is the usual keto swap.
Does brown rice have fewer carbs than white rice?
Only slightly. Per cup, total carbs are close (both in the high-40s to mid-40s grams), but brown rice carries a few more grams of fiber, so its net carbs run a little lower and it digests a touch slower. The bigger difference between them is fiber and micronutrients, not total carbohydrate.
Does brown rice spike blood sugar?
Less sharply than white rice, but it still raises it. Brown rice is mostly starch with a modest amount of fiber (about 3.1 g per cup) to slow digestion, so it has a lower glycemic load than white rice but is far from flat. Pairing it with protein, fat, or vegetables — and watching portion size — blunts the rise.
When was this data last verified?
2026-06-18, against USDA FoodData Central FDC 169704 (Rice, brown, long-grain, cooked; SR Legacy). We re-verify reference pages periodically.
Whole-food values are USDA reference data, not a Labelgrade (that score is for branded packaged products). See our methodology and the macro calculator to turn this into a daily target.