Instant Pot Rice Pilaf With Vegetables & White Basmati Rice (Veg Pulao)

Instant pot rice pilaf recipe (also spelled as rice pulao or pulav) using mixed veggies and mild spices is so easy to make and its very delicious as well. This is a very simple and easy way to make vegetable and rice pilaf or pulao in the instant pot and no need to soak rice to prepare the pulao in this easy vegetable rice pulao recipe.

Instant pot plain white basmati rice is easy to prepare and adding veggies & mild spices makes it even yummier to make a quick rice pilaf.

I have tried soaking the rice and also I have tried without soaking the rice, and found that there is no need to soak the rice in advance when you make the pulao in instant pot.

In fact I found the texture of rice better when I didn’t soak the rice in water. So you can also try this recipe without soaking the rice in advance and see if you like it.

What Is Instant Pot Rice Pilaf/Pulao?

Instant pot rice pulao or rice pilaf is an easy pulao rice prepared in the instant pot pressure cooker!

You can make this easy rice pulao using a 6 quart instant pot duo or lux easily.

Vegetable rice pulao or rice pilaf is a simple, easy and delicious rice dish prepared using rice and vegetables which is often enjoyed as a side dish with any meal or you can also enjoy this as the main rice dish when served with other sides, curry, pickles etc.

In the Indian style preparation of vegetable rice pulao or pilaf, we usually use just plain water to prepare the pulao which is flavored with mild spices like cardamom, cinnamon etc.

However, you may also use vegetable broth instead of water if you want to make it even more flavorful!

I have made this easy vegetable rice pulao on stove top as well, using a slightly different combination of vegetables and it turned out very delicious too!

Best Rice To Make Rice Pulao/Rice Pilaf

The flavor and texture of the pulao will really depend on the kind of rice you use, as it has a lot to do with the texture of rice.

The best rice to use for a pulao is white basmati rice (long grain white basmati rice) I believe, but you can make rice pilaf using many other varieties of rice too. 

In this sweet corn rice pulao, I have used short grain white rice (ponni rice which is popular in South India) which was very delicious as well!

However, with another variety of rice, the cooking times and water to rice ratio can vary so make sure to use long grain white basmati rice for this instant pot rice pulao recipe.

You can find different brands of rice within basmati itself.

If you use basmati rice, try to choose a good quality long grain basmati rice to make the veg pulao for the best results.

I used this long grain basmati rice to make this easy vegetable pulao. Also make sure to use fresh vegetables to be used in the pulao for the best flavor.

Also, to make the best Indian rice pulao, do not skip the whole spices for this instant pot pulao recipe, as we do not use any spice powders but only whole spices for the flavor.

Instead of ghee, you may use butter as well, but using ghee will give you the best flavor for the pulao.

Vegetables For Instant Pot Rice Pulao (Pilaf)

You can use a variety of mixed veggies of your choice to make the veg pulao.

However some veggies get cooked faster in the instant pot, so it may not be ideal to use such vegetables.

Cauliflower, broccoli etc gets cooked really fast so if you are using them, you can stir fry or cook those in the beginning, transfer it to a separate bowl and add it to the cooked pulao at the end once the cooking is all done, otherwise they may get mushy in the instant pot.

I have used a mix of carrots, beans, green peas, potatoes etc along with onions.

If you are using dry green peas, you will have to soak the peas for about 6 to 7 hours in advance and you will need to use only about ¼ cup of dry peas as they will increase in size as they soak up the water.

You can also add more ingredients to the pulao like corn kernels (fresh or frozen), chopped nuts (cashews, pistachios, almonds etc which may also be lightly fried for better flavor) etc if you like.

How To Make Rice Pilaf With Vegetables In Instant Pot?

Ingredients to make instant pot vegetable rice pilaf

2 cups white basmati rice

1 large onion

12 beans chopped (about 1 inch pieces)

2 large carrots peeled and sliced

1 large potato peeled and sliced into cubes

½ cup fresh green peas

2.5 cups water

1 tablespoon ghee

1 tablespoon oil

1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste

salt as needed

whole spices

2 cardamom pods

1 small cinnamon sticks

2 cloves

2 bay leaves

1 star anise

Step By Step Instructions

Wash the rice very well in water for 2 to 3 times and keep aside.

Chop the onion in thin long slices, keep this aside separate from the rice.

Heat one tablespoon of ghee in the instant pot (by pressing the saute function and adjust to low), add the whole spices to fry. Lightly fry the spices for a few seconds.

Add the chopped onions and enough salt, saute for about 7 to 8 minutes until the onions are lightly browned.

Add the ginger garlic paste and saute for another 1 minute.

Add the veggies, mix well and stir fry for about 2 to 3 minutes.

Add the rice and one tablespoon of oil, mix everything well and stir fry the contents for another 1 minute.

Add water and enough salt, mix everything well. Check the water to see if there’s enough salt, as the water should be salty enough.

Close the pot with the lid in sealing position, press the manual button and cook in high pressure for 6 minutes.

The instant pot will take few minutes until the pressure is built and to start cooking, once the cooking is done it will beep, so you will have to wait until then.

Once the cooking is done and the pot beeps, press the ‘keep warm/cancel’ button and wait for a natural pressure release of about 10 minutes.

After an NPR (natural pressure release) of 10 minutes, carefully and slowly release the pressure manually by turning the lid to the venting position very slowly releasing the pressure gradually.

Once the pressure is all released, open the lid and gently fluff the rice with a fork or gently mix using a good quality spatula. Serve the delicious and simple veg pulao rice with any curry, yogurt, pickles of your choice.

Ideas for garnishing the rice pulao:

• Add ghee fried cashews (about 1 tablespoon) and raisins (a few)
• Add chopped fresh coriander leaves (cilantro leaves) or fresh mint leaves
• Add fried onions or caramelized onions (about half of a medium sized onion)
• You can choose your favorite veggies of your liking, though veggies like cauliflower and broccoli get cooked too fast in the instant pot and they may get mushy. So if you wish to add them, you can stir fry them first and then add to the pulao once its cooked.
• If using dried peas (you need only about half the amount), soak them in water for 6 to 7 hours prior to cooking.
• You can also add corn, chopped nuts, raisins etc to the pulao if you like.

More pulao/pilaf recipes:

vegetable rice pulao rice pilaf easy recipe on stove top

instant pot peas pulao

sweet corn pulao

paneer pulao

More instant pot rice recipes in this blog:

instant pot vegetable biryani with paneer

instant pot tomato rice

instant pot jeera rice (cumin seeds rice) recipe

instant pot coconut rice with moong dal

instant pot cilantro lime rice

Below you can get the detailed recipe for instant pot rice pulao with vegetables.