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This Instant Pot Rice recipe is a healthier, juicier and flavor packed rice pilaf called plov. It all comes together in 1 pot (the instant pot!) and you won’t believe how quick and easy this is.
Traditionally, beef plov is made with white rice, but we used a brown rice which was perfect for the instant pot because it doesn’t get mushy while the beef becomes melt-in-your mouth tender. Brown rice is also way healthier and your hungry people may not even realize it is brown rice. It works so well in this recipe!
P.S. We’ve included our Amazon affiliate links below for the tools we used to make this recipe.
Watch How to Make Instant Pot Rice Beef Plov:
My husband gave me this Instant Pot for Christmas and I am already completely smitten with it! If you own an instant pot, chances are you are obsessed with it also. Let me know about your favorite instant pot recipes in a comment below. I’m so excited to put this amazing little pot to work!

Ingredients for Instant Pot Rice Beef Plov:
2 1/2 cups short grain brown rice (500 grams), rinsed and drained*
1 lb beef chuck or beef stew meat, cut into 3/4″ pieces
4 Tbsp olive oil
4 Tbsp butter
1 large onion, diced
3 large carrots, thickly julienned
3 cups (720 ml) very warm water
1 Tbsp salt (we used fine sea salt)
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground paprika
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1 whole head garlic, unpeeled, cut in half crosswise.
1 Tbsp freshly chopped parsley to garnish – optional
*TIPS FOR SUCCESS: We used organic short grain brown rice (I buy the “Lundberg” brand bag sold in Costco). DO NOT USE quick cooking rice, parboiled or white rice – these would all need modifications in timing and water. Use a standard measuring cup or a kitchen scale to measure the rice (not the measuring cup that comes with your instant pot).

If you don’t own an instant pot yet, you can still make beef plov on the stovetop with this recipe and check out the creative grain we used in this newer version – wildly delicious!!
⬇Print-Friendly Instant Pot Rice (Beef Plov):
Instant Pot Rice (Beef Plov)

Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups short grain brown rice, 500 grams, rinsed and drained*
- 1 lb beef chuck or beef stew meat, cut into 3/4" pieces**
- 4 Tbsp olive oil
- 4 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 large onion, diced
- 3 large carrots, thickly julienned
- 3 cups 720 ml very warm water
- 1 Tbsp salt, we used fine sea salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp ground paprika
- 1/2 tsp ground coriander
- 1 whole head garlic, unpeeled, cut in half crosswise.
Instructions
- Rinse and drain rice and set aside. Set Instant pot to sauté on high heat (push sauté twice to switch to high heat) and add 4 Tbsp olive oil. Once oil is hot (but not smoking), add beef in a single layer and sauté until lightly browned (5 min), stirring occasionally.
- Add 4 Tbsp butter and chopped onion and stir 3 minutes until softened.
- Add julienned carrots along with all seasonings (1 Tbsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, 1/2 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp paprika, 1/2 tsp coriander) and sauté 5 minutes until softened, stirring occasionally.
- Spread rice evenly over the top (do not stir). Push garlic halves cut-side-down, halfway into the rice. Pour very warm (or hot) water directly over the garlic cloves so you don't disturb the rice. Use the back of a wooden spoon to poke 5-7 holes through the rice to the bottom of the pot (this helps disburse flavor).
- Cover and cook on high pressure 30 min (I used the "Multigrain" setting). Let instant pot rest and naturally depressurize 10 min before switching to the venting position to release steam. Make sure the steam is fully released and the pressure valve has floated down before opening the pot.
- Remove garlic and set aside. Stir rice well to combine ingredients. We squeeze the garlic cloves back into the pot because they are melt-in-your mouth delicious.
Notes
**The meat will brown easier if you leave it at room temperature 30 minutes before starting to cook it.
Nutrition Per Serving
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen
This instant pot plov also reheats really well on a skillet the next day so leftovers are a great thing!

Have you gotten on the instant pot wagon? It was actually this recipe that made me fall in love with my Instant pot (ahem 2 hours instead of 15 hours? YES!!!).
What is your favorite recipe to cook in the Instant Pot? I am always looking for new ideas. Thanks in advance my friends. I always love hearing from you :).




