This is exactly how to make fluffy Instant Pot Brown Rice! Brown rice usually takes forever and can be a little finicky. This is my favorite way to make it! It’s completely foolproof and takes 30 minutes, tops. You will get fluffy, flavorful brown rice every time. Who knew that the electric pressure cooker would solve all our gummy, crunchy, tastes-too-healthy brown rice woes! We make this at LEAST once a week. Originally published March 30, 2019.
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Yesterday we were at the dentist, and Valentine and Charlotte were squeezed into the same chair. Another patient was walking by and said, teasingly, “How are you two small enough to fit in the same chair?” And Charlotte, 8 years old, shot back, “Well, you see, we’re these itty bitty people called children.”
I was in the other room with Truman and the dentist, but I heard all the adults laughing, and the receptionist gleefully told me the story. I’m not sure if this is my cue to put Charlotte in improv classes, or if Eric and I just really need to cut back on the sarcasm at home, so that our kids can enjoy their innocence a bit longer.
How is everyone holding up this March? I feel so happy that we have a bit longer still before Easter. Remember last year when Easter was on April 1?? Or those years when it’s in March?? Probably you don’t pay attention to this, but as a food blogger, my life kind of revolves around holidays. I’m so glad I have a few more weeks to get you some Easter recipes!
I made a leg of lamb last week that I’m so excited to share with you, and I have an EPIC deviled eggs recipe coming your way here soon (One word: maple candied bacon. Okay, yeah, that’s 3 words, but work with me here. I mean, come on, candied bacon!!)
This Instant Pot brown rice recipe is a keeper
But instead of holiday food, today I have an everyday staple for you: brown rice. Do you love it? Do you hate it? It can be pretty bad when it’s made poorly. Gummy and bland, or worse, crunchy and flat.
But that’s never going to happen to you again once you start making Instant Pot brown rice!! I’m telling you, using the electric pressure cooker for brown rice is a total game-changer. Brown rice takes FOREVER to cook on the stove, or in the oven, or whatever other method you want to try. But in the Instant Pot, brown rice takes about 30-35 minutes: 15 minutes of high-pressure cook time, about 15 minutes of natural release time. And it comes out perfectly fluffy every time. I’ve never had it fail me. Instant pot brown rice ftw.
Featured Comment
“My go-to brown rice recipe. It’s the perfect flavor and moistness. No more sticky pots to clean up!! And, as you’ve noted, the rice really does freeze and heat up nicely.”
– Brandi
Key ingredients
My secrets are to add just a few things to your rice before cooking, no matter what you’re serving it with.
- A little garlic. I always use jarred garlic because I’m lazy like that.
- A teaspoon or so of Better Than Bouillon Chicken Base. The chicken base is the real secret, because it basicaly means you’re making your rice in chicken broth instead of water. It infuses the rice with delicious flavor. I’m in love!
- And a little bit of butter. (The butter is optional but tasty.)
How to make Instant Pot brown rice
If you want perfectly fluffy brown rice with zero gumminess, give your rice a quick rinse before cooking. Now listen, rinsing rice is kind of a pain in the butt. You have to find your strainer in the back of the cupboard, get the rice all wet and sticky before adding it to the pot, etc. I know, first world problems, but it IS one more step, and if you’re trying to get dinner on the table stat, I get it, it’s just one more thing.
BUT. Rinsing the rice really does make a difference. It removes some of the outer layer of starch on the rice, resulting in finished grains of rice that don’t stick together as much. I will be honest and tell you that I don’t always rinse my rice. Sometimes perfectly non-gummy rice is not worth another two minutes of my time. Heresy! Charlatan! ;)
To sum up: rinsing helps your rice have less “gummy” texture. If that’s important to you, rinse. If you’re not too picky, toss it in the pot dry.
Into your Instant Pot, add 2 cups of brown rice, 2 1/2 cups of water, along with some chicken base, salt, and minced garlic. (The jarred kind is totally fine here.) Toss in a pat or two of butter for even more flavor.
Give everything a quick stir, then secure the lid on your pressure cooker, making sure the valve is set to “Seal.” Cook on high pressure for 15 minutes. Once the timer goes off, leave it alone for a natural release for about 15 minutes. Translation: do absolutely nothing while the rice finishes cooking itself.
After 15 minutes, carefully turn the valve to “Vent” to release any remaining steam. Remove the lid and give the rice a good stir. Then pop the lid back on and let the rice steam for another 10 to 15 minutes while you finish the rest of dinner.
Serve hot and enjoy!
What to serve with brown rice
I don’t need to tell you that rice goes with basically everything. But I have some ideas to get you started. Here is a link to all the dinner recipes on my blog. I literally just went through the first few pages and picked out anything that I would pair with brown rice. But if you want my fav suggestions, try these:
- Better Than Panda Orange Chicken
- Creamy Tuscan Salmon (30 Minute Dinner!)
- Cuban Roasted Mojo Pork
- Kung Pao Chicken
How to store leftover brown rice
Brown rice can be stored in the fridge for 4-6 days. If you already know that you won’t eat all of it before, say, 5 days, just commit and freeze it. It’ll stay fresh, and you can reheat it whenever you need it.
Can leftover rice be frozen?
