If you’re looking for that last-minute accompaniment to complete your dinner menu and you don’t have a lot of time, this Instant Pot Fried Rice is perfect for you. My pressure cooker fried rice recipe calls for frozen vegetables and ingredients you probably have on hand and requires minimal prep work. Add some sriracha sauce to give it that extra flavor!
Table of Contents
Introduction
I make this reader-favorite Instant Pot Fried Rice frequently because more often than not, evenings at my house are super busy and this recipe goes well as a side dish with any kind of cuisine, but especially Asian dishes.
If you want a mostly hands-off pressure cooker fried rice recipe with hardly any clean up, this Instant Pot recipe is for you. If you want a truly authentic Chinese-style fried rice, I suggest you get out your wok. Stir-frying the rice in the Instant Pot, which I know some recipes do suggest, doesn’t work for me – the rice becomes glutinous and sticky.
Unlike my traditional wok-based fried rice recipe, when I make fried rice in the Instant Pot I fry the eggs separately and add them to the rice at the end. This avoids the sticky mess that can happen when you fry an egg in the Instant Pot! But the downside is that you do have another pan to clean.
Here are some other Rice recipes you might like to try out!
– Instant Pot Brown Fried Rice
– Instant Pot Jambalaya
– Instant Pot Jasmine Rice
– Instant Pot Brown Rice (Pot in Pot Method)
– Instant Pot Basmati Rice (Pot in Pot Method)
– Instant Pot Wild Rice Pilaf
TIPS AND SUBSTITUTIONS
Rice
I like to use jasmine rice for this Instant Pot fried rice recipe. If you substitute other types of rice, you may need to change the cooking time. Long grain rice or basmati rice would most likely take 6 to 7 minutes.
Experiment with the cooking times. You might want your rice to be a bit chewier; in that case, you can pressure cook for 4 minutes.
After pressure has been released, open the Instant Pot, gently fluff the rice and let it rest open for a few minutes. This allows the grains to separate and for the rice to dry out a bit.
Vegetables
If you want your vegetables to be less cooked and more crisp-tender, stir them into the rice as soon as you open the lid. Close the lid again for about 5 minutes.
I use frozen peas and carrots for convenience. You can use fresh vegetables if you prefer.
If you’re using fresh vegetables, saute the veggies first in the vegetable oil, remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. Stir into the rice once it’s cooked.
Chicken or Shrimp
If you’d like to make Instant Pot Fried Rice with chicken, briefly saute the bite-size chicken pieces (no need to cook through) after sauteing the onions, then proceed with the rest of the recipe as written.
If you want to do shrimp fried rice instead, season the shrimp with salt, pepper, soy sauce or oyster sauce. Stir-fry the seasoned shrimp at the beginning, remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. Add the shrimp back in once the rice is cooked.
Broth / Stock
You can substitute the water with chicken broth or vegetable broth for more flavor.
Cilantro
I’m partial to cilantro and like to sprinkle some chopped cilantro on the rice before serving.
Spices
To spice up the rice, add 1 to 2 teaspoons of sriracha sauce or hot sauce with the other fried rice sauce ingredients before pressure cooking.
Oyster Sauce
If you’re a pure vegetarian, you can substitute vegetarian oyster sauce for the regular oyster sauce.
Burn Message
This recipe doesn’t normally produce the burn message but if your Instant Pot is prone to the burn error, you should add the rice in last, and don’t stir it. Just push it down with a spatula.
If you’re new to the Instant Pot and aren’t familiar with how to use it, please read the Instant Pot DUO Beginner’s Quick Start Guide, Instant Pot ULTRA Beginner’s Quick Start Guide, or Instant Pot Duo Evo Plus Beginner’s Quick Start Guide first and then come back here to learn how to make this recipe.
