Rice is a staple food for over 3.5 BILLION people around the world. It’s cheap, it’s filling, it’s a good source of energy, and it supplies many valuable nutrients to the human body.

Though white rice is very widely consumed, brown rice isn’t as much. For many people, the ease of cooking white rice beats out the extra health benefits of brown rice.

I can’t argue with the fact that white rice is really easy to make, has a long shelf-life, and goes well with so many other dishes. However, I can provide my recipe for Instant Pot Brown Rice that has changed the way I think about rice.

Note: This recipe will work in any type of pressure cooker! It doesn’t have to be an Instant Pot, but the Instant Pot is my personal preference.

Too often rice is incredibly bland. I know bland rice has a time and place and that time and place is usually when I’m sick in bed and need bland food.

I’m kidding :) But also not really. Rice deserves some added flavor too! It’s tricky to find a balance of just enough flavor that it tastes good, but also not too much flavor that it will take away from whatever the rice is paired with.

As I’ve strived to find this balance, I’ve come to the conclusion that onion and garlic are the perfect solution. Onion and garlic complement pretty much anything and everything that I want to eat with brown rice. The chicken broth adds a tad bit more flavor, and then the salt and olive oil tie it all together.

TIPS FOR MAKING THE BEST INSTANT POT BROWN RICE

1) GETTING THE RATIO RIGHT! I don’t know about all of you, but I struggled for years to get the right ratio of water to rice in my Instant Pot. I always felt like there should be more water, so I usually ended up adding way more water than I needed and the rice would always end up soupy.

The bottom line is: When you’re adding the water and you feel like there should be more, remember that cooking rice in a pressure cooker requires significantly less water than cooking rice on thes stove top.

2) DON’T OVER COOK: This is also another one I struggled with getting right in the Instant Pot. After years of cooking rice on the stovetop, I always felt like I should cook the rice for 40 minutes in the Instant Pot to make sure it wouldn’t be crunchy. Don’t fall into that trap! I’ve found that 20 minutes tends to be just right in getting the rice soft, but not so soft it goes soggy.

3) BE SURE TO SAUTE: When I’m trying to get dinner done fast, I will sometimes skip the saute and then end up regretting it later. Sauteing the aromatics gives them an opportunity to release their flavors and the entire dish tastes so much better!

SERVING IDEAS

FRIED RICE: This brown rice recipe goes PERFECTLY into my recipe for Chicken & Veggie Fried Rice. Since the rice already has a delicious onion flavor, there’s no need to add in more onions when making the Fried Rice. Other than that, follow the recipe and you’ve got a quick, high protein dinner with plenty of veggies to make your body happy!

With CURRY: An excellent pair! If you’re looking for a new curry recipe to try, check out my Red Lentil Curry with Ginger Chicken.

With STIR-FRY!

With CHICKEN: Consider making this rice recipe to go with our Deconstructed Chicken Burrito Recipe!

STORAGE

As mentioned previously, brown rice stores well in the fridge (air-tight containers), but my preferred method of storage is in the freezer. Measure out cooked brown rice into plastic bags and then reheat in the microwave anytime you need it! Check out this blog post for more information about my brown rice meal prep!

INGREDIENTS

- Brown Rice: Brown rice is significantly healthier, more natural, and (in my opinion) usually tastes better than white rice.

- Chicken Broth: Chicken broth adds so much flavor without a whole lot of work on my part. If you’re feeling really fancy, go for bone broth. Bone broth is absolutely delicious in pretty much everything, and there’s a lot of added health benefits. It does tend to be more expensive so I only buy it if I really feel like splurging. For vegan rice, you can always opt for vegetable broth.

- Garlic & Onion: Incredible natural flavor. Sauteing these allows them to release their flavors into the broth.

- Olive Oil: Keeps the onions and garlic from sticking to the Instant Pot and also aids in the sauté process.

HOW TO…

To begin, set the Instant Pot to the “saute” setting and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to it. While the instant pot and the olive oil are heating up, start chopping the onions and mincing the garlic (or use pre-minced garlic like I usually do).

Once the oil is hot, add the chopped onions and minced garlic to the Instant Pot. Saute for 4-5 minutes, or until the onions start looking translucent.

Add the brown rice, salt, and chicken broth to the Instant Pot. Put the lid on the Instant Pot and manually set it for 20 minutes of cook time.

Once the rice has finished cooking, allow it to naturally release steam for a few minutes, or until the Instant Pot lid unlocks and you can remove it. Fluff up the rice with a fork and it’s all ready to serve!

This recipe makes 10 ½ cups of cooked rice. While that may sound like an inordinate amount, I’ve found that it’s actually the perfect amount if you’re looking to meal prep for the week. You can store the rice in individual containers in the refrigerator, OR you can freeze it in plastic bags in the freezer as I describe in this blog post.

Ingredients:

Directions: