How to Cook Rice and Whole Grains in Your Instant Pot
A side of rice or whole grains goes great with almost any meal, but it can be time-consuming to cook an entire batch on a weeknight. That’s where your pressure cooker comes in. With these instructions, you can cook just about any whole grain you want much faster than before (quinoa pressure-cooks in just 1 minute!). Thanks to your Instant Pot, cooking rice and whole grains has never been faster (or easier).
Get the recipe: Pressure Cooker Gruyère Risotto with Arugula Gremolata
The instructions for each grain listed below all start with 1 cup of the uncooked grain. Use the directions as a guideline for steaming grains in your pressure cooker, but keep in mind that the timings can vary depending on the model you’re using. Be sure to rinse all grains before cooking them with the exception of regular rolled oats. For both electric and stove-top pressure cookers, coat your cooker with nonstick cooking spray before adding the rice or grains and the water. For both models, quick-release the pressure once the cook time is up for all rice and grains except spelt.
White Rice (long grain, basmati, jasmine, and medium grain): Use 1½ cups water for each cup of uncooked rice. Pressure-cook 5 minutes; you’ll end up with about 2 cups cooked rice.
Brown Rice (long grain): Use 1 cup water for each cup of uncooked rice. Pressure-cook the rice 20 minutes; this method should yield about 3 cups cooked rice.
Wild Rice: Use 2 cups water for each cup of uncooked rice. Pressure-cook 20 minutes and be sure to drain the rice after it’s finished cooking. You’ll end up with about 2½ cups cooked rice.
Barley (medium pearl): Use 2½ cups water for each cup of uncooked barley. Pressure-cook 20 minutes and drain the barley once it’s finished cooking. This will yield about 3 cups cooked barley.
Buckwheat Groats: Use 2 cups water for 1 cup uncooked buckwheat groats. Pressure-cook 6 minutes. You’ll end up with about 2¼ cups cooked groats.
Farro: Use 3 cups water for 1 cup uncooked farro. Pressure cook 15 minutes and drain the farro after cooking. This will yield about 2¾ cups cooked farro.
Millet: Use 1¾ cups water for 1 cup uncooked millet. Pressure-cook 10 minutes; you’ll end up with about 2½ cups cooked millet.
Oats (regular rolled): Remember: Don’t rinse regular rolled oats before pressure-cooking them. Use 2 cups water per cup of uncooked oats and pressure-cook 2 minutes. You’ll end up with about 1-2/3 cups cooked oats.
Oats (steel-cut): Use 3 cups water 1 one cup uncooked steel-cut oats. Pressure-cook 7 minutes—this will yield about 3½ cups cooked oats.
Quinoa: This is the impressive one! Use 1¼ cups water for each cup of uncooked quinoa. Then pressure-cook for just 1 minute. You’ll end up with about 2 cups cooked quinoa.
Rye Berries: Use 2 cups water per cup of uncooked rye berries. Pressure-cook 20 minutes then drain rye berries after cooking. This will yield about 2 cups cooked rye berries.
Spelt Berries: Use 1½ cups water for 1 cup uncooked spelt berries. Pressure-cook 30 minutes then let the pressure release naturally 15 minutes (don’t quick-release the pressure). Rinse the spelt once it’s finished cooking. This will yield about 2¾ cups cooked spelt berries.
Wheat Berries: Use 3 cups water for each cup of uncooked wheat berries. Pressure-cook 25 minutes, then rinse the wheat berries once they’re finished cooking. This yields about 2¼ cups cooked wheat berries.
While a lot of these grains are great for serving as a side dish or for bulking up salads, you can also add them to your breakfast! Oatmeal is an easy pressure cooker breakfast to make, but you can also cook multiple grains at once for multigrain cereal or even turn quinoa into a breakfast grain. Or, if you like meal planning, cook up a few big batches of rice or grains to use throughout the whole week.
