Have you ever tried brown basmati rice? It’s a long-grain rice that’s aromatic, nutty and a little chewy. It’s delicious and so easy to make in an Instant Pot.
Instant Pot Basmati Brown Rice
I love the flavor and texture of brown basmati rice, but I’ll be honest I rarely make it. That’s because it takes about an hour to cook on the stovetop and honestly who has that kind of time to cook a side dish? But what if we could make brown rice in about half the time without having to babysit a pot on the stove? Yeah, that changes things. Enter: the Instant Pot. Now, we can all enjoy aromatic, nutty, and chewy brown rice way more often.
Soon after I shared my recipe for Perfect Instant Pot Basmati Rice, I started getting questions from readers asking me how to make brown basmati rice in an Instant Pot. Well, here I am ready to answer your brown basmati rice questions!
“I’ve always struggled making rice in my Instant Pot. Your recipe turned out perfectly and amazed my wife that I had suddenly become so proficient! Looking forward to trying more of your recipes, thank you!”
Russ
Basmati Brown Rice Pressure Cooker Ingredients
- Brown Basmati Rice: you can use any brand you’d like. I typically use this brand which I get from my local Whole Foods.
- Oil: you can use whatever oil you’d like. I typically use avocado oil in my recipes because it’s a neutral oil without flavor.
- Water
- Salt
How to Make Instant Pot Brown Basmati Rice
You can find the step-by-step instructions in my recipe card below but here’s a quick breakdown: I first soak the rice in cold water, which helps to soften the grains a bit and I find this prevents them from breaking. Then I heat the pot, add oil and swirl it around to help prevent the rice from sticking to the pot. After that, add rice, water, and salt and mix well, then pressure cook. When it’s done, fluff with a fork. That’s it!
What is the Difference Between White and Brown Basmati Rice? Is Brown Rice Healthier than White Rice?
Brown basmati rice is nuttier and also chewier than white basmati rice. Brown basmati rice takes longer to cook and also requires a bit more water in order to get the texture nice and soft.
I can talk about flavor and texture all day but as far as what’s better for your health: brown rice or white rice? The truth is I don’t know. You can find research both for and against both types of rice. Some people consider brown rice to be more nutritious because it’s a whole grain and less processed than white rice. Others consider white rice to be a “safe-starch” and say brown rice is harder to digest. My personal opinion: eat real food that your body can tolerate and enjoy those foods in moderation. Again I’m just a food blogger so take whatever I say with a grain of rice 😉
What about Quick Cooking Brown Basmati Rice?
See the notes in the recipe card for how to cook this type of rice.
Quick-cooking brown basmati rice is rice that has been parboiled or in other words, the grains have been soaked, steamed, and rolled which is why this type of rice cooks faster than traditional brown basmati rice.
I buy organic quick-cooking brown basmati rice from Trader Joe’s, but you can also find it on amazon. I think they are both pretty similar in taste – but I find that the quick cooking rice has somewhat of an after taste (I still buy it because… it’s organic and inexpensive at TJ’s). My husband prefers the traditional brown basmati rice.
What to Serve with Brown Basmati Rice?
You can serve brown basmati rice with anything (obviously), but here are a few suggestions:
I also have plenty more Indian Instant Pot recipes in my cookbook, Indian Food Under Pressure! If you don’t have it, grab yourself a copy 🙂
Pressure Cooker Brown Rice (Basmati) Recipe
Pressure Cooker Brown Rice (Basmati) Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup brown basmati rice soaked for 15-30 minutes
- 1 tablespoon oil of choice
- 1 ¼ cup water
- ½ teaspoon salt adjust to taste
Instructions
- Soak the basmati rice in cold water for 15-30 minutes. Drain, rinse and set aside.
- Press the sauté button and allow the pot to heat up for a minute. Then add the oil and swirl it around the pot. This will help ensure that the rice doesn’t stick. Add the rice, water and salt to the pot and mix well.
- Secure the lid, close the pressure valve and cook for 22 minutes at high pressure (see notes for quick cooking basmati rice).
- Naturally release pressure for 10 minutes. Open the valve to release any remaining pressure.
- Fluff the rice with a fork and serve.
Notes
- If you are making “Quick Cooking Brown Basmati Rice” then follow this recipe exactly but adjust the cook time to 6 minutes. You can find this type of rice at Trader Joe’s or on amazon.
Like this recipe? Then check out my cookbook: Indian Food Under Pressure for more Indian Instant Pot Recipes!
Hilary says
Turned out great! If I want to double or triple the recipe, does the water ratio remain the same? Some recipes adjust the water ratio so that it is always just an additional 1/2 cup. I wonder what you suggest since this recipe is so good and I don’t want to waste making a failed double recipe. Thanks! I look forward to exploring your other recipes.
marge201 says
I used the parboiled organic brown basmati from Trader Joe. I did 2C rice, 2.5C water, a tablespoon of dukkah, and 7M HP and let it sit a long while after the NR was done. PERFECT. Glad I found you. Thanks!!
