Instant Pot Brown Rice turns out perfectly fluffy and tender every time. Below you’ll learn how to cook brown rice in the Instant Pot, along with other varieties, two different ways. It makes the cooking process totally hands-off!
Brown rice is one of the longer cooking varieties of rice, but the Instant Pot makes the process easier because you don’t have to wait for water to boil before you get started. Just add the rice and water, press a button, and walk away! I love the freedom of not having to babysit a pot on the stove.
How to Cook Brown Rice in the Instant Pot
You can cook rice 2 different ways in the Instant Pot. The most straight-forward way is to pour the rice and water directly into the bottom of the stainless steel pot and cook it on its own.
This is the method I use when making a large batch of rice for the week ahead, as part of my meal prep routine. It’s nice to have some cooked rice on hand for a quick weeknight stir-fry!
“Pot-in-Pot” Instant Pot Rice
The other way you can cook rice is using the pot-in-pot cooking method. In this case, the rice cooks in a separate oven-safe bowl, rather than directly in the bottom of the pot.
Some people prefer to cook rice using the pot-in-pot method, so that they don’t have to clean the bottom of the Instant Pot later. To do this, you’ll need to pour a cup of water into the bottom of the pot, then set a trivet down to keep the bowl of rice out of the water. (Pictured below is the trivet that came with my Instant Pot Duo.)
You’ll add the rinsed rice and water to an oven-safe bowl that is 7-inches in diameter (for a 6 quart Instant Pot) then place the bowl on the trivet and cook as directed. The rice will turn out perfectly fluffy, and it will already be in a serving bowl for your meal!
Pressure Cooking Rice with Other Foods
The benefit of cooking any variety of rice using the pot-in-pot method is that you can cook another dish on the bottom of the pot at the same time. For example, my Instant Pot Chipotle Burrito Bowls have dry black beans cook from scratch on the bottom of the pot, while a bowl of brown rice cooks on top of that in a separate bowl.
You can do the same thing with chicken and white rice, with the chicken cooking on the bottom of the Instant Pot while a bowl of white rice cooks on top. The thing to keep in mind when cooking two dishes at once is that both dishes need to cook in roughly the same amount of time. I’ve listed plenty of pot-in-pot cooking times for you to refer to!
You can even cook chicken and cauliflower “rice” together, like in my Instant Pot Chicken Burrito Bowls.
Instant Pot Rice Cook Times
If you need a quick reference for cooking rice, here is the timing I use for cooking the most common varieties of rice
- White Rice (long or short grain): 4 minutes at high pressure
- Brown Rice (long or short grain): 22 minutes at high pressure
- Wild Rice: 25-30 minutes at high pressure
With all of these varieties of rice, the water ratio remains the same.
How Much Water Do You Add to Rice?
Since there is no evaporation in the Instant Pot, you use a 1:1 ratio of water to rice. This is different than stove top cooking, which typically calls for a 2:1 ratio. This ratio assumes that your rice has been rinsed first.
Do You Need to Rinse Rice?
I do recommend rinsing your rice in a fine mesh strainer first, to help remove the starch that can give rice a gummy texture. If you skip this step (I do when I’m in a rush), add an extra 1/4 cup of water when you cook the rice, to account for the moisture difference.
How much rice can you cook in the Instant Pot?
The most rice I’ve ever cooked at one time is 3 cups of dry rice with 3 cups of water. I think you could probably go up to 5 cups of dry rice, as long as you don’t fill the pot more than halfway full for safety. (So a larger 8-quart pot will be able to hold more than a 6-quart pot.)
Rice creates foamy, starchy water as it cooks, so you wouldn’t want it to rise too high during the cooking cycle and damage your pot.
When doubling or tripling a recipe in the Instant Pot, the cooking time doesn’t change. However, the overall time will be longer when you cook a larger quantity, because it will take longer for the pot to come to pressure when compared to a smaller quantity of rice.
Instant Pot Brown Rice
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup brown rice , rinsed
- 1 cup water
Instructions
- Combine the rice and water in the bottom of the Instant Pot and give it a stir. Secure the lid and move the steam release valve to Sealing.
- Press the Manual or Pressure Cook button and cook at high pressure for 22 minutes. The pot will take roughly 8 minutes to come to pressure before the cooking cycle begins.
- When the cooking cycle is complete, allow the pressure to release naturally for 10 minutes. (In other words, don't do anything right away.) When the screen reads LO:10, move the steam release valve to Venting to release any remaining pressure.
