High Calorie Rice for Weight Gain

High calorie rice can help you on your weight gain journey. Rice itself is a great high calorie food. But you can also add-in high calorie foods to rice to create dishes even higher in calories!

You can jump to our High Calorie Rice Ideas Here.

Why High Calorie Rice?

So often when you search for high calorie rice, authors are writing about how many calories are in rice and how to reduce calories. Not this article.

In this article we are focused on helping individuals get more calories in their diet. Because, there are a lot of people who need help to get more calories in their diet- not less!

High calorie foods can help stop unintended weight loss and promote healthy weight gain.

Stopping Unintended Weight Loss

Unintended weight loss can be caused by many factors. For example: being sick, medication, having cancer, or struggling to eat for whatever reason.

The downside of unintended weight loss is= muscle loss.

We need muscle to do everything. To move, to function, to prevent falls. When weight loss happens fast, muscle is lost along with fat. And this is not a good thing.

It can lead to malnutrition, falls, illness, disability, and even death.

High calorie foods, including high calorie rice, can help to stop unintended weight loss.

Promoting Healthy Weight Gain

Those who have lost a lot of weight unintentionally are usually looking to gain back some of that weight. So they can get back to a healthy weight.

And believe it or not, gaining weight can be hard for some people. Especially if you have poor appetite, are sick, have difficulty chewing or swallowing, or are struggling with mental illness.

High calorie foods can not only help stop unintended weight loss, but they can promote healthy weight gain.

Rice Nutrition 101

Rice is a delicious and nutritious food. It is a soft food for those with difficulty swallowing.

And goodness there are lots of varieties, ways to purchase and prepare rice, and ways to add even more calories.

Types of Rice

There are many types of rice. From short grain to long grain. And white rice to brown rice. And jasmine rice to wild rice.

You can also purchase processed rice that can book faster (i.e. minute rice). And pre-cooked rice that you simply warm up.

All rice is nutritious and a good source of calories. Pick whichever rice you prefer. Or switch things up and try a variety of different rice types in your diet.

This article by Consumer Reports goes over 12 different types of rice and how to use them.

Ways to Cook Rice

Rice cooking methods may vary based on the type of rice that you purchase.

Regular rice in a package can typically be cooked on the stove top, in a rice cooker, using an instant pot, or in the microwave.

Minute rice cooks faster (of course!). While brown rice takes a lot longer to cook.

Precooked rice, including frozen rice and self-stable packaged rice, is often cooked in minutes in the microwave.

Read the package on the rice you purchase for cooking instructions.

Calories in Rice

One cup of cooked short-grain rice contains approximately 240 calories.

Rice is primarily made up of carbohydrates. There practically no fat in rice. And there is a little bit of protein. Brown rice has fiber while white rice has very little.

Remember, there are many different types of rice. So be sure to read the nutrition facts label on the rice you are using to confirm the calorie count.

How to Make Rice Higher in Calories

The reason we like high calorie rice for weight gain is two-fold.

First, it contains a good number of calories by itself. But second, there are a lot of high calorie foods you can add in to really boost the calorie count!

High Calorie Add-ins

Let’s talk about some of the high calorie foods you can add to rice.

Many people eat rice plain. But you can really switch things up with rice. And make a dish that is either sweet or savory. We do include some recipe ideas below.

Here are some high calorie add-ins for rice:

• Butter
• Olive oil
• Cheese
• Half and Half (Cream)
• Sour cream
• Coconut cream
• Sugar
• Etc.

Other High Calorie Food Ideas

In addition to eating high calorie rice, you can add other high calorie foods to your diet to help with weight gain. Or to prevent weight loss.

Other High Calorie Foods Include:

• Avocados
• Nuts and Nut Butters
• Whole milk
• Whole fat yogurt
• Fats and oils
• Etc.

You can find tons of other articles on high calorie foods in our High Calorie archive.

High Calorie Rice Ideas

Here are some delicious high calorie rice ideas to get you started.

High Calorie Rice Ideas:

• Buttered rice
• Coconut rice
• Breakfast rice
• Fried rice

These aren’t formal recipes, but more ideas on how you can craft a high calorie rice dish. The sky is the limit of the creations you can make. But these are some of our favorites!

Buttered Rice

This is a classic. And so easy to make. Simply combine white rice with butter.

The ratio of rice to butter is up to you and your preference. Remember, a cup of short grain cooked rice contains approximately 240 calories. And a Tablespoon of butter contains approximately 100 calories.

Buttered Rice:

• 1 cup cooked rice
• 2 Tbsp butter

Calories:

• 440 calories

Coconut Rice

Coconut rice is my favorite high calorie rice! It is so tasty and can be easily modified.

The recipe below is our High Calorie Vegan Mango Coconut Sticky Rice, from our article on High Calorie Vegan Foods. It combines rice with coconut cream and mango. Yum.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup cooked white rice
• ½ cup coconut cream
• ½ mango, diced
• 1 Tbsp agave

Directions:

• Add cooked rice and coconut cream to bowl, stir well
• Add rice mixture to a serving dish
• Top with diced mango
• Drizzle with agave

Calories:

• 610 calories

Breakfast Rice

Have you ever heard of breakfast rice before? Rice is a grain, like oatmeal of cream of wheat. It can be dressed up to be a tasty, sweet (and high calorie) breakfast food!

Making breakfast rice doesn’t have to require a formal recipe.

Start with 1 cup of cooked white rice and add the desired amount of:

• Half and half (creamer)
• Brown sugar
• Raisins
• Walnuts
• Cinnamon

The creamer, sugar, dried fruit, and walnuts are all good high calorie food sources. You can modify this recipe using different types of dried fruits or nuts.

Fried Rice

I love fried rice. In fact, whenever I cook rice, I always make extra to save for fried rice the next day.

Making fried rice is easy. You start with a heart healthy oil (high in calories!) in a hot pan. The you stir in your rice. You can add egg, peas, carrots, and chicken while cooking. Then stir in the desired amount of soy sauce.

I like to add in sesame seeds as well.

Every tablespoon of oil provides approximately 120 calories. Each egg provides approximately 80 calories. And remember, a cup of rice is approximately 240 calories.

Conclusion: High Calorie Rice

High calorie rice can be a delicious and helpful food for gaining weight. Hopefully this article gave you some great ideas for adding high calorie rice to your diet. Maybe in ways you never though of before.

Best of luck on your weight gain journey!