How To Cook White Rice In The Instant Pot

What Ingredients Do I Need

What Do You Serve Long Grain Rice With

Long grain rice is not only affordable, but it is also versatile, making it a pantry staple. Its neutral flavor allows it to be mixed into both sweet and savory dishes to make low cost yet filling meals.

• Stuffed peppers

If you are looking for another delicious and quick meal check out this Instant Pot Chicken, Broccoli, and Rice or Instant Pot Cashew Chicken!

Manual Settings For Instant Pot Rice

Otherwise, rinse the rice and add it to the pot.; Add the water .; Add a bit of butter or olive oil if desired.; Its not necessary but it adds nice flavor.; You can also use diluted chicken or vegetable broth instead of the water for even more flavor.

Season with salt.

Place the lid on the Instant Pot and lock it.; Make sure the valve is sealed.; Press Manual or Pressure Cook depending on your machine, select HIGH, and use the + or buttons to adjust the cooking time to 5 minutes.; Turn off the Keep Warm button, if possible, which would cause the rice to overcook. ;

When the time is up, allow the pressure to naturally release .; When the valve has dropped after the pressure has naturally released , open the Instant Pot .

Fluff the rice with a fork and serve hot.

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How To Avoid Mushy Rice

Mushy rice happens when the ratio of water to rice is not perfect. Many in the Instant Pot / Pressure Cooking community like a 1:1 ratio of rice to water. But I prefer a 1: 1 1/4 ratio. 1 Cup Rice to 1 1/4 Cup Water or liquid. This has always given me the best success.

Cooking Time is also important. Over cooking or under cooking can leave you with rice you prefer not to eat. And different varieties of rice require different cooking times.

Always fluff your rice! Fluffing rice is simple. Use a fork to gently lift the rice and separate right after cooking. It also helps to turn the Instant Pot off after the cook and natural pressure release has ended. The Keep Warm setting keeps heat on the bottom of the rice which will make the rice stick to the pot.

With such a fast and easy way to make rice, youll probably see it in your diets a lot more too! But thats okay, I have a ton of recipes using cooked white rice you can check out and try!

Cooked White Rice is great for serving with stir fry or teriyaki chicken.

It also makes a great dish next to some beef stroganoff! Even the leftover rice is great because it can be used in a fried rice recipe the next day!

So dont worry if you make too much, there are always a few great uses available.

Minimum Amounts Of Rice

One last rule of thumb to keep in mind is that youll need to cook at least 1 1/2 cups of rice in a 6-quart pressure cooker to get nice, even results. This is because the bottom of the pot isnt perfectly flat, but slightly concave. If you use less rice, the grains in the middle of the pot will not cook as evenly, since they wont be submerged in the water as much as the rice on the sides of the pot.

On the flip side, dont overfill your pressure cooker with too much rice, either! It should be half full or less when youre cooking any grains, beans, pastas, or other foods that can tend to foam up. I find that I get the best results when I cook between 1 1/2 and 3 cups of rice at a time.

• TIP! By the way, you can always make extra rice and freeze the extra. Here’s how to do that.

Those are my best tips for cooking rice! Of course, you can also just follow the basic recipe below. Either way, enjoy!

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How Many Cups Of Rice Can You Cook In An Instant Pot

In theory: 2.5 cups in a 3-quart Instant Pot. 5 cups in a 6 quart Instant Pot. 6.5 cups in an 8-quart Instant Pot.

This is US standard measuring cups and raw dry rice.

So the mathematical thought for the theory is the following:

• 1 cup of raw white rice gives on average 3 cups cooked rice.
• Instant Pots should not be filled more than 2/3 of its full capacity at any time. So we have to take the expanded rice into consideration.
• A 6-quart Instant Pots capacity is 24 cups and two-thirds of that are 16 cups.
• There should not be more than 16 cups cooked rice in the Instant Pot and since 1 cup raw makes 3 cups cooked we have to divide the 16 by 3. That makes 5.3 cups.

The calculation is only theory though. I have not tried that many cups in my own 6-quart. 4 cups raw dry rice are the maximum I have cooked myself without any issues and with perfect results.

The Ratio For Water To Rice Is 1 To 1

The golden rule for the ratio for Japanese short-grain rice to water is 1 to 1.1 or 1.2. So if the rice is 180 ml , you will need 200 ml water.

