Instant Pot Brown Rice (Quick and Easy)

Instant Pot Brown Rice (Quick and Easy) is the best recipe to make the perfect rice using high pressure in the pot. You can use long grain, Basmati, or jasmine rice. Pair this dish with vegetables like broccoli or top with butter!

Have you ever made brown rice at home? I am talking about real brown rice….not Minute Rice or something similar. It takes a lot of time.

The Instant Pot will not save ALL of your time, but you will cut out some time because you don’t have to boil water to use an Instant Pot. The pressure cooker does all of the work.

This brown rice is perfect for weeknight dinners. Pair it with Instant Pot Black Beans, Instant Pot Barbacoa, Instant Pot Pork Loin, Instant Pot Teriyaki Chicken, Instant Pot Gumbo, or Instant Pot Tuscan Garlic Chicken Thighs.

I also love using my Instant Pot for Instant Pot Mediterranean Greek Chicken and Rice.

How to Make and Cook Brown Rice in the Instant Pot

Before you cook brown rice (or any rice for that matter), always rinse it first. I like to pour the rice into a large strainer.

1. Place the strainer over a large bowl and run water over the strainer and rice.
2. Shake the strainer to ensure all of the rice gets rinsed. Monitor the color of the water in the bowl. When the water in the bowl is clear, the rice has been well rinsed.
3. Add water, rice, and salt to the Instant Pot.
4. Pressure cook.

How Long to Cook Brown Rice

My favorite way to cook the brown rice is to cook for 20 minutes on High Pressure with a full natural release of steam, which takes about 18 minutes.

I have also done 15 minutes of cook time on High Pressure with 15 minutes of natural release of steam. The rice was soft, but still firm in some areas. If you like really soft rice, 20 minutes is the optimal cook time.

How Many Cups of Rice Can You Cook in the Instant Pot

You can add A LOT of rice to the Instant Pot with a 6 quart or 8 quart machine. I usually only cook one cup of dry rice at a time. There is a huge amount of room left in the pot.

You can easily cook up to 10 cups of rice in a 6 quart.

How Do You Instant Release an Instant Pot?

A quick or Instant Release is performed by turning the pressure dial to “Venting” once the Instant Pot has finished pressure cooking. Do not use the Instant Quick Release in this recipe. The rice will need to absorb the steam and water in order to become soft and perfect!

Does Brown Rice Go Bad?

Uncooked brown rice will last in the pantry for 6-8 months.

Cooked brown rice will last in the fridge for 5 days to a week. Store the rice in an airtight container. You can read more about Brown Rice Storage and Can it Go Bad here.