Perfect Pressure Cooker Rice

Perfect Pressure Cooker Rice

When I purchased my rice steamer, it became my favorite small kitchen appliance. I used that badboy several times a week. Until it came along, my rice was hit or miss on quality and I tried everything I could to make it the same way each time. 

Several years later, I discovered the new counter top electric pressure cookers. Oh baby! I love them! All 4 of them! Yep. I have two sizes of the Instant Pot as well as a Power Pressure Cooker XL and a Cuisinart.

Rice has once again found its way into a lot of our meals. It is a no brainer in a pressure cooker. No kidding!

The system that works EVERY TIME is so simple.

It really doesn’t matter what measuring unit you use for your “cup” as long as you use the same one for both the rice and the liquid.

Cooking rice in any pressure cooker is based on a 1:1 ratio of water and rice (sort of).

Using your cup of choice, measure dry rice into a bowl and set aside
Using the same cup, measure the same amount of water (or broth) and place inside the liner of your pressure cooker
Gently rinse the rice and pour off excess water (don’t use a strainer, just tip bowl to remove excess water
Add the wet (but drained) rice to the water in the pressure cooker
Season the rice with spices of choice. I like to add a couple of pats of butter along with a good amount of salt and pepper
Secure lid in place and make sure the steam release valve is set to closed (sealing) position

Turn your pressure cooker on and set your cooking time.
For most pressure cookers, the rice button is set for white rice
For other types of rice, use the manual button and adjust the time as needed
Once cooking is done, allow the pressure to release naturally for about 10 minutes before quick releasing the remaining pressure and serving

These are the times that seem to work the best for our needs.

White rice: 8 minutes

Brown rice – short or long: 26

Wild rice mix: 30

Also you do not need to adjust the time for cooking if you are making more than one cup as long as you are using the same amount of water. The pressure cooker will take longer to come up to sealing temperature, but the rice is also cooking during this time.

Looking for other ideas? Check out our Recipe section under Pressure Cooking.