Instant Pot Brown Rice
Mar 10, 2021
Step by step instructions on how to make Brown Rice in the Instant Pot. This full proof recipe results in perfect brown rice every time!
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Instant Pot Brown Rice – step by step guide to make the perfect brown rice in your Instant Pot each time.
You won’t believe how easy it is! Perfect to enjoy with your favorite curries or stir-fry!
Is rice good for you?
This is like a never ending debate!
I grew up in a family where rice was eaten every day. A meal would just not be complete until there was rice on the table. That’s because we belong to a region in India where rice was grown in abundance and my grand-father was a farmer, so we had rice farms! And since there was so much rice, it was obviously eaten all the time.
Growing up I never thought if rice was good or bad. However in spite of growing up in such an environment I never became a rice fan. I don’t know why! While no one in my family could finish their meals without rice, I chose to avoid it whenever I could.
I always preferred my roti (flatbread) and eating rice seemed like a chore. All the rice in my home was always white. I didn’t even know about brown rice until I grew up and it became a trend!
And hence came the debate that which rice is better for you – brown or white?
Both white rice and brown rice are high in carbohydrates. White rice is basically brown rice minus the germ and the bran. Because brown rice contains the whole grain it is said to be a healthier alternative. It has more fiber, minerals and vitamins than the white counterpart.
But according to some studies, white rice is more easily digestible and hence a better alternative for the gut.
So which team are you? Brown or White?
I make white rice very often since Sarvesh would only eat that but ever since I got my Instant Pot, I have been making brown rice quite frequently too. Obviously I eat it all by myself!
Actually, I always prefer brown rice over white rice while eating out especially Asian food. Yes for my dal, I need white rice since I grew up eating it this way and it’s hard to change habits.
But for everything else, I do prefer the brown rice over the white rice. Like with this Thai Peanut Tofu Curry or this Sweet Potato Curry!
Even though I always liked brown rice, I never made it very often and the reason was that I could never get it right on the stove top. Also I didn’t like to baby sit and stand in front of the stove while it cooked. But not any more!
It’s just so easy to make brown rice in the Instant Pot! I thought it will be nice to share my full-proof recipe with you guys since I have been making it regularly. Hope you guys find it useful.
This Instant Pot Brown Rice
✓ is really easy to make in the IP!
✓ full-proof method which results in perfect brown rice every time
✓ no need to baby sit, just add everything to the IP and you’re done.
Ingredients
The recipe has only 4 ingredients.
Brown rice: you can use whichever brown rice you prefer here. I like the one from Trader Joe’s and that is what I have used in the recipe.
Olive oil: addition of oil helps flavor the rice and also improves the texture. You can use any oil here, I prefer olive oil.
Salt: just like the oil, salt helps in flavoring the rice, so I do recommend adding some of it.
Water: and of course you need some water to cook the rice.
These are pretty much the basic ingredients you need for this recipe. You can of course add some spices to it like turmeric, paprika etc. if you want to add some flavor to the rice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I half this recipe?
Yes easily, use 1 cup brown rice (195 grams) , 1.25 cups water (10 oz), 1 teaspoon oil and 1/4 teaspoon salt.
The pressure cooking time remains same.
Does this recipe work with all kinds of brown rice?
I have made this recipe with brown jasmine rice, short brown rice and it works well with both. Haven’t tested with brown basmati rice but I am pretty sure it will work with the same ratios.
Method
Rinse brown rice under running water. Drain the water and then add it to the inner steel container of your Instant Pot.
Then add water to the pot.
Add olive oil and salt.
Then give it a quick stir.
Close the Instant Pot with its lid. Press the manual or pressure cook button and cook on high pressure for 24 minutes. Make sure the pressure valve is in the sealing position.
Once the 24 minutes are up, let the pressure release naturally. Open the pot and fluff the brown rice with a fork and enjoy!
What is your favorite way to eat brown rice?
If you’ve tried this Instant Pot Brown Rice Recipe then don’t forget to rate the recipe! You can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter to see what’s latest in my kitchen!
This post has been updated from the recipe archives, first published in June 2018.
Instant Pot Brown Rice
Ingredients
- 2 cups brown rice 390 grams
- 2.5 cups water 20 oz
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Rinse brown rice under running water. Drain the water and then add it to the inner steel container of your Instant Pot.
- Then add water to the pot along with olive oil and salt. Give a quick stir.
- Close the Instant Pot with its lid. Press the manual or pressure cook button and cook on high pressure for 24 minutes. Make sure the pressure valve is in the sealing position.
