Instant Pot Brown Rice Recipe
Posted: 03/20/2019
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Instant Pot Brown Rice is easy to make and comes out perfectly every time! No more guessing games when it comes to making rice!
My instructions and recipe for Instant Pot Jasmine Rice have been pretty popular, and since all rice is not created equally, I thought it would be helpful to show you how to make brown rice in your pressure cooker as well.
Rice is a tricky thing to make (crunchy! sticky! mushy!); and sometimes it’s just so difficult to get the correct consistency.
Or maybe I’m just rice-challenged.
I recently had a fun afternoon with my friends, a group that we very informally call “Cooking Club.” I’ve talked about our “Cooking Club” in the past, but basically it was my way to form (force?) friendships when we moved (back) to this area of the state. I’m happy to say that it worked beautifully and now not only do we sometimes cook together, we’ve also formed great friendships within a group of women who support and lift each other up. We’ve even occasionally let our husbands join in on some of our gatherings.
There are always SO many laughs. One of our early gatherings was at my friend Renee’s house for an Instant Pot Cooking Club. It was a small group of five of us (we have probably 15 in our group at this point, so we’re usually able to get a good little group together even if not everyone can attend), but there haven’t been many times in my life when I’ve laughed so hard.
It was kind of a disaster, to be honest. We were all newbies at using our Instant Pots, and we were learning together. I think some of the best moments in life are when things don’t go as planned, and this was no exception.
The chicken we made was still raw in the middle when it came out of the Instant Pot. One of the Instant Pot lids got stuck on the wrong pot. And I mean stuck. It took 20 minutes, a husband and tools to remove the lid. (Lesson: Don’t mix up lids if you have multiple models of Instant Pots). We didn’t plan ahead for the Instant Pot cheesecake so we ate grocery store cheesecake (but it was pretty darn delicious!).
Renee decided we needed a do-over, and I think she was right. This time we probably had 10 women, and a few kiddos running around, but it still went much smoother. We were each armed with a pressure cooker, a recipe, and ingredients. Many of the recipes were mine (Renee is one of my biggest fans and I love her so much for it — she also tests many of my recipes for me!).
We made Instant Pot macaroni and cheese, Instant Pot Sweet Potatoes, Instant Pot Baked Potatoes, Instant Pot Boiled Eggs, and my friend Laura adapted my slow cooker chicken and wild rice soup for the Instant Pot and it turned out fantastic.
Other things on the menu were Instant Pot Spinach Artichoke Dip (not gonna link to that one because it wasn’t great and resulted in a burn notice – no fault of my friend that was making it), Instant Pot rice with cilantro and lime, and Instant Pot Shredded Chicken. Needless to say, we all went home with leftovers!
Renee was the “hostess with the mostess” and was left with a pile of dishes…but at least her fridge was full.
It was most definitely another great day with great friends, and I think we may have even converted a few people that were on the Instant Pot fence.
About Instant Pot Brown Rice
If you haven’t yet converted over to pressure cooking, rice might be what convinces you. It really does come out perfect and is almost completely hands-off. Brown rice takes a little longer to cook than other varieties of rice, but it’s not any more difficult.
Another great thing about rice is that you can make a large batch and freeze the extras. It freezes, thaws, and reheats beautifully, so you can thaw it whenever you need some for a side dish, a stir fry, or just when a craving for rice hits.
Important Tips and Notes:
- Don’t skip the step of rinsing the rice. It keeps it from foaming up or sputtering when you’re releasing the pressure.
- Don’t skimp on the salt. Rice tastes best with plenty of salt.
- Try using broth instead of water for added flavor! Chicken broth or vegetable broth are both great choices.
Rice and Stir Fry Recipes – a Match Made in Heaven:
Try this recipe with these tasty stir fry recipes! Make a double batch of rice and use the leftover rice for Fried Rice tomorrow!
- Easy Beef and Vegetable Stir-Fry
- Chicken Stir Fry with Ginger and Basil
- Sweet and Sour Chicken Stir Fry
- Honey Balsamic Chicken with Vegetables (a sheet pan dinner)
- Sweet Chili Chicken Stir-Fry
- Szechuan Chick Stir-Fry from Cooking Light
- 30 Minute Tempeh Stir-Fry from Minimalist Baker
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @rachelcooksblog on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!
cups cooked rice
Instant Pot Brown Rice is easy to make and comes out perfectly every time! No more guessing games when it comes to making rice!
Ingredients
- 2 cups long grain brown rice
- 2 1/2 cups water
- 1 tablespoon oil of choice
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Rinse rice well until water runs clear.
- Add rice to the insert of your Instant Pot. Add water, oil, and salt. push down any rice that may be on the side of the pot to submerge in liquid.
