After weeks of experimenting, I got it right. Here is your fail-proof guide for Instant Pot Rice. White rice, brown rice, wild rice, and many more, basically an encyclopedia about cooking rice in a pressure cooker.
If you’ve followed along for a while, you know I’m a huuuuge fan of pressure cooking. My Instant Pot Chicken and Rice recipe is not only a hit at my house but thousands of others now, too. YAY!
What Is The Best Rice To Water Ratio?
You’ll be surprised but it is always and for ALL sorts 1:1. Yes, you read that right.
Instant Pot Rice calls for a 1:1 rice to water ratio
You wonder why on the stove different ratios are called for. Well, the secret to rice cooking is that the darker or wilder the rice the longer it needs to cook and the longer something needs to cook, the more water evaporates during the process.
This leads us to the conclusion, that different kinds of rice do not necessarily need different kinds of amounts of water to “cook” but rather more water to evaporate.
Since the Instant Pot gives a tight seal and high pressure, no water evaporates at all.
So yes, brown rice and even wild rice need the exact same amount of water as white rice in an evaporation-proof environment. *mind-blown*
What If My Rice Is Too Hard With a 1:1 Ratio?
If your rice is hard or uncooked that doesn’t mean next time it needs more water, that means, next time it needs more TIME. Did you wait for FULL natural pressure release?
Unfortunately, you cannot “safe” undercooked rice in the Instant Pot as putting the lid back on and turning the pot back on just leads to the dreaded burn warning. I recommend adding the undercooked rice to a soup or stew maybe 5 minutes before it’s done simmering.
What If My Rice Is Too Mushy?
You most likely used too much water. 1:1 water to rice ratio is essential for all rice types.
Use the exact same container to measure both rice and water. Some cups are imperial (236ml), others are metric (250ml) and the little plastic cup that comes with the Instant Pot is neither (160ml). So do not use different measuring cups to measure rice and water.
Does 1:1 Apply For 1 Cup Just As It Does For 4 Cups?
YES! When making Instant Pot Rice you need 1 cup of water for every cup of rice, regardless of if you cook just 1 cup or 4 cups.
This is different when you cook rice on the stovetop where evaporation happens. The more rice you cook the less water you need when using a regular pot on the stove.
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 imperial 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 Pot’s 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.
Natural Pressure Release (NPR) vs. Quick Pressure Release (QR)
What’s better? Hands down, no doubt >> natural pressure release. If you cook rice longer so you can do quick pressure release, with the hope to have the rice cooked faster overall, it gets sticky and mushy.
I encourage you to be patient and wait for natural pressure release. I timed all rice and there doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason to the timing. Even the same kind of rice in the same amount has had different natural pressure release times.
What Is The Rice Button For?
The rice button was designed only for white rice (Jasmine, Basmati, or regular long-grain). It works fine with those types of rice. The shorter high-pressure cooking times with natural pressure release work better though in my opinion.
Also, the Rice Button does not work for any other type of rice but white rice.
Does Rice Have to be Rinsed Before Cooking?
Opinions vary widely and there seems to be no right or wrong answer. It’s all up to personal preference. However, thankfully it is irrelevant for the cooking times presented.
Both rinsed and dry rice work with my cooking times and method. Nothing has to be adjusted or changed either way. Just make sure you drain your rice well if you rinse it. Then use 1:1 ratio.
Instant Pot Rice Cooking Times
Now let’s get to the individual kinds of rice:
White Rice
I’ve tried both Basmati and Jasmin and both cook in the exact same time, 3 minutes high pressure + NPR. The thicker regular long-grain white rice cooks better with 4 minutes high pressure + NPR.
Brown Rice
I’ve experimented with Basmati brown rice and with short grain brown rice and the Basmati cooked faster than the short grain. From all my experiments it seems like the thicker the individual grains, the longer they need. With the exception of wild rice, that one needs long regardless of being a skinny dude. 22 minutes high pressure + NPR for the thin Basmati and 24 minutes for the thick short grain.
Wild Rice
Some people swear the grain HAS to burst open, others swear, it’s best when “just about to burst” and others like it completely unburst. Guess what, you can achieve any consistency you like when you cook Instant Pot Wild Rice. Here are the times for whole unbroken wild rice: 28 minutes (unburst), 30 minutes (some burst some unburst), 32 minutes (burst).
Red Rice and Black Rice
Red rice and black rice is pretty thick and needs quite some time to break down so give it tiiime. It’s round and thick and it takes quite a bit for it to absorb all the water. It’s like a new towel that needs time to get soaking wet ;) 30 minutes high pressure + NPR.
Sushi Rice
I was actually pretty sure this would take just as long as regular white rice but surprise surprise. It’s not as sticky if you cook it or only 3 minutes and this is the only rice you really want to be sticky, right? So increasing the cooking time actually made it stickier and better to work with for sushi. Cooke it 5 minutes on high pressure + NPR.
