How to cook brown rice in Instant pot

Instant pot brown rice recipe – A detailed step by step post on how to cook brown rice perfectly in your instant pot every time. Rice is one of the most consumed grain across the globe. With the growing awareness towards health & fitness a larger population has moved from consuming white rice to brown rice. At home we eat a variety of whole grains like brown rice, millets, quinoa, oats & bulgur.

Brown rice is one of the staples and most often we prefer eating it for our dinner. It goes so well to serve with dal, curry or to make fried rice, rice salad or even tempered variety rice. Similar to white rice even brown rice can be cooked in few different ways.

For several years I had made it on the stove top, cooking it in surplus water and draining off the excess once it is done to our liking. This method needs some patience & time. Most times I would do this while I prepare the sides.

Later I began to cook brown rice in traditional pressure cooker with inconsistent results. Sometimes it would turn too soft & at times hard due to varying intensity of flame, kind of rice, size of the cooker etc.

But with this instant pot brown rice recipe the results are consistent and you will love how fluffy & perfect the rice turns out each time.

I also cook quinoa in instant pot. I have been using my instant pot to make most of my dishes. Here are some you may like to check
Pulao recipe
Khichdi recipe
Tomato rice
Carrot halwa
Kheer recipe

More similar recipes
Instant pot dal & rice
Instant pot potato curry
Lemon rice

2 ways to make instant pot brown rice

I make instant pot brown rice in 2 ways. In this post I am sharing both the methods.

1. Pot-in-pot method.
2. Cooking in the inner pot of the IP.

1. Pot-in-pot method : Often I prefer to cook foods following the pot-in-pot method. The ability to pressure cook multiple foods at one time is what I love the most in this method.

If you are a small family and love to cook 2 to 3 kinds of foods in one go then this method is great for you. I usually go with this when I have to cook something else along with my brown rice.

The pot-in-pot method yields more softer rice (not mushy) than the other method. We prefer this to go with the sambar, rasam or any dal.

Make brown rice (pot-in-pot method)

1. Rinse 1 cup brown rice thrice & drain the water completely. You can also soak it up to 30 mins for softer rice.
2. Add it to a pot along with 1 ¼ cups water and 1 tsp oil (optional).
3. Pour 2 cups water in the inner pot of instant pot.
4. Place the rice bowl and cover it.
5. Secure the lid and set the steam release handle to sealing position.
6. Pressure cook for 20 mins & allow the pressure to release naturally.
7. When the pin drops, open and fluff up the brown rice with a fork.

Following this method I cook up to 2 cups of brown rice along with any one of these – ¾ cup dal, 1 cup soaked chana, 1 cup soaked rajma or up to 4 chilled eggs at one time in my 6 Qt IP.

Some times I also cook whole potatoes, yam, beetroot or sweet potatoes along with the brown rice.

This method is great as you don’t need to clean the large pot of the IP. You will be left with just the inner pots for a clean up.

2. Cooking in the inner pot : I cook brown rice directly in the inner pot when I have to make over 4 servings or over 2 cups. Usually rice tends to get mushier when made in large quantity following the pot-in-pot method.

Cooking it directly in a larger pot prevents the mushy texture. Each grain gets enough space to expand and cook well in a larger pot.

Adding a small amount of oil or ghee to the pot prevents the grains from turning sticky & mushy. So absolutely no mushy brown rice even when you cook a lot of it!

Sometimes I saute the brown rice in little oil or ghee for 2 mins before pressure cooking. I always feel this sauteing also brings out the nutty flavor of brown rice.

Most times I prefer not to flavor my brown rice as we mostly serve it with curry. However you can also flavor it with some garlic, cumin, whole spices, lemon zest or herbs.

All you need to do is just saute your flavoring ingredient before adding the rice to the pot.

How to cook brown rice in instant pot

In the step by step photos, I had made rice by sauteing it first. This method is good to follow if you are making brown rice for fried rice or a rice salad.

1. Heat the instant pot by pressing saute button. When it displays hot, pour oil or ghee in the inner pot.

2. Add the rinsed & drained brown rice. Saute for 2 to 3 mins. If you like saute some spices or garlic prior to adding the rice. Cumin, star anise, mace, cinnamon, cloves & cardamoms go well.

3. Pour water and add salt if you like. I do not add salt. You can also use broth or stock instead of water. Give a good mix.

4. Secure the lid of the Instant pot. Set the steam release handle to sealing position.

5. Pressure cook on high pressure and set the timer to 23 mins.

6. When the pressure releases naturally open the lid. If you see a layer of rice being hard, then quickly fluff up with a fork and cover the lid back. Rest for 2 to 3 mins.

7. You will get fluffy, flavorful & perfect instant pot brown rice.

Serve brown rice with any curry or dal. You can also use this for fried rice or any tempered rice.

Tips to healthy brown rice

Both the above methods are a quick fix to making brown rice instantly. But if you eat brown rice regularly then the following tips may help you.

1. Brown rice has the highest levels of arsenic when compared to other grains. If you prefer the instant methods, then buy brown rice from brands that test arsenic levels before marketing.
2. Soaking brown rice overnight & discarding the water before cooking helps to reduce arsenic levels up to 80%. Every cup of soaked brown rice needs only 1 cup water to cook.
3. Alternately cooking rice in 6 parts of water and then draining the water completely reduces arsenic in brown rice to a large extent.

Related Recipes

Recipe card