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.
Vini says
Hi thanks a lot for the guidance. I was wondering about the Rice option on the Instant pot should we really skip it and go for the high pressure timings always.
Lorena says
With the “rice button” you can only cook white rice, no other kind. It cooks it 12 minutes on low pressure. It comes out cooked and fine, I like the texture with HP and NPR better though. If you like the rice button version better continue cooking with that :) You can use this guide for all the other kinds of rice.
Timothy says
Excellent information!
Why use manual and not the automatic rice function?
Is it just a matter or time?
I use the auto with jasmine rice, rinsed, sometimes soaked if time allows, and no salt/oil, 1:1 water (the rice cup that comes with the IP and 3/4 cup water). It turns out good, but I’m always looking for better! :) I’ll usually load it at night with the timer function so its ready to pack for lunch.
Lorena says
With the “rice button” you can only cook white rice, no other kind. It cooks it 12 minutes on low pressure. It comes out cooked and fine, I like the texture with HP and NPR better though. If you like the rice button version better continue cooking with that :) You can use this guide for all the other kinds of rice. If you rinse the rice reduce water a little just like you do in your version.
Amy says
If you use broth is it the same ratio (didn’t see it in the above info so sorry if I missed it)?
Lorena says
Oh, good point I will add that to the recipe. It’s basicall 1:1 rice to “liquid” can be any liquid. Water, broth, herb water etc.
Terry Holland says
You didn’t mention arborio rice for risotto. I often cook it on the stove top with mushrooms and sausage. Once recently with mussels. I called that dish Muscles Risotto after the mafia hitman of the same name.
Susan says
I make risotto in seven minutes. I double liquid to rice… come out perfectly.
Lorena says
Thanks for the tip. This is high on the list for me to test. I will test your way :)
Lorena says
This is very high on the list of things to test for me. I haven’t had the chance yet. I had to draw the line at some point. I will test this once my family forgave me the massive amounts of rice eating for breakfast lunch and dinner in various degrees of texture these past 2 weeks during the testing period, hahaha
Lisa says
Thank you for putting time into this and sharing your results. I’m new to the Instant Pot and have not made rice yet but I’m planning on trying it and now you have equipped me with great info. Thanks again!!
Lorena says
You are very welcome Lisa. Thank you for appreciating my work :)
Michelle says
Thank you for this! I appreciate all the work and testing you did just to share this information with us. I’m usually an apprehensive cook to say the least, but this gives me confidence now!
Lorena says
Thank you so much for appreciating my work Michelle!
Crystal says
Thank you for all your effort! I’m at 1900 feet and your basmati times are the same as I’ve used previously. So glad to have a handy guide for all the other types of rice now!
Lorena says
Great Crystal! Yes, anywhere under 4,000 feet should be still same times. At 4k plus feet altitude is when things start changing.
Johnny says
Rinsing the rice removes arsenic, I’d recommend rinsing for sure.
Feryall Rahman says
HI! I come from a race of rice eaters for millennia. Basmati (means “fragrant lady” grows in the foothills of the Himalayas…
That said, we rinse rice a couple of times in cold water before cooking. This removes mill dust, and some excess starch, so that the rice comes out less sticky. After rinsing, I let it drip dry in a mesh colander and cook the damp rice. “Frying” the rice first in oil, butter or ghee and then adding cooking water is a technique for making pulao (pilaf) and not necessarily for everyday cooking. But there is no harm in using that technique for everyday rice as well! ;)
Lorena says
If you found your perfect way of cooking rice don’t change it Feryall :) This post is for everybody who hasn’t found their favorite method yet. In North America almost all packaged rise has already been washed, rinsed and re-dried so washing shouldn’t be necessary. As for a little more starch I guess I like mine with more starch but I’ve tried rinsed and dry and I have better results with dry rice. It’s more like the Peruvian-style prepared rice that I grew up eating :)
Also, I will just casually drop this quote by the FDA here: “The new FDA research also shows that rinsing rice before cooking has a minimal effect on the arsenic content of the cooked grain. Rinsing does, however, wash off iron, folate, thiamin and niacin from polished and parboiled rice.” Source: https://www.fda.gov/Food/FoodborneIllnessContaminants/Metals/ucm319948.htm
rita says
This applies to Parboiled Rice. It does replace some of the vitamins, etc that were lost in the parboiling process. But I don’t think this applies to the imported jasmine and basmati rices that many of us use. I don’t believe that imported rices contain the same additives that parboiled rice contains, but often my rinsing water is quite cloudy. I will rinse.
Lorena says
Always rinse if that makes you feel safer. There are tons of things I do in the kitchen that make no sense to others, haha. Don’t let anybody talk you into something you are afraid of doing.