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
That’s awesome; thanks for letting us know!
Cindy Still says
Made this recipe several times now. Comes out perfect every time. Extremely delicious!
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Cindy, so glad to hear that! Thanks for letting me know 🙂
Beth W says
Made exactly as written. Comes out perfect.
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Beth, happy to hear that! Thanks for letting me know how it turned out 🙂
Russ says
I’ve always struggled making rice in my Instant Pot. Your recipe turned out perfectly and amazed my wife that I had suddenly become so proficient! Looking forward to trying more of your recipes, thank you!
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Russ, great to hear that this turned out so well for you! Can’t wait to hear what you think of other recipes you try 🙂
Darran Edmundson says
Best brown basmati I’ve made in the Instant Pot. This is now my go-to recipe. Thanks Ashley!
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
That’s so great to hear! Thanks, Darran!
Neelesh says
Hi Ashley-
I tried your recipe but it did not seem to go right. I pressure cooked the rice for the amount of time you have suggested in the recipe (22 minutes). When I opened the cooker, I did not have rice: I had rice paste. I know I did not pick up the quick cooking brown basmati rice. I followed the recipe exactly. Any advice?
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Hi Neelesh, I’m sorry but I have no idea why that would happen – you can try asking and sharing a photo in my FB group (Instant Pot for Indian Food) – someone in the group may be able to help!
Barb says
Definitely excited to find this! I doubled the rice, but didn’t quite double anything else. Cooked 24 min., as suggested by another review as I don’t prefer al dente. I also used low sodium chicken broth but I should have cut back or eliminated salt. It is still delicious! I may experiment and try the method from another review using the Rice setting for half the time (and different proportions) but this definitely worked for me!
My Heart Beets says
Thanks for sharing, Barb! 🙂
Matt Freund says
Looks good I am going to try your verison
sujatha says
Hi,
I always cook brown basmati rice in instant pot by putting 1 cup of rice and 2 cups water and putting rice mode which is 12 min and low pressure. No soaking. Rice comes out perfect every time.
Brenda says
Doubled the recipe and sautéed a small onion and two cloves of garlic in the olive ôil. Rice is cooked perfectly and tastes great! Thank you!
My Heart Beets says
Brenda, great to hear! Thanks for letting me know how it turned out for you 🙂
Jackie says
Instructions for non instant basmati brown rice?
Hubert says
Came out very greasy. Is one Tablespoon correct? Looks nothing like photos.
Stephanie says
I followed the instructions to a T- rice came out slightly overcooked/mushy. Next time I’ll decrease the cook time and/or add a bit less water. Thank you for posting this recipe.
My Heart Beets says
Sorry to hear that Stephanie! Sometimes different varieties of rice can call for different slightly different cook times… do you mind sharing what brand this was/where it’s from?
Angie says
I tried it and it turned out great. I am having an issue whenever I want to make more than what the recipe calls for. How do you make bigger batches of this in the instant pot? I tried doubling it and using the same amount of water as mentioned by one of the other comments and it came out half raw half cooked.
My Heart Beets says
Angie, I’m glad it worked well but that’s unusual that it won’t let you double this! I haven’t tried doubling brown rice (at least not that I can remember) but normally I can double other rice dishes with no problem. Have you tried this more than once? I wonder if maybe the lid just didn’t seal properly or has this happened multiple times?
Mavis says
Are you using the same measurement cup for water and rice? I’m having very mixed results in the IP.
My Heart Beets says
Hi Mavis, I use US measuring cups — yes, use the same cup to measure. For brown basmati though, you’ll want a little extra water – just follow the directions in the recipe card and it should work well for you!
Shilpa says
Would quick cooking brown basmati rice work in the jeera rice, following those same instructions, or does jeera rice really need to be white basmati?
My Heart Beets says
Shilpa, you can use brown basmati to make jeera rice 🙂
Jessica says
I’m not sure what went wrong.. followed recipe exactly and was left with water still in the pot and barely cooked rice. This was my first IP recipe so I guess it must have been my error, but I can’t figure out what.
Igor says
I tried cooking trader joe’s quick cooking brown basmati rice at 12 mins and it comes out pretty mushy… I cook it with stew meat I guess I can’t go shorter than 12 mins because of meat and have to find a different kind of rice ?
My Heart Beets says
Ah yeah then I would go with regular brown rice. Here is my recipe for brown rice lamb/beef biriyani if you want to try that: https://myheartbeets.com/instant-pot-brown-rice-biryani-beef-lamb/
Patti says
Perfect. I keep coming back to this one as a staple “recipe” for cooking brown basmati. It comes out so buttery and delicious.