Wild Rice Blend
Soooo, this one is the trickiest because it has several different kinds of rice that individually cook in different times. I found it cooks best in an in-between time. The wild rice in the mix will be completely unburst but the brown rice won’t be all mushy. Usually, that’ll be 28 minutes high-pressure + NPR. Of course, it will depend widely on what grains exactly are in your blend.
How to Reheat Rice in the Instant Pot
So, I’ve seen a couple of people recommend adding water or oil and stir it in the inner pot and pretty much making a mess, haha.
Um, not my favorite method.
I like things simple. I basically want the same convenience as a microwave but without the waves.
I store my leftover rice in a heat-proof glass container and then place the trivet in the Instant Pot, add a cup of water and place the rice uncovered on the trivet. Put the lid on, knob to sealing and press steam for 5 minutes. Quick pressure release, done!
So here you have it. The longest post in the history of Green Healthy Cooking.
Instant Pot Rice
Equipment
- Pressure Cooker
Ingredients
- 1 cup rice (Basmati white, Jasmin white, Basmati brown, short-grain brown, red, black, wild, wild blend, sushi)
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
Instructions
- Add all ingredients into the Instant Pot. You can double, triple or quadruple all ingredients in same amounts.
- Make sure sealing ring is placed properly in lid, add lid, turn shut and turn knob to sealing position.
- Cook on high pressure for the number of minutes instructed below depending on the type of rice:White Rice (Basmati or Jasmin): 3 minutesWhite Sushi Rice: 5 minutesBrown Rice (Basmati): 22 minutesShort Grain Brown Rice: 24 minutesRed Rice: 30 minutesWild Rice Blend: 28 minutesWild Rice: 30 minutesBlack Pearl Rice: 30 minutes
- Natural Pressure Release until pin drops (max. 18 minutes for 1 cup and max 30 mins for 4 cups).
- Remove all rice from pot immediately to avoid it sticking to the bottom. If needing to keep warm, leave rice in pot after natural pressure release without opening the lid to avoid steam being released and drying out the rice > making it stick to the bottom.
Notes
- I use a US standard cup. 236ml in volume.
- I, personally, do NOT rinse or wash my rice.
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Erica says
What if I wanted to make a rice blend of jasmine, red and brown rice?
Mac says
…and, use e.g., chicken broth in lieu of water? Any suggested adjustments for sauteing onions and the rice before adding liquid?
Lorena Grater says
No problem. You can use broth instead of water. Works perfectly well. If you want to sauté onions first I recommend (once sautéed) to remove the inner pot from the instant pot and add the water first and deglaze the bottom to avoid from getting the burn warning. It’s important that you remove it from the heat source though or else too much water evaporates during the deglazing process. Then add the rice, give it a quick stir, and return the inner pot to the instant pot, seal it and follow instructions of the recipe card.
Mac says
Tried it – worked out really well…
Michelle says
I followed the recipe and my rice was undercooked. Not sure what happened. :(
Lorena Grater says
Oh nooo. What type of rice did you use? How long did your pot take to come to pressure and how long did the natural pressure release take (approx)?. Is your kitchen counter level?
Ali says
This is. the most comprehensive guide to making rice in an instant pot and I’ve printed and saved to refer to regularly. Thank you!
Jazmyn says
Eureka!!!! I am a cook at a small private school. We only have instant pots and toaster ovens for cooking. Most of the lunches has rice with it, mostly because it’s cheap and because of gluten free kids. I tried every recipe of “perfect rice” and it came up mushy everytime! But with your ratio, it came out perfect!!!! Thank you so much for this!!!!
JS says
I have used your rice instructions with perfect results! The rice comes out better than in my old rice cooker. Many thanks. I recently tried to buy my favorite brown basmati rice from my favorite Pakistani grocer. He was out of it, but he insisted I buy what he claims is the best rice and the only rice his wife will cook (I’ve tasted her food and it is delicious). So, I bought a huge cloth bag of it without really looking at the bag. Now as I prepare to cook it, I note it is white, parboiled basmati and it is very long grained. I will have to google what par boiled means, but I wonder what the cook time will be if I do the usual @:1 ratio you suggest. Any ideas?
Lorena Grater says
I’ve heard of par-boiled but never seen it myself. Others here have reported that 7 mins HP + full NPR works for par-boiled. Still 1:1 ratio. I hope you’re successful with the timing :)
Gigi says
Oh no, no, no! I don’t know how one would do parboiled in the InstantPot, but what that means is “partially cooked”. So, quick cooking rice. Like Uncle Ben’s.
You might like it, many people do. I do not. I would return it.
Eefje Dina Kolkman says
This is very useful!
Stephanie Zwingle says
This has been the most helpful instant pot blog post I have ever come across. Flawless rice every single time. Thank you for taking the time to go into such great detail!
Zain says
This is super helpful! To be sure I’m not misunderstanding, the cooking time doesn’t depend on how much rice is being cooked, correct?
Lorena Grater says
Correct. The cooking time stays the same because the more volume you have in your Instant Pot, the longer it takes to get to pressure and to naturally release pressure so that way the overall time in heat gets extended automatically.
Will says
After weeks of experimenting, I got it right.