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 “save” 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 standard American (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 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 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.
If you want fluffy rice, 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 (regular long-grain, Jasmine, or Basmati rice). 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.
Do I Have To Rinse Rice 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 in a fine mesh strainer 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.
Burn Warning Trouble Shooting
The wicked burn warning, it’s the Instant Pot user’s nemesis! For starters, some Instant Pots are a lot more temperamental than others. You most likely did nothing wrong, however, you are dealing with what we could compare with a toddler with a temper tantrum.
If your Instant Pot is generally one to scream “burn” easily and quickly I recommend you stay close in the beginning phase while it gets the water boiling and trying to get to pressure. When the pot is trying to push up the safety pin but seems to not be able to, that’s the critical moment. Push down on the handle of the lid a little to help it get to pressure.
If the pot tries and tries to get to pressure but can’t too much water evaporates through the valve and thus leaves too little inside the pot and the rice starts to burn.
If even with a little push on the lid, it cannot get to pressure, the sealing ring might not be positioned properly inside the lid. You will have to abort the mission and start over, making sure the sealing ring is still in great condition and placed correctly.
If the Instant Pot was able to pressure cook for most of the time and only showed the burn warning at the end of the cooking time, then just unplug it and wait for natural pressure release. Often times it still manages to cook the rice and just a tiny corner got burnt.

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. Takes on average 9-12 minutes (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.Β
- I, personally, do NOT rinse or wash my rice.Β
- Cooking time stays the same no matter how many cups you cook.
Razzy 7 says
Interesting and helpful guide. I like the idea of making this post, the Instant Pot Rice Encyclopedia and I hope you will revise the post as we all learn more through sharing so we’ll be able to cook perfect rice, every time, regardless of the type of rice. If you keep updating your post we won’t always have to scroll through all the comments. Haven’t read all the current comments yet but I will.
One factor I think could make a difference in rice cooking is the age of the rice. A bag of the same kind of rice (e.g. a certain brand’s jasmine rice) could vary somewhat in age, i.e. how long has it been on the shelf in the supermarket and how long has it been in your pantry? The older the rice, the less moisture the grains will have and that could affect the cooking time and results.
I know Steve Sando of Rancho Gordo makes this point with respect to beans. Beans from Rancho Gordo (which are fabulous, by the way) are going to be fresh because once a season’s supply of a given bean is gone, that’s it until the next growing season. Beans from a supermarket may or may not be so fresh as apparently they could have been sitting in a warehouse for several years. I don’t know if that’s the case with rice as old rice can become rancid, but it still can vary in age.
Lorena says
This definitely applies to beans. I’ve had loooads of comments on my bean post. It goes from 5-star reviews to 1-star reviews because some people have very fresh beans and some have older beans like I do. It’s super frustrating. Fortunately, I haven’t found age makes any difference at all for rice though, phew. So that’s great and almost everybody is being 100% successful with my timings :)
Jen says
Age definitely makes a difference in rice cooking. “Old rice” is rice that was harvested the year prior and will cook up more dry and not as tender.
Also the best texture and fluff factor in rice comes from rinsing it thoroughly until the water runs clear.
Beth says
I wanted to share my good experience and the tweeks I made. I live in Denver, approximately 5,280 elevation. I had Yoga brand organic brown long grain rice. (There wasnβt a long grain brown cooking direction). I had a 2 lb bag and wanted to cook it all. Here is what I did.
1. Measured rice out, my 2 lb bag was 5 cups dry. I did rinse because with this brand, there is dirt in the final product if you donβt. Please rinse your rice!!
2. Put rinse rice in inner pot. Add 5 1/4 cups of water.
3. Pressure cook on high pressure for 27 minutes, with keep warm feature on.
4. Natural release. It took 37 minutes after cooking was completed for the pressure pin to finally drop (it felt like forever, but was so worth it). I fluffed it with the rice paddle and it was perfect. Best non sticky fully cooked rice texture Iβve ever had! Please note it wasnβt burned or stuck to the bottom at this point. I forgot to turn the warm feature off at this point though, and about 40 minutes later the bottom grains were crusted to the bottom.
