Learn how to cook Instant Pot Basmati Rice with this simple recipe, which turns out fluffy and clump-free every time! Using a no-soak method in the pressure cooker, long-grain white basmati rice is cooked until perfectly tender. This easy and healthy Indian side dish makes the perfect accompaniment to serve alongside your favorite curries, stir-fries, and so much more.
With so many varieties of rice available today, it’s easy to get overwhelmed trying to figure out the best way to prepare them.
Stovetop cooking is highly accessible, but requires careful babysitting. Rice cookers get it just right, but are limited in their other capabilities.
Time and time again, I’ve ultimately found the Instant Pot to be the perfect sweet spot when it comes to making rice, being both quick AND simple.
From basic Instant Pot White Rice and Sushi Rice to flavorful recipes like Instant Pot Mexican Rice, the quick and easy method of using a pressure cooker proves foolproof every single time.
It even works for making more delicate, long-grained types like basmati rice, a distinctly aromatic, almost floral variety that is often confused with jasmine rice.
Preparation is incredibly easy, and boils down to simply finding the right rice-to-water ratio and cooking time for your pressure cooker.
Ingredients
The simple ingredients you need to make this Instant Pot Basmati Rice include:
- Basmati rice. While certain brands of basmati rice – like Pride of India or Royal – come more highly recommended than others, most kinds will achieve the same result, so buy whichever is most convenient.
- Water. Using the correct amount of water is the key to making perfect rice, but for extra flavor, vegetable or chicken broth may also be used.
- Butter. Although it’s entirely optional, adding a touch of butter to rice gives it a little extra flavor, and helps the grains to stay separate while cooking. Vegan butter or olive oil can also be used as a dairy-free substitute.
- Salt. Between ¼ to ½ teaspoon of salt per cup of dried rice being cooked is recommended, but optional. It may be changed or omitted entirely based on preference and intended use.
How to Make Instant Pot Basmati Rice
The basic steps for making Basmati Rice in the Instant Pot are simple to follow. Please see the recipe card below for more detailed ingredient amounts.
Wash the Rice
Some cooking methods for basmati rice recommend letting it soak for 20-30 minutes before cooking. This removes the excess starch and prevents the rice going sticky and clumped together while cooking.
However, this same effect can be had in a fraction of the time by thoroughly washing the rice in a small, fine mesh strainer. Gently stirring the rice with your fingertips, run it under cold water for 1-2 minutes, or until the draining liquid runs almost completely clear.
Drain it well, straining out any excess water.
Combine Ingredients
In a 6-quart Instant Pot, combine the rinsed basmati rice, water or broth, butter or oil, and salt to taste. For firmer rice, use 1 cup of water for every cup of dried rice being cooked; for softer rice, add an additional ¼ of water per cup of rice as well.
If including anything else to flavor the rice throughout, such as saffron or dried herbs, add it at this stage.
Give it a brief, gentle stir to ensure everything is evenly distributed, and cover the Instant Pot with the lid.
Note: Because it is a highly airtight cooking method, rice cooked in an Instant Pot requires less liquid than traditional stovetop or rice cooker methods.
Cook the Rice
Ensure the pressure release valve is sealed, and set the timer for 6 minutes at high pressure on the Manual or Pressure Cook function. It will take the cooker about 5-10 minutes to fully pressurize – when it has, the float valve on the lid will pop up and remain there.
If making brown basmati rice, set the timer for 22 minutes at high pressure rather than 6. Due to its natural, mostly unrefined nature, brown rice takes significantly longer to cook than white.
After the timer has gone off, allow the pressure to release naturally for 10 minutes. This allows the rice to finish cooking and absorbing any residual water without boiling over from the quick release.
After 10 minutes, move the steam release handle to the venting position to allow any remaining steam to escape. Being careful of steam still rising from the rice, open the lid once the float valve has dropped back down.
Use a fork or spatula to fluff up the rice, and serve immediately!
Meal Prep and Storage
- To Store: Cooked basmati rice will keep well in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4-5 days.
- To Freeze: Leftover rice can also be frozen in a freezer-safe bag or storage container for up to 4-6 months. Portioning out individual servings ahead of time will help with thawing and single-serving use.
- To Reheat: Leftover rice is best reheated in the microwave, with a few tablespoons of water sprinkled throughout to help rehydrate it. Warm it 30 seconds at a time, stirring between, until soft and heated through.
FAQs
One cup of dried basmati rice will generally yield about 3 cups of cooked rice.
For every 1 cup of basmati rice being cooked in the instant pot, 1-1¼ cups of water should be used.
For 2 cups of rice, use 2-2½ cups water.
For 3 cups of rice, use 3-3¾ cups water.
For 4 cups of rice, use 4-5 cups water.
Sticky rice in an Instant Pot is generally an indicator that it wasn’t rinsed well enough of excess starch. Additionally, if it is left in the Instant Pot for longer than the 10-minute natural release period with the lid on, the residual steam will continue cooking the rice and make it sticky.
Traditionally from India and the South Asian countries, basmati is a long-grain rice with a distinctly aromatic flavor which sets it apart from plain white rice. It comes in both white and brown varieties and is sometimes confused with jasmine, although it has a slightly softer grain and a milder nutty flavor.