- Secure cover, turn valve to seal, and set Instant Pot on the manual setting for 24 minutes on high pressure. When the timer goes off, let naturally release for 10 minutes (in other words, leave it alone for 10 minutes).
- Once 10 minutes has elapsed, turn valve to “vent” to quick release pressure, fluff with a fork, and serve.
Notes
- Try replacing the water in this recipe with chicken or vegetable broth for added flavor!
Nutrition Information
Serving: 1/2 cup, Calories: 47kcal, Carbohydrates: 8g, Protein: 1g, Fat: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Sodium: 179mg, Fiber: 1g
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
Ethelyn Dietrich says
This is the VERY BEST instructions on how to make instant pot Brown RICE that I have EVER seen!! I think someone wore out the camera though! How nice to have all these examples of RICE and how to make it taste and look so good! I hope to let you know how it tastes after my PRODUCTION is over with! :o) Thank you, very muchly! I’ve NEEDED to know this way of making rice for more years than I care to admit to!
Rachel Gurk says
I’m so glad it was helpful!
Paul says
I want to make brown rice in my IP 3 qt. I know to use one cup rice, 1 1/4 cups of water. My question is how long do I cook it?
Rachel Gurk says
Same cooking time! That’s the beauty of the Instant Pot. The only differnce is, it will probably take less time to come to pressure.
Shannon Voorhes says
Follow instructions except I only did a half batch. Came out perfect! Thank you :)
Rachel Gurk says
So glad to hear it! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment!
Leonard says
This is a great recipe. My rice came out tender and not mushy. You can really add your own flair to it as long as it does not contribute more water. Very happy because brown rice is really hard to make on the stove top.
Rachel Gurk says
I agree! So glad you liked it! Thanks for taking the time to come back and leave a comment!
Teresa Contois says
I made this with chicken stock, unsalted and a few good squirts of butter flavored cooking spray. I also used the sea salt. Next time I’m going to try to cook it for 25 minutes or 26 instead of 24. My rice was delicious but I would look to be cooking it just a tiny bit more next time. I would rate this 4.8 out of five stars !
Rachel Gurk says
I’m glad you liked this rice! Thanks for taking the time to come back and leave a comment!
Sophie ears says
Please, enough with the chatter. I came for a recipe, not the story of your life. I’m sure you and your friends find it fascinating, but we perfect strangers don’t. Please don’t waste our time or bandwidth. Thanks.
Rachel Gurk says
Hi Sophie, I have a “jump to recipe” button at the top of each post so you can easily click that to skip right past all that “chatter” and get right to the recipe if you’d like. Believe it or not, I actually include that button even though it makes me lose money, because I strive to make my site as user friendly as possible.
I’ve received a lot of feedback from readers (not just friends) who love the chatter and have requested more of it. There are also typically a lot of helpful tips, tricks, and recommendations included in that portion which some readers find very valuable. If you don’t find that valuable, I’m not offended and you can easily scroll by it or use that jump to recipe button I have provided.
While we’re talking about use of time, thank goodness you were still able to find time to leave an unkind comment on a stranger’s website. Seems like a great way to start off 2020. I hope that rest of your year is filled with a little more happiness and positivity.
Anna says
Lol, my rice is in the pot so I’ve got nothing to comment on the recipe yet, but I love your reply here! Keep your chin up girl! :)
Rachel Gurk says
:) Thank you for your support!
Kara Plantinga says
I got an instant pot for Christmas and I was really excited to try making brown rice with it. When I use a pot on the stove or a rice cooker, it never seemed to cook the rice just right. This recipe worked perfectly. Fluffy, perfectly cooked rice. Yay!!
Rachel Gurk says
Oh I’m so excited you got an IP, you are going to love it! This was a great recipe to start on!
Buddy says
When you say cup, Do you mean actual cup 8oz or the plastic cup that came with the IP, which is smaller than a standard measuring cup?
Rachel Gurk says
Actual measuring cup :)
Julie says
So it’s ok to half the recipe? Just leave cooking time the same? And, dumb question, what do you use to rinse the rice? Just got my Instant Pot, can’t wait to try this!
Rachel Gurk says
I haven’t personally tested it, but yes that should work fine! Leave cooking time the same. I use a fine mesh strainer to rinse my rice – I have and love this one.
Shireen says
How long should I cook for if I only want to make 1 cup of brown rice?
Rachel Gurk says
Cooking time should be the same. :)
Ken says
To me this type of rice is a lot more flavorful.
Rachel Gurk says
I agree! I love jasmine rice, too.
Denise says
I love using my pot to make rice
Rachel Gurk says
Me too! It’s the best!