5. We enjoyed what we were hungry for for dinner. Then, I filled up 1 quart feeezer bags (made 3), squished and laid them flat, pushed our air and sealed. I then have 3 perfect family sized portions of cooked brown rice. I label and freeze these so I just have to defrost or simple microwave for 3-4 minutes and have perfect rice ready to go for future meals.
Yum and thanks! This worked better than any other recipes Iβve tried. My family prefers white rice but I prefer the health benefits from brown. My kids and husband said they preferred this recipe over classic white they love. But my PSA: Please please rinse (not soak) your rice in the future.
Lorena says
Fantastic!!!! Thank you so much for that thorough breakdown!! This will be so incredibly helpful for both people wanting to cook large batches and people living at altitude. Thank you!!!
Katie says
I have a Cosori. I am cooking the entire 2lb bag of Mahatma Organic white rice. 27 mins seems way too long? I have a white rice setting it auto sets it for 6 mins? Help! π©
Lorena says
?? Why would you cook white rice for 27 minutes? I suggest 3 minutes + natural pressure release for white rice.
David says
Lindbergh Wild Rice Blend 1:1 rice to water ratio, 28 mins, natural steam release, only about 200′ above sea level. There was still water left, but wild rice was done; However the rest was a tad bit mushy. Only a tad, otherwise pretty close to spot on. Thanks for the tips! Might go with a few less minutes. Maybe altitude has an effect? Β―\_(γ)_/Β―
Lorena says
At 200, altitude shouldn’t play a role. Was it the rice blend that has quinoa in it? That’s why it’s mushy. Wild rice takes quite long but quinoa actually only takes 1 minute. Those blends are pretty tricky to get right because of the different grains. It’s weird that there was still water in there though. Make sure, that when you lift off the lid, you don’t let the water condensation drip back into the pot but rather put the lid all wet into the sink to dry there.
David says
No, no quinoa in that mix, but I’m sure you’re right about the different grains. The contrast between wild rice and brown rice it most likely what was the issue.
John says
Lundberg short grain brown rice (Costco). 35 minutes. Sea level. Just past crunchy. With or without olive oil and salt.
Lorena says
Hi John, I’m very surpised with that timing, did you choose high pressure not low pressure? And did you let pressure release naturally vs manually?
susiedubs says
Thanks for all of your info on rice cooking in the instant pot! I used Rice Select brand Jasmati rice and followed the instructions for white rice. It was almost perfect but was very slightly underdone…a little crunchy right at the ends of each grain. What do you suggest for time? I live at sea level in Massachusetts, USA.
Lorena says
Hi Susie, I’m not familiar with that brand. Are the rice grains fairly thick? Thicker than Jasmin or Basmati? If only a little I would probably add only 1 more minute of high pressure cooking time. If they are much thicker I would add maybe 2 extra minutes. At 5 minutes HP & complete natural pressure release they should totally be done. (You did let the pressure release naturally when cooking your rice, right?)
Kris says
I’ve always soaked my rice before cooking it to make it more digestible/break down the phytates. Any tips to cooking rice then when it has been soaked?
Lorena says
how long do you usually cook it in a regular pot on the stove and what rice to water ratio when you soak it? And which kind of rice?
Sam Day says
Hello,
What you recommend if i just wanted to cook a 1/2 cup of rice ?
I have 6qt model
Lorena says
Hi Sam! I recommend the PiP-method (Pot in Pot). I was finally able to test that. Works perfect. Find a heat proof container (preferably thick ceramic or stainless steel or thick glass) that fits in your pot and add 1/2 cup rice and half cup water to it. Put 1 cup water in the bottom of your instant pot, then the trivet, then your small pot (no lid required) with rice on top of the trivet. Put on the lid and set on High Pressure for the time necessary depending on type of rice. White: 3 minutes, Brown Basmati: 22 minutes etc etc. Wait for Natural Pressure Release and done. :) Check out my Lentils and Rice Post here on my blog and watch the video. There I’m using the PiP-method so you can get a better idea of what I’m talking about.
Robin Meier says
Why bother using it! Cook in pan
Lorena says
I explain in the post, why I bother :)
Yvette says
Awesome post Lorena,
Do you have any suggestions for when cooking white rice WITH something else, like chicken burrito bowls? I find the rice is always overcooked when I make recipes that cook the rice along with other food.
Thanks much!
