How to Cook Brown Rice in an Instant Pot

Fluffy, soft and tenderly cooked, Instant Pot Brown Rice (Pressure Cooker Brown Rice) is cooked to perfection using an Instant Pot or an electric Pressure Cooker.

While the rice cooked in a pot or rice cooker may turn out mushy, cooking brown rice in Instant Pot makes tenderly separate brown grains of rice. Give it a try! 

There are so many Rice recipes that are made in India, be it a simple Steamed Rice, a Pulao or Biryani.

Almost everything uses white rice because its that ingredient that has been cooked from ages when it comes to Indian cooking. 

But with the passing time, people are becoming more conscious of their health and looking for an alternative.

Though rice is a very good carb, everyone nowadays needs a lesser carb ingredient.

And one of the best alternatives to white rice is brown color rice. 

Brown variety is way healthier than white rice and that’s a great reason to inculcate it in your diet.

To be honest, firstly I didn’t like the idea of using Brown Rice, but once I had I liked it and nowadays I cook both rice varieties. 

Even best, I cook my all my Rice in Instant Pot now.

It’s easy, healthy and gives me fluffy and separate rice in minutes.

The best part I don’t even have to look after it, it just gets ready within the set time.

So, next time you do your grocery shopping, don’t forget to add in that packet of brown rice.

I also make Brown Rice Pulao, for my everyday meals, and it is a hit at home when served with a delicious Raita and Papad on the side.  

What is Instant Pot Brown Rice?

Here, the rice is cooked until soft with water and salt in an Instant Pot.

It is a way of cooking rice, where you get fluffy and separate grains as a result.

This process is easy for people who own an IP and saves you a lot of cooking time. 

What are the Health Benefits of Brown Rice?

Enriched with a high content of fiber, it also happens to be gluten-free.

It is indeed a rich source of vitamin B6, thiamin, niacin, selenium, phosphorus, magnesium, manganese.

This rice is the unrefined version of white rice and it is full of fiber, protein, thiamine, calcium, potassium. 

It not only aids weight loss but it also perfect as a baby food. 

I like to pair my rice with Stir Fry Vegetables or my Spicy Baked Basa or Lemon Garlic Tilapia for a wholesome meal.

Let me know in the comments what would you pair it with.

How to shop for Brown Rice?

Whole-grain versions of most types of rice, including short-, medium- and long-grain, jasmine and basmati are easily available in the supermarkets or online at Amazon.

There are “quick-cooking” or “instant” brown rice available too, which gets ready in 5 to 10 minutes.

I used long grain brown rice to make this recipe.

How long can you store Brown Rice?

It can be stored for up to six months at room temperature in a cool dry place.

To extend its shelf life, store it in the refrigerator or freezer.

Once cooked, refrigerate the cooked rice for up to 3 days; however its best served hot.

Process

For best results use Long Grain Brown Rice.

Rice cooked in IP turns out to be really tasteful it doesn’t go mushy and they get cooked without any fuss of release valve.

All you have to do it put rice, water, and salt in your IP and let it do all the work for you.

Sometimes, I like to saute my rice in some butter which makes it even more earthy and flavourful.

How to use this rice?

You can serve this cooked rice along with grilled chicken or vegetables.

Serve it with lentils like Dal Tadka or Dal Makhani or any curry of your choice.

I love it with Chicken Tikka Masala and Chole.

Other than Indian Curries, you can also serve it along with Continental Curries, it tastes great with almost everything. 

You can stuff in burritos as well.

Why use an Instant Pot to make Brown Rice?

I have tried making brown rice by trying out different cooking systems.

As this variety of rice is comparatively tougher to cook than white rice and cooking it in a pot over stove takes a lot of time and monitoring. Moreover, the grains do not come out separately.

I have also cooked it in a rice cooker and although it also needed no monitoring, the grains were not as separate as in an IP.

Finally, when I cooked the brown rice in an IP, all I’d to do was dump the rice and water in the pot and press the settings on.

It took a similar amount of time to cook the rice but I was not concerned about anything in between.

When the rice was cooked, the IP gave the signals and I pressed the buttons to keep my rice warm until lunchtime.

So basically cooking this recipe using an IP gives you more fluffier, separate grains and you don’t have to babysit it while it’s cooking and that’s a big yes for me.

Pro Tips by Neha

Make sure to rinse the rice before cooking. It makes the rice fluffier.

In place of water, you can use vegetable or chicken broth to cook your brown rice. It will be more flavorful.

You can add some butter and press SAUTE mode in your IP.

Saute the rice in butter for 5 minutes before adding the liquid and then close the lid. The rice will have a more earthy flavor.

Cooking rice in Instant Pot requires much less water than cooking it over the stovetop or in a rice cooker. So stick to the measurements given below.

You can double the recipe easily and freeze the leftover rice for up to 15 days. Just thaw it and microwave it before using it again.

Water to Rice Ratio

When we cook brown rice in a pan or in a rice cooker, a lot of water is evaporated while cooking.

But in Instant pot, the steam is trapped inside the pot and hence we need a lot less water when cooking. 

For every cup of rice, I use a cup and a ¼ measure of water.

Stick to this measurement while cooking this recipe and I can assure you it will come out perfect.

Tools Required

You will only need an Instant Pot to make this perfect Brown color rice. It generally cooks quick and you don’t need to overlook it while cooking.

It’s not available in India yet but you can ask your friends or family to lug it for you from the US just like I did :). They can buy it here on Amazon.

Make it this weekend, enjoy it with curries, raita of your choice, and share your experience with me, okay?

Pot in Pot Method

By using pot in pot method to cook, you can cook less quantity of rice in your large Pot.

In fact, you can cook the rice in the serving bowl itself.

Here is how you can make it using pot in pot method.

• Wash the rice and drain well. Add the rice in the pot for pot-in-pot cooking.
• Add water for cooking rice in the pot. (1.25 times the rice)
• Add 1 cup water to the main steel insert of the pressure cooker.
• Place a trivet in the main insert.
• Place the pot with rice on the trivet.
• Close the lid of the Instant Pot with the vent in the sealing position.
• Press PRESSURE Cook and set the timer for 25 minutes at high pressure.
• Once the timer goes off, let the pressure release on its own for 10 minutes.
• Release the remaining pressure manually and open the lid of the pot.
• Fluff the rice and it is ready to be enjoyed.

Variations

You can make this rice with vegetables, greens like spinach or kale or with chicken

You can even make Brown Jasmine Rice instead of regular rice 

Brown Rice Khichdi tastes delicious so you can try this as well.

I will soon update the recipes of the above combinations so that you can try them too. Till then, happy cooking!

You might also like:

Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes

Instant Pot Chicken Breast

Persian Saffron Rice

Instant Pot Sweet Potatoes

Instant Pot Oatmeal

Step by Step Recipe

Wash the rice and drain the excess water.

Add the rice in the pot. Add water and salt and close the lid.

Press pressure cooker and set the timer to 20 minutes. It will take some time to build the steam and then it will start the cooking process.

Once the cooking time is complete, let the steam natural release on it’s own for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, release the extra steam. Remove the lid and fluff the rice gently. Serve hot with some stir fry vegetables.