Perfect Pressure Cooker Rice | How to Make Perfect Instant Pot Rice

If you've been scouring the internet for how to cook Perfect Pressure Cooker Rice, you're in luck. Learn how to make white rice, jasmine rice, black rice, brown rice, and arborio rice in your Instant Pot.

Jump to:

• Water to Rice Ratio for Instant Pot Rice
• How to Make Perfect Pressure Cooker Rice
• How Much Water Do You Put in a Pressure Cooker for White Rice?
• How Long Does It Take for Rice to Cook in a Pressure Cooker?
• Tips and Tricks For Making Rice In a Pressure Cooker

Don't waste time and money ruining pot after pot of rice, or just giving up on your pressure cooker for rice altogether. Making rice in your Instant Pot is simple and easy, and I'll teach you how to do it perfectly! 

Okay, let's cut to the chase and let me tell you the correct water to rice ratio for White rice, Brown Rice, Black Rice, Arborio Rice, Sushi Rice, Jasmine Rice, and Red Rice.

But please do read the post to better understand what types of rice to use in which dishes because they are NOT interchangeable.

I will be discussing the various types of rice, how they’re used, why pressure cooking rice is a great idea, and most importantly, how to make Perfect Pressure Cooker Rice.

Water to Rice Ratio for Instant Pot Rice

Water to rice ratio for WHITE Rice In an Instant Pot:

For basmati & Jasmine Rice, 1c water + 1 cup rice. 4 mins HP, 10 mins NPR

Water to rice ratio for BROWN Rice In an Instant Pot:

1 cup brown rice + 1 cup water: 22 mins HP, 10 mins NPR

Water to rice ratio for ARBORIO Rice In an Instant Pot:

1 cup arborio rice + 1.5 cups water: 5 mins HP, 10 mins NPR minutes + more liquid after cooking

Water to rice ratio for SUSHI Rice in an Instant Pot:

1 cup sushi rice, 1.25 cups water, 10 mins HP, 10 mins NPR.

Water to rice ratio for BLACK Rice in an Instant Pot:

1 cup black rice + 1.5 cups water: 22 mins HP, 10 mins NPR + more liquid after cooking

Water to rice ratio for RED Rice in an Instant Pot:

1 cup red rice + 1 cup water: 22 mins HP, 10 mins NPR

Water to rice ratio for CONGEE RICE in an Instant Pot:

1 cup glutinous rice + 4 cup water: 20 mins HP, 10 mins NPR

Water to rice ratio for WILD RICE BLEND in an Instant Pot:

1 cup Wild Rice Blend + 1 cup water: 22 mins HP, 10 mins NPRAdd question

 It’s important to note that for all rice I recommend rinsing it before and draining off all the water prior to putting it in the pressure cooker. I also like to use 1 teaspoon of salt and 1 tablespoon of ghee, Niter Kibbeh, or oil when I make rice.

I strongly urge you to watch the video in this post for the best information. I've tried to transcribe it here, but the video covers most of this in much better detail. 

How to Make Perfect Pressure Cooker Rice

Rice is probably the most commonly cooked food all over the world, and yet many of us still struggle to cook the perfect pot of rice. I will share what I have learned through research and lots of trial and error to help you cook the perfect rice in a pressure cooker.

Can you use a pressure cooker to make rice? Absolutely. But first, let’s discuss why you should cook rice in a pressure cooker.

Rice tastes so much better in the pressure cooker than with stovetop methods but you don’t want to just take your stovetop method and put it into a pressure cooker. The pressure cooker changes the chemistry of food and how the food reacts.

The pressure cooker prepares rice in a much different way than it would on the stove.

1. Creamier Mouth-Feel. The heat and moisture in a pressure cooker gelatinizes the starch in rice for a much creamier mouthfeel. For Basmati, which shouldn’t get creamy, it cooks the rice the whole way through for nice separation of the rice.
2. Better Aroma. Cooking rice in a pressure cooker requires less water because there is no water being evaporated like there is in a stovetop method. One of the key benefits of cooking in a pressure cooker is that none of the aromas in the rice are lost and it is a lot more flavorful.
3. Hands-free. You don’t have to babysit rice in the pressure cooker nor do you have to pre-soak the rice, resulting in less time and effort for you.

PRINT A HANDY ONE-SHEET THAT GIVES YOU ALL THE COOK TIMES AND INSTRUCTIONS HERE!

How Much Water Do You Put in a Pressure Cooker for White Rice?

