Brown rice keeps the bran and germ that are removed when white rice is milled. That mainly changes fiber and several micronutrients, but most of its energy still comes from carbohydrate.
Nutrition per 100 g cooked
| Nutrient | Amount |
|---|---|
| Energy | ~123 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | ~25.6 g |
| Protein | ~2.74 g |
| Fat | ~0.97 g |
| Fiber | ~1.6 g |
| Magnesium | ~39 mg |
| Phosphorus | ~103 mg |
| Manganese | ~0.97 mg |
These are values for cooked long-grain brown rice. Dry brown rice shows much higher numbers per 100 g because it has not yet absorbed cooking water.
A cup changes the scale
A cooked cup weighing about 202 g provides roughly 248 kcal, 51.7 g carbohydrate, 5.5 g protein and 3.2 g fiber. That serving reference is often easier to visualize than a 100 g table entry.
It is not especially high in protein
At about 2.7 g protein per 100 g cooked, brown rice provides much less protein than a similar weight of lentils, tofu, meat or fish. Its main role in a meal is usually carbohydrate and energy.
Fiber is higher than white rice, but not huge
A cooked white-rice reference has about 0.4 g fiber per 100 g versus ~1.6 g in brown rice—about four times as much. Even so, 1.6 g per 100 g is well below many cooked legumes, which can exceed 6–8 g.
Magnesium and manganese stand out
Bran and germ retain minerals. This reference provides about 39 mg magnesium and nearly 1 mg manganese per 100 g, more than many refined, unenriched white-rice entries.
Cooking method changes the final concentration
The more water rice absorbs, the less concentrated calories and nutrients become per 100 g. Two batches of cooked brown rice can therefore differ somewhat even when they started from the same dry grain.
How to read the numbers in the context of a real serving
Brown-rice nutrition makes more sense when the serving is clearly defined. Cooked rice contains a great deal of absorbed water, so comparing 100 grams of dry rice with 100 grams of cooked rice produces misleading conclusions. A normal serving of cooked brown rice is primarily a carbohydrate food, with a modest amount of fiber and a smaller contribution of protein. Its main distinction from white rice is that the bran and germ remain, retaining some fiber, vitamins, and minerals that are reduced during refining.
That does not automatically make a bowl of brown rice a balanced meal. For more protein, satiety, and variety, combine it with beans, lentils, tofu, eggs, fish, meat, or another protein source plus vegetables. Switching from white to brown rice can add fiber, but it does not replace fruit, vegetables, legumes, nuts, and seeds as major fiber sources across the day. Compare products on the same basis—cooked with cooked or serving with serving. Ready-to-eat pouches can contain oil, salt, or other ingredients, so the label on the product you actually buy is more informative than assuming every form of brown rice has identical nutrition.
How many calories are in cooked brown rice? A USDA long-grain cooked reference provides about 123 kcal per 100 g and roughly 248 kcal per 202 g cup.
How much fiber does brown rice have? About 1.6 g per 100 g cooked, around four times the ~0.4 g in a cooked white-rice reference.
Is brown rice high in protein? Not especially. It provides about 2.7 g protein per 100 g cooked.
Brown rice works best as one component of a meal rather than as the sole source of protein or micronutrients. Pairing it with beans, fish, eggs, tofu, poultry, or another protein and adding vegetables creates a more balanced plate. If the chewy texture is unfamiliar, mixing brown and white rice for a while or changing the cooking method can make the transition easier. Because cooked rice is a perishable food, leftovers should also be cooled promptly and stored safely; its whole-grain status does not change the normal food-safety rules for cooked rice.
The practical takeaway
Brown rice is mainly a carbohydrate food with somewhat more fiber and minerals than white rice. Per 100 g cooked it provides about 123 kcal and 1.6 g fiber; a cooked cup roughly doubles those amounts.
Sources
- USDA FoodData Central — Rice, brown, long-grain, cooked — Per 100 g: 123 kcal, 25.58 g carbohydrate, 2.74 g protein, 0.97 g fat and 1.6 g fiber.
- USDA FoodData Central — Official food-composition database used for comparison with cooked white rice.