This simple yellow rice comes together super fast in the Instant Pot. It’s full of vibrant flavor and goes with everything! Serve it as a side or make it a meal by adding chicken and veggies. However you serve it, your family will love it!
My family loves rice as a side dish. Lemon Rice, Cilantro Lime Rice, and even Coconut Rice. No boring rice here – we like our rice with loads of flavor!
I used to buy boxes of yellow rice from the store, and I remember thinking it tasted SO DELICIOUS. They were one of my favorites, just like boxed mac and cheese.
But just like boxed mac and cheese, those boxes of yellow rice are also full of preservatives and food coloring, and since we’ve switched to eating real food, those are on my list of food additives to avoid.
So just like mac and cheese got a makeover, so did yellow rice. I’ve learned how to make yellow rice in the Instant Pot with simple ingredients! I still get the flavor of that tasty yellow rice from the box, but I skip all the junk.
If you have never made yellow rice before, you’re in for a treat. It’s so easy and SO good!
QUICK AND EASY YELLOW RICE
Let me tell you, this easy yellow rice recipe is no boring side dish. It’s:
- Picky eater approved.
- Naturally gluten-free. The simple ingredients list means there’s nothing unexpected here.
- Freezer-friendly. I can make a big batch of this yellow rice recipe and freeze it for later. I don’t know about you, but I get excited to spend less time in the kitchen!
- Versatile! Yellow rice is great with Spanish or Greek dishes, or try it with chicken and Steamed Vegetables.
YELLOW RICE RECIPE INGREDIENTS
You’ll likely find all of these ingredients in your kitchen already.
- Butter. For rich, buttery flavor.
- Olive Oil. Olive oil also enhances flavor, plus it helps prevent sticking and clumping.
- Seasonings: Garlic Powder + Onion Powder + Thyme + Bay Leaf + Ground Turmeric + Salt + Pepper
- Chicken Broth. You can substitute vegetable stock or water if needed, but the best flavor comes out when you use chicken broth.
- White Rice. Jasmine is my preferred rice for this recipe, but you can use any white rice you have on hand. Basmati rice or long grain rice are favorites!
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HOW TO MAKE YELLOW RICE IN THE INSTANT POT
Follow these simple instructions to learn how to make yellow rice in the Instant Pot.
Step 1. Rinse the rice and place all the ingredients in the Instant Pot. Secure the lid and set the pressure valve to ‘sealing.’
Step 2. Set the timer. Cook on high pressure.
- If you are using jasmine rice for this recipe, cook for 4 minutes with an 8-10 minute natural pressure release.
- For white rice or basmati, cook for 4 minutes with a quick pressure release.
- If you like your white rice (not jasmine) to be firmer, cook for 2 minutes, with a quick pressure release.
- To make yellow rice recipes using brown rice, you’ll need a longer cooking time. Follow the timing in this Instant Pot Brown Rice recipe instead.
Step 3. Use the quick pressure release (unless noted above) when the timer beeps. Fluff with a fork. Enjoy!
Note: You can also make this yellow rice in a rice cooker. Follow the Instant Pot directions above and set your rice cooker to ‘cook’.
HOW TO COOK YELLOW RICE ON THE STOVETOP
Here is how to cook yellow rice on the stovetop if you don’t have an Instant Pot or rice cooker.
Step 1. Rinse the rice and place all the ingredients in a medium saucepan.
Step 2. Bring the mixture to a boil, stir, and reduce the heat to a simmer.
Step 3. Cook until the rice is tender and the liquid is absorbed. Fluff with a fork and serve!
HOW TO MAKE A YELLOW RICE DINNER
Make it a meal! Here’s how to make a yellow rice dish that’s satisfying and hearty with a few simple additions.
- Add veggies. Want to add a little more to your yellow rice? Try adding frozen peas and carrots or some chopped bell peppers! Add the veggies with the other ingredients before cooking and follow the same cooking instructions.
