Instant Pot Brown Basmati Rice

This Instant Pot brown basmati rice recipe is a quick and easy way to cook healthy whole grain rice. The Instant Pot allows you to cook brown rice in a fraction of the time it takes to cook it on the stovetop, without sacrificing flavor or texture. Learn how to make perfect brown basmati rice every single time.

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ℹ️ Introduction

What is Brown Basmati Rice?

Basmati rice is an aromatic, long-grain rice typically grown in the foothills of the Himalayas in India. Both white and brown basmati rice have a distinct aroma and nutty flavor.

When rice is first milled, the outer layer or husk is removed. What remains is brown rice. Brown rice is a whole grain version of white rice, which means it contains bran and germ.

If the rice grain is further processed and the bran and germ are removed, what’s left is the starchy endosperm which is white rice.

Long grain brown rice has a denser, chewier texture than white rice. It is rich in fiber, vitamins, and minerals and is a good source of antioxidants.

Basmati brown rice helps you feel full longer and improves digestion. Due to its low glycemic index, it doesn’t increase your blood sugar as quickly as white basmati rice can.

All in all, due to the health benefits, brown rice is a better choice than white rice for overall health.

Why Cook Basmati Brown Rice in Instant Pot?

You can have mixed results when you cook brown basmati on the stove top. Many people (including myself) get inconsistent results where some grains are cooked more than others.

When you cook rice in the Instant Pot pressure cooker, you don’t have to worry about any of this. Here are some reasons the Instant Pot is better:

1. You don’t have to constantly babysit the stove or keep a watchful eye on the water so it doesn’t boil over. The Instant Pot allows you to set it and forget it!
2. The rice cooks up evenly without parts that are undercooked or overcooked. This produces consistent results every time.
3. The Instant Pot takes less time to cook the brown basmati rice than the stove top does.
4. The pressure cooker’s sealed cooking environment helps seal in and retain the intrinsic nutrients present in brown rice by preventing excessive evaporation.
5. Making rice on the stove top can cause spills from water overflowing. The Instant Pot doesn’t have this issue, which makes cleanup easy.
6. The Instant Pot has a Keep Warm mode, which allows you to keep the rice warm until you’re ready to serve it.
7. You can cook a large batch of rice at a time, which makes it great for meal prep.

🧂 Instant Pot Brown Basmati Rice – Ingredients

Quantity provided in the recipe card at the bottom of this post

📝 How to Cook Brown Basmati Rice in the Instant Pot Pressure Cooker

• Add rice and water to the Instant Pot
• Pressure cook and release pressure
• Fluff the rice

Add Rice and Water to Instant Pot

1. Place the rinsed rice in the Instant Pot.
2. Add water to the Instant Pot.

Program the Instant Pot and release pressure

1. Close the lid.
2. Program the Instant Pot to pressure cook on high pressure for 22 minutes.
3. The display will go from On to 22:00. The float valve will go up after a few minutes. The display will count down to 00:00.
4. Do a 15 minute natural release of pressure. Wait 15 minutes and release any remaining pressure. Once the float valve goes down, the lid can be opened.

Fluff the Rice

1. Once the rice is cooked, it may appear sticky or wet.
2. Fluff up the cooked rice with a rice paddle or fork. Let the rice rest for a few minutes for perfect Instant Pot brown rice. The rice paddle that comes with some Instant Pots is super useful!

Recipes to Serve with Instant Pot Brown Rice