Making the best short-grain brown rice in the Instant Pot is so easy! By using the pressure cook feature on your electric pressure cooker, you'll get perfectly sticky rice every time with this brown rice recipe. Plus, with its awesome "keep warm" feature, you can make it a bit in advance.
Have you ever noticed how many different types of rice there are? There are different varieties, like basmati and jasmine. Different lengths; hello long, short, and medium rice. And on top of that, most of them come in a brown or a white variety.
Today we are going to focus on one variety of rice and why you might want to eat it. That special grain is short-grain brown rice.
First off, brown rice comes from the same type of grain that white rice does. It just still has its outer bran layer, which means it's a whole grain rice. Whole grains typically have more nutrients, fiber, and protein than their more processed white counterparts. You can check out the "Nutrition" section below to read all about short-grain brown rice's nutritional benefits.
Brown rice usually has a chewy texture with a bit of a nutty flavor.
As for long grain vs short grain: short grain rice tends to be a lot stickier than long grain rice. Once cooked, the grains tend to clump together and become glutinous.
This makes short-grain rice perfect for sushi and risotto!
When it comes to cooking rice, one of my favorite ways is to use the Instant Pot aka pressure cooking. I love that I can make large quantities in it and that I can just "set and forget" about it. I don't have to keep an eye on it to make sure it's not burning (side eye to stove top rice cooking). Plus I always get great results.
So, let's learn how to make Instant Pot short-grain brown rice!
(P.S. If you want to learn more about the different types of rice and what they're used for, check out "Know Your Rice Varieties").
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🥫 Ingredients
You really only need two ingredients when it comes to cooking short-grain brown rice in a pressure cooker.
- water
- short-grain brown rice
I like to keep this recipe as simple as possible so that you can use this rice with any recipe. But if you want to jazz up your rice, you can check out the substitution section for some flavorful ideas.
📖 Instructions
Start by rinsing your rice grains under cold, clean water. This removes any extra starch that has built up during storage.
Add 2 cups of rice and 2 ½ cups water to the bowl of the Instant Pot. Put the lid on the pressure cooker and turn it to seal.
Using the manual "pressure cook" setting, high pressure cook for 20 minutes. After the 20-minute cook time, let the pressure naturally release for 15 minutes.
Manually release any remaining steam using the quick release button and carefully remove the lid. Fluff rice with a fork and it's ready to serve! You now have perfect brown rice!
🔁 Substitutions
If you'd like to add a bit more flavor to your rice, there are several ways you can do so. Just keep in mind what you are pairing it with, and make sure the flavors are going to blend.
- Adding 1 tablespoon of olive oil and/or a little salt (like ½ tsp) into the instant pot bowl with the uncooked rice and water is a subtle way to add more flavor. I prefer, however, to add butter, salt, and pepper afterward.
- Spices- add in a teaspoon or so of your favorite spice, like garlic or cumin to the water and uncooked rice.
- Broth- instead of water, use chicken broth, beef broth, or vegetable broth. It will give your rice a boost of flavoring.
🥣 Storage and Reheating
Leftover rice should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-5 days. The longer it is stored, the more dried out the grains will become, so I recommend reusing them as soon as possible.
The simplest way to reheat your rice is in the microwave. You'll want to use a microwave-safe container that has a lid. Add the rice and break up any large chunks of rice with a fork. Add a few sprinkles of water to help create steam and rehydrate the grains.
Cover the container and microwave for 1 minute. Remove the lid, (watch out for steam) and test the grains. If they are still cold or dry repeat until you're satisfied.
💪 Nutrition
As mentioned before, brown rice is the same grain as white rice, but it still has an outer bran layer on it. Because of this, it has almost 3 times the amount of dietary fiber that white rice does.
Check out the full nutrition label for short-grain brown rice:
In case you were wondering, short-grain brown rice is naturally gluten-free. Sometimes it is called "glutinous" but that is only because of the way it sticks together after it is cooked.
Also, short-grain brown rice has a Glycemic Index score of 76. This is lower than short-grain white rice's score of 98, but a bit higher than long-grain brown rice's score of 65. Basically, it's not the best or the worst rice for regulating your blood sugar. (source: Alvernia Hospital, "Brown Rice-The Healthier Hue for You").