is this recipe doable without the instant pot? Looks amazing but don’t have the cooker!
Hi MA, you could use a pressure cooker for this. If you want a stove-top option, I would recommend checking out our stovetop plov recipes. We have our classic beef one and another one with buckwheat (my personal favorite). 🙂
Looks delicious! Will the recipe double easily? Looking to feed a bigger crowd.
Hi Les, you should be able to double it if you have the larger sized instant pot. It may be slightly too much to double it in the 6Qt instant pot.
I am so excited to tried this! The Instant Pot has become a staple in our house and we LOVE your recipes! Baby Back Ribs-Mashed Potatoes-spaghetti-ANY pork loin-Oatmeal-Hard Boiled Eggs!
I hope you love the recipe Danielle! Please let me know what you think!
Hello,
You say serves 8 as a side dish. What else you do serve with this dish? I always have a hard time trying to decide what if anything else is needed. Thank you Susan
Hi Susan, I love serving plov with a fresh side salad (any of our cucumber and tomato salads), or the marinated tomatoes we have would be a wonderful match, or these cucumber spears.
Hi Natasha!
What size Instant Pot do you have? I just bought the 6 quart size, but I’m wondering if I should have the 8 quart. I have a family of 4 so I don’t need to make a ton, but I do like to make extra for leftovers. 🙂
Thanks!
Jeanne
Hi Jeanne, this is the instant pot I have.
That looks perfect with the brown rice👍🏻 I’m definitely going to try with the brown rice cuz I usually use white. Thank you for instant recipes, I’m getting excited to use my instant pot even more now cuz I need more quick yummy recipes that I won’t have to cook for hours when I have a newborn next month😊🙂
I’ll let u know how I like ur method when I try it😀
My pleasure Tatyana! Please do let me know what you think of the recipe! 🙂
Hi Natasha,
Hoping you post more Insta Pot recipes because I’ve been wanting to try out my Insta Pot more but don’t have great recipes for it.
Do you think this can be made with the meat frozen? (I forgot to take out the meat beforehand-oops!)
Hi Natalya, since the meat needs to be pre-cooked and browned a bit first, it should be fully thawed. To speed thaw, place beef into a water-tight sealed bag (squeeze all the air out) and place in a large mixing bowl of cold water with a steady stream of cool water pouring over it to circulate the water – it will thaw pretty quickly this way.
What do you do with the garlic halves when it’s finished? I’m eager to try this!
Oh goodness I forgot all about those in the print-friendly recipe. I just added this note at the bottom: “Remove garlic and set aside. Stir rice well to combine ingredients. We squeeze the garlic cloves back into the pot because they are melt-in-your mouth delicious.” Thank you for asking! 🙂
What about the garlic afterwards? Is it squeezed into the rice mixture? Did I miss that part?
Hi Joanne, yes, great question! I just added this note at the bottom: “Remove garlic and set aside. Stir rice well to combine ingredients. We squeeze the garlic cloves back into the pot because they are melt-in-your mouth delicious.”
Looking forward to more instant pot recipes!!!
I’ll keep em coming Sasha! 🙂
The rice looks amazing! Do you mind sharing what brand of rice you used? (I’m accustomed to seeing long grain brown rice but this doesn’t appear to be the same thing)
Hi Amy, We used organic short grain brown rice (I buy the bag sold in Costco – Lundberg brand)
What kind brown rice you use? Its looks so fancy
Great question! Sorry I forgot to specify. I added the note in the recipe just now. We used organic short grain brown rice (I buy the bag sold in Costco)
Thank you for answering
Wow only 30 min I need to get myself one of these !!
You won’t regret it! I love my Instant Pot!
This looks delicious! I have always wanted to make plov but was too intimidated until now. Could I substitute chicken in this recipe?
I think chicken would still work. I have made a chicken plov before and it worked well. Chicken thighs will give you a little more flavor than chicken breast meat.
Can I use a slow cooker for this recipe?what’s the difference between the two? ( this may be a dumb question🤷🏼♀️) so many gadgets nowadays I can’t keep up🤪
Hi Allison, the slow cooker would probably require some modifications. The instant pot uses the pressure cooking mode to cook this recipe so it only takes 30 minutes of pressure cooking to get amazingly tender beef and brown rice. You could use a pressure cooker to get the same results since the instant pot essentially is using that function for this recipe.
Thank you, Natasha for this amazing recipe.
You are very welcome Sasha 😀
Do you think I could try substituting beef with chicken?
Hi Anna, I think chicken would still work. I have made a chicken plov before and it worked well. Chicken thighs will give you a little more flavor than chicken breast meat.
Does the water have to bee boiling .
Can the oil and butter be halved or just oil be used it looks great
Hi Lain, I think it would still work with only the oil. Plov is typically supposed to be very moist and juicy and the butter definitely helps to get it to that point. You could cut it in half and it will still work but won’t be quite as moist.
Natasha THANK YOU for this Instant Pot recipe. I can’t wait to try it. I ❤ my Instand Pot and get most of my nourishing recipes from wellnessmama.com and your site!
My pleasure Tatyana! I hope you love the recipe!
This looks so good and delisious, I definitely need to by an instant pot to try this brown rice plov! I would be happy if you share your opinion on what brand/type of instant pot is worth to buy, please. Thanks a lot
Hi Aigul, this is the instant pot that we have and love it 🙂