Basmati rice is often served alongside Indian curry dishes, or as the main ingredient in biryanis.
Expert Tips and Tricks
- Do a test run. The right rice-to-water ratio and cooking time is usually consistent, but have the potential to vary based on elevation, pressure cooker, and even what brand of rice is used.
- Rinse the rice. Washing your rice several times before cooking helps to remove lots of surface starch which can make it clumpy and sticky when it’s finished.
- Make crispy tahdig. Poke several holes in the cooked rice with a wooden spoon handle, drizzle the holes and sides of the pot with saffron-infused butter, and let it fry untouched on the Instant Pot’s Sauté mode for several minutes to develop a delicious, crunchy bottom called tahdig.
- Infuse with flavor. With just minor tweaks like adding a bit of saffron, garlic, coconut oil, or other seasonings to your cooking rice, the aromatic flavor of basmati rice can be amplified for all sorts of dishes.
- Spare the scrubbing. Removing rice residue from the bottom of an Instant Pot can be tricky, but it’ll loosen right up by filling it ⅕ of the way with water and a tiny bit of dish soap, and simmering it on Sauté mode for a few minutes.
More Instant Pot Recipes
Making rice is just one of the many incredibly easy uses for your Instant Pot, so make the most of it with these other tasty options:
Make it a Meal
Basmati rice has a subtle nutty and aromatic flavor that pairs exceptionally well with these dishes:
Salmon Curry with Coconut Milk
Instant Pot Hawaiian Pineapple Chicken
Slow Cooker Chicken Curry with Coconut Milk
Instant Pot Yellow Chicken Curry
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Ingredients
- 1 cup basmati rice
- 1 – 1 ¼ cups water
- 1 Tbsp. Butter or oil
- ¼ – ½ tsp. Salt to taste
Instructions
- Place rice in a fine mesh strainer. Rinse under cold water for 1 minute, or until liquid runs clear.
- Add rice, water, butter, or oil, and salt to a 6-quart Instant Pot.▪ If you like softer rice: add 1 ¼ cups water.▪ If you prefer firmer rice: add 1 cup water.
- Cover Instant Pot with the lid and move the pressure release valve to the sealed position. Using the pressure cook or manual function, set the timer for 6 minutes on high pressure. (It will take the pressure cooker about 5-10 minutes to fully pressurize.)
- Once the timer goes off, let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes. Move the pressure release handle to the venting position to let any remaining steam escape. Open the lid once the float valve goes down.
- Use a fork to fluff up the rice and serve immediately.
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Notes
- 1 cup of dried rice equals 3 cups of cooked rice.
- One serving equals ½ cup cooked rice.
Meal Prep and Storage
- To Store: Cooked basmati rice will keep well in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4-5 days.
- To Freeze: Leftover rice can also be frozen in a freezer-safe bag or storage container for up to 4-6 months. Portioning out individual servings ahead of time will help with thawing and single-serving use.
- To Reheat: Leftover rice is best reheated in the microwave, with a few tablespoons of water sprinkled throughout to help rehydrate it. Warm it 30 seconds at a time, stirring between, until soft and heated through.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I wish I would have seen this before I made my instant pot rice tonight. I followed the instructions on the rice bags for cooking, on a stove top, or Rice cooker. So the ratios of water were way off. Also I only had 2 part bags of Rice about 3/4 cup of Basmati and 1 1/4 of jasmine rice Ratios of water to rice were the same for both just cooking time was different. So I put the rice in the instant pot on Saute and added the butter and stirred the rice around in the butter for a few minutes. (Like I would do with regular long grain rice.) I then added 4 cups of water to the 2 cups of combined rice (as per the rice bag instructions.) I put the lid on and sealed it and set it to steam for 7 minutes then gave it a 10 minute natural release and then released the pressure and opened the instant pot to find a sticky mushy rice more like a sushi rice than a Basmati or Jasmine rice. even with the butter it was kind of gluey. It still tasted good, but it was over cooked. They should put Instant pot recipes on the rice bags. Any way thanks for this rice Information. I will have to come back and check out some of your other instant pot recipes. Thanks!!
CHEERS!!!
Hi Wayne! I’m sorry that happened. Let me know how it goes.
Delicious! Making it a second time in one week! Thanks for the easy recipe!
Yay! So happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe, Christin! Twice in a week is high praise. Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a comment and rating!
This is an amazing recipe. It’s simple and the rice turns out perfect every time. I am so glad I came across it in Pinterest!
Yay! So happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe, Mariana! I’m so glad you came across it, too. Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a comment and rating!
Made the recipe exactly as printed in my 6 qt. IP. Perfect. Thank you.
Yay! So happy it worked for you, Linda. Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a comment and rating 🙂
First recipe using my instant pot and it was perfect. It tastes more like it has been steamed the texture is great- thank you for posting
Yay! So happy to hear that, Kim! There are a ton of easy IP recipes on the site – and let me know if you have anything you’re looking for in particular and I’ll see what I can whip up for you 🙂 Thanks for your comment and rating!
Is the cooking time the same if you add 2, 4 etc cups if rice?
Yes, Nataliya! The cook time should be the same no matter how many cups of rice you use 🙂