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Cooking brown basmati rice in the Instant Pot yields perfect, highly consistent results — and it couldn’t be quicker or easier. That’s why it’s become my favorite method. Here’s how to do it.
Why we love this recipe
Basmati rice is my favorite long-grain rice for virtually all recipes. It’s just as easy to make as any other type, but it has an almost magical taste and aroma. For years I made it in a pot, and that’s all well and good. But in the Instant Pot it’s:
- Quicker
- Even easier
- More hands-off
- Perfectly consistent
What could be better?
This is the water ratio and timing that works best for me. All brands of rice are different, and people’s preferences for rice texture vary, too — so I’ve provided some additional guidelines in the FAQs and recipe card below.
What you’ll need
You don’t need much to make this recipe. Here’s a look at the ingredients.
- Basmati brown rice is a whole grain. It still contains the parts of the grain that can spoil if kept at room temperature for too long. I like to store it in the fridge.
- The butter is optional, but it adds flavor and also prevents foaming in the Instant Pot. You can leave it out if you really want, or substitute oil or vegan butter to make it vegan.
How to make it
Here’s an overview of what you’ll do to make a perfect pot of brown basmati rice in the Instant Pot. You can see the steps in action in the video that accompanies this post, and get all the details in the recipe card below.
- Place the rice, water, butter, and salt into the Instant Pot.
- Give it all a stir. Then position the lid and seal the vent. Cook on manual, high pressure, for 15 minutes.
- Let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes before performing a manual release.
- Rice may be a little wet as the steam evaporates. Let it sit for a few minutes if you like. Fluff and serve or use in recipes.
Expert tips and FAQs
You sure can. In a 6 or 8 quart Instant Pot, you can double the recipe without making any additional changes.
All brands of rice are a little different — some cook faster, some slower. Plus, people have different preferences.
If the type you’re using turns out a little softer or firmer than you’d like, you can try it a little differently next time. I’d say these are the bounds of decency:
If you like your rice extremely chewy, you could go all the way down to 1 cup of water per cup of rice. If you like it extremely soft, try cooking for 20 minutes and doing a full natural pressure release. You could potentially go up to 1 1/2 cups of water, too.
Stored in an airtight container in a nice cold fridge, basmati brown rice will keep for a week. Freeze it for longer-term storage.
You sure can. Place cooked brown rice into a zip-top bag or other airtight storage container and freeze for up to a year. Defrost overnight in the fridge, reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop and serve or add to recipes.
As with all frozen foods, the texture will soften a bit, but frozen grains hold up very well and shouldn’t give you any trouble.
More favorite Instant Pot basics
Here’s how to use your IP to make perfect:
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Brown Basmati Rice (Instant Pot Method)
Ingredients
- 1 cup (200 grams) brown basmati rice
- 1 ¼ cups (300 ml) water
- 1 tablespoon (15 grams) butter
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
Instructions
- Place all ingredients into the Instant Pot and give them a stir.
- Position the lid and seal the vent.
- Cook on manual, high pressure, for 15 minutes.
- Let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes before performing a quick release.
- Rice may be a bit wet as the steam evaporates. Let it sit for a few minutes if you like. Fluff and serve or use in recipes.
Notes
- You can use this method with other varieties of long-grain brown rice if that’s what you’ve got.
- Basmati brown rice is a whole grain. It still contains the parts of the grain that can spoil if kept at room temperature for too long. I like to store it in the fridge.
- The butter is optional, but it adds flavor and also prevents foaming in the Instant Pot. You can leave it out if you really want, or substitute oil or vegan butter to make it vegan.
- Stored in an airtight container in a nice cold fridge, basmati brown rice will keep for a week. Freeze it for longer-term storage.
- All brands of rice are a little different — some cook faster, some slower. Plus, people have different preferences. If the type you’re using turns out a little softer or firmer than you’d like, you can try it a little differently next time. I’d say these are the bounds of decency: If you like your rice extremely chewy, you could go all the way down to 1 cup of water per cup of rice. If you like it extremely soft, try cooking for 20 minutes and doing a full natural pressure release. You could potentially go up to 1 1/2 cups of water, too.
- To freeze, place cooked brown rice into a zip-top bag or other airtight storage container and freeze for up to a year. Defrost overnight in the fridge, reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop and serve or add to recipes. As with all frozen foods, the texture will soften a bit, but frozen grains hold up very well and shouldn’t give you any trouble.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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It came out perfect! I forgot to switch it to quick release after 10 minutes so it naturally released all the way (probably around 15-18 minutes) but still came out perfect and fluffy!
So glad, Cindy! Thank you for the comment.
Perfect instant pot, brown basmati rice every time, without waiting for the stove. Thank you!
Thanks for the detailed recipe. If you take into account the 10-20 minutes it takes for the instant pot to pressurize, the total cooking time is the same as preparing the brown rice on the stove, maybe even more. What’s the advantage of using the instant pot?
Hi, Alain! More and more, I find myself choosing the Instant Pot for grains — even ones like rice without extensive cooking times — because of the consistent results. Since it’s a sealed environment, there’s no possibility of too much or too little liquid boiling off like there is on the stovetop. I also like that you can set it and forget it rather than having to keep an eye on things. In those ways it’s more similar to using a rice cooker than the stovetop. Of course, stovetop is great too!