However, when the rice is cooked in the Instant Pot, the steam does not escape from the pressure cooking. Therefore, the best ratio for the rice to water is one to one.

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Best Cooking Time For Instant Pot Rice

The amount of water will remain the same. Different kinds of rice, however, take different amounts of time to cook under pressure. Wild rice and brown rice will require more time than white rice, for instance. Any variety can be cooked at either high or low pressure; it comes out a little fluffier at low pressure, and a little chewier at high pressure.

Although you can cook any variety of rice on the automatic rice setting, brown rice works better on either a manual setting, or a setting thats specifically designed for whole grains, such as the Multigrain setting on the Instant Pot.

Here are my preferred cooking times for rice in the pressure cooker:

• Brown rice: 20 minutes on high pressure for firm rice, or 22 minutes for softer grains
• White rice: 15 minutes on low pressure for firm rice, or 17 minutes for softer grains

How To Make Perfect Long Grain Rice In An Instant Pot

This rice recipe is bound to save your side dish dilemmas in an instant. All it takes is a little time and dedication

• For this recipe you are going to need 2 cups of long grain rice. If you want to substitute Jasmine or Basmati rice, that will also work, just make sure to rinse them before cooking.
• You are going to want to add water, chicken or vegetable broth to your instant pot. What you use is totally up to your preferences.
• Pour the rice and the water or broth into the Instant Pot and place the lid on top. Turn the valve to seal and cook on high for 3 minutes.
• Allow the instant pot to come to pressure.
• Once the timer goes off, allow the pressure cooker to natural release for 15 minutes.
• After allowing the Instant Pot to natural release, set the valve to venting and allow it to release all extra pressure prior to opening.
• Carefully open the lid, tilting it away from your face.
• Using a fork, fluff the rice up and serve.

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How Do You Make Rice In The Instant Pot

Its very simple, but there are a couple changes that I make from my traditional recipe for perfect rice on the stovetop. First is the water ratio While I generally use 1 cup rice to 1 ¼ cups water for my stovetop rice, in the Instant Pot, that ratio drops down to 1-to-1. 1 cup of water for every one cup of rice You can make as little or as much Instant Pot rice as youd like.

The reason for the reduced water is that the Instant Pot is more sealed than a traditional cooking pot, meaning less evaporation of water during the cooking process. Be sure to rinse that rice before adding it to the Instant Pot, to get rid of any additional starches Just run it under water until the water is clear. The result is perfect Instant Pot rice thats light and fluffy.

I also like to add in 1 teaspoon of oil for each cup of rice that Im making This not only prevents the rice from sticking to the pot, but it also cuts down on the foaming a bit so that your Instant Pot doesnt sputter and spit. Plus, for perfect Instant Pot rice, I always add a pinch of salt for each cup of rice that Im cooking, to flavor the rice right from the get-go.

Why This Recipe Works

When you cook rice it Instant Pot, it works like a Rice Cooker. It allows the grain to absorb all the liquid, while keeping it light and fluffy.

The only difference is the Pressure Cooker makes the whole process faster. The cooking time is only 3 minutes. However, we need to naturally release the pressure for 10 minutes to make sure that all the liquid is absorbed.

The main trick for this recipe is the right water/rice ratio. Thanks to that, your rice will be perfectly cooked without being too mushy.

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Other Ways To Cook Rice:

• Rinse the rice in a strainer until the water is fairly clear.
• Place the rice, water, salt and butter into the Instant Pot.
• Close the lid, and set the steam release valve to the seal position.
• Either press the Rice button if your machine has one, of press with Manual or Pressure Cook depending on your machine, select HIGH, and use the + or buttons to adjust the cooking time. Turn off the Keep Warm button, if possible, which would cause the rice to overcook.
• When the time is up, all the pressure to naturally release . Make sure the Keep Warm setting is turned off. When the valve has dropped after the pressure has naturally released , open the Instant Pot, fluff the rice with a fork and serve hot.

How To Use The Rice Button On The Instant Pot

The rice button on the Instant Pot cooks at low pressure for 12 minutes. You can use this setting for cooking white rice, but for brown rice youll want to manually cook it at high pressure for 22 minutes instead.

I personally prefer to use the method below, cooking the rice for 4 minutes at high pressure, but you can use either method with great results.

