One of the reasons to love the instant pot is perfectly cooked rice. Being a north indian, I prefer white basmati rice over any other variety of rice. You don't need to keep that extra rice cooker anymore and can free the counter space. Try this perfect Instant Pot Basmati Rice.
What is Basmati Rice?
Basmati is a variety of long, slender-grained aromatic rice from the Indian subcontinent. This variety has gotten very popular all over the world, with India and Pakistan being the largest exporters of this rice.
How to cook perfect Instant Pot Basmati Rice?
Cooking rice needs perfection on the amount of water and time. With this recipe, you can make perfectly cooked basmati rice. Just soak the rice, 4 minutes manual in the instant pot and 5 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. That said, everyone has different preferences for rice, so feel free to adjust the recipe to your taste.
I soaked the rice for about an hour and used a rice to water ratio of 1:1. Soaking for 15-20 minutes or not soaking them works too. Although researchers say that soaking rice overnight helps reduce toxins by 80%. If you have the time, soak them and rinse before cooking. That said, there have been times when I have forgotten to soak the rice, they still come out great. If you end up not soaking the rice, then you can increase the rice to water ratio to 1:1.25 cup.
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 Basmati Rice
Option 1 (posted in recipe) | Option 2 | |
Soaking Rice | 1 hour | No soaking |
Rice to water ratio | 1:1 | 1:1.25 |
Pressure Cook / Manual (High pressure, vent sealed) | 4 minutes | 4 minutes |
Pressure Release | 5 minute NPR | 5 minute NPR |
Enjoy this perfect basmati rice with any Indian curry such as Chole Masala, Chicken Curry and Dal Makhani. This recipe works perfectly if cooking rice in the main pot.
If you are doing pot-in-pot (PIP), then you need to cook for additional time. Check out the pot-in-pot rice recipe.
Try out the basmati rice and let me know if this works for you. A simple variation of basmati rice is Jeera or Cumin rice.
Want to make Brown Rice in the Instant Pot? Check out the recipe here.
Basmati Rice - Instant Pot Pressure Cooker
Ingredients
- 1 cup Basmati Rice (180 grams)
- 1 cup Water
- 1 tsp Ghee or Oil (optional)
- 1/2 tsp Salt (optional)
Instructions
- Wash basmati rice until the water runs clear. If soaking, soak the rice in excess water for 1 hour. After the soaking time is done, rinse the rice.
- Add the water and rice to the instant pot. If using, add the ghee and salt. Start the instant pot in manual or pressure cook mode for 4 minutes at high pressure with vent in sealing position.
- When the instant pot beeps, do 5 minutes natural pressure release, which means release the pressure manually 5 minutes after the instant pot beeps.
- Fluff the rice with a ladle or fork. Let them stand for 5 more minutes.
- Rice is ready to be served with your favorite curry.
Notes
- I add 1:1 rice to water ratio in this recipe as I soaked the rice. You could change the rice to water ratio to 1:1.25 if not soaking the rice.
- If you like very soft rice, then you can increase the water to 1.5 cups for 1 cup of rice.
- This recipe was created in a 6qt Instant Pot DUO60 Multi-use Programmable Pressure Cooker.
Note: Nutrition values are my best estimates. If you rely on them for your diet, use your preferred nutrition calculator.
This worked perfectly! I've tried it both soaked & unsoaked rice and it worked great for both. Thank you so much for this recipe! Making it like this in the IP is sooooo much better than how I was making rice before - stovetop, having to watch the pot & cleaning up after it would inevitably boil over onto the stove, rice sticking to the bottom of the pan. Never again. Following your recipe makes the rice come out a perfect texture, no extra water, comes off the pot almost perfectly (maybe a little rice sticks to the bottom but its not bad at all). Thanks!
Hi Elizabeth - So glad to hear that you prefer this method of making rice over the stovetop. I would also recommend to check this pot-in-pot method for the instant pot which will prevent the sticking issue and also make cleanup even easier - https://pipingpotcurry.com/basmati-rice-pip-pressure-cooker/
Super quick and easy. I didn't pre-soak and the extra little bit of water helped it.
I had made lentils last night and didn't have it with rice. Today, for lunch at the last minute, I decided I wanted rice but didn't want to wait 38 minutes from my rice cooker (have a very expensive one that makes the most perfect rice). I rinsed the rice really well and threw everything in. Instead of salt, used cajun seasoning (1st ingredient - salt!) and a few minutes later, had my rice and it complimented the lentils really well!
The ghee did magic to the rice, and the cajun season played really well... adding must the right amount of salt and spice. I ate some of the rice by itself, it was that good! The rice came out al dente but after giving it a couple of minutes to breathe after stirring, it ended up being just the right texture for any lentils or beans.
Remember when there was a time when only "one person" in the family had that knack of making perfect rice on the stovetop? This recipe ensures that anyone in the family can carry on that tradition. Even if you just want to make one cup of rice, this is so easy. Even though I typically make two cups of rice at a time, with the Instant Pot... one cup is just as good!
Hi - So happy to hear that the rice cooked perfectly. Thank you so much for sharing your experience 🙂
If doubling the amount of rice how long should I cook for? Thanks!
Hi Jess - The cooking time remains the same even if you double the rice. Hope you enjoy it!
Thank you for this great and easy recipe/guide. This was the first time I made rice in the instant pot (or used the instant pot)....so I did have a little learning curve. But nonetheless, the rice was perfectly delicious! A big key is rinsing the rice until the water is clear. I also added cardamon pods. It was a nice touch. Since I am unfamiliar with the instant pot, it was helpful that you put the "cook time" to know the exact timing to have it ready for our dinner party.
Hi Ricci - So good to hear that. Thank you for sharing it! 🙂
I have tried this amazing instant pot rice recipe and i found this recipe really an amazing recipe. Thanks for sharing this recipe with all of us.
A simple and easy to make instant pot basmati rice recipe and i found this recipe really an amazing recipe. Thanks for sharing this recipe with all of us.
Really nice!
Hi Zam - Thank you! 🙂
I Have Try this perfect Instant Pot Basmati Rice. Perfect
Hi Steph k - So good to hear that. Thank you for sharing! 🙂
Tried this recipe and the rice was still crunchy. None of the “manual” setting recipes work on my instant pot. Thank you for sharing!
Hi Katy - Sorry to hear that the rice did not cook perfectly. Usually the pressure cook setting works well for rice. You can also use the Rice button on your instant pot. Hope that helps!
Don’t forget it takes time to warm up in the pressure cooker mode per the manual. So plan for anywhere from 5 min to 40. Found that out when prepping a meal before work.