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    Home » Recipes » Rice & Grains

    Instant Pot Brown Rice (Pot-in-Pot Method)

    March 23, 2023 . By Meeta Arora . 31 Comments | This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Jump to Recipe
    Instant Pot Brown Rice Pot in Pot PIP

    Want to cook rice in the serving bowl or along with an entree?  Instant Pot Brown Rice Pot-in-pot (PIP)  is the perfect solution for you. Here is a step-by-step guide to PIP brown rice.

    Make perfect pot-in-pot brown rice in your instant pot every time. It is quick, easy and no fuss!

    One of the reasons to love the instant pot is perfectly cooked brown rice. I always had trouble cooking brown rice perfectly on the stovetop, so I love that I can set the time, walk away and come back to perfectly cooked rice.

    If you want to make Brown Rice in the main pot, you can find the recipe here - Instant Pot Brown Rice. Here is the White Basmati pot-in-pot recipe - Instant Pot Basmati Rice PIP. Or try this delicious Cilantro Lime Brown Rice.

    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.

    Advantages of pot-in-pot method to cook rice 

    • You can cook less quantity of rice.
    • You don’t need to wash the large instant pot insert if just cooking rice.
    • You can cook in the serving bowl itself.
    • You can cook a complete meal at once and save precious time. With entree in the main insert and brown rice in a bowl on a trivet.  See video to  cook Dal Makhani (Madras Lentils) or Rajma (Red Beans Curry) along with brown rice.

    Learn more about the instant pot pot-in-pot method with this comprehensive guide!

    What do you need to cook pot-in-pot Brown Rice in the Pressure Cooker?

    To cook pot-in-pot brown rice, you need a trivet and a pot you can place on the trivet.  If I am preparing only brown rice, then I use the trivet that came with the instant pot.  If you are cooking an entree along with the rice, you would need a long legged trivet.

    Here are the pots I have, which my mom got from India.  But you can find similar one’s on Amazon – Ekonova Stackable Stainless Steel Insert Pans.  I have also done PIP for rice in a Pyrex glass bowl, but these need a couple extra minutes to cook the rice.

    Stackable containers for pot-in-pot PIP

    How to cook Pot-in-Pot Brown Rice in Pressure Cooker?

    I use brown basmati rice in this recipe, however you could use any brown rice (Note: these are not the quick cook rice). Our favorite is Royal brand Brown Basmati Rice. Whenever I make them, so many people ask me about the perfect long grains. They are available on Amazon, give it a try.

    This is a no soak method. Wash the rice and drain all the water used for washing. Add 1.25 times the water as the brown rice added.  If you like, add ghee/oil and salt to it. We love to add ghee in our rice, it gives a wonderful aroma and flavor to the rice.

    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 brown rice in a saucepan needs double the amount water than the rice. However in the instant pot, less water is enough to get perfectly cooked rice.

    Add 1 cup water to the main instant pot insert and place trivet in the pot.

    Instant Pot Brown Rice - Place trivet in instant pot

    Now place the pot with brown rice and water on top of the trivet.

    Instant Pot Brown Rice - Place bowl of rice & water on trivet

    Set the instant pot on manual mode for 25 minutes. I have tried multiple timings, and found that anywhere from 22-30 minutes works.

    When the instant pot beeps, let the pressure release naturally. Then fluff the rice with a fork. Look at the perfect, separate grains of rice.

    You can use the same method to make rice in Ninja Foodi pressure cooker.

    Instant Pot Brown Rice pot-in-pot - perfectly cooked

    Enjoy this perfect basmati rice with any curries such as Coconut Shrimp Curry, Butter Chicken and Dal Makhani.

    Instant Pot Brown Rice PIP

    Want to try Quinoa? Check out this perfect quinoa in the instant pot. Some other popular rice recipes - Wild Rice, Rice & Vegetable Pilaf, Lentil & Vegetable Khichdi and Cumin Rice.

    Tried this recipe?Give a rating by clicking the ★ below
    Make perfect pot-in-pot brown rice in your instant pot every time. It is quick, easy and no fuss!

