Cooking rice in the Instant Pot is probably the best and easiest way to get it perfectly right. Instant Pot is such a handy kitchen gadget to have, that I highly recommend it to everyone who loves cooking.
My name is Catalina Castravet, and I am the owner of https://sweetandsavorymeals.com/. I have been cooking for over 10 years now, and along with my team, we are always looking to discover and improve various recipes. Cooking is something I dearly love, and Instant Pot makes my cooking process so much easier. In this post, I will guide you on how to cook perfectly the rice in the Instant Pot, along with some tips and tricks. Once you learn how to make rice in the Instant Pot/Pressure Cooker, you will never be making it any other way!
Why cook rice in the Instant Pot?
Prior to becoming a professional chef and full-time blogger, I always cooked rice the traditional way – on the stovetop. From time to time, I would also cook it in the rice cooker. However, other getting into Instant Pot, I have discovered it to be the best and easiest way to cook the rice.
Firstly, the cooking time is greatly reduced when cooking under pressure. Also, you end up with fluffy and perfectly cooked rice. Another great thing about the pressure cooker is that you do not need to worry much about adjusting the water to rice ration. You can cook pretty much any type of rice, and the water to rice ratio will always stay the same – 1:1. The only thing you will have to adjust is the cooking time based on various rice types. If you will follow the steps below, you are guaranteed to end up with PERFECTLY cooked rice with minimum effort. read about Curt E. Liebman MD
What is an Instant Pot?
An Instant Pot is a multi-cooker that does the job of a slow cooker, electric pressure cooker, steamer, and yogurt maker. It has multi-functions, where you can also sauté and brown ingredients. With Instant Pot you basically cook the ingredients at high pressure, which usually cooks the meals at a fraction of the time. Also, it is basically a single appliance that does the job of multiple different kitchen appliances or tools.
Does instant pot make good rice?
Absolutely! As stated above, prior to using the Instant Pot, I would always cook rice the traditional, stovetop way. However, once I got the Instant Pot, I have never looked back. It does a much better job than stovetop because it absorbs the exact amount of water it needs. Also, you do not need to be an experienced cooker to make it. The rice will turn out perfectly cooked, without guessing every time the outcome. All you have to do is to use the right amount of water, which is one cup of water for every cup of rice and cook it under pressure.
How to cook rice in the Instant Pot?
Before starting the cooking process, ensure you have the following:
- Pressure Cooker: You can use 6 or 8 QT version, depending on your preference.
- Long Trivet: This is needed when cooking rice or many other ingredients. Also, it is quite affordable.
- Rice Steamer: I prefer to NOT cook the rice directly in the IP pot, but use a steamer. It also keeps the moisture balance and is perfect to steam rice, or veggies.
Once you have the necessary tools, the rest is simple.
- Rinse the rice: It is best to rinse the rice prior to cooking. No matter which type of rice you cook, it is highly recommended to rinse it. This way, the dirt from it is removed.
- Add water: Then, add water to the inner pot of the Instant Pot. Depending on how much rice you cook, the water ratio should always be 1 to 1. So, for every cup of water, use 1 cup of rice.
- Add the rice: Next, add the rice, salt and the two cups of water to an Instant Pot safe dish/pot. Stir to combine. Then, add the long-legged trivet to the Instant Pot, and insert the pot with the rice onto the trivet.
- Cook: Lastly, close the lid, and cook on high pressure.
For a full recipe with a short video tutorial, please see our post in this link.
Instant Pot rice cooking time:
Below you can find a quick reference for various rice and their respective cooking time.
What if my rice is undercooked in the instant pot?
If you follow our guidelines, the rice should turn out perfectly cooked. The only reason you might end up with undercooked rice would be that the cooking time was set for too short. Please refer to the above link and infographic for the exact cooking time for various rice.
What else can you cook in the Instant Pot?
There are plenty of recipes you can cook in the Instant Pot. In fact, we have well over 100 Instant Pot recipes you can pick from. If you are serious about using the Instant Pot, I highly recommend checkout out our recipes. We have everything starting from egg bites, soups, to dinner.
