Instant Pot White Rice

published April 18, 2022 — last updated April 20, 2022

Instant pot white rice is a fast and easy way to make perfectly cooked rice every time. A delicious side dish, ready in minutes!

Is there a more universal food than rice? We will show you how to make this flexible food quickly and easily in an Instant Pot electric pressure cooker. After cooking rice in an instant pot, you will never want to make it on the stove top again!

If you are new to instant pots, or if you just need a refresher, check out our instant pot guide before you get started.

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Instant Pot White Rice in a bowl and instant pot

Ingredients You’ll Need

The first thing you will need is an Instant Pot. We used a 6-quart Instant Pot Duo for this recipe. If you use a larger Instant Pot more water may need to be added. Please check your instruction manual.

After that, it’s just three simple ingredients:

White Rice – You’ll be using a medium or long-grain white rice for this recipe. Any brand you like, we usually get whatever is on sale. We also have recipes for cooking brown rice or basmati rice in the Instant Pot.
Water – You can use tap or filtered water, whatever you prefer.
Salt – We use kosher salt for this recipe but you could also use table salt or sea salt.

Note: You could also use chicken broth for this Instant Pot white rice recipe. You would use the same amount of water but skip the salt because chicken broth has plenty!

Instructions

Step 1 – Rinse your rice. Place the rice in a fine mesh strainer and run it under cold water until the water runs clear.

Step 2 – Add ingredients to the pot. Pour the rinsed rice into the Instant Pot followed by the water and salt.

Step 3 – Cook. Lock the lid in place and turn the valve to SEALING position. Press the RICE button. The pot will flash to AUTO once it has calculated the cook time.

Step 4 – Release. When the timer goes off press CANCEL and then let the Instant Pot do a full natural pressure release. This means you will leave the pot alone and let it cool enough to release the steam naturally. You will know it is done when the float pin drops down.

Step 6 – Fluff. Turn the valve to VENTING (no steam should come out because you let the pressure naturally release). Remove the lid and use a fork to fluff the rice.

Step 7 – Serve. Serve your rice and enjoy!

This is cooked rice is perfect to add to your stuffed peppers or making our rice pudding for dessert!

Using the Instant Pot Rice Button

The best way to make white rice is to use the Instant Pot “Rice” button. This button makes your Instant Pot or multicooker work like a rice cooker.

This setting works best for white rice because the Instant Pot has been calibrated for white rice based on the ratio of water to rice and how long white rice takes to cook.

When you use the rice button, it weighs the rice in the pot and automatically cooks it for the correct amount of time. There is no need to set the pressure and time manually which makes cooking rice in an instant pot the easiest way to cook rice!

Rinse the Rice

Rinse your rice! It’s really that simple. I considered myself a rice failure for many years because my rice was always starchy and sticky. Turns out, all I needed to do was rinse my rice really well before cooking!

Pour rice into a fine mesh strainer and run under cold water until the water runs clear. This removes excess starches from the grains of rice so it doesn’t stick together and get a gluey texture as it cooks.

Giving it good rinse will give you fluffy rice every time!

What is the Ratio of Water to Rice in the Instant Pot?

It is a 1:1 ratio of water to rice, which means one cup of water for every cup of rice. To be a little more precise I like to weigh my rice and liquid to ensure it is exactly the same amount going in. For example, 8 ounces of rice is added to 8 ounces of water.

If you don’t have a scale, you can just use a dry measuring cup for the rice and a liquid measuring cup for the water.

Important note, this is the rice to water ratio for white rice. Check here for how to cook brown rice in the Instant Pot .

How Long Does White Rice Take in the Instant Pot?

It takes approximately 5 minutes on high pressure. If your Instant Pot doesn’t have a rice button, or if you just prefer to set the time yourself, you’ll want to cook white rice on high pressure for 5 minutes. Once the 5 minutes have passed, you will do a full natural release.

During the natural release, the rice continues to steam and it actually pulls away from the sides and bottom of the pot. It will come out of the pot easily with no sticking. No more nights spent scrubbing rice off the bottom of a pan!

Instant Pot White Rice on a spoon and bowl

How to Store It

Let the cooked rice cool completely then follow these instructions for your method of storage.

Refrigerator – Place the cooled rice in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Freezer – Place cooled rice in an airtight container. We find a plastic food storage bag works. Make sure to get as much of the air out as possible before sealing. Store in freezer for up to 2 months.

How to Reheat It

Refrigerator – To reheat, place in a microwave safe bowl and add 2 tablespoons of water. Wet a paper towel and place it over the top of the container. Microwave for 2 minutes, stir and, if it still needs a little more time, continue microwaving for 1 minute more.

Freezer – Thaw the frozen rice in refrigerator for 24 hours. Once defrosted place rice in a microwave safe dish with 2 tablespoons of water added to it. Wet a paper towel and place it over the top of the container. Microwave for 2 minutes, stir and, if it still needs a little more time, continue microwaving for 1 minute more.

What to Serve With White Rice

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Servings: 7

Prep Time: 10

Cook Time: 15

Total Time: 25