Instant Pot Fried Rice – Ingredients
- Water or broth
- Sesame oil
- Oyster sauce
- Soy sauce
- vegetable oil
- Pepper
- Ginger
- Rice
- Frozen vegetables
- Garlic
- Onion
How to Make Fried Rice in the Instant Pot (Step by Step Instructions)
- Turn on Saute Mode
- Saute onions
- Add sauces, vegetables, rice, and water
- Pressure cook
- 10-minute natural pressure release
- Cook the eggs
- Stir in the eggs
Turn on ‘Saute’ Mode
- Instant Pot DUO: Select the Saute function.
- Instant Pot ULTRA: Select the Saute function and press Start.
Saute Onions
- Once the Instant Pot has heated up, add vegetable oil to the Instant Pot inner pot.
- Saute onions till translucent, about 2 minutes.
- Press Cancel. This will allow the Instant Pot to cool down while you do the next steps.
- Saute ginger and garlic for 30 seconds.
- Stir in rinsed Jasmine rice until coated with oil.
- Deglaze inner pot with a tablespoon or two of water if there’s anything stuck to the bottom.
Add Sauces, Vegetables, Rice and Water
- Add soy sauce, oyster sauce, black pepper, sesame oil, frozen vegetables, and water.
- Stir to mix.
Instant Pot Duo Pressure Cook 5 minutes
- Close the lid and make sure steam release handle is in ‘Sealing’ position
- Press Manual (or Pressure Cook) and + or – until the display reads ‘5′ (5 minutes).
Instant Pot Ultra Pressure Cook 5 minutes
- Close the lid.
- Select Pressure Cook mode and adjust the time to 5 minutes (00:05).
- Press Start.
Pressure Cooking Process (Duo and Ultra)
- Instant Pot display will change to On.
- Once the Instant Pot is pressurized, the float valve will go up.
- The display will count down to 0; it will then switch to Keep Warm mode and display ‘L0:00’ or ’00 00′ and begin to count up the number of minutes since pressure cooking completed.
How to do a 10-minute Natural Release of Pressure
- Allow the Instant Pot to stay in Keep Warm mode for 10 minutes.
How to Release any Remaining Pressure on the DUO
- Move the steam release handle to Venting. Any remaining steam will come out of the steam release handle.
- When your Instant Pot is depressurized, the float valve will be in the down position.
- Press Cancel and open the Instant Pot.
How to Release any Remaining Pressure on the ULTRA
- Press down on the Steam Release Button until it locks into place, and any remaining steam will come out of the Steam Release Valve.
- When your Instant Pot is depressurized, the float valve will be in the down position.
- Press Cancel and open the Instant Pot.
[Find out more about the pressure release methods and how and when to use them. ]
Cook the Eggs
- Break eggs into a medium bowl and beat with a whisk.
- Heat a large nonstick frying pan over medium heat.
- Add 1 tsp vegetable oil and stir to coat.
- Pour eggs into frying pan allow to set for 30 seconds to a minute.
- Using a silicone spatula, gently break up the eggs and flip until scrambled and cooked through.
Stir in Eggs
- Add eggs to the inner pot.
- Sprinkle with chopped green onions before serving.
- Gently stir the Instant Pot Fried Rice.
Instant Pot Fried Rice
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups Jasmine rice
- 4 tsp vegetable oil – divided
- 1/2 cup onions – finely chopped
- 2 tsp ginger – finely minced
- 1 Tbsp garlic – finely minced
- 3 Tbsp soy sauce
- 1 Tbsp oyster sauce
- 1/2 tsp sesame oil
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1 1/2 cups frozen peas and carrots
- 1 3/4 cups water
- 2 eggs – beaten
- 3 Tbsp chopped green onions
Equipment
Instructions
- Select the Saute function and allow the Instant Pot to heat up.
- Rinse and drain rice; set aside.
- Add 1 Tbsp vegetable oil to the Instant Pot inner pot.
- Saute onions till translucent, about 2 minutes, stirring often.
- Press Cancel. This will allow the Instant Pot to cool down while you do the next steps.
- Saute ginger and garlic for 30 seconds, stirring constantly.
- Stir in rinsed Jasmine rice until coated with onion mixture.
- Deglaze inner pot with a tablespoon or two of water if there’s anything stuck to the bottom.
- Add soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil, black pepper, frozen vegetables, and water.
