Once you’ve experienced the perfect ease of Instant Pot Brown Rice, you’ll never go back to cooking brown rice any other way. Say goodbye to stovetop messes, single-purpose rice cookers, and inconsistent results. Get perfect brown rice, every time.
A big ‘ol rice cooker was a constant fixture in my parents’ kitchen from the day I was born. I don’t think that hefty rice cooker has ever taken a day off…it still sits in Mom’s kitchen. Though Dad’s favorite was aromatic jasmine rice, we usually had a pot full of pearly short grain because that’s what Mom liked. Much to her chagrin, I totally was not a rice fan at all until I entered my adulting years.
These days, my tribe of five regularly noshes on all varieties of rice, in all shapes and form. We devour everything from Easy Rice Pilaf with Mushrooms to Creamy Chicken Wild Rice Soup. But our go-to, everyday healthy grain is this perfect Instant Pot brown rice recipe.
Thank you, Instant Pot, for making my brown rice situation way more manageable. Gone are my stovetop mess ‘n guess days. At least where rice is concerned.
Most importantly, my brown rice now comes out consistently tender yet chewy, with the perfect texture every single time….
Does the kind of rice make a difference?
Brown rice, whether in long or short grain variety, is generally much heartier, fuller in texture, and chewier than white rice varieties. Brown rice contains fiber, protein, and many more nutrients than white rice. Because of its denser and heartier nature, brown rice takes longer to cook and retains a chewy bite.
If you’re watching the waistline, brown rice is the better bet, as it takes longer to chew, which translates to slower eating and easier portion control. And because it’s packed with fiber, we feel full a lot faster with a bowl of brown rice in front of us.
There’s even a difference between long grain brown rice vs. short grain brown rice. Both are comparable in nutrients, but long grain brown rice tends to cook up “looser,” retaining individual grains. It’s perfect for pilaf dishes and fried rice dishes. Short grain brown rice has more binding power, resulting in a stickier and sushi-worthy finish.
What’s the rice to water ratio?
The water to rice ratio is different between brown and white rice. White rice is almost a 1:1 ratio in an Instant Pot, whereas brown rice is more of a 1:1.5 ratio in the IP.
Rather than using plain ‘ol water, I go with chicken broth. It just adds flavor and interest, and we like a bit of interesting on our plate. Plus, chicken broth allows me to eliminate the pinches of salt and butter that often go into a pot of rice.
Feel free to use veggie broth, beef broth, homemade broth, or just go the water + pinches of salt route.
Bottom line: 1 part rice, 1.5 part liquid.
How long do you cook brown rice in an Instant Pot?
This is my favorite part of all. It takes only 20 minutes of pressure cook time in the Instant pot for brown rice to cook up perfectly: tender yet chewy. Do account for the time it takes for your IP to build up to pressure and the time it takes to release that pressure.
All in all, it’s still faster than my stovetop method, and trustier than all the methods I’ve ever cooked rice with.
What kind of release method is best?
You’ll do a natural release here. At least 10 minutes natural release time is recommended, but I usually get lost in my work or social media or whatevs while the pressure cooker is doing its own thing and I don’t bother timing the natural release.
Once the pressure cooker is finished cooking, I press cancel and let it natural release fully until it’s lost all steam. If I’m not ready to serve, I let it go to Warm setting until I’m ready.
Then, open the lid, fluff your rice, and serve it up.
Other tips for making the perfect brown rice with Instant Pot
- Be sure your IP is in a location where it’s safe for natural release to vent upwards. I only say this because I’ve had it sitting under the tall cabinets in the kitchen before, and the cabinets took a major steam bath. Not good and not recommended.
- I sometimes place a cheesecloth lightly over the top of the lid so that when the IP does its natural release, the steam is somewhat contained yet can still escape safely.
- Definitely be sure to cook only the amount of rice that will work for the size of your Instant Pot. Otherwise, you’ll experience a steamy mess on the lid afterwards. Also not recommended.
What to serve with brown rice
We love this 30-Minute Skinny Orange Chicken OR go with beef, is that’s your craving 30-Minute Asian Orange Beef.
Asian Baked Salmon Recipe is delicious with this brown rice, as are these super easy Easy Asian Glazed Meatballs.
If you make this brown rice, we’d love to see it! Tag us @chewoutloud on Instagram so we can share the foodie love! 💖
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Once you’ve experienced the perfect ease of Instant Pot Brown Rice, you’ll never go back to cooking brown rice any other way. Say goodbye to stovetop messes, single-purpose rice cookers, and inconsistent results. Get perfect brown rice, every time.
Ingredients
2 cups brown rice, dry (I use organic short grain)
2 1/2 cups broth of your choice*
Instructions
Add rice and liquid to the inner pot of Instant Pot. Lock the lid, ensuring the release cap is in correct position. Set to Pressure Cook for 20 minutes.
