Make perfect Instant Pot Basmati Rice for a fast side dish that the whole family will love! Made in a flash in a pressure cooker, this delicious rice is great for meal prep and is pairs well with so many dishes. No pressure cooker? You’ll also find stovetop instructions in the recipe.
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Basmati rice in the Instant Pot is the perfect recipe for anyone new to pressure cooking. You’ll get perfect results every time and you’ll love that you don’t need to babysit a pot on the stove.
Basmati rice is a delicious type of long-grain rice that doesn’t plump up when it is cooked. It is traditionally paired with Indian and South Asian dishes.
It’s perfect with dishes like Air Fryer Orange Chicken, Instant Pot Teriyaki Beef, Air Fryer Tofu, Mung Bean Coconut Curry, Instant Pot Beef Tips and Gravy, Baked Chicken Teriyaki, or Instant Pot Orange Chicken.
Want more Instant Pot rice dishes? Check out our popular Instant Pot Garlic Parmesan Rice, Instant Pot Jasmine Rice, Instant Pot Cilantro Lime Rice, Instant Pot Brown Jasmine Rice, Instant Pot Sushi Rice, and Instant Pot Coconut Rice.
If you are new to pressure cooking and the Instant Pot, check out this post on recipes for Instant Pot beginners. We cover all the terms and steps you’ll need to feel comfortable with your new pressure cooker.
HOW LONG DO YOU COOK Basmati RICE IN THE INSTANT POT?
Depending on how you like your rice, 4-6 minutes works best. If you like firmer rice, 4 minutes is perfect. Want something a little softer, then 6 minutes is your best bet. I find 5 minutes makes the perfect texture every single time.
No matter how long you cook it, and how much rice you make, keep a 1:1 ratio of rice to liquid. For every 1 cup of rice you use, you’ll need 1 cup of broth or water. Exception: If you do not pre-rinse the rice, add an additional 1/4 cup of liquid per 1 cup of rice when cooking.
This recipe calls for the optional addition of oil, ghee, or melted butter. If you saute the rinsed rice in a bit of fat before cooking, it helps separate the grains after cooking and adds lots of flavor. My preference for oils is avocado or olive.
A fun way to add lots of extra flavor to your rice is to saute aromatics in the oil prior to starting the instant pot. We love throwing in frozen minced garlic, but the sky is the limit for additions.
Basmati POT IN POT RICE METHOD
The pot in pot cooking method produces the same texture as cooking the rice directly in the Instant Pot. But a side benefit is that it’s cooked in a serving dish that you can put directly on the table (along with a hot pad/trivet).
You’ll need: a glass bowl (like this Pyrex) or a stainless steel insert, and a wire trivet (hint: most pressure cookers come with them).
Place 3 cups of water in the insert of your Instant Pot and add the trivet. Mix your rice, water/broth, oil, and salt in a glass bowl. Cook following the timing noted in the recipe card below.
PRO TIPS/RECIPE NOTES
- Cook time will remain the same no matter how much rice you make. The Instant Pot will take longer to come up to pressure.
- Each cup of uncooked rice will yield three cups of cooked rice.
- Do not use the cup markings on the inside of the Instant Pot to measure your dry rice or water. Use a dry ingredient cup for the rice and a liquid measuring cup for the water/broth.
- With a stainless steel Instant Pot insert, some rice will stick to the bottom and sides after cooking. Simply soak the insert in warm water for a bit and then clean as usual.
- For Instant Pot basmati brown rice, you’ll need to add an extra 1/8 cup of water/broth and cook for 19 minutes with a 10-minute natural release.
- I love using broth/stock in place of water. Check out these posts on How to Make Chicken Bone Broth, Turkey Bone Broth, and Where to Buy Bone Broth for inspiration.
- Make sure to turn the Instant Pot off once it has finished cooking. This will prevent the rice in the pot from scorching while you wait for the pot to depressurize.
MORE GREAT INSTANT POT RECIPES
- Check out all my Instant Pot Side Dish recipes
- Instant Pot Mac and Cheese
- Instant Pot Steamed Broccoli
- Instant Pot Mexican Rice
- Cold Start Instant Pot Yogurt
- Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes
- Healthy Deviled Eggs
- Instant Pot Chicken and Dumplings
- Instant Pot Beets
- Instant Pot Iced Tea
Instant Pot Basmati Rice
Ingredients
- 2 cups basmati rice {uncooked}
- 2 cups water {or broth}
- 1 tsp salt {optional}
- 1 tsp olive oil, butter, or ghee {optional}
Equipment
Instructions
- Rinse uncooked rice in a fine-mesh strainer under cool water until the water runs clear. (about ~2 minutes)
- {optional} In the insert of the Instant Pot, add oil/butter/ghee and rinsed rice, and cook on saute for a 1 minute, stirring often.
- Add water (or broth), and optional salt. Stir.
- Lock the lid into place and set the steam release handle (valve on top) to “Sealing”.
- Press Manual>High Pressure>5 minutes. It will take 5-8 minutes to get up to pressure.
- When the rice has finished cooking, the Instant Pot will beep and switch to ”keep warm". Turn it to "off".
- Allow it to sit for 10 minutes and then flip the switch to "venting" to remove any remaining pressure.
- Carefully open the lid and fluff the rice with a fork or rice scoop.
Pot in Pot Method
- Place 3 cups of water in the insert of your Instant Pot and add the wire trivet. Mix rice, water (or broth), and optional salt and olive oil.
- Follow steps 4-8 above.
Notes
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Made this last night! Went to make some rice on the stove and realized it’s brown rice and didn’t feel like waiting 40+ minutes for it to cook… but once I had it in the IP, I was adding up the time.
Still learning the ways of the Instant Pot, so correct me if I’m wrong. So if I am making brown rice, I set the timer for 19 minutes. Is that 19 minutes in addition to the 5-8 minutes for the pressure to build? If so, making the rice in the instant pot isn’t much faster (8+19+10= 37 minutes). Stove top directions say 40 minutes.
One major bonus is I’m doing the pot-in-pot method so one less dish to wash!
And the rice came out delicious, so there is also that ????
Yep! If you look at the time in the recipe card it also includes “pressurizing/depressurizing” time in the total time.