This Instant Pot Rice recipe is your go-to guide for cooking white and brown rice in a pressure cooker. Light and fluffy rice every time!
I love making Steamed Rice for a delicious Side Dish, and there’s never been an easier way to make Rice than in your Instant Pot.
Sabrina’s Instant Pot Rice Recipe
If you’ve struggled to make rice in the past or just want a way to make rice without a stovetop, this is the recipe guide for you. You’ll never make mushy, sticky, or crunchy rice ever again with my easy instructions. I’ve tried to answer all the top questions about cooking rice in an electric pressure cooker so that you get perfectly tender, fluffy rice every time. Plus I included some flavoring ideas and how to cook different varieties. No matter how many people you are serving or what type of rice you want to make, this Instant Pot Rice guide has what you need to know!
Ingredients
- 3 cups white long grain rice , see note for brown rice*
- 3 cups water
Instructions
- Rinse your rice well under cold water until it runs clear.
- Add to the pressure cooker with water, stir.
- Close, lock lid, and seal the vent.
- Cook on high for 4 minutes, then natural release the pressure, about 10-12 minutes.
Notes
Nutrition
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Table of contents
Cooking Time Variations
- White Rice: The kind of white rice you should use is long-grain, like jasmine rice, basmati rice, or standard long-grain white rice. White rice needs a 1:1 water-to-rice ratio and about 4 minutes on high pressure to cook.
- Wild Rice: Wild rice needs longer to cook and you should use twice the amount of water. It will take 25-30 minutes at high pressure and you need a rice-to-water ratio of 1:2.
- Brown Rice: Brown rice is usually 1:1 ratio, however, you can use a slightly higher water ratio, 1:1.25, for a more tender brown rice. So for every 1 cup of brown rice, use 1 ¼ cup of water. The cooking time is going to be 20-25 minutes
Easy Ways to Flavor Rice
- Broth: Instantly give your rice a deep savory flavor by swapping the water with vegetable broth, chicken broth, or beef bone broth. Use a low-sodium broth so the rice isn’t too salty.
- Butter: Add a dollop of butter to the top of the rice and water before cooking. Gently stir the butter around the cooked rice as you fluff it. You could also use 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil instead of butter.
- Salt: The easiest way to season this rice is to add some kosher salt or sea salt to the water before cooking. Use ¼ teaspoon salt per 1 cup of rice for the best balance.
- Spices: Stir in spices like saffron, cumin, or turmeric when you add the water to flavor your rice while it cooks. Try herbs like cilantro or parsley and a squeeze of lime juice to make bright zesty rice.
Troubleshooting & FAQS
For white rice, like jasmine rice, you want to use a 1 to 1 water to rice ratio, no matter how much rice you are cooking. For other kinds of rice, see my section above about Variations for Different Kinds of Rice which goes over cooking time and water adjustments.
Use the same measuring cup or a digital scale to measure your rice and water instead of the little cup that comes with most pressure cookers. The little cup that comes with the Instant Pot is only 180mL, whereas a true cup is 250 mL, but some dry measuring cups are only 236mL. So whatever you use, use the same for the water and the rice and go with a true cup so you have the amount of finished rice you need.
Rinsing removes the excess starch from the grains and makes your rice fluffier. Not to mention it gets rid of any debris or dust that might have gotten on your rice in transport. You can also soak your rice before cooking for 10 minutes, this is especially helpful with brown rice, basmati, and wild rice to help the grains cook evenly.
If your rice is hard and crunchy, then it is almost certainly undercooked or did not have enough water to cook properly. Unfortunately, the safety feature that prevents an Instant Pot from getting too hot also prevents you from just pressure cooking the rice a second time unless you let the unit cool all the way down. Instead, to fix it you can try microwaving it for 2-3 minutes in a bowl covered with plastic wrap until it is soft. Or, you can just freeze the undercooked rice to use in soups or stew recipes later and start a new batch once the Instant Pot is cool.
The cause for mushy rice is too much water or overcooking but you don’t have to toss it out! If it’s only slightly overcooked, you can save it by baking it in the oven at 350 degrees for 5-8 minutes. Drain it and spread it evenly on a baking sheet, then bake until it dries out enough to eat. If it’s just too mushy to serve, save the rice to make rice pudding, rice porridge, or fried rice.
The Rice Setting on electric pressure cookers is designed for regular long-grain white rice. It usually won’t work well for any other kind of rice including wild and brown rice. Even for white rice varieties like jasmine, I like to be in control of the cooking time and pressure because many units cook the rice at low pressure for a longer cook time.
Depending on the size of your unit, you should be able to make 4 to 6 cups of dry rice in an electric pressure cooker, yielding 12 to 18 cups of cooked rice. Always double-check with the instruction manual of your particular model because overfilling will alter the cooking process and can cause issues with sealing and safety.
How to Store
- Serve: Fluff the rice after you remove the lid and before serving if you let it sit for a while. Cooked rice can be at room temperature for up to 2 hours before it should be stored.
- Store: Store rice for 4-5 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Let it cool to room temperature before storing so excess moisture doesn’t collect and make your rice soggy.
- Freeze: Spread cooked rice on a baking sheet and pat dry then freeze for one hour. Transfer frozen dried rice to a freezer-safe container and store it for 4-6 months in the freezer.
