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Making rice in the Instant Pot couldn’t be easier! Following this easy guide will get you perfect rice every time.
Featured with this recipe
- Ingredients in the Perfect Instant Pot Rice Recipe
- How Long to Pressure Cook Rice
- Instant Pot Rice Cheat Sheet
- Don’t Use the “Rice” Button
- Rice-to-Water Ratio
- Rinse Rice Before Cooking
- How Much Rice to Cook
- Reheating Rice
- Making Seasoned Rice
- Questions
- More Easy Rice Recipes
- How to Cook Instant Pot Rice
- Instant Pot Rice Recipe
It’s so easy to cook rice in the instant pot! My rice cooker bit the dust a few years ago and I never replaced it. I got an Instant Pot shortly after and as soon as I realized I could cook rice in it, I never looked back. My old rice cooker did not cook brown or wild rice well at all and I had no control over the cooking times. The Instant Pot cooks rice evenly, consistently, and quickly and is much faster than cooking it on the stove top. It is hands-down my favorite way to cook plain rice. It pairs perfectly with chicken or pork meals, just about anything!
Ingredients in the Perfect Instant Pot Rice Recipe
No need for a bunch of ingredients for perfect, fluffy, rice to accompany your meal. Here’s all you need to add to your instant pot:
- Long grain white rice – two cups. You can use Jasmine rice or Basmati rice as well. Just be cautious of cooking times, as they’ll vary depending on the cup of dry rice you add.
- Water – two cups
- Salt – to taste
How Long to Pressure Cook Rice
The cooking time of rice in the Instant Pot purely depends on what variety of rice you are cooking. White rice only needs a few short minutes. This includes long grain white rice, Jasmine, and Basmati. Short grain white rice such as sushi rice only needs slightly more time. There is a big jump from white rice to brown rice, wild rice, red rice, and black rice. These need a lot more time or they will be crunchy. Cooking times for these types or rice varieties can vary between 23-30 minutes. To make it easier, I made an easy chart as a guide below.
Instant Pot Rice Cheat Sheet
Here is an easy cheat sheet (below) that you can print off and store next to your Instant Pot. Simply right click on the image and click “Save Image As”. From there you can save the image and then open it on your desktop to print.
Don’t Use the “Rice” Button
Don’t be tempted to use the rice button on your Instant Pot or pressure cooker. The rice function may work well enough for white rice varieties but won’t work for any other variety. The “rice” function is programmed to “low” pressure and cooks for 12 minutes which gets the job done but tends to make the rice more sticky (in my opinion). Set your cooking time manually on high pressure for the times suggested above and your rice will simply turn out better.
Rice-to-Water Ratio
The rice-to-water ratio always seems to be the biggest debate when cooking rice. When cooking rice on the stovetop or even in a rice cooker more water may be needed, but not with an Instant Pot. A 1:1 ratio of rice to water is perfect. Nothing more, nothing less. Remember, the rice is being pressure cooked so all that steam and water is staying inside the pot, not evaporating out. I also love this ratio because you can really use anything you want to measure. No measuring cups? No problem. Just use a mug or glass to measure equal measurements.
Rinse Rice Before Cooking
I almost always rinse my rice before cooking. Rice can be so dirty and can be covered in excess starches and I believe rinsing is necessary. Rinsing doesn’t take that long and it is totally worth the extra step. I like submerging the rice in water in the Instant Pot pot/liner and agitating the rice with my hands. Then I drain off the water continually and repeat until the water runs clear. I prefer this way because any debris that may be present in the rice floats to the top and can be drained off. It also uses less dishes. You can also put the rice in a strainer and rinse until the water runs clear. Either way works. Just drain off all the excess water completely before adding the water for cooking.
The One Exception
The only time I don’t rinse my rice is when I sauté the rice in oil before cooking. I do this when I am making Mexican Rice or Fried Rice because it gives it a better texture for these particular dishes.
How Much Rice to Cook
I usually only like to fill my Instant Pot so it is about half full. This allows room for the rice to expand and also makes it so the water doesn’t sputter out too much before the Instant Pot seals. No matter the size of the Instant Pot or the amount of rice, the cooking time will remain the same.
Reheating Rice
Rice keeps nicely in the fridge, as long as it’s kept in an airtight container, for up to five days. My favorite way to use up leftover rice is to make fried rice, stir fry, or Mexican rice. I just heat a little oil in a skillet and toss the rice with some seasonings or other ingredients while heating. The oil keeps the rice from sticking together and gives it the perfect texture for these types of recipes. However, if I just want to re-heat the rice as is, I simply heat it in the microwave. Sprinkle a little water over the rice and cover with a lightly damp paper towel. Then heat for 45 seconds at a time until hot, fluffing with a fork between each time.
Making Seasoned Rice
It’s easy to give your rice a little flavor by switching out the water for chicken broth and by adding a few easy ingredients such as finely chopped onion or garlic or a tablespoon of butter. If you want to add meat or vegetables wait until after the rice is cooked. Then toss the rice with the other ingredients in a wok or skillet as you would a fried rice or stir fry.
Questions
It’s easy to remember, a 1:1 ratio. A coffee cup, a measuring cup, anything. As long as a cup of dry rice goes in, use the same amount of liquid.
It depends on the kind of rice you’re using. For plain, white rice you’ll only need four minutes, plus about 12 minutes of release time. Other types of rice will need to cook longer. See our handy cooking guide above.
Because rice can release starchy water as it cooks, and you could possibly clog the lid vent of your instant pot. Make sure you move the steam release valve to sealing.
Yes, Quinoa can be cooked in the Instant Pot. See our recipe Instant Pot Quinoa.
Read More: How to Cook Instant Pot Brown Rice
More Easy Rice Recipes
How to Cook Instant Pot Rice
Instant Pot Rice
Video
Equipment
- Instant Pot (or Pressure Cooker)
Ingredients
- 2 cups long grain white rice (or Jasmine or Basmati rice)
- 2 cups water
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Place 2 cups of rice in the Instant Pot liner and cover with water. Agitate the rice with your hand and drain off the water. Repeat until water runs clear.
- Drain off all the water, then add 2 cups of water to the rice.
- Cover the Instant Pot with the lid and turn knob to the sealing position. Pressure cook on high pressure for 4 minutes. Natural pressure release 10-12 minutes, then quick release by turning the knob to the venting position.
- Uncover and fluff rice with fork before serving.
I use the same one-to-one rice-to-water ratio, but then just press the RICE button on the upper right hand of the panel. It automatically sets the time and temperature. When the rice button finishes, do the 10 min natural release! Perfect rice!!
I am making 8 cups of rice in my instant pot. Do I add 4 mins of cooking time for every cup of rice?
I haven’t made that much rice in the instant pot before, so I am not sure. The most I have done is 4 cups with the times listed.
The only way I’m going to make rice moving forward! So much easier in the instant pot!
We make rice in the instant pot every week – no fail, love it!
I always have a hard time getting brown rice to turn out perfectly. Thanks to your handy chart, it was just perfect. The only way I’ll make it from now on!