Coconut Rice Recipe for the Instant Pot

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Instant Pot Coconut Rice is a creamy, slightly sweet side dish. With a 3-minute cook time at high pressure, you can have this pressure cooker jasmine rice recipe on your table in under 20 minutes. 

An overhead shot of a small white bowl filled with coconut rice garnished with toasted coconut, with broccoli and carrots along side, with a set of chopsticks at an angle on the top right side of the bowl. The bottom of the white bowl is slightly cut out of the bottom of the frame.

❤️ Why You’ll Love This Recipe: Rice is so fast and easy. And with an Instant Pot, it comes out perfectly every time. This recipe gets a slightly sweet and creamy upgrade with coconut, and it’s a total family favorite! Not to mention it’s a dump-and-go recipe

Adding coconut milk to Instant Pot white rice transforms the dish into a tropical delight. This coconut rice is a perfect pairing with your favorite Thai, Chinese, or Hawaiian dishes. It’s also delicious on its own!

We always make our rice in the Instant Pot. If this is your first time making pressure cooker rice, be sure to try our foolproof recipes for white rice, Forbidden Black Rice, and brown rice.

Update: We’ve updated this post with new tips, tricks, ingredient notes, and photos to help make the recipe even easier. 

An overhead shot of a dark baking sheet with the ingredients for making coconut rice displayed. From left to right, a teaspoon of sugar, a can of coconut milk, a half teaspoon salt, a white bowl filled with toasted coconut, and one and a half cups of white jasmine rice.

INGREDIENTS YOU NEED

You don’t need much to make this quick coconut rice side dish:

  • Jasmine rice. This is a longer-grain rice that will cook more evenly in your pressure cooker than short-grain white rice. 
  • Coconut milk. Make sure you’re using Unsweetened Coconut Milk. (We don’t recommend using lite coconut milk or cream of coconut milk, both of which will affect the texture and flavor of the finished dish.) We like the Thai Kitchen brand
  • Sugar. You just need a pinch to balance the richness of the coconut milk.
Overhead of an electric pressure cooker filled with fluffy white coconut rice on a light wooden background with a grey and white striped linen

How to Make Coconut Rice in an Instant Pot

This easy recipe will work in any brand of electric pressure cooker, including the Instant Pot, Ninja Foodi, or Power Pressure Cooker XL.

I especially love this dish because it’s a quick and easy dump-and-go recipe. Unlike making rice on the stovetop, there’s no babysitting or worrying about a messy spill of coconut milk. 

With an Instant Pot / pressure cooker, all you need to do is add the jasmine rice, unsweetened coconut milk, water, and a bit of sugar and salt  to the pressure cooking pot. Seal the lid, set the cook time for three minutes, and walk away. When the cook time ends, let the pressure release naturally for seven minutes. Then remoe the lid, fluff the rice, and enjoy! 

An overhead shot of prepared coconut rice, offset slightly so the left side of the bowl, filled with broccoli and carrots, is cut out of the frame. The focus is on the rice, with a pair of chopsticks set side by side on the right side of the bowl.

Important Tips for Making Instant Pot Coconut Rice

🛑 Note: While some electric pressure cookers have a “Rice” button, I don’t recommend using it for this recipe. Coconut milk may affect how the pressure cooker comes to pressure. 

I usually make this coconut rice recipe in my 6-quart Instant Pot Duo. However, it will work in any 3-quart or 6-quart with no change to the recipe, including the Instant Pot Pro

If you’re cooking at higher altitudes, you may want to add another minute or two to the total cook time.

If you’re using an 8-quart or larger pressure cooker, and you’re worried about the Burn warning, you can either double the recipe or use the pot in pot method to make a single batch. 

A front shot of a bowl of coconut rice set on a gray napkin in front of an Instant Pot, with an out of focus bowl of soy sauce and a white bowl of toasted coconut set to the right side of the Instant Pot.

Frequently Asked Questions about One-Pot Coconut Rice 

What is the best kind of rice to use?