- When the floating valve in the lid drops, it's safe to remove the lid. Fluff the rice with a fork, and serve warm. Leftover rice can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Additional Recipe Notes:
- If you want to cook another variety of rice, such as white jasmine or wild rice, please refer to the cooking times mentioned in this post above the recipe.
- I do not recommend swapping brown rice for white rice, or vice versa, in a pot-in-pot recipe due to the drastically different cooking times. You can check out my Instant Pot recipes here on the site, or The Fresh & Healthy Instant Pot Cookbook for more tested & perfected recipes to cook two dishes at once in your Instant Pot.
More Instant Pot Recipes
If you’d like more guidance on using your electric pressure cooker, try one of the tutorials below.
- Instant Pot Sweet Potatoes
- Instant Pot Black Beans
- Instant Pot Chickpeas
- Instant Pot Shredded Chicken
- Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes
- Instant Pot Quinoa
- Instant Pot Chickpea Curry
- Instant Pot Quinoa Burrito Bowls
If you try this recipe, please leave a comment below letting me know how it works for you. And if you make any modifications, I’d love to hear about those, too! We can all benefit from your experience.
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Reader Feedback: Have you tried cooking rice in your Instant Pot yet? Let me know if you have any other tips or tricks in the comments below! We can all benefit from your experience.
Hi Megan, I’m going to try making rice tonight. Just wondering if you ever use the rice setting on your instant pot? Thanks!
Erin
When I first bought my Instant Pot, I did use the rice setting to cook quinoa! The auto-setting is for 12 minutes at low pressure, so that would NOT be enough for brown rice, but it works fine for white rice. I’ve heard complaints of rice sticking to the bottom of the Instant Pot bowl, and I’ve never had that happen using the 4 minutes at high pressure. I think if the pot cooks for too long, that’s when sticking happens.
Hi Megan, I tried the high pressure 4 minutes for jasmine rice– I loved it. It was sticky and delicious! I have never used a rice-cooker but this is what I imagine it would taste like. It was perfect! So, thank you! 🙂
I haven’t made the rice yet, but I wondered whether you also rinse BROWN rice before pressuring (or do you just rinse white rice).
Perfect rice! I just made this today and the rice came out perfectly! I’ve had a hard time finding a good instant pot brown rice recipe that wasn’t soggy! Thank you!
Most of the recipes I have seen say the recipes I have looked up ate 2 cups brown 2 and 1/2 cups water or 1 brown rice to 1 and 1/4 water. Brown rice takes more time and more water
I made it today 1:1 ratio and it turned out perfect.
Thanks for your feedback, Nancy! I’m glad it worked out for you.
I followed exactly. Came out perfect!! Your a rice Jedi!!!
Has anyone tried doubling this recipe? Can you do that straight out? Or does it change the cooking time?
I have doubled and even tripled the recipe, same cooking time. Turns out perfectly!
Yes! I doubled the recipe for brown basmati, kept all of the ratios the same and it turned out perfectly. Though I also sauté it in the InstaPot for a couple minutes with some coconut oil before pressure cooking.
How much liquid do I add for 3 cups brown rice?
3 cups. As stated in the intro text, it’s a 1:1 ratio.
I appreciate the instant pot recipes on the site. The brown rice instructions are the best I have found in terms of ratios and timing. I prefer separated grains of rice, so I added a bit of olive oil prior to cooking and it was perfect! To me that addition of oil will make it a five star review! Again thank you
This so does not work on the ultra. I hate this thing. Seriously.
This recipe and its ratios are spot on – thank you! Same for your black beans. One thing I do with the rice is set the pot to the sauté setting and “toast” the rice for a couple of minutes in about a Tbsp of coconut oil before adding the water and sealing the lid. The oil coats the grains and helps to keep them separate after they’re cooked. The fat also attaches to the starch in the rice and hinders the conversion of starch into sugar. OK, and it makes it extra tasty, too – especially if you’re cooking Thai or Indian dishes.
We are using the Crock Pot to make brown rice congee (aka jook). My husband and I are arguing about how much time is required. For one cup uncooked brown rice and 5 quarts of water (no chicken stock but a few added pieces of cooked chicken), he says it needs to be at high heat for 4- 5 hours. I say that one hour at high heat and then 2 hours at simmer/low heat. What is your suggestion?
My brown rice came out very sticky. I cooked 2 cups rice with 2-1/2 cups waster for 23 minutes. Came out very sticky.
You didn’t follow her directions, Judy!
I followed your directions exactly and tried to cook long grain brown rice in my IP. It came out dry and hard/uncooked.
Do I need to add more water or what?
(The condensation cup was nearly full at the end of the pressure cycle, if that makes a difference.)
Thanks for your help.
