This fluffy, Instant Pot Brown Rice is a quick and easy method to cook up healthy whole grains that come out perfectly every time! Using a pressure cooker is a convenient tool in the kitchen, cutting the cooking time in half from 45 minutes on the stovetop to just 22 minutes in the Instant Pot.
Why Cook Brown Rice in the Instant Pot?
Using an Instant Pot to pressure cook Brown Rice saves you time and effort. No need to babysit the pot, just set it and forget it! The Instant Pot cooks up fluffy, perfectly tender, nutty brown rice that works great in a variety of dishes such as curries, stir-fries, grain and salad bowls, burritos, and any recipe which calls for rice.
How to reduce arsenic contamination in rice
Arsenic is a naturally occurring heavy metal found in rock, soil, and water. It’s inorganic arsenic is what we really need to worry about and it can be found from contaminated soil and ground water from livestock manure, fertilizer, pesticides, or industrial waste. The reason arsenic levels can be higher in rice than other grains is because rice crops sit in standing water.
Techniques to significantly reduce arsenic levels in rice
- Buy rice grown in California. Avoid buying rice from southern U.S. states (I’m looking at you, Texas) as the fertilizers of yore used to be arsenic-laced when growing cotton crops.
- Soak rice for 15 minutes. Then rinse thoroughly before cooking with fresh water.
- Cook using the Pasta Method. Yes, you can cook rice just like you do pasta at a rolling boil! Once rice has finished cooking, strain extra water out using a fine mesh strainer and rinse rice one more time. The pasta method can reduce arsenic levels by 50% but unfortunately some water-soluble B vitamins will also be lost.1 I usually don’t do this, but know that the option is there for you.
Is Instant Pot Brown Rice healthy?
Yes! Brown rice is a whole grain and loaded with tons of nutrients so it’s incredibly healthy! If you’re choosing between brown or white rice, reach for the brown; it’s less processed than white rice and still contains the nutrient-packed bran and germ (whereas white rice is stripped of those).
Brown Rice Nutrition (1 cup cooked):
- Calories: 216
- Carbs: 44 grams
- Fiber: 3.5 grams
- Fat: 1.8 grams
- Protein: 5 grams
Vitamins and Minerals (% of the RDI)
- Thiamin (B1): 12%
- Niacin (B3): 15%
- Pyridoxine (B6): 14%
- Pantothenic acid (B5): 6%
- Iron: 5%
- Magnesium: 21%
- Phosphorus: 16%
- Zinc: 8%
- Copper: 10%
- Manganese: 88%
- Selenium: 27%2
Brown rice has been shown to significantly help with weight loss (that’s right!) and with reducing blood pressure.3
What about diabetes?
Brown rice is rated 55 on the glycemic index which actually means it a low glycemic food. In comparison, white rice varies from around 64-70, making it a high glycemic food. Studies show that those who eat brown rice as a regular diet staple have a reduced risk for developing type II diabetes.4
Instant Pot Brown Rice
Equipment
- 1 Instant Pot
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups Brown Rice (I prefer long grain)
- 1 ¾ cup Water
- ¼-½ tsp Salt
Instructions
- Soak brown rice for 15 minutes. Then drain and rinse thoroughly in a fine mesh strainer and add to Instant pot along with 1 ¾ cup of fresh water and salt. Feel free to double this recipe if more rice is desired.
- Seal lid and set Instant Pot to cook at High Pressure for 22 minutes. Allow a 10 minute release, then manually release pressure valve. Let the rice rest another 10 minutes before fluffing.
- Enjoy rice immediately or refrigerate in a well-sealing container for up to 5 days.
Notes
- https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/food-features/rice/#:~:text=The%20average%20GI%20for%20brown,risk%20for%20type%202%20diabetes.
- https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/is-brown-rice-good-for-you#nutrition
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4018597/
- https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/416025