Giulia says
Hi, I really enjoyed this page about rice. I’m italian, so I use italian rice (like Arborio or Carnaroli) 95% of times. And when I cook risotto, I always use italian rice. I found that 8 mins Manual and rice:broth ratio 1:1,5 (with QR) are perfect for me. If in the risotto there is something which release water while cooking (like frozen Porcini mushrooms), then I use less broth.
So, the general rules for risotto are: first, sautée the not-rice ingredients (like onion, veggies, ham, pancetta, etc), remove everything from the pot then sautée rice for like 2 minutes with white wine. Turn the pot off. Add the broth (1:1,5), then on top of the rice put the remaining ingredients. Close the lid, set Manual for 8 minutes and QR.
I hope you may find this useful.
Amy says
Thanks, I’m going to try your risotto recipe today!
Lorena says
Huh?? I don’t have risotto on the list, haha
Heidi says
I’m sure Amy was talking about Giulia’s recipe this time.
Lorena says
Yes, hahah, just understood now. In my blog editor the comments don’t appear as thread, just individually. Super annoying. Got it now :)
Matt Miller says
Great photos and information! I use either good ole Uncle Ben’s white rice, or Nishiki Japanese rice. I haven’t done Uncle Ben’s in the Instant Pot yet. (Have you?) The Nishiki, I have done at 1:1.5 on the rice setting (12 minutes high pressure, natural pressure release) and have been happy with it. Have to stir it and it does get a little closer to sticking to the pan. I’ll try 1:1 next time and a shorter cooking time…see what happens. How about arborio rice for risotto? Thanks for the time and effort you have put into this project!
Judith Raymond says
Thank you for for this it is very helpful indeed, I’m just curious to know why you don’t use the rice button.
Helga Murray says
Thank you for all this information, it is fabulous! Can I please ask you what the cooking time would be for plain white long grain rice? Would it also be three minutes followed by the natural pressure release?
Laura says
I’m still learning my way around my instant pot and I really appreciate the time and effort you put I to explaining this. I’m definitely going to save this post and pass it on. Thanks!!
Lorena says
Thank you for appreciating my work Laura!!!
Firelei Jones says
What an amazing experiment you did! So very impressive and so very helpful. And your photos are artistic and helpful! Thank you so much!! I think you should take up a collection so that everybody that appreciates what you’re doing could pay to send you around the world to test it all LOL.
I do have one other type of rice I make and I thought I would add it to your list for you. Coming from Hawaii we use calrose rice to make “Sticky Kine” and I have got the perfect recipe for cooking it after massive experimentation. I use the little standard rice cup to measure the rice. Then for every little rice cup I use one real cup of water. You could use one and a half rice cups of rice and one and a half cups of water or 4 rice cups of rice and 4 cups of water etc. Push the rice button which will cook at low pressure for 12 minutes. Then let it natural release for 6 minutes followed by opening the vent, and then open the lid and and you will have perfect sticky kine rice.
Marie says
Thank you for adding this! Calrose is my family’s favorite rice!
Lorena says
One day I will find it :D
Lorena says
Hahaha, I’d love to travel the world with nothing but my Instant Pot. That sounds like a dream job, hahaha. I promise that if I ever get my hands on calrose I’ll immediately buy it start experimenting. :)
Heidi says
There are many different kinds of rice used to make sushi in Japan, so the term “sushi rice” is actually a pretty broad description, and to some people, it includes Calrose rice. “There is a variety of rice called Calrose, which was developed in 1948 and is a medium grain rice which has been grown by Japanese American producers in California for many years. While not a true Japanese rice, it is commonly used to prepare Japanese cuisine in North America and is a reasonably good to use for sushi.” (allaboutsushiguide.com) So perhaps both kinds offer similar results for the same IP cooking method!
Lorena says
Sorry, I’m not familiar with the different kinds of Sushi rice. I had to draw the line at some point with rice. I chose the Lundberg Brand labeled “Sushi Rice”. I have no idea what kind exactly that is however.
April says
Thank you for sharing. I grew up in Hawaii eating the same rice. I only have Nishiki instead of calrose on hand, but wanted to make sure my rice was cooked the way we like it back home. Since they are both short grain rice I will cook it the way you mentioned.
April says
I just saw the post above regarding calrose being medium grain. Thank you for sharing. A big thank you to the author for this article. You Rock!
Lorena says
Thank you so much for your lovely comment April!!
Lorena says
I’m happy you found the other comments helpful!
RL says
First, a great big thank you for the vast amount of the time you invested in making cooking rice easier for all of us. Now for my question. Do the ratio and cooking times also apply for cooking PIP?
Lorena says
You are very welcome :D I’ve never cooked anything PIP so unfortunately I don’t know. If you try please let me know. I will put this test on my list, too and hope I can get to it any time soon.
Luren says
Should work the same. I always do rice pot in pot covered and it’s nice to be able to pull that and just use rice out of that container all day
Lorena says
I’ve heard from several now that pot in pot works the same. Haven’t tried myself however.