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.
Low-Carb Stuffed Spaghetti Squash
Huevos Divorciados
Instant Pot Vegan Chili
Melissa Griffiths says
This is amazing! Thank you for doing all this work and letting us all benefit. :)
Ann says
Great advice!! Perfect rice every time. My only complaint is that I cannot find this post when I search my pins. It does not come up under rice, instant pot rice or instant pot. Please make this searchable.
Lorena says
Hi Ann, I’m surprised to hear it doesn’t show up in your Pinterest. It shows up in mine. I do everything (believe me, EVERYTHING) on my side to make my recipes searchable but in the end social media decides on its own what they want to show to whom and what not. It’s the most frustrating thing in the world. I’m currently # 2 (sometimes #3) on google so you should easily find it when you google “Instant Pot Rice”.
Dara Carrasco says
Well I just made my first batch of rice using your directions and we are now best friends. (In my mind) ! Lol. Thank you so much. This has given me so much confidence and access to too much food. Ha.
Lorena says
Hi best friend, not just in your mind :)
Diana says
Hello, I found your post fascinating. I have the Ultra IP with the rice setting. I’ve made white rice, brown rice and tonight wild rice all using the rice setting. Each came out perfect. I love the IP so much I donated my rice cooker.
My question to you is have you ever made steel cut oats in the IP? I hadn’t thought about using it to cook my oats until you mentioned quinoa and farro.
Lorena says
Hi Diana, yes! I use it for steel cut oats all the time :) You can find the recipe here:
Danielle says
Thank you so much for such great information! I’ve been referring to this post whenever I have to cook different kinds of rice. We live in the Philippines where it’s pretty easy to find locally grown red rice. My husband and I find the flavor too strong and we have been mixing it with white rice and cooking on the stovetop. Any suggestions on cooking white and red rice together in the IP? Based on your wild rice blend experiment, should I just find a happy medium time where the red rice is just about to burst? Thank you again!
Lorena says
Thank you so much Danielle!! Re mixing red with white rice. Hm. That’s a really tricky question because my wild rice blend was all grains that by default take longer to cook. No white rice mixed in because it cooks so fast. You could try at about 24-ish minutes but honestly I think you’ll have a lot better results cooking one rice first, then remove and store in a large ovenproof container (that would still fit in the IP, cover and place in the fridge, then cook the other rice. When the second batch is finished, add to the first batch and mix and then place the container in the IP to reheat both batches as instructed in the post. I think that way you’ll get the very best results.
caroline says
Hi sorry I couldn’t find where to make a new post so am replying to the above one. Firstly thank you so much, this is really helpful and unlike other recipes it works! I wondered on the reheating instructions if you add 1 cup of water regardless of the quantity or if it needs to be proportionate? many thanks
Lorena says
Hi Caroline, you add 1 cup to the stainless steel pot under the trivet so to speak and place your glass container on the trivet so the water never touches the rice or the glass container really. 1 cup of water regardless of how much rice. Or 2 cups if you have a bigger instant pot (I believe the 8qt needs 2 cups), the water is basically just needed so the steam gets the pot to pressure which is what will reheat the rice.
Linda says
Lorena, this Linda again at 5,500 feet. I am sorry, but I posted twice–I didn’t think the first one went through. I do have a follow-up question, though, to your much appreciated response. Do you think organic rice might cook differently than non-organic?
Thank you again.
Lorena says
Hi Linda, no it shouldn’t make a difference if it’s organic or not. The only thing that affects cooking time is altitude and thickness of the individual grain.
Linda says
Lorena, I live at 5,500 feet altitude and am having trouble cooking organic brown basmati rice. Regardless of the recipe, the rice is undercooked and there is residual water in the Instant Pot when I remove the lid. I have even tried cooking it 30 minutes with a 10-minute natural release. I am anxious to try the ratio you recommend for water to rice. What should the HP time be for my altitude? What should the natural release time be? Thank you.
Joy says
Thanks so much for doing this. You mentioned trying Arborio rice. Have you had a chance to do that yet?
Lorena says
I’ve been experimenting and getting ok results but nothing to write home about. I’ve done 1 cup arborio to 3 cups broth 10 minutes high pressure + full natural pressure release. I’ll have to continue experimenting until I find the BEST settings.
Linda Beal says
I live at 5,500 feet altitude. When cooking brown basmati rice in an IP, what times would you recommend for HP and for NPR?
I am anxious to try your recipe. I have tried several recipes and the rice is always crunchy with water sitting in the pot. So frustrating!
Thank you.
