Bowl, Mesh or Colander? Choosing the Best Rice Colander

A pasta colander is the wrong tool for rice. Its holes are sized for spaghetti, so a cup of rinsed long-grain rice slips straight through into the sink, and short-grain rice sticks in the holes. Rice needs either a fine mesh, very small perforations, or a bowl built for the job: the Japanese rice washing bowl, which drains starchy water away while keeping every grain.

This guide is about those rice-specific tools: washing bowls with side and bottom drains, stainless bowls for soaking and rinsing, a fine-mesh strainer set and a small micro-perforated colander. If you want an everyday colander for pasta and vegetables, our main colander guide covers that, and its micro-perforated pick is worth a look too.

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Quick verdict: which rice colander to buy

Before you rinse, check the bag: enriched white rice is the one kind USA Rice says not to rinse. The rest of this page covers when rinsing helps, and which tool suits how much rice you cook.

Five rice colanders at a glance

Our five standout picks side by side, one for each kind of kitchen, with the specifications each maker or listing states. All seven are reviewed in full below.

Product images from Amazon. Capacities, materials and drain designs are as stated by each maker or listing; check the listing before you buy.

Our picks for the best rice colander

These seven cover the main ways people rinse rice: plastic and stainless washing bowls made for the job, a Japanese-made steel bowl, a fine-mesh strainer set and a small micro-perforated colander. None repeats a pick from our main colander guide or our fine-mesh strainer guide. Each one explains who it suits, the specifications that matter, and one honest reason to skip it.

How to choose a rice colander

Rice is small, slippery and starchy. Those three facts decide which tool works.

Holes small enough to hold the grain

Long-grain rice is thin enough to slip through ordinary colander holes, and quinoa is smaller still. Fine stainless mesh, micro-perforated steel or the slotted drains of a rice washing bowl all hold rice. Few makers state a hole size; if one does, compare it with the grain you cook most. For quinoa and other very small grains, fine mesh is the safest choice.

Bowl or basket

A washing bowl lets you swish rice in a pool of water, which loosens surface starch better than a trickle through a basket, and then pour the water off through the drain. A mesh basket drains faster and does more jobs, but you rinse under a running tap rather than in standing water. Bowls with a solid base, like the Helen’s, also let you soak rice before cooking.

Size for your usual batch

Rice swells a great deal as it cooks, so 2 or 3 cups of dry rice is plenty for a family meal. A 2.5- or 3-quart bowl leaves room to swish that much without splashing over the rim. An 8-inch mesh strainer is fine for a cup or two.

Plastic or stainless steel

Plastic washing bowls are light, clear and inexpensive, and the clear sides let you see when the water runs clear. Stainless steel lasts longer, does not stain and will not scratch. The plastic bowls here are stated by their makers to be BPA-free or food-grade where the listing says so; we have not added claims the makers do not make.

Care

Starch dries into a film, so rinse any rice tool straight after use. Most picks here are dishwasher safe by the maker’s word; the Joyce Chen and Kotobuki listings do not say, so wash those by hand.

Should you rinse rice? What USA Rice and the FDA say

Rinsing is mostly about texture. Washing off loose surface starch helps grains cook up separate rather than gummy, which is why rinsing is standard for Japanese short-grain rice and common for jasmine and basmati. Many Mexican rice recipes also rinse long-grain rice and dry it before it is toasted in oil; if you are curious how that dish differs from Spanish rice, our guide to Mexican rice vs Spanish rice explains it.

Enriched rice is the exception. Most white rice sold in the United States is enriched with a thin coating of thiamine, niacin, iron and folic acid, and USA Rice says it is important to avoid rinsing enriched rice to prevent the loss of those water-soluble nutrients. If the package says enriched and gives no washing step, follow the package.

Arsenic is the other reason people ask. The FDA monitors arsenic in rice and rice products and publishes its sampling results and research. The FDA’s list of research on arsenic in rice includes a 2015 study by its scientists titled “Cooking rice in excess water reduces both arsenic and enriched vitamins in the cooked grain”, which describes the trade-off: boiling rice in plenty of water and draining it, pasta style, lowers arsenic, but it also washes out the added vitamins. USA Rice notes that the FDA has said there is no reason for most people to change how much rice they eat. A rice colander is useful for that pasta-style method as well as for rinsing, but if arsenic is your concern, the cooking water does more than the rinse.

How we picked these seven rice colanders

We did not handle these products. We started from what a kitchen needs to wash rice well: openings small enough to hold the grain, a shape that lets you swish and drain, and a size that suits a normal batch. We then checked each product’s Amazon listing through Amazon’s product data, the makers’ own descriptions where published, and guidance from USA Rice and the FDA on rinsing and arsenic.

Every pick was in stock on Amazon when we checked and comes from a named maker or importer. OXO’s dedicated Rice and Grains Washing Colander was showing low stock, so it is not a pick, and we passed over several unbranded rice washers sold only on Amazon. We left out the picks on our best colander and best fine-mesh strainer pages so this guide adds something new, and we did not include any Matfer Bourgeat products. We searched the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission recall database for each brand here and found no recall of these products. We do not state prices, ratings or review counts because they change.

Rice colander questions, answered

What is the best colander for rice?

For most kitchens, the Inomata 2.5-Quart Rice Washing Bowl, which is built to drain starchy water and keep the grains. For a stainless option with room for big batches, the Helen’s Asian Kitchen 3-quart bowl; for an all-purpose tool, a fine-mesh strainer like the OXO set.

Can I rinse rice in a regular colander?

Only if its holes are small enough. Standard pasta colanders let long-grain rice and quinoa slip through. Micro-perforated or fine-mesh colanders work; a rice washing bowl works best.

How many times should I rinse rice?

Most rice washing bowl makers, including Inomata and Helen’s, say to swish and drain until the water is no longer cloudy. Usually that takes a few changes of water. Skip rinsing for enriched rice unless the package says to wash it.

Does rinsing rice remove arsenic?

Rinsing helps less than the cooking method. Research listed by the FDA found that cooking rice in excess water and draining it reduces arsenic, along with the added vitamins in enriched rice. Varying your grains is the other simple step.

Is a rice washing bowl worth it if I have a rice cooker?

A separate bowl keeps the scrubbing and the cloudy water away from the cooker’s inner pot, and it drains the rice more thoroughly than tipping water off by hand. Our best rice cooker guide covers the cookers themselves.

Our last word on rice colanders

For most people, a rice washing bowl like the Inomata is the rice colander to buy, with the Helen’s Asian Kitchen bowl for big batches in steel and the OXO strainer set if you want a tool that does much more than rice. Check whether your rice is enriched before you rinse, and drain it well before it goes into the pot. For draining pasta and vegetables, see our best colander guide, and if you cook rice on the stove, our guide to the best saucepan for rice will help. When you would rather someone else made the rice and beans, call to order from Julia’s at (346) 546-8283.