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.
- I, personally, do NOT rinse or wash my rice.
- Cooking time stays the same no matter how many cups you cook.
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Anna says
Wow! Last night was the first time I cooked rice in the IP and it was perfect. Thank you so much!
Tish Boyer says
What about just plain old long grain white rice? Every kind of rice pictured above except the most common. What is the time and ratio then? NPR?
Lorena says
Hi Tish, the “most common” depends on where you live. I think long grain white rice is a little thicker than basmati and jasmin, right? I would try 1:1 ratio, 4 minutes HP, and full NPR.
April J says
I did the long grain white. 1/1 was a fail. 2/1 water/rice was great. It needed more water. I read it on the actual rice package. Definitely needed 4 minutes.
Lorena says
Huh, I’m surprised, considering even wild rice needs 1:1 when the packaging calls for like 1:3. I would try 1:1 for 5 minutes maybe. Typically absolutely all types of rice just need 1:1 as long as there is no water evaporation, which there isn’t in the Instant Pot.
Jennifer says
What are your thoughts in quick cooking brown basmati rice? Thanks!!
Lorena says
I have never cooked it before so unfortunately, I don’t know. What does the packaging say? Maybe we can figure it out depending on regular stove-top cooking instructions?
Barb says
I did long grain in glass bowl for 3 minutes and let set in closed cooker for 1i minutes. Rice was not cooked and water was setting on bottom of bowl. Yuk😢🤮
Lorena says
After 3 minutes on high pressure, you left the rice in there for 1 minute before releasing pressure manually? Well, yes, of course, it wasn’t cooked. Also, how much rice did you cook? And did you use 1:1 ratio? Did you add 1 cup of water to the bottom of the instant pot, then the trivet, then the glass bowl, then the 1:1 rice and water ratio to your bowl?
Adam says
What about semi-polished rice? Seems the best kind since it packs more nutrients than white rice and much safer levels of arsenic than brown rice, but I can’t find any iPot cooking instructions for it anywhere.
Lorena says
I have no clue Adam. I’ve never seen semi-polished rice where I live :)
Adam says
No problem, I’ve figured it out. It’s also known as hand-pounded rice, and the Jasmine/Thai variety will take 6-7 minutes normal or 11 minutes pot-in-pot (steel container).
And yes, it seems to be a rare product. In my local grocery stores it only exists in the organic aisle, sometimes in the bulk food section, or packaged by one brand at a very limited stock. I found some online as well.
Lorena says
Great! Thank you for the timing! It will be helpful for others with the same question.
Bart says
Any advice on altitude? Might be helpful if there was an altitude guesstimate at the beginning of the post. I hate cooking short grain brown rice on the stove top, looking forward to trying this out.
Lorena says
It’s 5% for every 1,000 feet after 2,000 feet from what I’ve read but it isn’t something I can test because I live at sea level and for now I haven’t traveled with my Instant Pot. Others commenting have had great results with this formula however.
John says
I recently moved to Santa Fe, NM (about 7200′ elevation) and within days of arrival ran out to buy an Instant Pot because I don’t have to worry about air pressure with an automatic pressure cooker that controls its own pressure. I’m enjoying perfectly cooked rice without adjusting the times in this article.
Lorena says
Thank you so much for taking the time to leave your experience. That’s so helpful to others who live at about the same altitude. That’s fantastic news!!
Hinda Bodinger says
THANK YOU for explaining why the RICE setting on the Instant Pot is just for White Rice.
I made a combination of Forbidden and Brown rice last night using your recommendations and it came out perfectly. (I was not as successful the evening before, when I just used the RICE setting. )
Thank you for doing all the work to come up with correct times – I printed the chart for future reference. Best wishes!
Lorena says
❤️
john engel says
i ditched my rice cooker but I am going to get a replacement after several okay to horrible results with using instapot. It works great for some things. not rice. nope – I have cooked rice 1000 ‘s of times and so I think I have plenty of experience to know how results should be and time involved.
Lorena says
I’m so sad it didn’t work out for you John. What went wrong? Which type of rice did you cook and how?
Christi says
I was a little Leary about the 1:1 ratio and in my mind I just wanted to add more water. HOWEVER I stopped. I followed the directions provided making long white rice. It was AMAZING! It wasn’t sticky, it wasn’t mushy it was absolutely perfect. The natural release was taking forever, but I did instant at 21 min. Thank you for sharing.
Lorena says
I’m so happy you trusted the recipe :) I looooove my rice in the instant pot and I never ever cook it any other way anymore.
Christopher Smith says
Hi. I’ve used your guide with success.
What about reheating frozen rice?
Thanks.
Chris.
Lorena says
I’ve never tried in the instant pot because I’m scared to put my ice cold glass containers in there and risk the whole thing exploding. I’m not sure of course but I assume it’s very risky. I would not recommend it.
PREMKUMAR says
IS SAFE TO EAT RICE FOILED IN PRESSURE COOKER
Lorena says
I’m not sure what you mean. Do you mean putting aluminum foil in the pressure cooker? From an electrical standpoint of view yes, you can put foil in the pressure cooker. Nothing will happen. Aluminum foil is terrible for the environment and your health though. I never let aluminum foil touch my food.
SandyCoco14 says
I was super excited when I found this page to cook rice in my instant pot. But…I tried making long grain white rice per the white rice cooking directions, and it came out very tough and the top layer wasn’t cooked. It wasn’t fluffy and light like I was hoping. I am not sure what I am doing wrong?? Does anyone have any suggestions?
