Instant Pot Brown Rice

Instant Pot Brown Rice is an easy, hands-off recipe that cooks up fluffy, tender, and delicious. This simple pressure cooker method cuts your cook time and makes getting dinner on the table a breeze. 

Pressure cooker Basmati brown rice is fluffy, nicely sticky, and has the perfect touch of nutty flavor. We absolutely gobble it up with our Crockpot Teriyaki Meatballs—everyone in the family goes back for seconds!

We enjoy eating rice, but is cooking rice on the stovetop as challenging for you as it is for us? It never turns outright. It often bubbles over and makes a huge mess or seems a bit hard and undercooked. That’s one of the reasons we love making brown rice in the Instant Pot! 

Brown rice is excellent with Chicken Lettuce Wraps and Slow Cooker Chicken Curry.

Why We Love This Rice

• It’s a hands-off way to cook brown rice – you can step away from the stove!
• It always turns out fluffy and delicious – so tender!
• It takes only 5 minutes to active prep time.

This recipe is a no-fail way to prepare your side dish so you can focus on the other elements of dinner. 

Bonus! Did you know brown rice is the same grain as white rice, but it’s more nutrient-dense and high in fiber, so it’s a wonderful whole grain to serve your family. 

What is the Brown Rice to Water Ratio in the Instant Pot

Measurements matter when cooking rice perfectly in your pressure cooker, so you want to be as precise as possible.

We use 2 cups rice and 2 1/2 cups water when cooking brown rice in the Instant Pot. 

For enhanced flavor, we often substitute chicken broth and then use 2 cups brown rice with 1 cup water and 1 1/2 cups broth. You can also use all broth (chicken or vegetable) for the liquid, but we recommend using a low-sodium variety so that it’s healthier.

How Long To Cook Instant Pot Brown Rice

So our preferred time for cooking brown rice in the pressure cooker is 15 minutes with a natural release, but follow this chart for your desired result.

Amount of Rice	Amount of Liquid	Cook Time	Results
2 cups	2.5 cups	15 minutes High Pressure + natural release	fully cooked, tender and chewy
2 cups	2 cups	15 minutes High Pressure + natural release	firmer texture
2 cups	2.5 cups	20 minutes High Pressure + quick release	slightly firm texture

How To Make – Step By Step Instructions

Step 1 – Rinse Rice

First, measure your rice and then rinse it in cool water to remove the excess starch. Shake off any excess water, let it drain a minute, and then place the rice in your Instant Pot. 

Pro Tip: For a richer flavor, you can toast your rice before cooking it. Just add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the Instant Pot with your rice (before adding any liquid). Use the sauté mode and cook the rice for approximately 3-4 minutes. Turn off your Instant Pot and follow the remainder of the recipe.

Step 2 – Add Water

Next, add your water (or broth) to the pot and stir to combine. Make sure all of your rice is in the liquid and not sticking to the sides. 

Step 3 – Cook

Now, close the Instant Pot lid and make sure the steam valve is sealed. Set the Instant Pot to pressure cook (manual) at high pressure for 15 minutes. 

Step 4 – Natural Release

Once it beeps to let you know it’s finished, let the pressure naturally release. Just leave it alone – the release can take up to 20 minutes. 

This is a great time to finish up the rest of dinner!

Once the pressure fully releases, open the lid, fluff your rice with a fork and serve!!

How To Store

We like to make a big batch of this rice at the beginning of the week and then use it with recipes like burritos, salads, and roasted vegetables throughout the week. 

This is one of our Mom Hacks in the kitchen to cook once and eat twice! 

To properly store your brown rice:

IN THE REFRIGERATOR – Place it in an airtight container and keep it in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. 

IN THE FREEZER – Place your rice in a freezer-safe, airtight container and freeze for up to 3 – 4 months. Make sure to follow our tips for preventing freezer burn.

To thaw, place the rice in the freezer overnight. 

To reheat, place rice in the microwave with a sprinkle of water for a minute or less or warm it on low in a saucepan.

Pro Tip: To prevent bacteria growth, don’t leave your rice at room temperature. 

Equipment Used

Instant Pot – best-selling pressure cooker for beginners.
Fine Mesh Strainer – a kitchen staple for rinsing fine grains like rice and quinoa.
Measuring Cup – this is the set we’ve used for years.

Tasty Instant Pot Recipes

Instant Pot Butter chicken – an easy spice-filled way to enjoy Indian food at home.
Yummy Instant Pot Mac & Cheese – the classic recipe that requires only 4 minutes of cook time!
Instant Pot Tortellini Soup – a family-friendly recipe that is so simple to make! The addition of sausage is wonderful.
Instant Pot Lemon Chicken – one of our most popular Instant Pot recipes because the lemony sauce is out of this world!
Easy Instant Pot Spaghetti – the meat sauce makes this recipe a hearty and satisfying meal.

Tips & Tricks

• Make sure to thoroughly rinse and drain your rice before cooking to remove excess starch, which may make it gummy during the cooking process. 
• Typically, we use Brown Basmati Rice for the recipe. It may not work as well with other types of brown rice.
• We prefer not to add seasoning while cooking, so you can use the rice in a variety of recipes. However, if you’re preparing your rice to eat immediately, seasonings are wonderful to include. Think garlic, onion powder, pepper, turmeric, or other herbs and spices. 
• To keep your rice moist, we don’t recommend keeping it on the warm setting after it finishes cooking. 
• We use the PRESSURE COOKING SETTING, not the RICE SETTING when cooking rice in the Instant Pot.
• Use a standard measuring cup for your rice, not the cup that comes with the Instant Pot.

Because we love pressure cooker rice so much, we can’t wait to try Chicken and Brown Rice in the Instant Pot.

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