Aromatic and delicious Instant Pot Coconut Rice is ready in minutes thanks to a little help from your pressure cooker!

It’s perfect and easy! Sure to be one of your go-to side dishes, and pairs perfectly with a Thai main dish, seafood, or something that has a tropical vibe. Try pairing with Yellow Coconut Curry Chicken, Chicken Satay, or Thai Red Curry.

The Easiest Coconut Rice Ever!

This delicious coconut rice is super easy to make, oh so flavorful, and would make the perfect after dinner treat, or a super side. It would be especially nice served with a spicy curry.

What cuisine is this considered? Coconut rice is considered Asian cuisine and is often served with fresh fruit such as mango.

Is coconut rice good for you? While eating rice in excess isn’t suggested, having some rice is a good option as opposed to lots of potatoes. It wouldn’t necessarily be considered a healthy option.

The Ingredients

Rice:

Use jasmine rice or arborio rice.
Do you need to rinse the rice first? Yes! Please please please rinse the rice well before putting it into the instant pot. This assures that the rice is clean and will absorb the flavor you are working so hard to create.
Brown rice? Brown rice takes longer to cook than white rice, so you’ll have to up your cooking time. Instead of 3 minutes maybe try 6/7 minutes.

Coconut Milk: You need to use coconut milk in this recipe.

Coconut water? This has a texture that is similar to water and has a taste that is not as luxurious as coconut milk, so it won’t give as strong and delicious of a flavor!
Coconut cream? It is the richer version of coconut milk. It is made with 4 parts shredded coconut and 1 part water. Whereas coconut milk is 1 part shredded coconut and 1 part water. So you could use this if you want a thicker and richer flavor in your rice.
Light coconut milk: You can use light coconut milk, it just won’t have as rich of a flavor as typical coconut milk
How to flavor? Most of your flavor should be coming from the coconut milk, but if you want more coconut flavor you can mix in shredded coconut or even a few drops of coconut extract.

How to Make Instant Pot Coconut Rice

PREP RICE. Add rice to a mesh sieve. Rinse the rice under cold water for 1 minute or until the water runs clear, then transfer the rice to the Instant Pot.

COMBINE. Add coconut milk, water, butter, and salt. Stir together, then close lid and make sure the release valve is in the sealing position.

COOK. Select MANUAL mode (high pressure) for 6 minutes. Once the rice has finished cooking, let the pressure release naturally. After the float valve drops, leave the rice for an additional 8 minutes

SERVE. Carefully remove the lid. Fluff rice with a fork and serve hot.

Variations

Instant pot coconut rice pudding: when making rice pudding you are going to add cinnamon, sugar, and more liquid. For one cup of rice try using a 14 ounce can of coconut milk, 2 ½ cups of water, ¼ cup sugar, and 1 cinnamon stick. It should come out pretty thick after cooking it in the instant pot so if you would like to add a bit of coconut milk after the fact that is totally okay!
Slow cooker: I don’t recommend making coconut rice in a crockpot, because honestly it takes less than an hour, so that is kind of a waste of such a large pot. You also risk burning the rice.

Storing + What to Serve with it

Store: Make sure that you store it in an airtight container in the fridge—it will last about 4-6 days. The important thing to remember is that when you reheat the rice you need to add some extra water/coconut milk and reheat it with a lid on it so that it “steams” itself and keeps that moisture in the rice.

Freeze: You can freeze rice if you would like, make sure that you let your rice cool but then freeze it right after that. Freeze it in glass containers with an air-tight lid for up to 1 month.

What to serve with it or use it in?

For more rice recipes, check out:

Did you try this recipe? Leave a ⭐️ rating below and share it on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest!