Rice Cooking Time Instant Pot

How To Cook Rice in the Instant Pot

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We all know and love the Instant Pot for its electric pressure-cooking capabilities, but let us not forget its multitude of other functions. Just to name a few, your Instant Pot can make yogurt, sauté, slow cook, and, yes, cook rice!

If you've completely forgotten that your Instant Pot can function as a rice cooker or simply need an easy-to-follow guide, this step-by-step is for you. Here's how to use your Instant Pot to cook any type of rice.

Note: This method will work with any type of electric pressure cooker, not just the Instant Pot. But if you want to buy an Instant Pot, we've linked a model below!

Credit: Photo: Joe Lingeman/Kitchn; Food Stylist: Pearl Jones/Kitchn

Should I Use the "Rice" Button on My Instant Pot?

The Instant Pot's rice button is best used for white rice, as it is specifically calibrated to weigh white rice and water and cook the rice accordingly. This is ideal for weeknights when you truly want to set and forget your rice, but not great for cooking different varieties of rice on the fly.

Luckily, you can use your Instant Pot's manual pressure function to cook white, brown, or wild rice on high pressure in just a few minutes. Here's how to do it.

Credit: Photo: Joe Lingeman/Kitchn; Food Stylist: Pearl Jones/Kitchn

Key Steps for Rice in the Instant Pot

Rinse the rice before cooking. Rinsing rice before cooking removes any dirt from processing, gets rid of starch that can make the rice sticky, and, I've found, makes the rice taste better. According to Instant Pot's manual, rinsing the rice also makes up for the small amount of moisture lost in evaporation during the cooking process.
Use the right ratio of rice to water. Instant Pot suggests any rice can be cooked with a one-to-one rice-to-water ratio, but during testing, we found this wasn't universally true — both among Instant Pot models and other multi-cookers. Use slightly more water when cooking brown rice and wild rice to prevent undercooking and scorching. Plus, it's better to err on the side of more water, since most rice varieties can be drained if there's excess moisture.
Pressure cook the rice on high. Lock the lid in place and set to cook at HIGH pressure for the following times:
- White rice (basmati, jasmine): 5 minutes
- Long-grain brown rice: 10 minutes
- Wild rice: 15 minutes
Let the rice natural release for at least 10 minutes.Using natural release for rice yields fluffy results and less likelihood that the rice on the bottom of the pot will stick or burn.

Fluffing and Serving Instant Pot Rice

After 10 minutes of natural release, most of the pressure should be gone from the pot, but at this point you can open the valve and release any remaining pressure. Use a fork to fluff the rice, and turn the Instant Pot to the warm setting to keep it hot for serving.

Here's how to cook any kind of rice in your Instant Pot with manual pressure.

alcohol-free
egg-free
kidney-friendly
peanut-free
low-potassium
pork-free
pescatarian
gluten-free
tree-nut-free
red-meat-free
low-fat
fish-free
vegetarian
shellfish-free
sugar-conscious
soy-free
wheat-free

Per serving, based on

servings. (% daily value)

Calories 363
Fat 3.5 g (5.4%)
Saturated 2.0 g (10.0%)
Carbs 74.0 g (24.7%)
Fiber 1.2 g (4.8%)
Sugars 0.1 g
Protein 6.6 g (13.3%)
Sodium 244.9 mg (10.2%)

Ingredients

For white rice:

2 cups
white, basmati, or jasmine rice
2 cups
water
1/2 teaspoon
kosher salt
1 tablespoon
unsalted butter

For brown rice:

2 cups
long grain brown rice
2 1/4 cups
water
1/2 teaspoon
kosher salt
1 tablespoon
unsalted butter

For wild rice:

2 cups
wild rice
3 cups
water
1/2 teaspoon
kosher salt
1 tablespoon
unsalted butter

Instructions

Rinse the rice. Measure the rice into a fine-mesh strainer and rinse under cool running water for about a minute or until the water runs clear.
Combine the rice, water, salt, and butter in the Instant Pot. Dump the rice into an Instant Pot or electric pressure cooker. Note that the water amounts are different depending on the rice you're using! Add the water and salt to the rice and stir to combine. Toss the butter in, and don't worry if it floats.
Pressure cook the rice on high. Lock the lid in place and set to cook under HIGH pressure for the following times:
White rice: 5 minutes
Brown rice: 10 minutes
Wild rice: 15 minutes
The Instant Pot will take 8 to 10 minutes to come up to pressure.
Let the pressure naturally release for 10 minutes. When the cook time is up, let the pressure naturally release for 10 minutes.
Release any remaining pressure, fluff, and serve. Quick release any remaining pressure release. Uncover, fluff the rice with a fork, and serve immediately.

Recipe Notes

Storage: Leftover rice can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 5 days or frozen for a few months.

Nutritional data: The nutritional data is calculated for white rice.

Meghan Splawn

Food Editor, Skills

Meghan was the Food Editor for Kitchn's Skills content. She's a master of everyday baking, family cooking, and harnessing good light. Meghan approaches food with an eye towards budgeting — both time and money — and having fun. Meghan has a baking and pastry degree, and spent the first 10 years of her career as part of Alton Brown's culinary team. She co-hosts a weekly podcast about food and family called Didn't I Just Feed You.

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