Instant Pot Long Grain White Rice

Make dinner and meal prep easy with Instant Pot Long Grain White Rice. It’s a quick, hands-off way to cook perfectly fluffy rice every time!

We also love Instant Pot jasmine rice, Instant Pot basmati rice and Instant Pot coconut rice.

I make a lot of rice, a lot! And ever since I got my pressure cooker, Instant Pot long grain white rice has been one of my go-to Instant Pot recipes.

It’s a true set it and forget it recipe that’s ready in just 20 minutes and always reliable. So say goodbye to mushy, undercooked, or burnt rice and serve delicious fluffy rice as a side or add to your favorite stir fry, soup or casserole.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Quicker than other methods: Instant Pot cooks much faster. Once you’ve made perfectly cooked rice in minutes, you’ll never go back to the stovetop or rice cooker.
• Perfect every time: Cooking long grain rice in Instant Pot takes the guess work out of cooking time, the water to rice ratio is always right, and cooks at the right temperature.
• Convenient: No babysitting the pot. It can run if you weren’t watching it to reduce the heat after boiling.
• Recipe specific for this type of rice: This recipe is tailored to long grain white rice. For brown rice, check out my recipe for how to make Instant Pot brown rice.
• Mess free: Sometimes cooking rice on the stove can be messy if your lid isn’t tight fitting, it can splatter. Happened to me with older pots, but completely mess free with this method!

Ingredients for Instant Pot Long Grain White Rice

The ingredients for Instant Pot long grain white rice are very simple.

• Long grain white rice: As I mentioned above, this recipe works specifically with long grain white rice.
• Water: Always use cold water rather than hot to ensure even cooking.
• Salt: A pinch of salt is all you need to add a bit of taste to otherwise bland rice.

How to Make Long Grain White Rice in the Instant Pot

Cooking rice in the Instant Pot is super easy, fast, and hands free!

Here’s a quick overview of the steps, there is also a full recipe card below.

• Rinse rice: Just as my grandma taught me, always rinse rice with cold water to remove excess starches. Use a fine mesh strainer, rinse until water runs clear, and drain well.
• Add water and rice: Pour cold water into the Instant Pot, followed by the rice. Add 1 cup white rice to 1 cup water. The water does not evaporate in the pressure cooker like it does on the stove, so remember 1:1 ratio.
• Season rice: Add salt and stir so rice is submerged in water.
• Cook for 3 minutes on high pressure: Close the lid, set pressure vent to Sealing and press Pressure Cook on High pressure or Manual for 3 minutes.
• Release pressure with natural pressure release: Avoid Quick Release, you want to allow the rice to sit and absorb any remaining liquid. Natural Release allows the pressure to come down on its own, this takes about 10 minutes then you can turn valve to Venting.
• Fluff with a fork: I always fluff my rice with a fork because stirring cooked rice makes it mushy.

Tips for Best Results

Don’t be stuck with burnt or mushy rice. Here are my top tips for perfectly cooked long grain white rice in Instant Pot.

• Use any pressure cooker: This recipe will work in any electric pressure cooker that can cook on high pressure. Please see notes about cooking rice on Low pressure below.
• Rinse the rice well: Use a mesh sieve for best results, not in a bowl. And drain well after too because that extra water can skew the cook time and final results.
• Use cold water: If you use warm or hot water the cook time will be off.
• Stir rice before cooking: Be sure rice is fully submerged in water to ensure proper cooking. I know in most of my healthy Instant Pot recipes, I recommend not to stir the ingredients, but this recipe is not one of them!
• Add seasonings after: You don’t have to season the rice before cooking except with salt but afterwards you can add butter, ghee, or extra virgin olive oil for extra flavor. Depends on how you want to serve the rice.
• Add salt before pressure cooking: We add salt to the rice to bring out its natural flavors for the most part, not to make rice salty.
• Replace water with broth: Make rice more flavorful with chicken broth, Instant Pot chicken broth, vegetable broth or beef broth. Be sure it is cold.

Common Mistakes and Troubleshooting Tips

• Rice is too hard: There’s either not enough water or too much rice. Be sure to measure correctly and use both ingredients without the top in the measuring cup. You can always add a splash of water, stir the rice, place lid back on and let it sit for 3-5 more minutes.
• Rice is burnt: If you got Burn notice, either not enough water or the vent has been accidentally left on Venting position for some time before Instant Pot came to pressure. Also it might be the time to replace silicone ring in the lid.
• Rice is too mushy: This means too much water or rice overcooked because you used warm or hot water.
• Rice is too sticky: Sticky rice usually means the rice was not rinsed. Rinsing helps keep the rice grains separated rather than clumped together.
• Rice is too bland: Don’t skip the salt, you have to add even a pinch of salt for taste.

Can I Use Rice Button on Instant Pot?

Yes, if you have Instant Pot Duo with low pressure option. In fact, it is my preferred method to cook any white rice in Instant Pot. Rice cooked with Rice button is cooked on Low heat for 12 minutes. It comes out even more perfect!

The only problem is that not all Instant Pots have low pressure option. For example, on Instant Pot LUX model Rice button is preset to 12 minutes of cooking on high pressure, which I find is too aggressive on rice. Therefore, I prefer to cook it for 3 minutes on High pressure with 10 minutes of Natural Release in my LUX pressure cooker.

I do have both models and have tested this recipe many ways.

What Can I Cook with Instant Pot Long Grain White Rice?

I’ve had lots of ideas over the years! You can add long grain white rice to any meal you want whether it be for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or meal prep.

Here are some of my favorites:

• Add to soups: Skip cooking rice in turkey and rice soup and add it at the end. My grandma always cooked rice separately for soups because she said it keeps the broth clear.
• Mix with homemade chicken broth: If you’re feeling under the weather or would like an easy soup, pour some homemade chicken broth over cooked rice, season with salt and pepper and add fresh herbs like dill or parsley. It’s to die for! We always made it growing up as kids because it was so easy.
• Use as a blank canvas: Make some of my mom’s ratatouille recipe and scoop on top of freshly cooked long grain white rice in the Instant Pot. Unbelievable freshness and flavor!
• For breakfast: Replace brown rice with white rice in this brown rice pudding and enjoy it for a week of make ahead breakfasts. My dad always used white rice.
• In stuffed pepper recipes: Got leftover cooked rice? Make these ground chicken stuffed peppers, Instant Pot stuffed peppers or Mexican stuffed peppers.
• As a side dish: For these Korean ground beef rice bowls.

How to Store

Store: Leftover rice can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Cold rice tastes hard, reheat it and it will soften.

I like to reheat rice in the microwave. It comes out soft and fluffy, like freshly cooked. You can also reheat it in a pot with a splash of water. Simmer slowly while covered.

Freeze: You can freeze rice for up to 3 months. Fully cook, let it cool completely, and transfer to an airtight container. Thaw in the fridge overnight or at room temperature for a few hours.

FAQs

More Instant Pot Rice Recipes to Try

• Instant Pot chicken and rice
• Instant Pot rice and beans
• Instant Pot fried rice
• Instant Pot Jambalaya
• Instant Pot chicken and rice soup
• Instant Pot cabbage rolls