Instant Pot Coconut Rice—fragrant, creamy coconut rice makes a perfect side dish to Asian main dishes, stir fry or curry. Super fast and easy to make with the help of your pressure cooker.
Instant Pot Coconut Rice
Last week when I made Instant Pot Kalua Pork I wanted to make a rice dish to serve alongside it. I decided to try my hand at coconut rice. It was such an easy process and I’m in love with the subtle coconut flavor of this rice.
What is coconut milk?
You can find coconut milk in the Asian section of your grocery store. It comes in a can, like evaporated milk. Don’t confuse it with Coco Lopez, cream of coconut (a sweet drink mixer), or coconut water. Coconut milk can be quite thick so shake it up well before adding it into the Instant Pot. I use the full fat coconut milk for full flavor.
What kind of rice should I use?
For this recipe you can use jasmine rice, long grain white rice or, my favorite, parboiled rice. Don’t confuse parboiled rice with pre-cooked or minute rice. Parboiled rice has been processed in its husk by soaking, steaming, and drying. As a result, all the nutrients from the husk are absorbed into the grain before it’s removed. The starch content alters in the process, making cooked parboiled rice less sticky than regular white rice. The rice kernels aren’t clumpy and glued together instead they are more separated. I found a bag of parboiled rice at Walmart next to the normal long grain white rice.
What to serve with coconut rice
Coconut rice pairs so nicely with so many dishes! Here are some of my favorites:
- Instant Pot Chicken Veggie Korma
- Instant Pot Cashew Chicken
- Instant Pot Mango Salsa Chicken
- Instant Pot Teriyaki Chicken
- Instant Pot Chicken Adobo
- Instant Pot Hawaiian Chicken
- Instant Pot Teriyaki Salmon
- Instant Pot Chicken Tikka Masala
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Instant Pot Coconut Rice
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes (plus 10 minute NPR)
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 8 (½ cup) servings 1x
Description
Fragrant, creamy coconut rice makes a perfect side dish to Asian main dishes, stir fry or curry. Super fast and easy to make with the help of your pressure cooker.
Ingredients
- 1 cup water
- 1 (13.25 oz) can coconut milk
- 2 cups uncooked long grain white rice, jasmine rice or parboiled rice
- 3/4 tsp sea salt
- Optional: 1-2 tsp coconut oil
Instructions
- Add water to the Instant Pot. Shake up the can of coconut milk well before opening it and adding it into the pot.
- Place rice in a mesh strainer and rinse the rice for a minute under cold water. Shake off excess water and add the rice into the pot. Add in the sea salt and optional coconut oil.
- Cover the Instant Pot and lock the lid into place. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 5 minutes. When time is up let the pot sit for 10 minutes and then remove the lid.
- Serve rice and enjoy!
Notes
I used my 6 quart Instant Pot Duo 60 7 in 1*. You can make this recipe in your 8 or 3 quart pot with no changes.
- Category: Side
- Method: Instant Pot
*Karen Petersen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
This has got to be one of my all time go to recipes from your site. I’m making this now and I’m going to toss in peas and pineapple and chunks of chicken with Tso sauce.
★★★★★
Sounds so great with the tso sauce!!
Do you manually release pressure when 5 minutes is up?!
Do a 10 minute natural pressure release: https://www.365daysofcrockpot.com/what-is-natural-pressure-release-and-quick-release/
Is Basmati rice OK instead of Jasmine rice…..and if so, does the rest of the recipe stay the same eg. amount of liquid etc.
I’d do basmati but you’ll need 3 cups of water for 2 cups of rice
I love this rice! I’m now keeping coconut milk stocked. The texture really is creamy even though it is still steamed rice. Ive been keeping a bowl in the fridge. I’m single so a quick dinner for me is rotisserie chicken, one of my favorite sauces, and steamed vegetables for a fast rice bowl!
★★★★★
I love coconut milk! Good idea on the rotisserie chicken. Sounds like a great dinner.
I have made this a couple times now and it is excellent! Love the subtle coconut flavour.
Thanks Andrea! I’m glad you liked it!
How do I double the recipe?
Double all ingredients and keep the same cooking time 🙂
This was so easy and delicious. Just a hint of coconut flavor. My kids loved it! I did add a little bit more sea salt after it cooked.
Yay! Glad you all liked it! It is very subtle.
Can this be done in a rice cooker?
I’ve made a similar recipe in my rice cooker!
I have no idea! I actually have never owned a rice cooker. I bet it could though.
We love coconut rice. I have substituted TJ mango or pineapple juice for the water. Delicious
Wow that is the most brilliant idea ever Cathy!!
This would be great Cathy, using the mango juice instead of water with 365’s Mango Salsa Chicken. Thanks for the 💡 idea.
Is the rice real coconut-ty?
Nope very subtle.
For dietary reasons my family doesn’t eat white rice. However, I’d love to try Coconut Rice. Can this recipe be made with Jasmine Brown Rice? My standard Jasmine Brown Rice recipe is 2 cups rice, 2 cups water or broth and a pinch of salt. 15 min high pressure then a 10 min NPR. Thank you!
Yes for sure! I would use your timing and do the ingredients as stated with your ratios.
Barb, A few years later but just came across this recipe and wanted to know how this came out using Jasmine Brown rice. I would like to do same. What were your amounts of water and coconut milk for 2 cups of brown jasmine??
Thanks!
Hi Alice, I used 2 cups brown jasmine rice, 1 cups water and the can of coconut milk. We enjoyed the coconut rice.
Thank you so much for replying to me, Barb!
I’m definitely going to try this with brown jasmine.