You can. It’s not going to be AS delicious as when it’s fresh, but it works fine if you have a bunch of leftovers that you don’t know what to do with. (Make this Sheet Pan Chicken Fried Rice with leftovers!)
Let your rice cool. Place in a ziplock bag, and flatten the bag so that it lies flat. Freeze on a baking sheet so that it keeps its shape. Do not defrost or thaw. Stick it straight in the microwave from the freezer. (Not the ziplock. Transfer it to a bowl first.) If it seems extra dry, add a tablespoon of water at a time and microwave again.
Frequently asked questions about brown rice
1 cup brown rice + 1 1/4 cups water + your Instant Pot = brown rice success.
Brown rice is soooo much easier (and faster) in the Instant Pot! I cook it on high for 15 minutes, let the pressure release for 15 minutes, and it’s ready to go. Perfect to pair with whatever else you’re making for your quick and easy dinner.
More rice recipes to try
Side Dish Recipes (& Veggies)
Indian-Spiced Cauliflower “Rice”
Side Dish Recipes (& Veggies)
Better Than Chipotle Cilantro Lime Rice
International Flavors
Coconut Jasmine Rice with Cilantro
Healthy Dinner
Asian Cauliflower “Rice”
Cooking Brown Rice in Instant Pot
Ingredients
- 2 cups dry brown rice
- 2 & 1/2 cups water
- 1 teaspoon Better Than Bouillon Chicken Base
- 1 & 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1-2 tablespoons butter, optional
Instructions
- Rinse your rice if you want to make sure that your rice won’t be at all gummy. If you are not overly particular, you can skip it.*
- Into your Instant Pot add 2 cups brown rice, 2 and 1/2 cups water, 1 teaspoon chicken base**, 1 and 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, and 1 teaspoon minced garlic (I always use the kind from the jar. See lazy comment above.) Add a pat or two of butter if you like.
- Give it a stir and put the lid on your pressure cooker, making sure the valve is pointing toward “seal.”
- Cook on high pressure for 15 minutes.
- Do a natural release for about 15 minutes. (This is a fancy way of saying, do absolutely nothing for 15 mins.)
- Turn the valve to “Vent” (be careful, hot steam is going to come out) and remove the lid.
- Stir your rice. Replace the lid and let the rice continue steaming for another 10-15 minutes, or however long you need to get the rest of your meal together.
- Serve hot!
- You can double this recipe. You do not need to change the cook time. How awesome is that??
- To freeze leftovers, place your rice in a ziplock bag, and flatten the bag so that it lies flat. Freeze on a baking sheet so that it stays in that shape. Do not defrost or thaw. Stick it straight in the microwave from the freezer. (Not the ziplock. Transfer it to a bowl first.)
Hi Karen! your recipes are always wonderful, thanks for the time you put into educating – and entertaining- us.
I love wild rice – Lundberg brand is my go-to to make a copycat uncle bens. However it takes FOREVER to cook and having a mix of wild and regular rice can be extremely tricky to get it evenly cooked. Do you have any wild rice recipes? I am thinking the pressure cooker may be the way to go? Thank you
Just wanted to double-check the rice-to-water ratio: is it really 2 cups of rice to 2.5 cups of water??? The only reason I’m double checking is because *usually, it’s 1 cup of (white) rice to 2 (2 1/4) cups of water.
*I’ve never made brown rice, and I’ve never used my pressure-cooker to make rice so I’m entirely clueless, so I’ve only got my white-rice experience to base my question.
P.S. I’d LOVE to know exactly how to use my pressure-cooker to turn the brown rice into fried rice; can you either provide a link to your recipe (if you have one) or add a little more instructions to 1 of your commentors’ (especially about how the veggies are to get tender, and exactly how & when to add the eggs: shall I cook them first or add wet scrambled eggs to the rice?)
Thanks,
Anne Marie
The ads are covering up your narrative which makes hard to read. Is there a way you can control this? Many thanks. I love your blog and especially this recipe for brown rice.
Hey Linda, thank you so much for letting me know about this! Ads should never cover content, but we did a massive redesign on the site that went live last week and are still working out a few bugs. Hoping these issues will be resolved soon. Thanks so much for your patience and kindness in telling me!
My go-to brown rice recipe. It’s the perfect flavor and moistness. No more sticky pots to clean-up!! And, like you’ve noted, the rice really does freeze and heat up nicely.
I’m so happy to hear this Brandi! I love this recipe for busy nights. Thanks so much for taking the time to review!
Just perfect! Great texture and flavor.
So happy to hear it Dana! Thanks for reviewing!
I have been making brown rice in my electric pressure cooker for awhile now. I love it! It takes 15 minutes after the pressure buildup time and it’s so perfect. Use broth, or even tomato sauce, can really get a great Mexican rice, and it’s perfect for fried rice as well when cooked up in broth, then later just use the saute function to add your eggs, meats, veggies, etc, voila…perfect fried brown rice, way healthier!
Yes, I think I’m going to share a Mexican rice version soon! I just tried that a few weeks ago. Delicious. Instant pots ftw! Thanks for the ideas Catherine!
What brand brown rice do you use?
Hey Patty! I use whatever is cheapest at the store, usually a generic brand. Mine right now says “long grain brown rice” the brand is sunny select.