Instant Pot Basmati Rice

Cook light, fluffy, fragrant, and delicious basmati or any type of white rice using your Instant Pot!

Course Dinner, Lunch

Cuisine African, American, Asian, Continental, Indian

Diet Gluten Free

Prep Time 2

Cook Time 3

Natural Pressure Release 10

Total Time 15

Servings

Calories 225kcal

Rinse the rice using a fine-mesh strainer. Rinse using cold running water for a few minutes until the water runs clear. This helps clean out some of the starch coating the rice, resulting in a fluffier grain.
Next, add the cleaned rice, salt, and water/broth to the Instant Pot, and stir to combine. Make sure all the rice has been covered with water and is not sticking to the sides of the Instant Pot.
2 cups white basmati rice, 2¼ cups water, ½ teaspoon salt
Depending on your Instant Pot model, select the manual or pressure cook function, set the cooking time to three minutes, close the lid, set its valve on the seal position, then pressure cook at high pressure for 3 minutes. Once this time is over, allow it to naturally pressure release for 10 minutes, then do a quick pressure release, to release any remaining pressure.
Open the Instant Pot lid, fluff using a fork, and then serve.

Make your basmati rice even more fragrant by using whole spices such as cinnamon sticks, bay leaves, and whole cloves, just before pressure cooking. You can then easily pick them out when fluffing the rice, just before serving.
Add a tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice just before pressure cooking. This helps break down the starch in the rice making each grain absorb more liquid.
On average, one cup of white rice will give you 3 cups of cooked rice. When deciding the amount of white basmati rice you want to cook, bear in mind that Instant Pots should not be filled to more than ⅔ of their full capacity when done.