One of the reasons to love the instant pot is perfectly cooked brown rice. You don’t need to keep that extra rice cooker anymore and can free the counter space. Even though I love white rice, I try to include more and more brown rice in our diet as it is more nutritious than white rice (well, debatable!). If you are looking for pot-in-pot (PIP) Brown Rice in the instant pot, go here.
Is Brown Rice better than White Rice?
There is a big debate over which rice it better. All rice consists almost entirely of carbs, with small amounts of protein and practically no fat. Brown rice is a whole grain, which means it contains all parts of the grain — including the fibrous bran, the nutritious germ and the carb-rich endosperm. Brown rice has more fiber and antioxidants, as well as a lot more important vitamins and minerals.
White rice has had the bran and germ removed, which are the most nutritious parts of the grain. This leaves white rice with very few essential nutrients, which is why brown rice is usually considered much healthier than white.
On the other hand, brown rice contains the anti-nutrient phytic acid which reduce our body’s ability to absorb certain nutrients such as iron and zinc. Brown rice may also contain higher amounts of arsenic, a toxic chemical. However this is only a concern if you eat a lot of rice.
With the above facts, I am not recommending either one is better. You make the choice! I prefer to include both brown and white rice in our diet.
How to cook Brown Rice in Instant Pot?
Cooking rice needs perfection on the amount of water and time. I was never able to get that for brown rice prior to using the instant pot. Sometimes there would be water left, sometime the rice would be undercooked. However now with the instant pot, I can always cook perfect brown rice.
This is a no soak method. Just wash the rice, 22 minutes pressure cook (high pressure) in the instant pot and 10 minutes natural pressure release. Sounds easy…it actually is!
I like to have rice al dente, and separate. I don’t like sticky or mushy rice. Hence I use a 1:1.25 rice to water ratio, which has consistently given me perfect results.
Traditionally cooked basmati rice in a saucepan needs double the water amount than the rice. However in the instant pot, less water is enough to get perfectly cooked rice.
Main things to remember for perfect Brown Basmati Rice
- No soaking of rice
- Rice to water ratio – 1:1.25
- Pressure Cook / Manual for 22 minutes (high pressure, vent sealed)
- 10 minute NPR – Manually release the pressure 10 minutes after the instant pot beeps
Enjoy this perfect brown rice with any curry such as Chana Masala, Chicken Curry and Dal Makhani.
Try out the brown rice and let me know how it turned out. If you want to make Brown Rice using the pot-in-pot method (PIP), check out the recipe here.
You can also check out other variations of rice – Basmati white rice, Jeera or Cumin rice or other basics recipes such as Steamed Broccoli and Instant Pot Beets .
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Brown Basmati Rice Recipe - Instant Pot Pressure Cooker
Ingredients
- 1 cup Brown Basmati Rice
- 1 1/4 cup Water
- 1 tbsp Ghee or Oil (optional)
- 1/2 tsp Salt (optional)
Instructions
- Wash brown rice until the water runs clear.
- Add water and rice to the instant pot insert. If using, add the oil and salt.
- Start the instant pot in manual or pressure cook mode for 22 mins at high pressure with vent in sealing position.
- When the instant pot beeps, do 10 minutes natural pressure release, which means release the pressure manually 10 minutes after the instant pot beeps.
- Fluff the rice with a ladle or fork. Rice is ready to be served with your favorite curry.
Notes
- If you like very soft rice, then increase the amount of water by 1/4 cup.
- Cooking time remains the same even if you double or half the recipe.
- This recipe was created in a 6qt Instant Pot DUO60 Multi-use Programmable Pressure Cooker.
Nutrition
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This rice came out much better than my rice cooker. Thanks for sharing.
Hey Ja Wo – So glad to hear the brown rice cooked perfectly in the instant pot. Thank you for sharing back your review.
Well, this was perfect! It takes just about exactly the same amount of time as chopping vegetables and making stir-fry.
Isn’t that great? Instant Pot has enabled parallel cooking. I am usually making a curry/lentils/beans in the instant pot, which making Indian flatbread and a starry veggie on the stovetop :-). Thank you for sharing back your review, Margeret!
What if I want to make 12 cups of rice? Also can I use chicken broth instead of water? White basmati cooked in coconut milk is delish, I can’t wait to try it with brown.
Hello Elisabeth – Chicken broth would definitely work in place of water in this brown rice recipe. Depending on the size of instant pot you have, increase the quantity of rice. I have heard readers made up to 5-6 cups of white rice in the 6qt instant pot. If you have an 8qt, you will be able to make more quantity. Just make sure you are below the fill line once the rice and liquid are added. Hope you enjoy it!
Thanks for the recipe.
Going to make this in the upcoming days.
Thank you! The basmati rice is perfect!
Hey Kay – Glad to hear rice turned out perfectly. Thank you for sharing back!
Hi,
Will this recipe work for PIP (Pot in Pot Method)?