It may surprise you to know that for all rice other than Black and Arborio the ratio of water to rice is 1:1. For Arborio and Black rice, the ratio will be 1 cup rice and 1.5 cups water.

With brown, red, and mixed rice, the water and rice ratios remain the same, but the natural pressure release time needs to be 22 minutes, not just 10.

I know that we were all taught differently, but remember that pressure cooking is much different than stovetop cooking.

How Long Does It Take for Rice to Cook in a Pressure Cooker?

Why is Instant Pot Rice so different and why is it so much quicker?

Because you don’t lose water to evaporation in pressure cooking, you don’t need more water for the more fibrous rice like brown.

However, different types of rice do require different cooking times because the water needs more time to penetrate the outer husk for brown, black and red rice.

Be sure to be patient and let the steam release naturally when your rice is done because that’s actually time that the rice is cooking. If you use a quick release, the rice won’t be cooked all the way through.

Below you’ll find a printable chart that outlines cooking and NPR (natural pressure release) times for each type of rice. 

PRINT A HANDY ONE-SHEET THAT GIVES YOU ALL THE COOK TIMES AND INSTRUCTIONS HERE!

Tips and Tricks For Making Rice In a Pressure Cooker

Not everyone likes their pressure cooker rice exactly the same way and mistakes can always occur in cooking, so below is a list of how to handle if the rice doesn’t turn out exactly the way you want it to:

YOU CAN DOWNLOAD ALL THESE CHARTS IN THE HANDY RICE PRESENTATION HERE

• If the rice is too mushy, reduce the water then, if need be, reduce the time.
• If it’s too chewy, try increasing the cooking time first and if that doesn’t work, try increasing the liquid.
• If the center of the rice is hard but the outer portion isn’t, try increasing the water by a tad and if need be, increase the cooking time.
• Always ensure you’re doing a 10-minute NPR (natural pressure release).
• If the rice is sticking to the bottom, try adding ghee or butter first, then reduce the cooking and NPR time or try using a ceramic liner.

Try Out These Instant Pot Rice Recipes:

• Arroz Con Pollo - which in English means chicken with rice. This is an easy one-pot meal that's SO GOOD.
• Black Rice Pudding - this is SO much easier made in the Instant Pot and creamier too.
• Red Beans and Rice - this is one of those recipes that is so much better in the Instant Pot so I never cook it the traditional way again.
• Jamaican Peas and Rice - Authentic Jamaican Peas and Rice at home in a flash.
• Caldo de Pollo - A warming soup that’s bursting with Mexican flavors!
• Pressure Cooker Shrimp Risotto - Perfect shrimp risotto every single time.
• Basmati Rice Pilau - This Instant Pot recipe is certainly one of my favorite basmati rice recipes.
• Chicken Biryani - Make an authentic biryani right in your pressure cooker.
• Instant Pot Dolma Recipe - A fantastic way to make dolma without having to wrap it.
• Indian Pilau - Peas and carrots with rice have never tasted so good!
• Kheema Pulao - A simple yet delicious Indian dish.
• Vegetarian Paneer Biryani - Enjoy all the flavors of a traditional biryani in this vegetarian dish.
• Instant Pot Sabzi Polo - Make a perfect Persian Herbed Rice in your pressure cooker.
• Instant Pot Jasmine Rice - Make perfect Jasmine Rice every time.
• Instant Pot Basmati Rice - Make basmati rice quickly and easily.
• 6+ Best Healthy Instant Pot Chicken and Rice Recipes - A fantastic collection of healthy chicken and rice recipes.
• 12+ Best Pressure Cooker Rice One Pot Meals - Here's a whole slew of recipes that use basmati rice for you to enjoy!
• Instant Pot Black Beans and Rice - Cumin-scented, Cuban inspired Black Beans and Rice.
• Sweet Coconut Rice - Your kids will love it!

PRINT A HANDY ONE-SHEET THAT GIVES YOU ALL THE COOK TIMES AND INSTRUCTIONS HERE!

Here's a good summary of how much water to rice for getting perfect pressure cooker rice in your Instant Pot.

If you love the convenience of cooking the perfect Pressure Cooker Rice every time, make sure you share this with your friends on Facebook and Pinterest so they can make it too.

Don't forget to check out my other Best-selling Instant Pot Cookbooks!

Indian Instant Pot, Keto Instant Pot, Instant Pot Fast and Easy, Healthy Instant Pot & Vegetarian Instant Pot.