My daughter is eating healthy. (Good for her!) Every weekend she preps her school lunches, making a big batch of grilled chicken breasts with southwestern spice rub, steamed broccoli, and brown rice. Now, that seems a little boring to me, and I know she loves my regular pressure cooked coconut rice, so I adapted the recipe to give her some rice variety. Here it is: Instant Pot Coconut Brown Rice.

And, geez - listen to me. “Adapted my recipe.” This is hardly a recipe; it’s barely a technique. Stir 2 cups rice, 2.5 cups liquid (a mix of water and coconut milk), and a little salt in an Instant Pot. Lock the lid, pressure cook for 20 minutes, and the brown rice is ready to go.
If it’s not for school lunches, I’ll fancy it up a bit with toasted coconut flakes and minced cilantro. It works with grilled chicken breasts (of course), but it’s also the ideal side dish with a pressure cooked Thai curry.
PrintInstant Pot Coconut Brown Rice
Description
Instant Pot Coconut Brown Rice. Jasmine rice, coconut milk, and pressure cooking make this healthy, slightly sweet side dish, perfect for Thai curries.
Ingredients
- 2 cups brown Jasmine rice
- 1 ½ cups water
- 13.5-ounce can coconut milk
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
Instructions
- Everything in the pot: Pour the rice, water, coconut milk, and salt into the Instant Pot (or other pressure cooker). Give it a quick stir, breaking up the coconut cream from the can.
- Pressure cook the rice for 20 minutes with a quick pressure release: Lock the lid and cook on high pressure for 20 minutes in an electric PC ("manual" or "pressure cook" mode in an Instant Pot), or for 16 minutes in a stovetop PC. Quick release the pressure.
- Serve: Stir the rice a bit to spread out the coconut cream that floated to the top of the pot. Transfer to a serving bowl, sprinkle with the garnishes if you're using them, and enjoy.
Equipment
Notes
Make sure to get unsweetened coconut milk. “Cream of coconut” or other sweetened coconut milks are great for piña coladas…not so much for coconut rice.
Can’t find brown Jasmine rice? Any long grain brown rice will do.
Toasting shredded coconut: Turn the instant pot to Sauté mode adjusted to low heat. (Medium-low heat in a stovetop cooker). Pour a thin layer of unsweetened shredded coconut (aka coconut flakes) into the pot and cook, stirring often, until lightly browned. And…please pay attention. Coconut flakes go from browned to burnt in a heartbeat.
Keywords: Instant Pot Coconut Brown Rice; Pressure Cooker Coconut Brown Rice
What do you think?
Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.
Related Posts
Pressure Cooker Brown Jasmine Rice
Pressure Cooker Mexican Brown Rice
Pressure Cooker Brown and Wild Rice Pilaf
Instant Pot White Rice
My other Instant Pot Pressure Cooker Recipes
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Cher @ Designs by Studio C says
Great recipe! Found it when searching and happened to have all of the ingredients for it… Simple to make and very, very good!
★★★★★
Mike Vrobel says
Thank you, glad you enjoyed it!
Christy Favazza says
I love this recipe. Turns out perfect every time! Thanks for sharing.
★★★★★
Mike Vrobel says
You’re welcome!
Colleen says
Absolutely the best intant pot coconut rice recipe I've tried. This will be my go-to from now on. I really like that you used brown rice, which is a little bit healthier.
★★★★★
Mike Vrobel says
I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Samantha says
Came across this recipe while I was trying to make coconut rice in the IP instead of on the stove to save time. Recipe turned out great! Thanks for sharing!
Jerome says
Hi, I was wondering if you use the lite or full fat coconut milk? Thanks for the recipe!
Mike Vrobel says
I generally use full fat, but the recipe works with light coconut milk too.
Fran says
Perfect. I made this in my instant pot DUO. I also added a chicken bullion to the 1 1/2 cup boiling water. Brown rice came out just right. Thanks so much for this!
★★★★★
Bonnie says
Excellent recipe! Came out perfect and so yummy! Thank you for sharing
★★★★★
Mike Vrobel says
You’re welcome!
Aaron Friedman says
Your original brown jasmine rice recipe calls for a 15 minute natural release. Did you find that it comes out better with the quick release?