- Or add black beans (or any other beans). Personally, I recommend cooking the beans separately since they have a longer cooking time than rice, but you can always stir them into 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! If you have shredded chicken already portioned out in the freezer from cooking a whole chicken, just grab a cup or two and stir it into the cooked rice. If you forgot to pull the chicken out of the freezer to thaw ahead of time, you can always add it to the rice before cooking, and it will heat up while the rice cooks – talk about easy!
This yummy yellow rice recipe also serves as a great side dish to these main entrees:
INSTANT POT YELLOW RICE STORAGE
If you have leftover yellow rice, store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week.
I like to make extra and store it in 1-2 cup portions in the freezer for super easy dinners later!
MACRO-FRIENDLY YELLOW RICE RECIPE
Rice is a great staple carbohydrate that you can use when building your plate.
- Remember that you want to start with your protein, filling about ¼ of your plate.
- Next, add plenty of produce, covering ½ of your plate.
- Finally, add in a carbohydrate, like yellow rice, for ¼ of your plate.
- Chances are, you have some fat involved in the cooking process for your protein, produce, or carbs, but if you don’t, now’s the time to add that in too!
One ½ cup serving of yellow rice will give you approximately 20g of carbs, perfect for including in a balanced meal to help you hit your macro goals.
Want to learn more about macros, nutrition goals, and accurately tracking what you eat? Grab my free guide here to start achieving your real body goals by eating the foods you love.
FLUFFY YELLOW RICE FAQS
What is yellow rice made of?
Yellow rice contains 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.
Does yellow rice have a flavor?
This yellow rice recipe has the flavor of turmeric, thyme, salt, pepper, onions, and garlic. This rice is packed with delicious flavor in every bite!
Can you cook boxed rice in a rice cooker?
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 yellow rice with any type of rice you have in the pantry, anytime you want!
MORE YUMMY RICE RECIPES
- Spanish Rice
- Instant Pot Parboiled Rice
- Instant Pot White Rice
- Lemon Rice
- Instant Pot Brown Rice
- Coconut Rice
- Cilantro Lime Rice
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Instant Pot Yellow Rice
This simple yellow rice comes together super fast in the Instant Pot. It’s full of vibrant flavor and goes with everything! Serve it as a side or make it a meal by adding chicken and veggies. However you serve it, your family will love it!
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 4 minutes
- Total Time: 9 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Sides
- Method: Instant Pot
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1 cup white rice (160g)
- 1 ½ cups chicken stock (or vegetable stock, how to make homemade chicken stock) (630g)
- 1 Tbsp butter (14g)
- 1 Tbsp olive oil (14g)
- 1 Tbsp onion powder (7g)
- 2 tsp turmeric (3g)
- 1 tsp garlic powder (3g)
- 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.”
- Set the timer. Cook on high pressure. (See notes for cooking times.)
- Fluff the rice with a large fork and serve warm.
Notes
- If you are using jasmine rice for this recipe, cook for 4 minutes with an 8-10 minute natural pressure release.
- For white rice or basmati, cook for 4 minutes with a quick pressure release.
- If you like your white rice (not jasmine) to be firmer, cook for 2 minutes, with a quick pressure release.
- To make yellow rice recipes using brown rice, you’ll need a longer cooking time. Follow the timing in this Instant Pot Brown Rice recipe instead.
Made it today with Basmati rice, it was amazing
i made this today and it was delicious
Hi Shannon,
Thank you for sharing, glad you enjoyed this recipe!
I must say this yellow rice recipe is absolutely delicious.
It goes so well with many other protein and/or vegetable dishes. Or can even be greatly enjoyed by itself.
Thank you 🙏 so much for sharing this recipe.
Excellent recipe, used white rice and the rice button on the IP. So tasty. Held up well the next day too.
Yummy! I used Jasmine rice and cooked it exactly as stated. It was perfect!
If I could give more than five stars I would!!! Even my steak loving husband went back for a second helping. Paired it with instant pot black beans. Yum! I didn’t have thyme and the flavor is still delicious. Couldn’t remember what kind of rice I have so I just used the rice setting on the pot. Thanks for delicious balance of seasoning.
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!
I wonder if David rinsed the rice first. Very important step.D
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!