- Stir to mix.
- Close the lid and pressure cook for 5 minutes on high pressure.
- Let the pressure release naturally (NPR) for 10 minutes and then release any remaining pressure using the Quick Release (QR) method.
- Open the lid and let the Instant Pot Fried Rice rest for a few minutes.
- Heat a large nonstick frying pan over medium heat on the stove.
- Coat the frying pan with remaining vegetable oil and pour in the eggs.
- Scramble the eggs by gently breaking up the eggs and flipping until eggs are set.
- Add eggs to the rice.
- Add green onions and stir the rice gently to mix together all ingredients.
Notes
- Prep time does not include steps that are already accounted for in the ingredient list, e.g. minced garlic, cut vegetables, etc.
- If you are prone to getting the burn message, add the rice on top of all the ingredients and don’t stir.
- See the blog post for more detailed recipe tips
Nutrition
I am not a certified nutritionist. I provide my best estimate of nutritional information merely as a courtesy to my readers. If you depend on nutritional information for dietary or health reasons, I suggest using your favorite online nutrition calculator to confirm the nutritional value of this recipe based on the actual ingredients that you use.
If you loved this recipe, please give it a five ⭐ rating in the comment section below and please share it on social media using the social media share buttons at the top and bottom of this post. Thank you so much!
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Isabelle
This is so good and so easy! I make this rice almost every week! My toddler loves it too 🙂 Thank you for sharing this!
Paint the Kitchen Red
Thanks, Isabelle! Happy toddler = happy mama 🙂
Dhanya Mudaliar
Hi Neena,
I tried this recipe last night for the first time . It tasted okay, but I found the rice to be too sticky and overall the salt content was lower than I expected. I don’t usually use Jasmine rice at home and got a small bag specifically for this. I just wanted to ask you where you think I went wrong.
I used 2 cups of Jasmine rice and 2.5 cups of low sodium veg broth to cook it in. I used freshly diced carrots and French beans and bell peppers – about 2 cups in all. I did not use the oyster sauce as I didn’t have any on hand – everything else was the same, except I added a little more onions. I’m guessing I should have reduced the broth to 2.25 cups and used some of that to deglaze the pot while sautéing instead of adding a bit of extra water to deglaze.
Thanks for your help! Hope it is more successful the next time around. 😊
Paint the Kitchen Red
Dhanya, I’m also guessing there was a bit too much water. Maybe 2 1/4 or 2 1/3 would have worked better. And the oyster sauce provides saltiness so if you omitted it, you could have added a bit more soy or salt. I too, hope that you have better luck next time. Thanks for reaching out.
Dhanya M
Hi Neena,
I wanted to update you – I tried this recipe again and it was really good. I used the vegetarian oyster sauce and reduced the quantity of veg. broth. I used frozen mixed vegetables and added a little salt to flavor them since they had no sodium added. I used 4 minutes of pressure cooking time instead of 5. It was perfect for me. Thanks so much!
Paint the Kitchen Red
Dhanya – great to hear and thanks for the update. I was hoping you’d be able to make it work 🙂 Thank you for being a loyal reader!
Megan
I don’t know what happened, but epic fail. It keeps burning. What am I doing wrong? I have an instantPot Ultra.
Paint the Kitchen Red
Megan, did you stir the rice in or let it sit on top? Did you deglaze well so that nothing burnt was stuck to the bottom? Have you successfully cooked other meals without getting a burn error? It’s possible you need to add more water to the recipe. Your Instant Pot may just run hotter than others – this is a known issue I’ve seen with other users. Sorry you had trouble.
shristi sargent
I’ve made this so many times and my family all loves it! I add more soy sauce and spices to our taste.
Also, after I do npr, I take the IP inner pot and put it on top of my stove burners (with rice still in it) and let it cool completely. My husband does not like mushy rice at all, so letting it cool helps it to be more fluffy. Then a few hours later, I cook the eggs and whatever meat I’m using and mix it all up in a hot pan. Top with Sriracha, green onions, cilantro, and sesame seeds.