Once timer is up, press Cancel and let your Instant Pot naturally release, 10-20 minutes. It’s ok to allow natural release to take its time or to let the rice sit in pot on Warm Setting until you’re ready to serve. When ready to serve, carefully open lid and fluff rice to serve.
Notes
*I like chicken broth for this recipe. You can use veggie or beef broth, as well as just water and a pinch of salt. Add 1-2 TB melted butter to the pot if you’d like extra flavor.
Keywords: instant pot brown rice
I love brown rice but don’t have an instant pot. I am going to get one for sure now.
I’ve been using mine a lot 🙂
I love brown rice! Thanks a lot for the recipe, will definitely try this over the weekend.
Chad
http://www.mosaicslab.com
Hope you enjoy it! Thanks for trying it 🙂
Brown rice seems to be the better option if compared to white rice. The Instant Pot really can make cooking simple! Thanks for sharing this with us.
Thanks, Dennis!
We love brown rice so much!
Oh man! This post made me hungry! Dinner time here! Brown rice are considered healthier than the white one right? Nice photo too. very captivating.
I have not tried making rice in my instant pot yet! Thanks so much for sharing this how-to! I’ll be trying it soon!
I feel like rice can be the most difficult side dish to cook. Sometimes it’s chewy, hard or just extreme wet. I like to take my time with it to get it perfect. Instant pots are awesome but I do prefer white rice, lol.
I’ve never tried making my brown rice in an InstaPot! Thanks for laying out the steps on how to do it — I’ll try that next time!
I always have such a hard time cooking brown rice properly, even in the instant pot. So I can’t wait to try this!!
Brown rice is such a better and more tasteful option! Loved your article.
I keep seeing these instant pot recipes and I want to get one so badly. I wound up getting an air fryer for Christmas and now totally regretting that decision.
Though I rarely take brown rice, this looks a good try for me. Thanks.
I should get with the program and finally get an instant pot. I have a rice maker and a slow cooker, and it sounds like I could replace both with just the one instapot. I love brown rice. You should try red cargo rice. It’s really good, too.
I love brown rice, but I hate cooking it because it takes forever. I am going to try using an instant pot in the next few months to see if that helps.
Oh brown rice! The troubles you have given me! I get the healthy alternative but it’s so darn hard to make, I’ll have to try this out and give myself a break
Just another reason to love the IP!
I’m still easing into my Instant Pot. I was excited to get one but get so intimidated. lol
Gosh, you make it sound so easy! I’ll have to give this a try when I pull out my Instant Pot again!
I live brown rice. I try to cook up a bunch in ash day and use it with a few different dishes throughout the week.
Yummy! My husband bought us an instapot and he loves using it! It’s definitely easy to make quick meals and sides such as rice.
These are excellent tips for cooking rice; I’ve never been good at it and usually get the microwaveable kind instead!
YES this is the best instant pot recipe I have found for brown rice! thank you!
The number one reason I love this recipe is because the ingredient used is brown rice. Taking in brown rice is better than white rice as it last me longer.
I haven’t used an instant pot YET. Everyone I know who has one loves it though.
This looks yummy! I always make pretty plain rice. I love the idea of adding broth!
Rice is my mortal enemy when it comes to cooking, lol. I am going to try it your way!
I love brown rice. The texture on this one looks perfect and so good!
I love brown rice, so much healthier than white rice. I never cook it in the instant pot yet. I need to try.
I love brown rice too. It tastes great for me. I will try cooking it that way.
Made this according to the recipe which I followed exactly. The rice was inedible and I had to add more liquid to it and cook it in the microwave to achieve edible rice in time for dinner. So disappointed.
I’m so sorry that happened, Judy. That’s certainly a mystery and disappointing for sure. I know for myself, it’s super important to measure exactly the rice and liquid proportions, as even a slight deviation will cause rice to be either too hard or too soft. The variety of brown rice (i.e., long vs. short grain) might make a difference too. If you’re willing to try again, using a bit more liquid next time, I’m guessing it will turn out perfectly for you. Thanks for being here today, we appreciate it.
Thanks for taking time to write this article. In the text of the article you give a rough rule of 1-½ cups liquid to 1 cup of rice. But in your actual recipe you call for two cups of rice and only 2-½ cups of liquid. Shouldn’t it be 3 cups of liquid for 2 cups of rice???
Hi, Charles! Great question… oftentimes, when the amounts increase, the liquid to rice ratio decreases a bit. Much of it also depends on the exact grain type of rice. The ratios given in recipe card result in perfect IP brown rice for us, but if your rice ends up needing a bit more liquid, you can definitely bump up to 3 cups liquid. Thanks for checking in today and happy cooking! 🙂