Perfect Instant Pot Brown Rice

This very simple recipe for Instant Pot Brown Rice in your Instant Pot may well make you finally put away your rice cooker, and start using your Instant Pot or Pressure Cooker to make perfect rice each time.

Why Pressure Cooker Brown Rice?

• Gelatinizes Starch for a softer mouthfeel
• May make nutrients more bioavailable
• Less water loss due to evaporation
• Reduced cooking time preserves aroma
• No need to pre-soak
• No babysitting
• Can put away rice cooker for daily use

This recipe for Perfect Pressure Cooker Brown Rice will surprise you with the proportions of rice and water that I'm recommending. I've tested this several times, and it quite reliably works.

If you'd like to better understand how this all works, check out the video below. It walks you through Instant Pot instructions on how to cook all types of rice.

How To Cook Instant Pot Brown Rice

• Rinse and drain the rice using either your hands to cup and drain, or a rinser made for this purpose.
• Add Rice. Put rice, water, ghee (or oil), and salt into your electric pressure cooker or Instant Pot.
• Cook at high pressure for 22 minutes, and allow it to release pressure naturally for 10 minutes.
• NPR. Do not skip the natural release time, as this time is essential for the rice to "steam" and cook further.

What's The Correct Brown Rice To Water Ratio?

It may surprise you to know that for all rice (other than Black and Arborio) the water to rice ratio is 1:1. That makes it a pretty straight forward process, even when cooking brown rice in the Instant Pot.

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

Is Brown Rice Good For You?

Brown rice is whole grain rice, with the inedible outer hull removed; white rice has the hull, bran layer and cereal germ removed making it more nutrient-dense.

One thing to be aware of is that rice plants accumulate arsenic, and there have been concerns over arsenic levels in rice. There is more arsenic in the bran, so basmati brown rice could contain more arsenic.

Choosing a good quality brown rice is critical. For these experiments, I used a long-grain brown basmati and I found it to work really well.

Tips And Tricks For Perfect Instant Pot Brown Rice:

• Use a good quality, long-grain basmati rice
• Rinse and drain as well as you can
• Measure water and rice carefully
• Allow the rice to NPR for 10 minutes. This is important to allow it to cook
• Feel free to add 1 tablespoon ghee or coconut oil to ensure each grain is separate.

What Types Of Dishes Are Best Made With Instant Pot Brown Rice?

Brown rice is a whole-grain rice that has had only the outer hull removed. This is how it differentiates from white rice, where the rice has had the bran layer and cereal germ removed as well.

By keeping the bran layer and cereal germ, brown rice has considerably more vitamins and minerals than white rice.

Brown rice is a great all-around rice option. It works great in side dishes as well as main courses. It's particularly good in recipes like my Instant Pot Lebanese Lentils and Rice or my Basmati Rice Pilau.

Can You Freeze Brown Rice?

Yes, you absolutely can freeze Instant Pot Brown Rice! However, the sooner you freeze the rice after you've prepared it the better. Here's how I do it:

• Cool. Let it cool to room temperature.
• Portion. Separate to the perfect portion for you.
• Pack. Place rice portions into freezer-safe baggies.
• Lay flat. Place the baggies flat so they defrost easier.
• Freeze. Freeze your rice flat to grab quickly later.

Once frozen, the rice should keep in the freezer for about a month. Any longer than that and the rice will begin to lose its flavor and moisture.

How Do I Reheat Brown Rice?

• Put in a microwave-safe bowl.
• Add a tablespoon of water for steaming.
• Reheat it in 30-60 intervals until it's heated through.

Do You Need To Rinse Brown Rice?

While it's not as starchy as white rice, you do still need to rinse it, just like you wash your produce. I use a rice rinser that's made just for this purpose.

Do I Need To Soak Brown Rice?

That's actually the great thing about Instant Pot Brown Rice. There is no need to soak the rice before pressure cooking it.

The steam and the heat of the pressure cooker will help the rice grains cook up very well without any presoaking, even with congees and other rice that typically gets soaked. Just a quick rinse to get rid of the excess starch and it's ready to cook.

Can I Make Brown Rice In A Rice Cooker?

Yes, you most certainly can. I like to use my Zojirushi or my Instant Zest when I'm not using my Instant Pot. Also, You can watch my Instant Zest video on Youtube for a completely unbiased review and overview of the product.

Looking For More Brown Rice Recipes?

• Instant Pot Red Beans & Rice - This is SO good in the Instant Pot and so easy!
• Instant Pot Lebanese Lentils and Rice - A one-pot, one-step dish that's SO good!
• Basmati Rice Pilau - A delicious Instant Pot weeknight dinner.
• Air Fryer Shrimp Fried Rice - Easily made in the Air Fryer in about 30 minutes.
• 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 brown rice for you to enjoy!
• Instant Pot Black Beans and Rice - Cumin-scented, Cuban inspired Black Beans and Rice.

Looking for how to cook more kinds of rice? Check out my Perfect Pressure Cooker Rice post! It covers how to cook just about every type of rice easily and quickly in your Instant Pot.

Water to Rice Ratio for Instant Pot Rice

Making perfect Instant Pot Brown Rice isn't hard! I've gotten it down to such a simple method that if you follow the recipe below you'll get it right every time!

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.