We love this and so many other recipes from this site! Thank you Neena!
Paint the Kitchen Red
Shristi, thank you for the lovely comment especially the tips for other readers. It’s my pleasure to share recipes with you 🙂
Jodi Portnoy
The recipe did come together pretty easily. I added frozen raw shrimp on top before I sealed the pot, and they were terrific when done. However, the rice was very soft – I think maybe overcooked and waterlogged, and it was pretty bland. I wish I had added a lot more garlic, ginger and onion than what was called for, and less liquid. I may try to make it again but I will definitely make some adjustments.
Paint the Kitchen Red
Jodi, there are a few reasons you had issues with the recipe. When you use frozen foods, you need to reduce the quantity of liquid in a recipe. The frozen item contributes liquid and that is the reason your rice was overcooked and mushy. And having too much liquid is the #1 reason why pressure cooked foods taste bland. If you try the recipe again, I would suggest using thawed shrimp but it would probably overcook at 4 minutes. So instead you can open the lid after the rice has cooked, add the thawed shrimp and let it cook in the residual heat. Hope you’ll give it another try.
Nancy
For rice in the IP, you are supposed to use a 1:1 ration of liquid. This recipe calls for more than that with 1.5 cups rice to 1.75 cups water, and then another quarter cup of liquid with the soy and oyster sauces. There may be a slight amount of wetness added from the onions and other vegetables, and then the added water from the frozen things you are putting in. I would suggest starting out with less water, such as either cut it down to 1.5 cups of water and then there is still the extra from the sauces. Or just go with 1.25 cups water plus the extra 1/4 cup from the sauces which will get you the 1:1 ratio. You can just play around with it as well to get it to your liking. Also, this rice made in the IP will not have the same texture as actual fried rice and will definitely be more soft than fried rice. I’m actually making this tonight, although I tweaked the recipe a bit for some of our dietary issues.
Paint the Kitchen Red
Nancy, the ratio for rice is different based on the type of rice I use. Jasmine is generally 1:1.25. I’m fairly sure that the frozen shrimp was the biggest contributor to the issues this reader had. Anyway, I hope the recipe works for you with your modifications and thanks for your response to this reader.
Lindsey
Have you tried making this with brown rice? If so, how much did it change the directions?
Paint the Kitchen Red
Lindsey, yes I do make it with brown rice. I don’t add the frozen veggies and pressure cook for 22 minutes instead of 5. Once I open the lid, I add the thawed veggies, stir them in, close the lid and let the rice sit in the residual heat for about 10 to 15 minutes.
Lindse
Great, thank you! I’m looking forward to trying this!
Emme
I just stumbled onto this site and it’s so refreshing to see a clear written out recipe. I know how much extra work it must be, but I really appreciate the step-by-step photos instead of 30 glamour shots of the final product most food blogs have. Thanks for the recipe!
Paint the Kitchen Red
Thank you, Emme, for taking the time to comment. It’s always great to get feedback like yours, because you are right; I do spend a fair amount of time creating the detail in the posts!
Dave
Best How-To on the net
Paint the Kitchen Red
Thank you for the rating and comment, Dave!
Heather
Thanks for this recipe! My 13 yo has been begging for fried rice and I’ve been doing everything in my IP lately. I didn’t have any oyster sauce so I left that out…had to add some more soy sauce at the end to give it a bit more flavor. I did leave my frozen veggies out until the end because I didn’t want them mushy. I think maybe I stirred the rice too much to incorporate the frozen veggies as my rice got sticky and glutinous. Very easy and tasty, tho! Next time I’m going to try and follow this recipe to a T!
Paint the Kitchen Red
Heather, yes the vegetables will be cooked more than if you were to stir fry. But I find that the taste is great and the convenience just can’t be beat. Thanks for your comment.
Froggie Doodle
Made this for my small group. It was delicious! Didn’t have oyster sauce. Could I have used fish sauce? I find it a bit too strong.
Only thing, I forgot to bring extra soy sauce and Sriracha. Everyone like it!! Thank you for a great recipe!!
