Spanish Rice: Instant Pot Rice Recipe

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Colorful, packed with Spanish flavors and so easy to make- that’s what this Instant Pot rice recipe is all about. Go try it out! 

Perfect for those weeknights when you’re not in the mood to cook something elaborate, but still want a healthy dinner for you and your family, here’s a Spanish rice recipe for Instant Pot that’s super easy to make. 

What’s best is the fact that you’ll need just a handful of ingredients to get started on this, and you probably already have most of them in your pantry.

Ready to give this a shot? Here’s what you need to know before you go ahead! 

Check out all our rice recipes.

New to cooking with a pressure cooker? Try out the Be the Boss of Your Instant Pot Video Course! It'll help take the pressure off and ease you into cooking with your Instant Pot.

Supplies used to make this recipe

• Rice paddle | Otherwise known as a rice spatula, this handy tool helps to fluff the rice consistently.
• Rice calculator | Check out our ratio list below to figure out how much rice to water you will need for your recipe.
• Organic white rice bulk | If you cook a lot of rice, this is a delicious rice to have on hand.
• Steam diverter | Move that steam out from under your cabinets, point it away from people, etc., with this handy silicone steam diverter.

Ingredients used for Spanish or Instant Pot Mexican rice

• Rice
• Chicken broth
• Diced tomatoes or tomato sauce
• Olive oil
• Onion and garlic
• Seasonings

Different types of rice and water to rice ratio and cooking times

There are many varieties of rice. The pressure cooking time varies between types of rice, as does the rice to water ratio.

Type of Rice	Rice to Water Ratio	Cooking Time
Jasmine rice	1:1	4 minutes
Brown rice	1:1	20-22 mins
Basmati rice	1:1	4 minutes
Wild rice	1:2	20-25 mins
Red rice	1:1.25	20-22 mins
Short grain rice	1:1	6 minutes
Medium grain rice	1:1	5 minutes
Long grain white rice	1:1	4 minutes
Sushi rice (Calrose rice or other Japanese rice)	1:1	0 minutes, 20 min natural release

Dry to Cooked Rice

Question: 1 cup uncooked rice equals how much cooked rice?

Answer: 3 cups. So, if you want to make 2 cups of uncooked rice, that will net 6 cups of cooked rice.

Cooking rice at high altitude

You will want to increase the pressure cook time by 5% for every 1000 feet above sea level over 3,000.

3,000 feet	5% more
4,000 feet	10% more
5,000 feet	15% more
6,000 feet	20% more

As with all cooking, increased elevation means cooking time will be longer. Adjust your Instant Pot cook time accordingly.

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What Else Can I Mix In Instant Pot Spanish Rice Recipe?

Spanish rice is actually just an excellent example of how you can make use of items in your pantry to whip up a perfectly delicious rice based meal, and if you’ve got a few other items in your refrigerator waiting to be put to use, you could do that too.

You could throw in veggies like green peas, broccoli, cauliflower florets, green beans, bell peppers, mushrooms, zucchini, chopped spinach, beans or even scrambled eggs into the mix. 

Instant Pot Size Comparison

There are many versions of instapots. Here are a few Instant Pot models for size comparisons.

Instant Pot 6 qt vs 8 qt

A 6 quart Instant Pot is perfect for a smaller household. There is plenty of room in a 6 quart pressure cooker for most meals.

If you have a larger family or do a bit of entertaining, the 8 quart Instant Pot is a good choice. It also works well for making cheesecakes.

Instant Pot largest size

The Instant Pot Duo Nova 7-in-1 comes in a 10 quart capacity, making it the largest Instant Pot size currently available.

Instant Pot Lux vs Duo

The Instant Pot Lux is the standard, basic Instant Pot model. It does everything most people need to have a pressure cooker do, except it does not have a yogurt function or a low pressure function. It comes in a variety of sizes, from mini to 8 quart.

The Instant Pot Duo is a step up from the Lux and also offers the yogurt function and the low pressure function. It comes in sizes from mini to 10 quart, like the Duo Nova mentioned above.

Pressure Cooker Safety

A common question we get is are pressure cookers dangerous. When used according to manufacturer instructions, electric pressure cookers are safe.

It's always important to read the manual that comes with your pressure cooker, and follow a few simple safety suggestions:

• Use enough liquid in your recipe
• Check your equipment prior to cooking
• Properly clean the pressure cooker
• Do not overfill
• Don't place on stovetop
• Consider a steam diverter to point steam away from cabinets

My Spanish Rice is Hard. What Do I Do?

If you’re making Spanish rice for the first time or just experimenting with a rice dish in your instant pot, it can get a bit tricky, and you might end up with rice that’s hard and undercooked.

Fixing this is actually pretty simple.

Add just a little bit of water in there- around ¼ cup or so- enough to create a little steam, close the lid and allow the rice to cook on very low heat for another 5-7 minutes. 

More SW Inspired Instant Pot Recipes

• Instant Pot Beef Queso Dip
• Instant Pot Mexican Rice and Beans
• Instant Pot Black Beans No Soak Recipe
• Instant Pot Taco Soup: The Best Chicken Taco Soup
• Instant Pot Taco Pasta — A New Take on Taco Tuesday
• Instant Pot Pinto Beans Recipe
• Instant Pot Beef Barbacoa Recipe
• Spanish Rice: Instant Pot Rice Recipe
• Chicken Fajita Soup in the Instant Pot
• Chicken and Rice Burrito Bowl Instant Pot Recipe

My Instant Pot Rice recipe Gets Mushy. What Should I Do?

In contrast, if your Spanish rice (or any other rice dish for that matter) keeps getting mushy no matter what you do, there’s actually an easy way to fix that too.

The secret is to not stir- at least not as often as you'd been doing.

You might be tempted to stir the dish frequently to ensure that all the ingredients have incorporated well, but in most cases, rice that isn’t stirred doesn’t end up mushy and has those perfectly intact, long grains of rice. 

Another cool tip to try out is to saute the dry rice in a bit of oil for a few minutes before you add the water in to cook it. 

Serving Suggestions & Ideas

If you’re preparing Spanish rice to feed a crowd, and need a side or two to go along with it, we’ve got you covered there too. Here are a few good options to get started with. 

• Chicken enchiladas 
• Shrimp tacos 
• Instant Pot Lobster Tail Recipe
• Mexican stuffed bell peppers
• Mexican avocado & chicken burgers
• Fajita bake
• Stuffed sweet potatoes
• Seafood paella
• Hand-tossed green salad 
• Roasted & spiced corn
• Stir-fried green beans
• Shrimp fritters 
• Gazpacho 
• Spinach and chickpea stew

Is Spanish rice the same as a Mexican rice recipe?

A Mexican rice Instant Pot recipe is similar to Spanish rice, but there are also differences. Traditional Spanish rice also includes saffron threads. The names Spanish and Mexican rice are often used interchangeably.

Since this recipe doesn't have saffron, it would technically be more of an easy Mexican rice recipe.

Recipe

Instant Pot Dinner Recipes

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