Perfect instant pot white basmati rice (I used 2 cups of long grain white basmati rice in this recipe) that is fluffy with each grains separate and that doesn't stick to the bottom of the pot, can be easily made following this recipe. The white basmati rice that you cook in your instant pot with this method will have the perfect texture and you do not need to soak the rice in advance.
Also this is an easy way to cook plain white rice without electric rice cooker if you own the instant pot. This is also an easy, simple way to cook white basmai rice without soaking the rice in water in advance.
Just rinsing the rice before adding to the pot is enough, and so this is a very easy recipe to follow. Each kind of white rice is different and this recipe is particularly for cooking white basmati rice in the instant pot.
If you use any other kind of rice other than the white basmati rice, I am not sure if the recipe would work. If you do try a different kind of rice, I would appreciate if you could let me know how it turned out!
what is white basmati rice?
The white basmati rice is a long grain white rice popular in India, and its used in India for preparing dinner and meal regularly. White basmati rice is also used for preparing pulao, biryani etc which are popular Indian dishes. Even the white basmati rice comes in different brands which will have slightly different textures when cooked. But don't worry, you can use any white basmati rice for this instant pot basmati rice recipe. My favorites are this chef's secret basmati rice & royal basmati rice, which I usually use for cooking, but you may use any brand of white basmati rice you prefer and it should work.
You can read more about basmati rice here.
how much cooked rice does one cup dry rice make?
One cup of dry rice makes three cups of cooked rice. In other words, 1 cup dry rice gives 3 cups cooked rice which is considered 3 servings of rice. In this white basmati rice recipe, we use 2 cups dry basmati rice, which will yield about 6 cups cooked basmati rice which is usually enough to serve 6 people.
how to cook white basmati rice in instant pot?
Preparing plain white rice using white basmati rice is so easy in the rice. Just make sure to use the exact ratio of rice to water and follow the directions as mentioned in the recipe, and you should be fine. The rice prepared this way won't stick to the bottom of the pot and will have perfect texture with each grains separate. In the ingredients list, I have a tablespoon of oil and a little lemon juice, this is only added for flavor and they also help with rice grains not to stick. However, they are optional ingredients and even without using the oil or lemon juice, the rice will cook perfectly if you follow this method of preparation with the exact ratio of rice to water when using white basmati rice.
So below is the list of ingredients I used to make the perfect instant pot white basmati rice.
ingredients needed to make perfect white basmati rice in instant pot
- 2 cups white basmati rice
- 2.5 cups water
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- salt to taste
- 1 tablespoon oil
step by step instructions
- Rinse the rice very well in water and transfer the washed rice to the instant pot. Discard the water used for rinsing the rice.
- Also add the water, lemon juice and salt, mix well.
- Add the oil and stir in.
- Close the instant pot with lid in sealing position and cook in high pressure for 5 minutes. Once the cooking is done, the pot will beep and you can press the 'keep warm/cancel' button.
- Do a natural pressure release for 10 minutes and after that, carefully do a gradual manual pressure release.
- Once the pressure is all released, carefully open the instant pot and gently fluff the rice with a fork (or use a good quality spatula but don't overly mix at this point).
- Delicious and perfect, fluffy white rice is ready to be served, enjoy with any curry or side dishes you like.
rice to water ratio - tips for cooking perfect, fluffy white rice
In this recipe, I used 2 cups of long grain white basmati rice and 2.5 cups of water.
If you use a different quantity for rice, the amount of water needed to cook the rice will be like this - first take the water as the same amount of rice you take and then take ½ cup of more water. The time of cooking will remain the same but for more amount of rice, the pot will take more time to come to pressure.
So for 1 cup of water, use 1.5 cups of water
3 cups of water will need 3.5 cups of water for this method.
I didn't test this recipe for higher quantities of rice than three cups and also I do not recommend cooking more amounts in the 6 quart instant pot (up to 3 cups turned out fine in my 6 quart instant pot).
more instant pot rice recipes:
- instant pot rice pudding(video)
- instant pot yellow rice (video)
- instant pot brown rice (video)
- instant pot veg pulao (pilaf) recipe
- instant pot cilantro lime rice
If you want to see how to cook white rice on stove top, see recipe here.
what you need to make instant pot basmati rice
Other than the necessary ingredients, you will find a few things from around the kitchen helpful in making the perfect fluffy white rice in instant pot.
While all of these items may not be necessary, you will find these helpful!
They include:
- 6 quart instant pot duo or Lux
- measuring spoons
- measuring cups
- lemon squeezer
So here is how you can prepare the perfect, fluffy, delicious plain instant pot white basmati rice following the below recipe.
Perfect Instant Pot White Basmati Rice No Soak Method
Equipment
- 6 quart instant pot
Ingredients
- 2 cups white basmati rice
- 2.5 cups water
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- salt to taste
- 1 tablespoon oil
Instructions
- Wash the rice very well in water two to three times, discard the water used for rinsing the rice and transfer the washed rice to the instant pot.
- Also add the water, lemon juice and salt, mix well.
- Add the oil and stir in.
- Close the instant pot with lid in sealing position and cook in high pressure for 5 minutes. Once the cooking is done, the pot will beep and you can press the 'keep warm/cancel' button.
- Do a natural pressure release for 10 minutes and after that, carefully do a gradual manual pressure release.
- Once the pressure is all released, carefully open the instant pot and gently fluff the rice with a fork (or use a good quality spatula but don't overly mix at this point).
- Delicious and perfect, fluffy white rice is ready to be served, enjoy with any curry or side dishes you like. Moong dal fry, palak paneer, chana masala, sambar etc are few vegetarian dishes that go great with cooked white rice and which can be easily prepared in the instant pot as well.
Dom says
Really good rice. Even though I don't have lemon.
Recipe Garden says
I am so glad you liked the rice. Thank you so much for the feedback, much appreciated!