Spare Spoons Kitchen
The Pantry · Instant Pot · the staple to memorize

Instant Pot Rice & Grains

The one reference to keep on hand — perfect white rice, brown rice, and quinoa in the Instant Pot, every time. Memorize the ratios and the rest of the kitchen leans on it.

1 cup dry → ~3 cooked Instant Pot method
Effort ●○○○ Time ●○○○ Anytime
Instant PotVeganGluten-Free
Servingsamounts scale to match
4
Units

Ingredients

Set it, seal it, and let it natural-release. The pressure cook is short; the magic is in the natural release, when the grains finish steaming and firm up. Don't quick-release rice or grains — they'll be wet and split. The ratios below are the whole game.

Easier, if you like

  • Pot-in-pot: steam a pan of rice on a trivet above a soup or curry so dinner cooks in one pot.
  • Batch and freeze: cooked rice freezes well in flat bags — reheat with a splash of water.

Method

    Cook's notes

    Brown rice: 1 cup rice to 1¼ cups water, 15 minutes on High, then a 10-minute natural release.

    Quinoa: rinse well first (it removes the bitter coating), then 1 cup quinoa to 1¼ cups water, 1 minute on High, 10-minute natural release. Fluff and let it sit.

    Always natural-release grains — quick-releasing sputters starchy water and leaves them gummy.

    Cook them in vegetable broth (or drop in a bouillon cube) instead of water for more flavor; add a teaspoon of oil to keep grains from clumping.

    Naturally vegan and gluten-free

    Vegan / gluten-free: all three grains are — use oil rather than butter to keep it vegan.

    Other grains: the same low-effort approach works for farro and pearled barley (longer times — start around 20 minutes), though those aren't gluten-free.