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Setting Selection And Cook Time

Use the manual button on the Instant Pot and set it to high pressure. This function provides the most control for any variety of white rice. I find that for long grain white rice, basmati, or jasmine, pressure cook for 3 minutes then natural-release for 10 minutes to yield separate, fluffy grains. If cooking short grain or medium grain white rice like sushi or calrose, use 1 1/4 cups water for 1 cup of rice. Pressure cook for 5 minutes and use the same natural-release time.

What Is The Cooking Time For Other Kinds Of Rice

I made you a graph! Here are the most common types of rice to cook in a pressure cooker, the pressure setting you should use, grain to water ratio, and cook time.

For each of these, perform a Quick Release when the rice has finished cooking. I also have some articles on how to make Brown Rice in the Instant Pot and Wild Rice in the Instant Pot.

If you love rice, make sure to check out this post on 20 Rice Recipes to Make with the Rice in your Pantry.

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Ingredients For Instant Pot Rice

• Rice: I like to make this recipe with Jasmine rice. Basmati or long grain white rice will also work well with this method.
• Water: Nothing complicated here, tap water is just fine. To add more flavor to your rice, you can swap the water for vegetable of chicken stock.
• Salt: A little salt helps to add flavor to the rice as its cooking.

Can I Double Or Triple This Recipe

Of course! The good thing is, doubling an Instant Pot recipe is easy. If you double the rice, make sure that you double the amount of water and vice versa.

If you increase the amount of rice/water in your Instant Pot, make sure not to cross the No-Fill line. This could create an overflow or a disaster!

However, if you increase the amount of rice in the Instant Pot, you shouldnt need to increase your cooking time at all. No matter what, cook your rice for the same amount of time.

The pressure building function may take a little longer to process with more rice/water in the pressure cooker. However, the specific cook time will stay the same.

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Can I Cook More Than 1 Cup Of Rice

If you want to cook more than 1 cup of rice, you can. The key to cooking perfect rice is cooking it using the 1:1 ratio method. For example, if you want to make 2 cups of rice, you will need two cups of water.

If want to make 3 cups of rice, you will need 3 cups of water. The reason this method works for any rice is because all rice absorbs the same amount of liquid when cooking. The more rice you use the more water you will need.

If you are not using enough water, you may end up with the dreaded burn notice, or worse dry, crunchy rice.

NEVER fill your Instant Pot more than half full with rice and water! Rice expands and needs space to grow.

Now for some Instant Pot Rice trouble shooting!

Rice Sticking To The Bottom Of The Instant Pot

Getting the rice to water ratio correct and adding a tiny bit of fat should alleviate the sticking issue, but if you are still losing rice to the bottom of the Instant Pot, Ive got you covered.

I almost always use a natural pressure release when Im cooking rice, because I start the rice at the beginning of meal prep and have plenty of time to ignore it. I dont have a sticking problem, but if you do, try using a quick release. A quick-release will rapidly expel available moisture in the form of steam.

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Once you have it, the Instant Pot is completely fail-proof when it comes to rice.

I love it because I cant boil something over, which happens 90% of the time when Im cooking on the stovetop, even if Im standing right there. I also dont have to worry about fiddling with the temperature, or whether I stir or not, or even setting a timer.

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Can You Make It Ahead Of Time

Yes, this Instant Pot rice will keep well in the fridge for up to 4 to 5 days and it also freezes well too for up to 3 months. Frozen rice should be thawed before reheating.

To reheat cooked rice, its best to do this in the microwave. Place a couple of teaspoons of water with the rice in a microwaveable bowl and cook on high for 3 minutes until it is piping hot.

Exactly How Long Should I Cook My Rice

Altitude, or where you live, can play a big role on how long you should cook your rice. So, if the recipe you find doesnt quite work the way it did for someone else, it may be due to your geography and where you live. Its good to make the rice just as you like it, write it down and stick to those cooking times the next time youre making rice in the Instant Pot.

If you found the rice to be dry or you got a burn notice whilst cooking your Instant Pot rice, then try taking a couple minutes off your cooking time. If you open your pressure cooker and find that there is water that has not been absorbed by the rice, you will want to cook it a minute or 2 longer.

Additionally, if you are cooking a large amount of rice, you may want to add another minute or 2 to the time. We have cooked rice at both 5 and 7 minutes and it tastes great at both cooking times.

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