✨ Top tips
- It's helpful to remember that 1 cup of uncooked rice makes about 2 cups of cooked rice.
- You can make more or less than two cups at a time, just keep the water-to-rice ratio (1.25 to 1) the same. The cooking time also stays the same.
- For best results, I wouldn't recommend making less than 1 cup of rice in your instant pot because it just doesn't provide enough water for your instant pot to work with. If you want less rice, consider making your brown rice on the stove or in a rice cooker.
- While the Instant Pot does have a nice, "keep warm" feature, you won't want to use it to keep your rice warm longer than a couple of hours. The longer short-grain rice sits, the more sticky it will become. After several hours you will have a gelatinous blob that will not be that appetizing to eat!
🍽️ Equipment
Here are some items you'll need to make this recipe. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying orders, at no cost to you. Thanks for supporting The Incredible Bulks!
There are A LOT of varieties of Instant Pots and pressure cookers on the market. My favorite is the Instant Pot Ultra because I love making yogurt in it. However, 99% of the time I use my Instant Pot I just use the "pressure cook" setting. So if you are looking for a less expensive model, you will get just as much bang for your buck with the Instant Pot Duo.
You can also try out a different brand of pressure cooker. Ninja Foodi is becoming a popular brand. Click the pictures to find more information.
If you don't have a fine mesh strainer I highly recommend getting a metal one. They are great for rinsing small grains, like rice and quinoa, because they can't fall through the mesh. The metal mesh strainers are a lot more durable than plastic or fabric ones. I've had holes rip in the plastic ones before.
If you can't find short-grain brown rice at the store, you can always get it online!
FAQ
From start to finish, it takes about 45 minutes to cook short-grain brown rice in a pressure cooker. For me, it takes about 10 minutes to add the ingredients and get the Instant Pot to come to full pressure. Then it cooks for 20 minutes, followed by a 15-minute natural release.
The ratio of water-to-rice is 1.25 to 1, so you should have 1 ¼ cups of water for every cup of short-grain brown rice that you use.
No, it doesn't matter if you are making more or less than 2 cups of rice, the cooking time stays the same when using an Instant Pot.
If you followed this recipe but got mushy rice it could be that the rice stayed in the Instant Pot on "keep warm" for too long. The longer it sits, the more the starch from the rice binds together to make a gelatinous blob.
Another reason could be that there was excess water added. Try adding less water next time, like 2 ¼ cups, instead of 2 ½ cups.
If you ended up with crunchy rice, you may need to add extra liquid next time. Try adding in a ¼th cup more. But also keep in mind that delicious brown rice is naturally chewier than white rice varieties, and will never be as soft.
Related
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
I hope this Instant Pot short-grain brown rice tutorial was helpful to you! Help me out by giving this recipe a rating!
Thanks for reading!
✌️ Ems
📖 Recipe
Instant Pot Short Grain Brown Rice
Ingredients
- 2 cups short grain brown rice
- 2½ cups water
Instructions
- Start by rinsing your rice grains under cool water. This removes any extra starch that has built up during storage.
- Add 2 cups of rice and 2 ½ cups of water to the bowl of the Instant Pot. Put the lid on the pressure cooker and turn it to seal.
- Using the manual "pressure cook" setting, pressure cook on high for 20 minutes. After the 20-minute cook time, let the pressure naturally release for 15 minutes.
- Manually release any remaining steam and carefully remove the lid. Fluff rice with a fork and it's ready to serve!
Notes
- It's helpful to remember that 1 cup of uncooked rice makes about 2 cups of cooked rice.
- You can make more or less than two cups at a time, just keep the water-to-rice ratio (1.25 to 1) the same. The cooking time also stays the same.
- For best results, I wouldn't recommend making less than 1 cup of rice in your instant pot because it just doesn't provide enough water for your instant pot to work with. If you want less rice, consider making your brown rice on the stove or in a rice cooker.
Patricia Rogowicz says
The rice turned out perfect!