Hmm… that sounds like there was an issue with the pot sealing. I’ve never had water in my condensation cup before, so I’d check your silicone sealing ring to make sure it’s properly seated in the lid, and make sure the steam release valve is in the “sealing” position so that the moisture doesn’t escape during the cooking process.
I don’t see my comment here, so I’m replying to thank you for your response. I’ll check the sealing ring. I’m using an Ultra, so I don’t have to worry about the “sealing” position. Thank you for replying on New Year’s Day – I really appreciate you!! (I post your oat milk recipe link on FB all the time when people are complaining how hard it is to make! 🙂 Happy New Year!
Thank you so much for your help yesterday. I cleaned and reseated the sealing ring, and tried making the brown rice again today and…. THE RICE IS PERFECT!!! I’m so grateful for your help.
When making brown rice it is usually so bland. Without broth/stock (vs water), sautéed veggies and a few preferred spices makes the rice more delicious. Sometimes adding meat makes this rice a 1 bowl meal.
Does using broth instead of water change the ratio of liquid to rice? Seems on the stovetop water absorbs more readily than broth. I too, like to include some sauteed onion and broth. Was interested in your experience before trying in the pressure cooker. Thx
I just got my Insta pot last weekend and after reading through several recipes for rice on other sites I really liked how this one was all laid out there and very well explained so I tried it for the brown rice and oh my goodness it was absolutely wonderful!
Do you think the cooking time (and natural release time) for brown jasmine rice will be the same as for long grain brown rice? Thank you!
Perfect short grain brown rice—thank you!
Cooking time would have been accurate it ratio f rice to water had been correct. I put 1:1 as per recipe and it came out uncooked. It was burnt to the bottom and needed much more water.
That sounds like your machine didn’t seal. I would check the sealing ring in your lid to make sure it isn’t stuck or damaged– I’ve had to replace mine once in the last 3 years. And always double-check the steam release valve to make sure it’s in the sealing position, or the water in your pot will evaporate, causing the rice to burn on the bottom. You could add 1/4 cup more water to this recipe, but it really shouldn’t need more than that.
I think you’re right. It needs more water. Maybe 1.5 cups of water for 1 cup of rice. Mine didn’t burn. It did cook but it’s a teeny tiny bit uncooked, hence a bit too firm and sticky. I did rinse it as well. I’ll try with a little more water
Prefect every time! Thanks!
This came out perfect! What a great recipe!
Thanx so much for this recipe.
I fried onions and used half grated lemon zest for my brown rice and my kids of all the other people loved it.
Will try 4mins white rice.
Can 1 cup broth be used instead of 1 cup water in cookinging 1 cup rice.
Hello. I tried your recipe step by step and even though the rice cooked through, it was also a bit firm and sticky (I did rinse it before). And it was not fluffy or anything like that. It was kinda like a less sticky sushi rice. I added the water you said. The time and pressure you mentioned. I don’t know why this happened. Could you give me a heads up? Thanks a lot
I had the same problem. Any advice would be great!
Perfect Brown Rice!
Thank you ❣️
Perfect!!!
Lovely
How would you adjust the timing for parboiled brown rice?
Ew, no. Don’t cook Uncle Ben’s in the IP.
Hi Megan! I’m new to cooking in the IP, so maybe this is common knowledge, but… is the “keep warm“ button supposed to be on or off? You don’t mention it in your recipes, so I wasn’t sure. Thanks so much for sharing your knowledge! 😊
The keep warm setting is automatically on when the Instant Pot cooking cycle completes. I leave it on during the natural release, but you can turn it off if you know you’ll eat your food as soon as the natural release is done.
Thanks so much. I wanted to use the pot-in-pot technique but didn’t have the size pot you advised us to use so I cooked right in the instant pot. The rice came out perfectly and I noticed that it actually was easier to clean the pot than when I steamed and used pot in pot recipes as my hard water leaves mineral traces that are more difficult to clean up than a little rice residue. Also so glad to find your website. My very healthy diet of the past 8 plus years has been falling apart and I need some inspiration. Thanks again.
The instructions don’t say anything about pot-in-pot or using the bowl and trivet listed under equipment. I used the “jump to recipe” button so I must have missed something. Also a bit confused about the cook time of 22 min vs pressurization of 18 min, but it came out alright (tiny bit wet) with the rice in the bottom of the pot and timer set to 22 min. 🙂
I liked learning how to cook brown rice in the instapot the regular way and want to try the pot in pot method.
I used the bowl method and I have to say it worked perfectly (brown basmati rice)! No clean up, which I love! Thank you so much.