I always make this recipe with Jasmine rice. However, you can use long-grain, medium- or even short-grain white rice without any change to the cooking time. 

If you’d like to use brown rice, simply follow the cooking instructions in our Brown Rice recipe. You may also need to add another 2 ounces of water to the cooking pot, to account for the longer cooking time. 

What is the best coconut milk for cooking rice?

For this Instant Pot recipe, you want to use full-fat coconut milk for the best results. (There is a lot of variety when it comes to canned coconut milk. Some brands are much thinner than others, for example.)

We use the Thai Kitchen brand coconut milk, and it cooks up for perfectly fluffy and creamy every time. 
a tight shot of a can of Thai Kitchen Coconut Milk, our preferred brand

💡 If you’re using a different brand, you can always make this rice pot-in-pot.

Can I store and reheat leftovers?

Absolutely! Instant Pot Coconut Rice will keep for several days in an airtight container in the fridge.

To reheat, simply add a bit of water or additional coconut milk to the rice. This helps ensure that your rice is fluffy and sticky, rather than dry. 

Can I store and reheat leftovers?

I serve pressure cooker coconut rice with my family’s favorite Indian, South Asian, and Hawaiian entrées. There’s something so perfect about the paring of spiced curries and fruity flavors with creamy, soothing coconut milk rice. 

a tight-cropped shot of  a white plate filled with Kalua Pork, macaroni salad, rice, and fresh-cut pineapple

What to serve with Coconut Rice

🍽️ My go-to main is Instant Pot Kalua Pork, served with fresh pineapple, sliced mango, and steamed edamame finished with a splash of lemon juice and a sprinkle sea salt.

Other awesome main dishes to serve with Instant Pot Coconut Rice: 

A 45 degree shot of a small white bowl filled with coconut rice garnished with toasted coconut, with broccoli and carrots along side, with a fork tucked into the rice on the right. In the top of the photo are a small white bowl of toasted coconut, and a small tan bowl of dark soy sauce.

More Instant Pot / Pressure Cooker Rice Recipes

There are so many tasty ways to turn any variety of rice into a satisfying, healthy, and flavorful meal or side dish! Best of all, you get consistent results when you use your Instant Pot / pressure cooker. 

Here are more of the best Instant Pot Rice recipes:

an overhead shot of prepared saffron almond rice pilaf inside an instant pot, with a wooden spoon at the top right

Best Instant Pot Side Dishes with Rice and Grains

If you want to round out your rice side dish with some hearty beans or other grains, try these recipes: 


Do you LOVE this recipe?
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An overhead shot of prepared coconut rice, offset slightly so the left side of the bowl, filled with broccoli and carrots, is cut out of the frame. The focus is on the rice, with a pair of chopsticks set side by side on the right side of the bowl.

Instant Pot Coconut Rice

Servings: 6 to 8 servings
Cook Time: 3 minutes
Additional Time: 12 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Bring tropical flavors to your weeknight dinners with this easy and creamy Instant Pot Coconut Rice, made with unsweetened coconut milk and Jasmine rice.
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Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups jasmine rice
  • 1 can 14 oz unsweetened coconut milk
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • Toasted coconut and toasted sesame seeds optional, for serving

Instructions

  • Rinse rice in cool water until the water runs clear. Drain the rice in a colander or sieve.
  • Add the rice, coconut milk, water, sugar and salt to the pressure cooking pot. Stir. Lock the lid in place. Select High Pressure and 3 minutes cook time. When the cook time ends, allow the pressure to release naturally for 7 minutes, then finish with a quick pressure release. When the valve drops, carefully remove the lid.
  • Fluff the rice with a fork. Spoon the rice into serving bowl. Sprinkle with toasted coconut and/or sesame seeds before serving, if desired.

Notes

Make sure you're using unsweetened coconut milk, not coconut cream or coconut water. We also do not recommend using lite coconut milk.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 165kcal | Carbohydrates: 16g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Sodium: 101mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 4g

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