Learn how to cook this quick and easy yellow rice recipe in an Instant pot or pressure cooker. Use simple, real food ingredients for the absolute best yellow rice! Pairs well with delicious & tender slow cooker chicken and Instant Pot steamed vegetables.
My family loves rice, but I confess that sometimes rice feels boring… I used to buy boxes of yellow rice from the store and I remember thinking they tasted SO DELICIOUS.
But they’re also full of preservatives and food coloring and since we’ve switched to eating real food, we generally avoid that stuff.
I’ve learned how to make this Instant Pot yellow rice recipe at home with simple ingredients! I still get the flavor of that tasty yellow rice without the toxic ingredients of the store-bought kind, and rice is never again boring!
If you guys have never made yellow rice before, you’re in for a treat! It’s so easy and SO good!
Reasons to Make This Yellow Rice Recipe
- Picky-eater approved.
- It’s freezer-friendly.
- Great with Spanish or Greek dishes.
- Perfect with chicken and simple steamed vegetables.
- I can make a big batch and freeze it for later, I get excited to spend less time in the kitchen!
Here’s What You Need
- Butter
- Olive oil
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder
- Thyme
- Bay leaf
- Turmeric
- Salt + pepper
- Chicken or vegetable stock
- White rice (Jasmine is my preferred rice for this recipe, but you can use any white rice you have on hand)
Notes on Ingredients
Psst! Since you’re going to add salt to this yellow rice recipe, I highly recommend Ava Jane’s Kitchen. You may think all salt is created equal, but unfortunately, 90% of salt produced around the world contains microplastics (gross, right?). Ava Jane’s Kitchen is an exception. Their salt is 100% microplastic free, and it’s SO GOOD! Plus, you can get a bag for just 1¢!! (Get your penny bag of salt on this page.)
Step by Step Instructions
Step 1. Rinse the rice and place all the ingredients in the Instant Pot and secure the lid. Set the pressure valve to ‘sealing.’
Step 2. Set the timer. Cook on high pressure and release the pressure using the quick release. (If you are using Jasmine rice for this recipe, we cook for 4 minutes with an 8-10 minute natural pressure release. For white rice or Basmati, we recommend 4 minutes with a quick pressure release. If you like your white rice (not Jasmine) to be firmer, cook for 2 minutes, quick pressure release).
Step 3. Use the quick pressure release (except for Jasmine rice, use a natural pressure release 8-10 mins) when the timer beeps. Enjoy!
FAQs
If you are using Jasmine rice for this recipe, we cook for 4 minutes with an 8-10 minute natural pressure release. For white rice or Basmati, we recommend 4 minutes with a quick pressure release. If you like your white rice to be firmer, cook for 2 minutes.
Yellow rice does contain turmeric, that’s the ingredient that gives the rice that vibrant yellow color! Turmeric is an amazing spice that actually has many health benefits, like anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. It also has great flavor. It’s a wonderful spice to cook with and to have on hand in your pantry.
This yellow rice recipe has the flavor of turmeric, salt, pepper, onions and garlic. This rice is packed with delicious flavor for every bite!
Certainly, but why spend money on artificial flavors and food coloring when making it yourself is so easy! Once you have turmeric in your spice cabinet, you can make it with any rice you have in the pantry, anytime you want!
To Serve Yellow Rice
Want to add a little more to your yellow rice? Try adding frozen peas and carrots or bell peppers! Or add black beans or any other kind in after it is made. Those are great ways to add even more nutrition and depth to this delicious yellow rice recipe.
If you want to use a bag of frozen peas and corn to the rice, go for it! Just dump it in and add the rice and follow the same cooking instructions.
Personally, I recommend cooking the beans separately since they have a longer cook time than rice, but you can always stir them in after you cook the rice before serving! Here’s my tutorial for Instant Pot beans.
Make this a chicken rice dinner. All you have to do is add the chicken to the rice!
This yummy yellow rice recipe also serves as a great side dish to slow cooker pot roast or chicken and spinach enchiladas.
More Instant Pot Recipes
- Instant Pot Beef and Broccoli
- Easy Instant Pot Vegetarian Chili
- Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes
- Delicious Instant Pot Spanish Rice
Watch How to Make Instant Pot Yellow Rice
Instant Pot Yellow Rice
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 4 minutes
- Total Time: 9 minutes
- Yield: 2 cups 1x
- Category: Sides
- Method: Instant Pot
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1 cup white rice
- 1 ½ cups chicken stock (or vegetable stock, how to make homemade chicken stock)
- 1 Tbsp butter
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 Tbsp onion powder
- 2 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp thyme
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp pepper
- 1 bay leaf
Instructions
- In a fine-mesh sieve, rinse the rice under running water for 1 full minute.
- Put all the ingredients in the Instant Pot and stir.
- Secure the lid and turn the knob to “sealing.”
- Cook on high pressure and release the pressure using the quick release. (If you are using Jasmine rice for this recipe, we cook for 4 minutes with an 8-10 minute natural pressure release. For white rice or Basmati, we recommend 4 minutes with a quick pressure release. If you like your white rice (not Jasmine) to be firmer, cook for 2 minutes, quick pressure release).
- Fluff the rice with a large fork and serve warm.
Notes
- Use a fork to fluff the rice, spatulas make the rice gummy.
- I like to use Jasmine rice for this recipe.
Nutrition
- Calories: 243
Keywords: yellow rice recipe
If I’m going to cook sliced fresh chicken breast in this rice do I need to adjust the cooking time or amount of liquids?
Thanks in advance!
Hi Julia,
I haven’t added chicken to this recipe, but I would be sure to brown the chicken (for about 5 minutes on saute) in the IP first before adding all of the other ingredients. Once the chicken is browned, and all of the other ingredients are added, I’d say that chicken takes 10 minutes in the IP with a quick pressure release. I would do either 1 cup rice with 2 cups water, or 2 cups rice with 4 cups water. Hope this helps.
2 mintues leaves you with crunchy uncooked rice.. 4 mintues leaves you with soup. when i did the 20 mintues the recipie states at the time the rice bruned and tasted absolutely horrible. please either practice these recipies more or be more precise and accurate with your times.. i just ruined 2 cups of rice, 3 cups of chicken stock that i homade for a burnt unedible half crispy half mush. please please please do mor reseatch and testing .
Hi David,
These recipes are definitely thoroughly tested before publishing, especially because we all use these rice recipes in our own meal plans every week. For next time, these are the things you might want to double-check as you make your rice in the Instant Pot:
-That the IP is set to high pressure.
-That the liquid level is exactly 1 ½ times liquid to rice.
-If you’d like your rice to be firmer, 2 minutes is an ideal time.
-If you’d like your rice to be a bit softer, 4 minutes would be your ideal time.
-White rice cooks for 2-4 minutes, while brown rice cooks for 20 – 22 minutes (with a natural pressure release).
Hope this helps!
I know the team said the recipe was thoroughly tested, but as someone who makes rice in the IP very frequently I also thought the cooking instructions were very strange. Instant Pot suggests a 1:1 ratio of rice to liquid and a 12 min cooking time. This gives perfect, firm rice
Hi Haley,
In our experience, we wouldn’t recommend a cooking time of white rice for 12 minutes in the Instant Pot (with the exception of Jasmine). Based on our experience, Jasmine takes the longest to cook of white rice, and we’d recommend you do 4 minutes at high pressure, with a 10 minute natural pressure release for Jasmine. For white rice or basmati, the range of 2 to 4 minutes is our ideal time for IP rice. Two minutes for regular white if you want it firmer, and 4 minutes for a softer rice. Quick pressure release. We like to use Jasmine rice for this recipe, and that it why the ratio of rice to liquid is 1:1.5. Our other IP rice recipes have a 1:1 ratio in the IP. I will double check the recipe to be sure the measurements are accurate for this particular recipe, and I will adjust in the event of a typo. Thanks so much for sharing!
This was delicious! I cut back on the spices (except turmeric) and skipped the thyme based on our preferences, and pressure cooked 4 min. It was wonderful! So appreciate a “dump and cook” type instant pot dish. Thank you!
Hi Carley,
We’re happy to hear that you enjoyed this recipe! “Dump and cook” recipes are so helpful. Thank you for posting. 🙂
A little too much thyme for our palates and the rice was very undercooked at 2 minutes. I followed the recipe as written even though the cook time seemed low.
Hello Mj!
Tiffany prefers the texture of this particular recipe at 2 minutes, but if you prefer a softer rice, you can always go up to 4 minutes with a quick pressure release. Hope this helps.
I don’t know where I’ve been all my life, but I had never even heard of yellow rice before! I made this tonight, on the stove top. I diced some carrots quite small and put them in at the beginning, and added frozen peas at the end.
I’ve already had seconds, and am considering thirds, it’s so good. It’s really pretty, too.
★★★★★
Hello Karen!
We’re so ecstatic to hear that you enjoyed this yellow rice recipe! Thank you for sharing. 🙂
Hi, thanks for the recipe. It was pretty good. I think for our tastes, I will cut the thyme by half or even more. It was very “thyme-y.”
★★★★★
Too much thyme as written (for me it was overpowering) and I would prefer rice texture with a slow release cause initially rice was undercooked (again, for me)
Michael, that is the wonderful thing about recipes! They are completely customizable.
How do you freeze? In a zip top bag? And then what is the best way to reheat?
Yes! We use freezer safe bags. We reheat (sometimes) in the microwave, but prefer stove-top with a tablespoon of water.
This sounds delicious! Would you happen to know how much longer I’d have to cook it in the instant pot if I use brown rice or if I’d have to add more chicken stock to it?
I can’t seem to get my brown rice right in the instant pot🤷🏼♀️
Hi Trudy!
Yes, it will be a bit longer for brown rice. We actually have a recipe for IP brown rice. Here’s the link. https://dontwastethecrumbs.com/instant-pot-brown-rice/. Just follow the timing for the brown rice. Let us know how it comes out! 🙂
Oh thanks!!
Can’t wait to try it
If I double the recipe do I need to double to cook time?
Hi Jeremy,
As long as you are using the same type of rice to the recipe, you won’t change the cook time. You’d only change the cook time if you were using another type of rice, like brown rice for example (which would be longer). Enjoy! 🙂
If I use saffron, instead of turmeric, how much would you suggest.
I haven’t tried this using saffron, Carolyn. I’m sorry I don’t have a measurement suggestion!