    Instant Pot Brown Rice - Pot-in-Pot (PIP) method

    Meeta Arora
    Perfect Pot-in-pot brown rice made in the pressure cooker. Great to prepare brown rice along with the entree or right in the serving bowl.
    4.83 from 17 votes
    Print Save Saved! Pin
    Servings: 2
    Calories: 343
    Course: Side Dish
    Cuisine: Indian, Thai
    Diet: Dairy-free, Gluten-free, Nut-free, Vegan, Vegetarian
    Method: Instant Pot/Pressure Cooker
    Prep Time: 2 mins
    Cook Time: 38 mins
    Total Time: 40 mins

    Equipment

    • Instant Pot/Pressure Cooker
    • Pot-in-Pot Stackable Contianers

    Ingredients
     
     

    • 1 cup Brown Rice
    • 1.25 cup Water for cooking the rice
    • 1 cup Water for instant pot steel insert
    • 1 teaspoon Ghee/Oil (optional)
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions
     

    • Wash the rice and drain water. Add the rice to the bowl for pot-in-pot cooking. Add water for cooking rice in the bowl. Optionally add ghee/oil if you prefer.
    • Add 1 cup water to the main steel insert of the pressure cooker. Place trivet in the main insert.
    • Place the bowl with rice and water on the trivet.
    • Close the lid of the pressure cooker with vent in sealing position. Set in pressure cook or manual mode for 25 minutes at high pressure.
    • When the pressure cooker beeps, do a Natural Pressure Release, which means let the pressure release by itself.
    • Fluff the rice and it is ready to be enjoyed.

    Notes

    • When cooking brown rice with an entree, consider the cooking time for the entree.  If it takes 22-30 minutes to cook the entree, then it will work to cook pot-in-pot rice with the entree in the main insert.  If the entree needs 5 minutes to cook, while the rice needs 25 minutes, I do not recommend doing pot-in-pot brown rice with the entree (consider white rice in this case).
    • 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.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 343kcalCarbohydrates: 72gProtein: 7gFat: 2gSodium: 17mgPotassium: 254mgFiber: 3gCalcium: 31mgIron: 1.7mg
    Keyword basmati, instant pot, perfect, pressure cooker
    Tried this recipe?Share your photo and tag @PipingPotCurry or #pipingpotcurry

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    Comments

    1. CARL says

      April 15, 2022 at 9:41 pm

      I'm here to echo the recommendation of using a steel inner bowl for the pot in pot recipe. When I use a Corelle glass bowl I get some grains of rice stuck to the bottom and not fully hydrated. That doesn't happen when I use a steel bowl. I use small 6 in x 2 in steel cake pans from Amazon and they work great every time. Also cover the steel bowl with a plate and the result is even better. Thanks for this great recipe and for the advice.

      Reply
      • Meeta Arora says

        April 19, 2022 at 11:01 am

        Hi Carl - Thank you for sharing back your experience. It will be helpful for everyone!

        Reply
    2. Devra says

      February 27, 2022 at 3:58 pm

      Hi, I really appreciate this recipe, thank you! I prefer softer rice so I use 1.75 cups of water, and I omit the oil and salt - perfect for me and no clean up, which I love. Thanks!

      Reply
      • Meeta Arora says

        March 11, 2022 at 8:16 pm

        Hi Devra - So glad to hear you enjoyed the brown rice.

        Reply
    3. john m says

      November 23, 2021 at 12:23 pm

      I have never ever had success with any type of rice, I have used the microwave stuff for years but this has transformed my rice making - I followed your recipe added a bit of butter as I don't have ghee and a bit of salt and got it perfect in my IP the first attempt... thank you x-millions fantastic

      Reply
      • Meeta Arora says

        December 02, 2021 at 5:29 pm

        Hello John - So glad to hear the brown rice turned out perfectly. Thank you for sharing back!

        Reply
    4. Mel says

      July 09, 2021 at 9:28 pm

      Can I add coconut oil to make coconut brown rice?

      Reply
      • Meeta Arora says

        July 13, 2021 at 11:23 am

        Hi Mel - You can definitely add coconut oil in place of ghee/oil. Usually coconut rice is made with coconut milk added to cook the rice. Here is my coconut rice recipe - https://pipingpotcurry.com/pressure-cooker-coconut-rice/

        Reply
    5. Jeanette B Gilder says

      November 05, 2020 at 5:13 pm

      Perfection! I doubled the recipe added a tbsp of butter and Better than Bullion Garlic. Definitely make it again.

      Reply
      • Piping Pot Curry says

        November 06, 2020 at 9:44 am

        Hi Jeanette - So good to hear that. Thank you for sharing your experience 🙂

        Reply
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