Lorena says
Is the grain of rice you are using very thick? (in circumference I mean). Much thicker than Jasmin or Basmati? I specified Basmati and Jasmin because there are several different types of white rice and Basmati is fairly thing and Jasmin even thinner. If your grain is thick I suggest adding an extra 2 minutes high-pressure cooking time.
KetoKitty says
It takes 20 min to cook perfect rice in a pot on the stove!!! I dont understand this instant pot craze. Maybe for a pot roast or a whole chicken…but…rice?
Teek says
True,. however you need to keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn’t boil over & stir so won’t stick to the pot. Instant Pot… put it in, set it, walk away & do something else for about 40 mins (including natural release)
Teek says
Oh, wait, I meant 20 mins including release
🤪
Lorena says
It’s the texture. Thanks to 0 water evaporation it’s possible to cook at 1:1 ratio and achieve the (in my opinion) best rice texture EVER. If you cook on the stove top you will always have water evaporation for which you have to add more water than the rice actually needs. Pressure cooking is basically like sous-vide cooking but without the plastic :)
Roy Elahi says
Yup! Not the right tool for this job.
Sarah says
It is for me – it may not be for you and that’s fine. My pot lids have vents in them so an instapot that seals works best for me.
Bill says
There are quite a few types of rice that take 40-55 minutes to cook on the stovetop. You just need to open your horizons to better rice. If you are cooking rice that only takes 20 min or less, I can see why you would be skeptical. Using an Instant Pot does not sound worth it to you. There is a mixed long grain wiled rice we live that only takes 25 min on the stovetop (after boil) and I love it better in the Instant Pot. Plus, I don’t need to fuss with the rice while I work on other things.
I have used these directions to perfection with short brown, long brown, jasmine, dark wild, mixed wild, mixed wild and quinoa. I am around sea level. I have used rice from many different companies.
My Instant Pot is a godsend. So much versatility. As far as rice goes, perfection. Thanks for this post!
Lorena says
❤️
Rachelle says
Yeah, this did not work for me. I did a rice blend, followed the directions with 1 to 1 ratio and the time and it was dry and stuck to the bottom. I have cooked other recipes just fine.
Lorena says
Hi Rachelle, what kind of rice blend was it? What kind of grains were in there? And how long did the NPR take?
Barb says
I love how people respond when you try to get to what caused the problem. Why post if you do not follow up?
Lorena says
Lol, yup, the story of my life… It’s ok. Having all 5-star reviews would be unnatural, right?
Melodie says
What about quick-cook brown rice? Half the time as regular brown rice?
Lorena says
Sorry Melodie, I’ve never heard of quick-cook brown rice before. I haven’t tested this.
Rachelle says
It wouldn’t be worth it to cook minute rice in the instant pot. It would take way more time. Just cook it on the stovetop.
Laura Romine says
Why would you use minute rice when real rice is so much more flavorful?
Katelyn says
What is the largest batch size that can be made at one time using the 6qt IP? I have a cookout at work where I will need to cook for 50 people. I was planning on making batches of rice or borrowing multiple rice makers along with using my instant pot. I’m wondering how much I can make at one time.
Lorena says
Hi Katelyn, the max I’ve ever made are 3 imperial cups of rice and 3 cups of water but there was still room for more. I wouldn’t fill it up toooo much as it’s still a pressure cooker and can be dangerous if used in the wrong way. The instruction manual recommends with expandable things like rice/beans etc to not fill more than half. I would try 4 imperial cups dry rice with 4 imperial cups water the night before and see how much room you have left to figure out the next day if you can go all the way up to 5 cups. The 4 cups you cooked the night before you can store in the fridge and then mix into the different batches the next day, they’ll be perfectly warmed up once you stirred them into the freshly cooked hot rice after only minutes and it’ll help cool down the hot rice a bit for immediate consumption :)
Luisa Lezaja says
I have been using the 1 to 1 ration with brown rice and it comes out the same, stuck to bottom, almost burnt and not cooked. What is going on? I tried your method, the manual’s method and also tried rinsing it. I just got the instant pot and ready to throw it out already.
Lorena says
Luisa, have you made other recipes successfully in it? I am afraid your Instant Pot might be faulty. Did you keep the receipt? If I were you I would exchange it. My rice recipe is one of the most failproof recipes out there. If this doesn’t work for you I’m almost certain your Instant Pot is heating up too much.
Barb says
What SIZE is your pot? If you have the larger pot you can not cook one cup. Or I haven’t been successful at it. An 8 qt needs at least 1 1/2 C of liquid in anything you cook. I have read that everywhere I have read about instapot. Try 1 1/2:1 1/2 and see what happens. If you have a small pot and have issue with the 1:1, yes I would exchange the pot. All sizes are not created equal. 😂
Lorena says
Oh yes, what Barb says. If you’re using an 8 quart the minimum liquid needed to get to pressure is 2 cups. So you’d have to cook at least 2 cups of rice with 2 cups of water.
Hannah says
Do the pot in pot method. It never sticks!
Lorena says
That’s a great idea!
Lauren says
Has anyone tried this with Chicken Stock or broth instead of water? Does this impact cook time or quantity?
Thanks!
L iza says
I made it tonight with chicken stock in place of water. The 1 to 1 ration but to be honest I just pressed the rice button and let it do its thing and it came out excellent. Next time I will try this method to compare.