Instant Pot Rice

Instant pot rice is my go-to when I need rice for a meal. Whether the rice is a side dish or part of the main course, using the instant pot will save you time and give you perfect rice every time.

I used to make rice on a pot on the stove. Sometimes it would turn out great, others it would be hard or mushy. Most of the time, I didn’t get it quite right.

Then I switched over to a rice cooker. My best friend introduced me to this concept, and I had to get one. With the rice cooker, I got perfect rice but it still took at least 30 minutes to cook.

And the big downside to using a rice cooker is that’s all it’s good for. You have an appliance taking up space that only does one thing. Kitchen space is at a premium for me, so I want the fewest number of appliances that do the most things for me.

Enter the Instant Pot. If you don’t have one of these I highly recommend getting one. They’re a pressure cooker, rice cooker, slow cooker, and more all in one. Hello more space!

There are more brands than Instant Pot that do the same thing. I’m only familiar with Instant Pot because that’s what I have. If the others work the same way, this tutorial should work for any of them.

Making Instant Pot Rice

To make rice in the Instant Pot, add equal amounts of rice and water into the bowl. It doesn’t matter if it’s white or brown rice, it’s still a 1:1 ratio of water and rice.

Place the lid on and make sure it’s set to SEALING. If it’s sent to VENTING it won’t build pressure so this is very important.

To make white rice, click manual and set the timer for 5 minutes.

To make brown rice, click manual and set the timer for 20 minutes. Brown rice needs longer to cook since the bran and germ layers of the rice grains have not been removed.

You can walk away from the Instant Pot, work on the rest of the meal the rice will be served with, and don’t worry about it. One of my favorite things about this method is that you don’t have to babysit it to get perfect rice.

You’ll hear beeping when the Instant Pot reaches pressure and begins the cooking time, as well as when it finishes the cooking time and starts to depressurize.

Venting the Rice

Let it naturally depressurize for about 8-10 minutes. It may be done pressurizing before that time, but if it isn’t go ahead and switch the lever to VENTING to release the remaining pressure.

Listen for the valve to click open, and then you know the rice is done. You’ve spent maybe a minute of hands on time making the rice and for white rice it’s taken about 20 minutes total to have perfect rice to serve.

Check Out These Recipes for More Ideas:

Dirty Rice

Thai Red Curry