Hello – Yes, this same cooking time will work for pot-in-pot too. I make brown rice PIP with many curries that take anywhere between 22-30 mins at high pressure. Just a reminder to add 1-2 cups water to the main pot 🙂
What is NPR?
NPR is natural pressure release. Basically letting the instant pot release the pressure on its own. You might find this useful – http://pipingpotcurry.com/instant-pot-terminology/
Thank you so much – your instructions were PERFECT and saved me from another RiceFail! 🙂 I’ve been trying to figure out the ratio for my different brown rice varieties and it’s been a lot of ‘okay, it’s edible’ but nothing exactly right. Now I have ‘basmati’ , at least!
Hello Paige – Glad the rice turned out perfectly. Thank you for sharing back!
Hi, I tried the no soak method for white basmati and it turned out perfect. Just wondering if you have a set time for the soaked version for white and Brown rice.
Hey Shweta – Glad to hear the unsoaked rice worked perfectly for you. For soaked white basmati about an hour or more, I suggest 1:1 rice to water ratio. The cooking time remains the same at 4 minutes with 5 minutes NPR. I have not tested much with soaked brown basmati, but have seen recipes for borwn rice soaked in warm water for 3 hours, then cook for 12 minutes at high pressure with 10 minutes NPR. Hope that helps!
This turned out perfect! I am wondering if I can simply double the recipe and cook for the same amount of time, or do I need to adjust the time?
Thanks for this recipe!
Hello Isabelle – Thank you! The cooking time will remain the same even if you double the quantity. The instant pot will just take longer to come to pressure.
If you double the rice to 2 cups do you double the water to 2 1/2 cups? Thanks!
Hey Nicole – Yes, if you double the quantity of rice, increase the water to double as well. Hope you enjoy it!
This method cooks the rice to perfection. I love it!
Hey Meredith – So happy to hear. Thanks for sharing your review!
I’ve been searching for an IPOT recipe for brown basmati rice for several days and thankful I came across and tried your recipe. I even doubled the recipe and it was PERFECT. Cooking in the IPOT gave me the time I needed to prepare my veggies to stir fry and all be ready at the same time. Thank you ????
Hey Lori – Glad to hear the brown rice turned out perfect. Thank you for sharing your review!
Oh my THANK YOU for sharing this. Brown Basmati is the only rice I cook and till today I haven’t had good results with the instant pot. It came out PERFECT.. better than my rice cooker.
Hey Nancy – Glad you enjoyed the brown rice. Thank you for sharing your review!
Maybe we have the same kind, Texmati? Stovetop directions was 20 minutes/10-minutes rest. Mine was very mushy too, at 10 minutes in the pressure cooker, although I used the amount of water as directed, which was much more. I’ll try tonight with less water and less time.
Hey Martha – Unfortunately I have never used Texmati rice. I get royal brand brown basmati rice. Yes, do try with less water and cooking time. These seem like they might get done similar to white rice.
Is the timing 22 mins to be used for 2 cups rice? Or should that be more?
Hello Nancy – Yes, the same time will work for double or half the quantity of rice. Instant pot will just take longer to come to pressure.
Thanks for this recipe with the exact timing.. The microwave just took for ever but then when I tried this way it came just perfect!!
That’s great, Khushboo! Thanks for sharing your experience 🙂
This was PERFECT!! I have never looked forward to eating brown basmati rice before, but this was delicious! I did add a touch of toasted sesame oil before serving. Of course, everyone embellishes with those “personal” touches! Thank you for sharing 🙂
Glad you liked it. Toasted sesame oil is a great idea, I will try that. Thanks!
Hi there, My brown basmati has a 30min cooking time according to the packet. If I add to that the 10min npr to the 22mins that makes it longer than the amount of time it takes to cook in a regular pan of boiling water, even before we add the time to get to pressure. I’m quite new to the IP but it seems like it would be easier/quicker just to boil it up in this case. Or maybe it’s just a case of it being a better way of doing it rather than a quicker way in this case 🙂
Hey Karen…I agree that instant pot is not always faster than traditional cooking. The advantage is that it is more hands off. I think I could never get the right consistency for brown rice on the stovetop, but get a much better consistency with instant pot. Hope you like it ????
Thanks for the reply 🙂 I did try your recipe, unfortunately my rice turned out really mushy and overcooked. I think I must have a different type of rice to you. It was definitely brown basmati according to the packet though and there was no mention of it being easy or part cooked.
Oh sorry that happened, Karen. As you said, it must be a different type of rice. It seems trying with less time initially would be the best option and then you can add more time if needed.
Hi. Did you use the ratio of 1 cup of brown basmati rice to 1 and 1/4 cups water? If you used more liquid than this, it would clearly turn out mushy, since there is very little evaporation when using a pressure cooker like the Instant Pot.
Hey Amy – You are right. I mention in the recipe 1:1.25 rice to water ratio for brown basmati rice.