Paint the Kitchen Red
Thanks for your comment! I don’t think that fish sauce would be a good substitute because oyster sauce has a sweet flavor base and fish sauce plus soy sauce would be too salty. Hoisin is a good substitute. Or you could replace the soy sauce with fish sauce plus a bit more, add a smidge of sugar, and omit the oyster sauce.
RINI INDRAWATI
Can I double the recipe using 6Qt IP?
Paint the Kitchen Red
Rini, your Instant Pot should not go past the 1/2 full mark with rice and liquid, though, to allow for expansion. That being said, you should be able to double it.
Dorothea
OMG! Just got my 9 in 1 instant pot and this was my first recipe. The beginner tips were helpful too as it’s book is a bit confusing. I added chip to,this dish along with basil and heat to make more like Basil n chic fried rice. Hubby loves it and it was done in less than 30mins to include prep. A few questions:
1. If I double, how much more water do I need?
2. If I use steak strips vs chip, should I leave while cooking or keep aside as you suggested for shrimp?
Thanks for making it less scary!
Paint the Kitchen Red
Dorothea, if you double the recipe, you’ll double the water. Make sure you don’t go over the 1/2 full mark because you’re cooking rice (as per the Instant Pot safety precautions). If you’re adding cooked steak strips, I’m not sure they’ll cook completely with the stated cooking times. You might have to saute them until half cooked and then pressure cook the rest of the way. Enjoy your new Instant Pot, and thank you for your comment!
Karen Magno
Looking forward to trying this it I might add some diced chicken. Should I add cooked chicken at the end or can I cook the raw chicken at the same time as the rice?
Paint the Kitchen Red
Karen, what I suggest is that you lightly saute the chicken after the onions etc. Then proceed with the recipe as usual. I do this sometimes. Hope you like it.
Karen Magno
Thank you I made this tonight. It was so delicious.
Paint the Kitchen Red
Excellent, Karen. Thanks for letting me know 🙂
Jen
We really enjoyed this! I added frozen peas at the end while the rice was resting, so they stayed bright green, and added a bit of leftover roasted chicken and a splash of fish sauce. The recipe worked perfectly.
tina mollins
hi can use chicken broth instead of water and how much would you need thanks
Paint the Kitchen Red
Hey there Tina – You absolutely can! Try and get low-sodium or you could adjust the soy sauce a bit so it’s not too salty. Same quantity as the water.
Dev
Would it be possible to make this without egg? How could I make it spicier?
Paint the Kitchen Red
Hi Dev – you absolutely can do without the eggs. If you’re vegetarian, use vegetarian oyster sauce. I would add some sriracha sauce at the end, or saute some sliced serrano chili peppers with the onions.
Shristi
5 stars!
Shristi
This recipe is great! I dice up Spam and cook it in a large pan that I later “fry” the rice in. My husband lived in Hawaii for a few years so he loves Spam in his fried rice :). Thanks for another great recipe! I’ve loved everything I’ve tried on your site!
Paint the Kitchen Red
I’ve heard Spam is popular in Hawaii! I’m really happy to have you as a “regular”, Shristi!
Anna
Your website is fantastic. You should promote and advertise more. This site deserves more followers. Post on reddit.com especially in r/instantpot – https://www.reddit.com/r/instantpot/ . Somebody mentioned about you in reddit. That is how I came to know you.
Paint the Kitchen Red
Hi Anna, that’s so sweet of you to say. I actually used to share my recipes on that sub (user paintthekitchenred) but I often got complaints about self-promotion and also they didn’t like the fact that my GO DIRECTLY TO RECIPE link was not right at the top. I am a wimp, and I couldn’t handle the criticism (to the point of tears!) and so I stopped sharing my recipes on there. But I really appreciate you taking the time to let me know and most importantly, I’m really glad you found me.
Gillian DidierSerre
Hi there are you using the cup provided with the instant pot or is it the standard 250 ml cup?
Paint the Kitchen Red
Gillian, I measure my rice and liquid in the same 1 cup dry measure cup which is 250 ml appx. Good question. Thanks for asking!