Instant Pot Basmati Rice

Instant pot basmati rice is a quick and easy way to cook rice with little cleaning up required.

Simply place all ingredients in your Instant Pot, adjust the settings, and cook. It’s that easy.

Looking for a simple way to cook basmati rice in the Instant Pot? We have you covered with this easy instant pot basmati rice recipe.

This recipe makes soft, fluffy, and delicious basmati rice in no time. It’s a one pot basmati rice recipe that does not require the stovetop.

This recipe uses a 6 quart (5.7 litre) Instant Pot Duo.

What is basmati rice?

Basmati rice is a type of long grain rice. The grains of basmati rice are long and slender.

Often, basmati rice is grown in Northern India and Pakistan.

Basmati rice is commonly used as a side dish to curries, in fried rice, pilafs, and even biryanis.

Basmati rice can be cooked in  a variety of ways. For example, it can be cooked on the stovetop, pressure cooker, rice cooker, or even in the oven.

No matter how you cook your basmati rice, it is recommended to rinse the rice first.

Cooking Basmati Rice in the Instant Pot

After testing this Instant pot basmati rice recipe many different ways, we found the best way to cook the rice was using the pressure cooking setting on the Instant Pot with high pressure.

We found that when you cooked the rice on low pressure, it sometimes turned out gritty and undercooked.

What’s more, when we tried to find the best amount of water to use, we found it best to use a 1:1.5 ratio, that’s 1 cup of uncooked rice for every 1 ½ cups of water.

When we tested this recipe using 1 cup of uncooked basmati rice with more water than 1 ½ cups, the rice became gluggy and did not fully absorb all the water.

The following are the ideal uncooked rice to water ratios that we found when cooking the rice in the Instant Pot:

• 1 cup uncooked rice and 1 ½ cups water. This serves about 2 to 4 people.
• 1 ½ cups uncooked rice and 2 ¼ cups water. This serves about 4 to 6 people.

Safety and the Instant Pot

While this recipe of basmati rice in the Instant Pot is easy to do, it is important to make sure proper safety measures are followed to avoid injury when cooking.

Here are some safety tips when using the Instant Pot. For more safety tips, consult your Instant Pot user manual.

• When the rice is cooking, it is under a lot of pressure, do not move the Instant Pot, and do not attempt to open the lid. You must ensure that your steam release handle is set to sealing before you start cooking.
• Make sure your sealing ring is on properly, as well as the float valve, and steam release handle. If unsure on how to properly set up your Instant Pot before use, consult your user manual.
• Make sure your lid is on properly before you start cooking. It should click into place.
• When manually releasing the steam, you could use the back of a wooden spoon to turn the steam release handle to venting. This may make it less likely you burn yourself on any steam that may escape from the steam release handle.
• When you are cooking, it may be tempting to walk away from your Instant Pot. However, we recommend staying nearby the Instant Pot in case something happens.
• When you open the lid of your Instant Pot after cooking, open it away from you so that the steam does not come towards you.
• If the float value is still up, do not open the lid. The Instant Pot is still pressurized. Likewise, if it is difficult to open the lid, it is likely the Instant Pot is still under pressure. Do not open the lid until all pressure has been released.
• Before you start cooking, make sure the inner pot is positioned correctly in the cooker base. When placing the inner pot in the Instant Pot, make sure the outside of the inner pot is dry.
• When cooking and after cooking, there are surfaces on the lid (mainly the silver parts) which will be hot. Do not touch them.

• Make rice in only one pot.
• Simple and easy way to cook basmati rice.
• Quick to make with little fuss.
• This Instant Pot basmati rice recipe is a great way to make basmati rice in a pressure cooker.

• Water
• Basmati Rice

Instructions

This recipe for Instant Pot basmati rice serves 4 to 6 people.

This recipe uses a 6 quart (5.7 litre) Instant Pot.

Step One: Rinse your rice until the water runs clear. Completely drain off all water and then place in the Instant Pot.

Step Two: Place the 2 ¼ cups of water in the Instant Pot. Make sure your rice sits evenly along the bottom of the Instant Pot.

Step Three: Close the lid of the Instant Pot and place the steam release handle knob in the sealing position.

Step Four: Select pressure cook, set the pressure at High, and the time for 3 minutes.

Allow the machine to come to pressure (this will take about 10 to 15 minutes). Once at pressure, the 3 minute timer will start to count down.

Step Five: When the timer has finished (the Instant Pot will beep), press cancel.

The display should say OFF (alternatively, you can turn off your Instant Pot). Allow the Instant Pot to Natural Release for 10 minutes.

Step Six: Then manually release the pressure of the Instant Pot by turning the steam release handle to venting.

Do this until the float valve (silver pin) drops. Do not open your Instant Pot before the float valve drops.

Step Seven: When the float valve has dropped and all the pressure has been released from the Instant Pot, open the lid and fluff the rice. Serve.

Substitutions / Variations

• 1 cup uncooked rice and 1 ½ cups water. This serves about 2 to 4 people,
• 1 ½ cups uncooked rice and 2 ¼ cups water. This serves about 4 to 6 people,
• 2 cups uncooked rice and 3 cups water. This serves about 6 to 8 people.

For the above quantities, cook using Pressure Cook, on High pressure, for 3 minutes, with a natural release time of 10 minutes. Then manually release the pressure until the float valve (silver pin) drops.

Serving Suggestions

Serve basmati rice as a side dish to curries, pan fried meats, or even use in fried rice.

Storage

Store cooked basmati rice once cool in the fridge in an air tight container for 1 to 2 days. It is best to eat this basmati rice on the day it is made.

Any leftover basmati rice you have could be made into fried rice the next day.

FAQ