A delicious and easy Coconut Rice recipe — made in the Instant Pot! Better than regular rice, Instant Pot Coconut Rice is fluffy and aromatic. The coconut milk adds a creamy, fragrant flavor. A simple addition that jazzes up regular white rice to something very special! A favorite side dish that goes well with everything — grilled meat, oxtails, curry, thai curries, etc. Great for potlucks, too!

this recipe

Why Instant Pot Coconut Rice?

As far as rice dishes go, there is nothing better than a big bowl of fluffy Coconut Rice. It’s the BEST side dish that goes with so many mains. The only problem is the time. It can take 30-40 minutes to cook. Enter the Instant Pot — the kitchen tool to make Coconut Rice FAST!

Instant Pot Coconut Rice tastes exactly like the stovetop version. Except the pressure cooker does all the work for you. FAST. The pressure cooking speeds up the cooking process.

It’s the best easy side dish! One of my favorite recipes with simple ingredients.

Why make Instant Pot Coconut Rice recipe?

• Fast. Only 4 minutes of cook time! The pressure cooker easily and quickly cooks long grain rice, which takes 30-40 minutes on the stove top.
• Easy. Dump everything into the Instant Pot and lock the lid in place — that’s it!

Ingredients:

• Coconut Milk. Full fat coconut milk works best. I recommend canned unsweetened coconut milk.
• Water. A can of coconut milk is 14 oz/400 ml, which equals to 1 3/4 cups of liquid. To make 2 cups of liquid, top off the coconut milk with cold water. You will need about 1/4 cup of water.
• Basmati Rice. My go-to rice for this recipe is Basmati rice. The long grains will cook up fluffy and soft. Any other long grain rice will work, as well as medium grain rice (such as Jasmine rice). Do not use short grain rice as it will become sticky and soft!
• Salt + Pepper. Season generously.
• Cilantro. Although this fragrant garnish is optional, it adds so much freshness and aroma.
• Coconut Extract (optional). If you’d like a stronger coconut flavor and aroma, add a few drops.

*Remember, the ratio for cooking rice is 1:1. Or 1 cup of rice for every 1 cup of liquid.

My recipe calls for one 400ml/14oz can of coconut milk. That’s the standard size that’s sold here in Canada. To make things easier and prevent unwanted leftover coconut milk, simply top off with water to yield 2 cups liquid.

How to make Instant Pot Coconut Rice:

1. Rinse the rice. Add rice to a fine-mesh sieve. Rinse and drain several times, until the water runs clear. This will remove the starch and prevent clumpy rice.
2. Place in the instant pot. Add the rinsed rice to the Instant Pot. Add the remaining ingredients direction on top: coconut milk, water, salt, black pepper, and coconut extract (if using). Using a fork, give everything a good stir. It’s ok if the coconut milk is in solid chunks.
3. Cook. Lock the lid into place and press MANUAL FUNCTION. Cook on high pressure for 4 minutes. *Make sure to turn off the KEEP WARM function.*
4. Natural release. When the timer beeps, Natural Release for 5 minutes.
5. Rest the rice. Release the remaining pressure manually. Unlock the lid. Drape a clean kitchen towel over the rim of the instant pot. Set the Instant Pot lid lightly on top of the kitchen towel. Rest for 10 minutes.
6. Serve. Fluff with fork add cilantro. Transfer to a serving platter and serve.

PRO Tips:

• Measure accurately. For perfect rice that is not too mushy or too hard, it’s important to measure the liquid to rice ratio. A 1:1 ratio is what we’re looking for. 1 cup of rice to 1 cup of liquid.
• Use a fine-mesh sieve. Makes rinsing easier. Also ensures that you have the exact liquid amount.
• Do not use the “rice” function. Manual mode works best.
• Make a large batch. It’s easy to make a larger batch of Coconut Rice. Simply multiply the ingredient amounts, making sure to keep the ratio of rice to liquid as 1:1. For example, 3 cups rice + 3 cups liquid, 4 cups rice + 4 cups liquid, etc.

Watch how to make it:

Serve with:

Fluffy, fragrant, pressure cooker Coconut Rice is the perfect accompaniment to so many dishes. Instead of regular white rice, make this simple upgrade instead!

I serve with Butter Chicken, Jerk Chicken, Goat Curry, Jamaican Oxtails, Chicken Skewers with peanut sauce, Gochujang Chicken, and Thai Red Curry. The perfect side – truly!

For a party, coconut rice in the instant pot is also easy to double or triple. Make a big batch and bring to a potluck. Leftovers reheat easily the next day.

Or divide into smaller portions for meal prep.

FAQ:

More Instant Pot recipes:

• Instant Pot Turmeric Rice with Kale
• Instant Pot Cinnamon Creme Brulee
• Instant Pot Ginger Chicken Soup.
• Instant Pot Bossam