instant pot long grain white rice

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How to Cook Long Grain White Rice in the Instant Pot

Published on  Modified:  by The Foreign Fork This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

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This post is all about how to cook White Rice in the Instant Pot (or any other electric pressure cooker). You can use this simple trick to decrease the time it takes to make dinner or meal prep for the future. You’re going to love it! 

Scroll to the bottom of the page for a comprehensive guide on how to cook all kinds of rice in the Instant Pot!

Green pot filled with white rice on a blue dish towel.

In case you’re new here, let me welcome you to The Foreign Fork. I’m cooking one meal from every country in the world, which means that I eat a LOT of rice. And by a lot, I mean like…. A ton.

Cooking rice on the stove is one of my least favorite things to do. It takes forever! You have to soak it and then boil it and leave it to fluff… It takes so long, and sometimes I want my meal to be ready now.

I recently acquired a pressure cooker, and it has been a lifesaver so far in terms of making dinnertime easier. We have loved making creamy macaroni and cheese, chicken marsala, and this awesome pasta with palomino sauce in the Instant Pot! So then I had an idea… Why not cook my rice in my Instant Pot?

Why You Should Cook Your White Rice in the Instant Pot

step 1 to make rice in the instant pot: add oil
Step 1: Add Oil to Instant Pot
  1. Down to a Science: Like I mentioned above, cooking rice in the Instant Pot is a gamechanger. The ratios are right every time, and you never have to worry about leaving it too long and having it burn. It’s always on the right temperature/self regulating, etc. Plus, it’s so much faster than cooking your rice on the stove!

What Ingredients Do I Need?

  1. Long Grain White Rice: This recipe works specifically for Long Grain White Rice. If you want to make a different kind of rice, make sure to check the graph below. Or check out my recipe on how to make Brown Rice in the Instant Pot.
  2. Olive Oil: I use olive oil so that the rice does not stick on the bottom of the Instant Pot. You can use butter, a different kind of oil, or nothing if you so choose.
  3. Water: Any temperature of water will work. See below on tips for using broth.

Expert Tips

    • Please note, this recipe will work in any pressure cooker. I also have a Zavor LUX Pressure Cooker, and it works in that brand as well.
    • Try using broth to cook your rice as well. The rice comes out the same texture, but it has some extra depth of flavor! Use the same liquid amounts as in the instructions.
    • Add some flavoring to your rice after it’s done cooking! Check out my Spice Cabinet to pick some good pairings

Common Mistakes when Cooking Long Grain White Rice

Below are the most common problems that people run into when cooking white rice and how to fix them:

  • Burnt rice or rice that is too hard: You didn’t add enough water. If you’re using a pressure cooker (and this method) it could also mean that you cooked your rice on HIGH instead of LOW
  • Watery rice: Your rice is undercooked. If you put the lid back on and cook for an additional minute or two, this could correct the problem.
  • Mushy rice: You added too much water to your pressure cooker! Try reducing it slightly next time.

Recipe FAQs

What Is the Ratio of Rice to Water?

When cooking long grain white rice in the Instant Pot, I use a ratio of 1:1.5. This means that for every 1 cup of rice, I add 1.5 cups of water. In fact, those are the exact measurements I normally use. If you want to double the recipe, it would be 2 cups of rice to 3 cups of water, etc.

Can I Double or Triple this Recipe?

Of course! The good thing is, doubling an Instant Pot recipe is easy. If you double the rice, make sure that you double the amount of water and vice versa.

If you increase the amount of rice/water in your Instant Pot, make sure not to cross the No-Fill line. This could create an overflow or a disaster!

However, if you increase the amount of rice in the Instant Pot, you shouldn’t need to increase your cooking time at all. No matter what, cook your rice for the same amount of time.

The pressure building function may take a little longer to process with more rice/water in the pressure cooker. However, the specific cook time will stay the same.

How Long Should I Cook my White Rice in the Instant Pot? 

There are a lot of different opinions on how long you should cook your rice. Some people say 5 minutes on high with a natural release…. I’ve found that my favorite way to cook White Rice in my Instant Pot is to cook the rice for 10 minutes on low with a quick release.

If you use the Zavor LUX pressure cooker, this is the automatic setting that your pressure cooker will default to for long grain white rice.

If you use the Instant Pot brand, you may have to manually set your pressure cooker to this.

How Long will Long Grain White Rice Last in the Fridge?

If you are storing your Long Grain White Rice in an airtight container, it should last for up to 7 days. If you put the container in the freezer, you can freeze your rice for months!

It’s easy to thaw the rice and have it for a dinner later on if you’d like. You can even prep your white rice in the Instant Pot in bulk, and then separate it into frozen meal preps for an easier time later on.

Can I Use the RICE Button on my Instant Pot?

Yes! In fact, I do that all the time. Using the RICE function on your Instant Pot or Pressure Cooker is a very easy way to cook rice, especially long grain white rice.

The problem is that if you use types of rice outside of white or brown, the RICE function can’t always handle it.

When you begin cooking more uncommon types of rice– like wild rice, arborio, or sushi rice, for example– the pressure cooker doesn’t have specific functions to handle each kind.

Instead, you can also use the normal pressure settings to cook any type of rice. This method is more comprehensive, and includes cooking methods for all types of rice!

The graph below details each type of rice and how to cook it using the manual functions instead of the pre-designated RICE function.

What is the Cooking Time for Other Kinds of Rice?

Type of Rice Pressure Setting Grain : Water Ratio Cook Time
Long Grain
White Rice		 Low Pressure 1:1.5 10 minutes
Short Grain White Rice Low Pressure 1:1.5 8-9 minutes
Brown Rice High Pressure 1:1.25 20 minutes
Basmati Low Pressure 1:1.5 7 minutes
Arborio High Pressure 1:3 7 minutes
Jasmine Low Pressure 1:1 8 minutes
Sushi Rice Low Pressure 1:1.5 9 minutes
Wild Rice High Pressure 1:3 25-30 minutes

I made you a graph! Here are the most common types of rice to cook in a pressure cooker, the pressure setting you should use, grain to water ratio, and cook time.

For each of these, perform a Quick Release when the rice has finished cooking. I also have some articles on how to make Brown Rice in the Instant Pot and Wild Rice in the Instant Pot.

If you found this post helpful, please leave a comment letting me know! And if you make this, take a photo to post on Facebook or Instagram and tag @TheForeignFork so that I can see!!!

If you love rice, make sure to check out this post on 20 Rice Recipes to Make with the Rice in your Pantry.

What Can I Make with My Instant Pot White Rice?

Oh boy, do I have ideas for you! There are so many awesome dishes that you can make with your White Rice in the Instant Pot. Here are some options:

If you want more ideas for recipes to cook with your Long Grain White Rice in the Instant Pot, browse my website foreignfork.com. If you type “rice” in the top search bar, there will be plenty of ideas for dishes that you can make with your newfound rice cooking method!

Thanks for reading everyone. I will see you soon!