- Once the 24 minutes are up, let the pressure release naturally. Open the pot and fluff the brown rice with a fork. Enjoy with any curry or your choice!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I am so impressed with your recipe. I like the fact that you add olive oil. The texture was perfect. I just need to remember to allow extra time for the pressure to drop while preparing a meal.
I’ve tried a few different brown rice instant pot recipes and this was the best by far!! Rice was perfect texture and tasted great! I doubled the recipe and all ingredients for my prep cooking. I thought at first look the rice was gonna be too mushy, it still looked wet but it was perfect! Thank you for this! Made my night!
glad to know Grace!
Could I triple this recipe? Cook time would be the same?
it will remain the same since pressure cooking time depends on the size of the ingredients and not the quantity.
Hi in pressure cooker how much cups of water for one cup of brown rice and how much whistles
honestly I have not made brown rice in stove-top pressure cooker. I always use my IP. You you may try 1 cup rice, 2 cups water. 2-3 whistles probably, then low heat for 20 minutes?
Isn’t an InstantPot actually a pressure cooker with more settings? I transitioned from a pressure cooker to an InstantPot, used the pressure cooker recipes as a test and the exact same result happened.
Go on and don’t be afraid.
I will use my instant pot forever for brown rice. I used vegetable broth. Rice was so tender and not mushy at all
it really is the easiest way to make brown rice!
Best rice I’ve made to date!
Hi Minali
Where can I buy Instant One Pot please x
amazon
Do you have to unplug the pot for pressure to release naturally or will it do so in “keep warm” mode?
you don’t have to unplug, it will go that on it’s own and the pin will drop once pressure is released.
Can we soak the rice. How much time can we soak it.
no need to soak
If I were to double the recipe, would the cooking time remain the same?
yes cooking time remains same
I cooked a 4 lb pork roast. Added red wine vinegar, beef broth, garlic, 1/2 teaspoon Ground Allspice, 1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon. After cooked in the IP for 85 minutes, I reserved 2 1/2 cups of the liquid (poured into my fat seperater cup first) pour back into IP and then added the 2cups of brown rice to cook for 24 minutes.
(My version of a Portuguese Pork Roast with Brown Rice🙂).
Followed the basic recipe, then added green onions , fire roasted diced tomatoes, celery, garlic, half a cucumber, diced, curry powder and scoop of dry chicken bouillon. When done, added pack of refried beans, habanero sauce and topped with grated parmesano.. Delicious!
Tried this 2 day used 1/2 measure recipe
Bang. On
I live at high altitude & have had a terrible time with rice. This recipe has turned out great.
Thanks so much for this easy recipe. Comes out perfectly and it’s a great ingredient to have on hand in advance for healthier eating. Beans or veggies or other leftovers pair with brown rice to save mealtime from the Takeout Monster.
Great every time
hey great share
I tried out the recipe and it turned out so well
I really loved it
Hi Manali,
It would be so helpful if you could spell out time for natural release . How long does it take once the 22 to 24 minutes are up for NR? Seems like it could be 10 minutes or 25 minutes. Can you explain? The Insta pot manual says natural release is completed when the little valve drops down. Do you have a sense for how long the natural release process takes for your perfect rice? Thanks so much.
yes natural release is when the valve drops down on it’s own. It depends on the quantity of food inside the pot so it can definitely vary a lot. for 1 cup brown rice, it will be less than 10 minutes or around 10 minutes (I have never noted it down since I add everything and walk away doing my other stuff). But 2 cups brown rice it would be around 15 mins.
This is my go to brown rice recipe! Turns out PERFECT every time! Thank you for this because I am usually a rice destroyer ?
haha I am glad to hear!
Was looking for a Calrose brown rice Instant Pot recipe. Would this one work?
haven’t used that brand but almost all regular brown rice works this way!
Love this recipe. What’s the trick to making it less al dente? Guessing longer cooking time would make it more al dente as the rice will dry out? Or is that the trick? Would soaking it beforehand help? Thank you!
probably try soaking the rice for half hour and see
Rice came out perfectly, thank you!
Made the recipe exactly in the proper ratio but used 2 cups of brown rice 2 1 cup organic coconut milk, 1 cup water, 1/2 cup chicken broth and it was awesome! Thanks for the recipe, love it!
How many cups coconut milk did you use?
I use the Della brown rice from Costco. When I cook brown rice in instant pot, the top layer is a bit hard, crunchy, slightly undercooked and dry. But the bottom layers are mushy and a bit overcooked. I would really like a uniform texture. I make sure I turn the Keep Warm mode off on my IP so that the rice does not harden. Any idea why this happens? Thank you!!
do you add oil? that helps. stir well. If it still keeps happening, maybe try another brand of brown rice.
