Easy Homemade Instant Pot Yellow Rice

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This homemade instant pot yellow rice is a simple side dish made from fragrant basmati rice, bright and earthy turmeric, and low sodium chicken broth. It is flavorful, fluffy, and easy to throw together as a quick addition to your dinner. Pair it with grilled chicken, black beans, and your favorite vegetables for a healthy and complete meal!

Instant pot yellow rice garnished with parsley in a stone bowl.

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📋 About the Recipe
🛒 Ingredients
📓 Instructions
⁉️ Substitutions and Alterations
❄️ How to Store
🔍 FAQs
💭 One More Tip
🍴 Related Recipes
📖 Recipe
💬 Reviews

📋 About the Recipe

Instant pot yellow rice is a light and fluffy, fragrant rice that's the best side dish for nearly any main dinner dish.
This recipe is super quick and easy and comes out perfect every time!
The rice is cooked with great texture that's fluffy and not mushy with the help of your instant pot.
It's a healthy, homemade side dish recipe that's sure to satisfy nearly any type of eater.
Pair homemade yellow rice with grilled chicken or meats, like these chicken kofta kebabs, cajun steak bites or air fryer lamb chops, and a side of vegetables like these healthy carrot fries for a complete meal!

🛒 Ingredients

A few notes about the ingredients:

Basmati rice - basmati is a long grain, fragrant rice that lends it's own flavor to the dish. It turns out tender and fluffy, while it absorbs great flavor from the onion, garlic, and spices.
Yellow onion, garlic - the onion and garlic offer a fresh aromatic flavor to the yellow rice.
Turmeric - turmeric is a bright yellow spice that can be found in the spice aisle of your grocery store. It dyes the rice a vibrant yellow color and offers a warm, earthy flavor to it. Turmeric is also thought to have healing qualities.
Cumin - cumin also adds a warm flavor to the rice. It is slightly zestier than turmeric but they pair perfectly together.
Salt, pepper, bay leaf - salt, pepper, and bay leaf add that additional notch of flavor, bringing it all together. When the bay leaf infuses into the rice, it adds a slight bitterness that actually helps in lightening up the dish.
Low sodium chicken broth - cooking the basmati rice in chicken broth adds another element of flavor as the rice soaks it in. You can opt to use water instead, however, it may produce less flavorful yellow rice.

📓 Instructions

1. Set your instant pot to the "sauté" setting and drizzle the bottom of the pot with a thin layer of olive oil.

Sauteed and seasoned onion and rice in the base of an instant pot.

2. When the oil is hot, add in the rice, onion, garlic, turmeric, cumin, salt, and pepper. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring every so often so the onions and rice don't stick or burn.

Rice, onion, seasoning, bay leaf, and broth in the base of an instant pot.

3. When the onions are translucent, add in the broth and bay leaf. Stir to combine.

4. Cover the pot and switch the valve to the "sealing" position. Pressure cook on high for 4 minutes.

5. When the timer is up, allow the pot to naturally release for about 10 minutes before carefully switching the valve to "venting" and manually releasing any remaining pressure.

6. Remove the lid and gently stir the rice so it doesn't stick to the bottom of the pot. Remove the bay leaf before serving.

Easy homemade yellow rice in a stone bowl with a serving spoon.

⁉️ Substitutions and Alterations

Instead of basmati rice: you can use brown or jasmine rice, but you'll need to adjust the cook time. For brown rice, pressure cook on high for 15 minutes. For jasmine rice, pressure cook on high for 3 minutes.

Instead of chicken broth: you can use vegetable broth. You can also try using beef broth or water. However, beef broth might make the dish pretty heavy, while water may not provide as much flavor.

❄️ How to Store

To store: Allow the rice to cool completely before scooping it into an airtight container and storing it in the refrigerator. Store leftover yellow rice up to 5 days.

To reheat: Reheat leftover rice by drizzling a small amount of water over top, then microwave for a minute or until it is warmed through.

To freeze: Freezing is not recommended.

🔍 FAQs

Is yellow rice the same as saffron rice?

In a way, yellow rice can be the same as saffron rice. However, not all yellow rice is made with saffron. Therefore, different varieties of yellow rice can also be made with turmeric, so it's important to note the differences.

Saffron and turmeric come from different plants. Saffron is more expensive than turmeric and has a subtle, slightly sweet taste. Turmeric has a similar flavor profile, but offers a more pungent, earthy flavor. Both lend a yellow hue to the foods they're cooked with.

Therefore, yellow rice and saffron rice can be synonymous if the rice is made with saffron. Though, many home cooks opt for the less expensive turmeric as an equally delicious substitute.

Why is my rice sticky or mushy?

If your rice is mushy, you most likely added too much water or liquid. When there is too much liquid, the rice absorbs too much and becomes soft.

However, if there isn't enough liquid, the rice will become sticky and burn to the bottom of the pan.

Make sure to follow recipe instructions carefully to avoid sticky or mushy rice.

Can I make this recipe on my stovetop instead?

If you don't have an instant pot or pressure cooker, you can make this recipe on the stovetop instead.

To make homemade yellow rice on the stove, follow the directions in the same order, but use a large stock pot and increase the chicken broth to about 3 cups.

After sautéing the onions, garlic, spices, and rice according to the recipe instructions, add the broth and bay leaf and bring to a boil.

Cover with a tight lid and turn the heat to low. Simmer 15 to 20 minutes before removing from the heat and fluffing with a fork.

💭 One More Tip

To prevent kitchen utensils and serving dishes from turning yellow from the turmeric, make sure to use glass or dark colored serving spoons, plates, and bowls.

Plastic or light colored tools can often be porous, causing the bright yellow turmeric to dye them permanently yellow.

If it's too late and the turmeric has already dyed your kitchen tools, you can try soaking them in two-parts hot water and 1-part white vinegar overnight. By morning, the stain should be dissolved.

Fluffy homemade yellow rice in a stone bowl with cinnamon sticks and greenery off to the side.

Share your cooking with me! If you make this recipe, I'd love to know! Tag @yourhomemadehealthy on Instagram or leave a comment with a rating and some feedback at the bottom of this page!

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