Instant Pot Brown Rice
Posted: 08/18/23
Updated: 09/19/23
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
If you’re wanting fluffy, tender, perfectly cooked brown rice with minimal effort then grab the Instant Pot and let’s get pressure cooking! This method is totally hands off and practically foolproof, whether you’re cooking brown basmati rice, long grain brown rice, or short grain brown rice.
🍚 What Makes This Recipe So Good
Knowing how to cook brown rice in the Instant Pot will make your life easier in SO many ways! OK, well, maybe not your whole life. But definitely your kitchen life.
- For one thing, Instant Pot brown rice requires much less effort than cooking brown rice on the stovetop. You don’t have to keep an eye on the pot at all times, adjusting the heat a smidgen this way or a nudge that way. There’s no agony over timing each transition just right lest you end up with burnt or mushy rice.
- And for another thing, “Instapot” (as my kids call it) brown rice is faster than the stovetop, too, even when you factor in the time to pressurize the Instant Pot at the beginning and the time to release the pressure at the end. On the stove, you’re talking at least an hour, between rinsing the rice really well, bringing the water to boil, simmering for 45-ish minutes, letting the rice rest for 10-15 minutes, then fluffing and serving. The Instant Pot? Rinse the rice, throw it in the pot, pressurize, cook 20 minutes, release 10 minutes, fluff, serve. You’ll clock in around 45-50 minutes max.
- You can cook almost any type of brown rice in the Instant Pot. Long grain brown rice, short grain brown rice, even brown basmati and brown jasmine rice. Just don’t use minute or instant brown rice with this method (or if you do, cut way, way back on the cook time and release time). Those quick rices start out partially pre-cooked, and this method is specifically developed for completely uncooked rice.
👩🏼🍳 Chef’s Tips
- Believe me, I know. It’s right there. It’s named for this. It seems so obvious. But, please, whatever you do, do NOT push that “rice” button! It’s a great feature and I love that the Instant Pot has it, but trust me when I say it works much better for white rice than it does for brown rice. Brown rice takes longer to cook than white rice, and that preset just doesn’t allow enough time for it. Stick to the Manual High Pressure setting instead and I promise you’ll have great results!
- If you notice a little bit of liquid left after the cook time and release time, don’t panic. That’s totally normal. Fluff the rice and then let it stand for a few minutes. That should allow it enough time to absorb any remaining water.
- As long as your Instant Pot is large enough, you can cook as much brown rice at a time as you want! 1 cup of uncooked brown rice generally turns into about 3 cups of cooked brown rice, so just keep that in mind before you start tripling or quadrupling things. With just 1 cup of dry brown rice, I had the best results using just 1 cup of water. For each additional cup of uncooked brown rice, though, I recommend increasing the water by 1 ¼ cups. So if you’re cooking 2 cups of uncooked brown rice, you’d want to use 2 ¼ cups of water or broth. 3 cups of uncooked brown rice, use 3 ½ cups of water. You get the idea!
🤤 Other Super Easy Recipes You’ll Drool Over
- Instant Pot Black Beans
- Marry Me Chicken Salad
- 2-Ingredient Bacon-Wrapped Dates (with Stuffed Option)
- Teriyaki Salmon (Whole30)
- Easy Beef Curry
- Chimichurri Rice
- 3-Ingredient Sausage Dip (Stovetop or Crockpot)
- Easy Baked Pork Chops and Rice
- Garlic Butter Shrimp
- Instant Pot Chicken and Noodles
- Easy Black Bean Soup
- Instant Pot Orange Chicken
- Dreamy Instant Pot Chicken and Rice
- Air Fryer Frozen French Fries
- Instant Pot Jasmine Rice (Under 10 Minutes)
- Instant Pot Quinoa
Instant Pot Brown Rice
Don't touch that "rice" button! This method for cooking brown rice in the Instant Pot gives you the best, fluffiest, chewiest brown rice imaginable, every single time.
servings
Ingredients
- 1 cup uncooked brown rice long grain, short grain, brown jasmine, or brown basmati
- 1 cup cold water see Notes
- 1 teaspoon salt more or less to taste
Equipment
- Fine mesh strainer
- cold running water
- 6-quart Instant Pot or similar pressure cooker
- Large wooden spoon
- Fork
Instructions
- Place 1 cup uncooked brown rice in fine mesh strainer. Rinse rice well under running water, tossing rice as needed, until water runs clear. Drain as much excess water from rice as possible.
- Transfer rinsed and drained rice to Instant Pot. Add 1 cup cold water and 1 teaspoon salt, and stir gently to incorporate.
- Secure lid on Instant Pot with valve in Sealing position. Set Instant Pot to Manual High Pressure for 20 minutes. Instant Pot will pressurize, then 20-minute cook time will begin.
- After 20-minute cook time ends, immediately Natural Release pressure for 10 minutes.
- After 10-minute Natural Release, immediately and carefully Quick Release any remaining pressure and remove lid from Instant Pot. Use caution – any escaping steam will be very hot.
- Fluff cooked brown rice with fork, then divide into preferred portions and serve as desired.
Notes
- If the rice seems a little wet or if there’s still a little liquid in the Instant Pot after removing the lid, fluff the rice with a fork and let it stand a couple of minutes to absorb the rest of the liquid.
- Rice: These instructions will not work for instant brown rice or for white rice. For white rice, refer to our recipes for Instant Pot Risotto (made with arborio rice), Instant Pot Jasmine Rice, or Instant Pot Basmati Rice.
- Water: For softer, mushier rice, use 1 ¼ cups water. You can also use vegetable broth instead of water if you want to give the rice a little more flavor.
- Yield: 1 cup of uncooked brown rice will give you approximately 3 cups of prepared brown rice. For the best results, I don’t recommend cooking less than 1 cup of uncooked brown rice in your Instant Pot.
- Scale: For every additional cup of uncooked brown rice, add an extra 1 ¼ cups water or broth. Example: for 1 cup uncooked brown rice, use 1 cup water. For 2 cups uncooked brown rice, use 2 ¼ cups water. For 3 cups uncooked brown rice, use 3 ½ cups water.
Nutrition Information
Serving Size: 1 serving (approximately ½ cup cooked brown rice), Calories: 114kcal, Protein: 2g, Fat: 1g, Saturated Fat: 0.2g, Sodium: 392mg, Potassium: 69mg, Total Carbs: 24g, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 0.3g, Net Carbs: 23g, Calcium: 9mg, Iron: 0.5mg
Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.
Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.
To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.
I don’t understand the last instruction “Manually release for at least 10 minutes, then open lid.” Do you mean a natural pressure release for 10 mins and then quick release if needed thereafter?
Yes! Sorry for the strange wording.