Made as directed & it was perfect!
What about larger batches? Longer cook time? Or same?
cooking time will remain same.
Okay, the best Long grain brown rice I’ve ever cooked, thanks for the recipe!
I thought I would finish off a large bag of brown rice. Turned out it was 3.5 cups. I did not rinse. I used the recommended 1/1.25 rice/water ratio. I did add the salt and olive oil. I slightly shortened the cooking time to 22 minutes because I planned to do a full natural release. It was perfect.
I used these instructions for the inaugural experience with my new InstantPot and the rice turned out perfectly (the first time Uce ever achieved perfectly fluffy brown rice). It was good enough to eat by itself. Thanks!!
Works every time!!!
I’ve been trying to switch to brown rice for quite a while , this recipe did it!!! Followed recipe to the tee, came out perfect, moist and flavorful. Thank you
Best brown rice recipe!!!!
Perfect rice. Thanks
Perfect every time! Thank you!
I’ve ever had any luck with brown rice on the stovetop, but this worked perfectly. I loved the addition of the olive oil. Thank you!
Turned out just perfect . I even added some cumin seeds . Thank you
Made this last night exactly as written. Some trepidation because cooking time is much longer than some other recipes. Rice was PERFECT. Thank you!
I followed the recipe exactly but halved it. I cooked it for the same time (24 minutes) and let the steam release naturally for 20 minutes (only because I forgot it – I think it would have been fine to steam release at 10 minutes too!) The rice came out perfectly and was incredibly flavorful – not mushy or bland or al dente. Thank you for sharing this recipe – I can finally make delicious brown rice now!
how long does it take to “natural release”? It would help to know the total time to allow so it is ready when I want it. Thank you
around 10-15 minutes. You can quick release the pressure after 10 mins!
I thought for sure this was too much cooking time, but my rice came out near perfect. Thank you.
I used brown basmati and cut the recipe in half. Turned out perfect. Thanks for sharing the Instapot rice:water ratio. It sure worked.
Sigh I was in a rush and didn’t rinse the rice. My guests are coming in about an hour and the rice is still cooking. Now I don’t know what will happen 🙁
it will be done by the time they come, hopefully
It was definitely ready on time but I was more worried about the consistency… that it would be too sticky or mushy. But apparently mine was short grain brown rice so it turned out perfect and my guests loved it! I was so worried but it turned out wonderful. Thank you for posting your recipe!
Thanks for this recipe! While you are doing the natural release, do you leave it on the “keep warm” setting or turn it off completely? Thanks!
either is fine. I leave on keep warm
Thanks! It turned out great!
New to using an instant pot. Ratio of rice to water is 1:1.25. (2:2.5). typically it is 1:2, using an instant pot changes that?
for brown rice this ratio works best!
Yes. No steam escapes so you need less water. I’ve read some that say all rice is 1:1 ratio in instant pot.
This worked perfectly for me! Delicious. Will definitely make again. Thanks!
My rice came out perfectly. Thank you so much for sharing.
Excellent instructions and really good rice. I had to let mine sit a bit longer, because I am not a fan of al dente, but the proportions were perfect. Thank you so much for the recipe!
Try reduce a little bit if water. How about 1 rice: 1.1 water.
Followed the recipe (added a little bit of spices) – but mine still came out kind of mushy. I rinsed the rice very thoroughly beforehand.. not sure what I need to change. Looking for rice that each grain is separate rather than stuck together. This recipe was far better than others I have tried, though (even using a rice cooker). Any advice? Thanks !
I am not sure, because this recipe has been made so many times (by me and also my so many others) and it gives perfect brown rice which isn’t mushy at all. Maybe it is the brown rice that you are using?
I made this but put the rice in a bowl and swirled it with water for about a minute, then drained and added fresh water about 3-4 times. Then soaked the rice for 30 minutes in fresh water. That helps with the starch 🙂
I used a quarter cup less water and it was perfect.
I’ve always been told that the rice to water ratio should be equal, or 1:1. Everytime I make brown rice in my pressure cooker this way it comes out perfectly!
Thank you for sharing the ratio info. What lenghth if time do you set on your instant pot?
Thank you.
Just cut the ingredients by half and cooked for 24 minutes in my instant pot. Regular store-brand long grain brown rice turned out wonderfully… fluffy and perfectly cooked!
When you say cook for 24 mins… does that mean.. 24 mins once the pressure builds up?? Thanks
the IP takes time to pressure cook and once it comes to pressure, it then starts counting the timer of 24 minutes.