Lorena says
So, I’ve got a chicken and rice recipe that works fantastic for me but not everybody. Boo. Some people get the burn warning because I use little water to avoid exactly what you are talking about. A great work around is the PiP-method. Check out my Lentils and Rice Recipe and watch the video. It’s the best discovery I’ve made since I started cooking :D
Pia says
Any recommendations for parboiled? Thank you!!!
Lorena says
Unfortunately, I don’t know Pia. I’ve never seen parboiled rice here in Montreal so I can’t test that kind of rice.
Huckleberry says
Iβm guessing that the only way you can tell if it is parboiled is if it says so on the package and it doesnβt always.
Tonight I tried Rice Selects Royal Blend which is a white, brown, red and wild blend. The directions said to simmer covered for 15 minutes. That indicated to to me that maybe it was parboiled? Anyway I took a guess and this is what I did for 2 servings Pot-in-Pot and it was perfect:
Servings: 2
1/2 c rice
1/2 c hot tap water
1/2 teas Butter
Pinch of salt
Put 2 cups of hot water and rack in base of Instant Pot.
Rinse rice in mesh strainer with hot tap water.
Put rice, water, salt and butter in medium steel pot for PiP and place on rack in base.
Seal and cook 7 minutes on high pressure, NPR for 15-16 minutes then release. Fluff.
Lorena says
Yes, it must most likely have been parboiled. Otherwise, brown rice can’t be cooked that fast. Thanks for the feedback!
Greta says
I cook my brown rice for 15 min, 5 min NPR βalways turns out great!! 1:1 ratio
Kim says
If I am making 4 cups of white rice, do I need to increase the cooking time to 12 min?
Lorena says
Hey Kim, no, no need to increase cooking time. 4 cups rice, 4 cups water, 3 minutes, Full NPR.
Robin Meier says
Are you for real? Read!
Lu Hamacek says
I may have missed your answer in the comments, but we use long grain brown rice. How long should this be cooked under high pressure. I only see brown basmati in your listings. Thanks…
Lorena says
Hi Lu, they should be fine after 24 minutes HP + full natural pressure release. I haven’t tested but considering they are similar in thickness as short grain they should cook in the same time.
Dora says
Hi,
I make Mexican style rice using 1 parts of white rice for 2 parts of liquid consisting of a blend of water, onion, fresh tomatoes and garlic. I first pan fry the rice with a bit of oil and then add the liquid. The rice I use is white long grain rice but it is not basmati. It takes 30 minutes to cook on the stove. How can I adjust the rice-liquid ratio to 1:1 when I add tomato to it? The water will be too thick. Do you have any suggestions? Have you made this kind of rice before?
Thanks.
Lorena says
Hi Dora, I’ve made this kind of rice before but not in the instant pot. I’ve made green rice in the instant pot with cilantro and that worked perfectly. 1 cup rice, 1 cup water and the cilantro blended into the water. Tomato has more water though of course. Not sure how it would work. I thinking maybe 1 cup rice, 1 cup water and 1 tomato blended into the water? I would try that. And for 5 minutes on HP + full NPR.
TheCarrCo says
This is THE best IP rice blog I have ever read. It is very thorough and it worked perfect for me.
After making great jasmine rice with water, I experimented and used veggie broth–still perfect. I was wondering what you thought about using full fat coconut milk with jasmine rice. The consistency is different than water, so I’m not air it would work the same.
I read though many of the comments so my question wouldn’t be redundant, but there were too many because this blog is so great!
Thank you and have a wonderful holiday season!
Lorena says
Thank you!!! That’s so nice of you. I have never tried that. I do wonder if you would get the burn warning because of the consistency. You could try pot in pot maybe. Add 1 cup rice and 1 cup full-fat coconut milk to a small pot that can fit in the instant pot. Add 1 cups water to the inner pot, then the trivet and then the small pot with the rice and coconut milk. Put on the IP lid and then cook on high pressure for 3 minutes + full natural pressure release.
Anna says
Thank you so much for this post! I have it bookmarked for reference and rice comes out perfect every time. I’m in Europe on sea level.
Cindi says
Brilliant! Thank you for your endeavors.
I tried the wild rice blend and it was magnificent!
Following, saving, sharing!
Cindi in ALaska