My Heart Beets says
Patti, I’m so glad to hear that 🙂
marcelo sztraicher says
I’m not new to pressure cookers or basmati rice, but I am new to brown basmati and instant pots. Your recipe was perfect. As a parent of a UVA grad, and soon to be father in law of another, what a small world. Keep up the good work. Cheers.
My Heart Beets says
Marcelo, I’m so happy to hear that! Thanks for letting me know how it turned out for you 🙂 And congratulations to you and your family!! wahoowa!
Ruqkayah says
I dont have an instant pot but I do love brown basmati rice. I do use a rice cooker though. And my rice turns out great. It’s just me so I use 1 cup basmati rice (not preboild) washed. I put in the oil and seasoning I want into the rice cooker then the rice and i use one bottle of water. 16.9 oz./500ml and then turn it on to cook. No need to babysit the rice. But now I think to get an instant pot.
H says
I need some help here: I followed the directions exactly but came up with al dente rice. Should I add a few more minutes of cook time or perhaps let it natural release entirely?
Ginny says
Followed your recipe exactly but I think the rice was over cooked. Too soft for my taste.
My Heart Beets says
Hmm and this was regular brown basmati rice, right? Not the quick cooking version?
CJ says
I have multiple brands of brown basmati rice and they all have a cook time of 40 minutes with no soak time. Not clear why I would do pressure cooker over that…
My Heart Beets says
did you follow the water to brown rice ratio? did you use regular basmati brown rice or quick cooking brown basmati? just checking 🙂
Regine says
I have a question: I‘m trying to replace the white rice with brown rice in recipes to get more whole grains into our diet. I love your shrimp biryani recipe, for example. I‘m wondering if you tried to pre-cook the brown rice (let‘s say 22-6=16 minutes) in big batches and freeze it or keep it in the fridge. My thinking was that I could then use it similar to white rice in recipes – how to figure out adjusting the liquid would be one other issue.
Anyhow, if there were a solution like that, one could replace brown rice with white rice fairly easily.
Any thoughts?
My Heart Beets says
Regine, I would suggest buying quick cooking brown basmati rice (you can find it at Trader Joe’s). It cooks in the same amount of time as white basmati rice and will be easier than pre-cooking the rice. Hope that helps!
Adam says
Thanks for the recipe. Any tips on pot-in-pot method with the same rice?
Blork says
The hard reality is that you don’t really save time with the IP in a case like this; pre-soak, sauté, time to get up to pressure, 22 minutes cooking, 10 minutes NPR, is the same amount of time as cooking it stove top. But what you gain is consistent results, and those 22 minutes plus 10 minutes NPR are totally hands-off with no worry about whether or not the pot is at the right heat setting (as you might worry with stovetop method).
For me the time saving comes with making a larger batch and freezing it. FOUR cups of rice, with the same water proportions and timing. I get a boatload of brown basmati rice, which I then cool on a sheet pan, bag into ziplocks, and freeze. If you take the bag out of the freezer a day in advance (planning, people!), then all you need to do is microwave it for a few minutes and you have brown basmati rice that’s as good as freshly-cooked.
Between the IP and my freezer, I have totally cracked the code of brown rice, which otherwise had been too much trouble.
My Heart Beets says
It takes 50-60 minutes on the stove, plus you have to babysit the pot… so it actually is about half the time 🙂 Great advice about making and freezing the rice, thanks for sharing!
Whitney says
I would love to know the time you use on your IP to cook 4 cups. Wanting to make this in a large batch. thanks!
Chris R says
The time to come up to pressure may vary but you shouldn’t need to change the cook time… at least that has been my experience (with more than just rice). Sorry for butting in, I just saw that your question hadn’t been answered and I know it’s a common question. That said, I use almost this exact method and have found the soaking to be unnecessary, I just rinse and cook. I found the majority of recipes for brown basmati omitted the soaking, so that’s how I started and it always comes out perfect. I also use either beef or chicken stock rather than water. The IP is the way to go with rice for sure!!
karen says
Love this recipe. I also saute onions and garlic with the rice before adding broth. Love the freezing advise. Am trying to prepare at least part of meals in advance.
Jessica says
I agree, I don’t feel the IP saves me a lot of time, but the end results are better than cooking on the stove and I don’t have to do a thing after its in the pot. I love it, thanks for your suggestion on freezing the rice, I buy frozen rice from TJ’s and this sounds like the same deal, for much less.
igor says
you can cook rice and stew beef meat at the same time
B.Scott says
This rice came out perfecto!! I made 4 cups of rice but left out 1/4 cup of water.. so I used 4 3/4 cups of water. I used 2 tbls of avocado oil.. a 2 tsp salt.. pressure cooked on high pressure for a extra 2 min so was 24 min AND I did NOT soak the rice although I gave it several rinses. Spread it on a parchment paper lined large baking sheet to cool and will freeze in zip loc bags in 3 serving portions.
My Heart Beets says
Happy to hear that! Thanks for sharing 🙂