Lorena says
Hi Linda, from what I’ve read you have to add 5% cooking time per every 1,000 feet of altitude. So at 5,500 feet you would have to pressure cook brown rice for at least 28 minutes at high pressure. The water rice ratio remains the same because there is no water evaporation in a pressure cooker regardless of altitude. The natural pressure release remains the same, too. Leave the vent untouched and let the pressure release naturally until the pin drops on its own. Let me know how it went. If the rice is still cunrchy, increase time by 2 minutes. Don’t add more water.
Laura Scott says
I just bought an instant pot and you are my new favorite person! I just made perfect chicken breasts for several casseroles and am making rice now! Thank you!
Lorena says
Lol, well thank you Laura, I’m flattered to be your favorite person :D
Ryan M says
Hello,
Thanks for the reference guide! Just got my Instant Pot and I’ve had bad luck with rice so far, so now that I’ve read your guide I’m eager to try again.
Apologies if this was asked elsewhere…when adding things to spice up your rice (like salsa, lime, chicken stock, or whatever) do you displace the amount of water you’d normally put in or do you just add it on top of the water?
(For example, for one cup of white rice do you only add 3/4 cup of water with 1/4 cup salsa?)
Thanks!
Lorena says
Hi Ryan, yes, you understood correctly. If you add in salsa, add 1 cup rice and 3/4 cup water and 1/4 cup salsa. I recommend whisking salsa and water before adding, to make sure it gets to all rice kernels. Then stir the rice in the liquid once or twice. Let me know how you liked it :)
Melissa says
Do you keep the instant pot on warm mode during the NP release or turn it off?
Lorena says
Yes, I keep it on warm mode.
Ross says
Simple question with an answer I may have overlooked… When cooking manual with the IP it automatically goes into “Keep Warm” after. Do you turn that off or allow to remain on during the natural pressure relief?
Jeanne says
I just made white rice with this method and wondered the same thing. I decided to turn it off and it turned out perfectly!
ELFrank says
Great info and recipe! My mom taught me to cook rice on a stove top almost 40 years ago and it is foolproof… I jut recently got my Instant Pot and wanted to try making rice. I modified the recipe a bit to blend a bit of old and new.
First, I never rinse my rice.
Second, I always saute my rice in ghee before I add the liquid
Third, I use a really good chicken stock instead of water.
I followed your method for white rice, but added ghee (a rounded teaspoon per cup) ahead of time on saute. once the butter was melted and sizzling a bit, I stirred in the rice till every grain is coated. You can use olive oil, butter, or a combination of olive oil and butter, instead of ghee.
When everything was combined, I poured in the chicken stock. After that, I followed your method and the rice came out perfect.
Thank you so much!
Lorena says
I cook it exactly the way you cook it but in addition I add garlic with the rice when frying it before adding stock :) The blog post is only for timing and liquid to rice measures so people know how to achieve fully cooked rice with great consistency. All the extras are to make rice fancy and I agree 100% rice that’s been fried a couple minutes before cooking tastes amazing!!
Ledi says
I am a junior cook, and I have a simple question. Do you sauté the rice in ghee using instant pot? Does it mean you are using instant pot without putting the lid on?
Thank you very much!
Lorena says
Hi Ledi, you can absolutely do that. You first press “sautée” to heat it up (no lid). Once it says hot, you add ghee or any other fat you like and even onions, garlic, whatever you want, add the rice and sautée for a couple of minutes (3-5 minutes). Then you press “cancel”, add the liquid, immediately put on the lid so the liquid doesn’t evaporate, seal it and then follow the instructions of the post for your specific type of rice :)
Wyn says
I’ve cooked a lot of rice of all kinds for years, stove top and now in my Instant Pot, and your method really intrigued me! I’ve been messing with various amounts of water and cooking times for brown and wild rice, and mixed rice. Your explanation of why there is no need to vary the amount of water when using the PC was so logical I had to try it, and it works so well, no more mushy or watery brown /wild rice! I live at about 5000 ft, and I generally use the P in P for rice, using a heavy Pyrex bowl with about 1 1/2 C of water in the bottom of the PC and the bowl on the trivet of my 8 qt IP. I like mine pretty well done, not crunchy, and both the straight short grain brown rice and the brown and wild rice mix from Bob’s Red Mill come out perfect for me at 40 minutes, whether I’ve made 1, 1 1/2, or 2C rice 1:1 with water. Thanks a while bunch!!
Lorena says
Wyn, I’m soooo happy you found my post useful. Comments like your fill my heart with joy! Thank you for taking the time to come back and leaving such a wonderful and thorough review. I really appreciate it.