This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.
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 :).
I made this recipe for the first time my rice was chewy how can I fix it the next time and this recipe need more beef and probably more spices or was it me
Hi Ruth, thanks for your feedback. Brown rice is a little chewier than white rice. I suggest checking to make sure it is the same kind of brown rice (different sized grains take varying amounts of water and cooking time), also be sure to keep all proportions the same and let it naturally depressurize for 10 minutes at the end of the cooking cycle which definitely helps for the rice to finish cooking, absorb some of the liquid and soften. I hope that helps!
I bought small grain brown rice and followed your instructions to the t so I will change the rice to Jasmine rice which I love.
Thank you for the feedback
Love all your recipes
You’re welcome, Ruth! I’m glad that worked out!
Hi Natasha! This recipe is so delicious! I’ve made this many times and every time it’s a hit! I
I just love your recipes and have tried many. Thank you for sharing!
Hi Lorraine, you are very welcome. Glad it always turns out awesome, thank you for your good review!
This is such a good, simple recipe, and I count myself fortunate to have had real Узбек
Плов. This is a great substitute.
Спасибо Наташа.
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed it, Dale!
On discovering I didn’t have enough brown rice when I was already in the middle of preparing this recipe, I had to pivot to accommodate white rice. What I did was follow the instructions up to the point of adding the rice. I put 1/2 c of water in and cooked under pressure for 15 minutes. Then I did a quick release and added the rice, garlic, and water and cooked under pressure for another 15 minutes. I did the 10 minute natural release to quick release. The meat was tender and the rice was not mushy.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, and it worked out! Thank you for sharing that great feedback.
Did you wash the rice before?, What type of rice did you use?. I am using white jasmine rice.
Hi Val, Jasmine rice will get overcooked in this amount of time. Please see the recipe notes section of the print-friendly recipe card for details on the type of rice we used.
It looks like it would ve been very tasty, but I got a burnt message on Instapot almost right away and couldn’t finish cooking per the recipe.
What would help adding an extra step of adding a bit of water to the meat, onion, carrots, and veggies, and scraping everything from the bottom before adding the rice.
Hi Catherine, it sounds like maybe the heat was on too high when you were searing the meat. I would suggest sauteeing on medium next time if you find that high heat is too hot and burning your meat. Also, make sure you are using enough oil. It will help to scrape the bottom of the pan when you add the butter and onion to scrape off any stuck-on bits. You can cook it on manual high pressure as well, but I used the “Multigrain” setting
We made this over the weekend and all our kids loved it. 7-18, all 4 of them. We could not find short grain due to shortages in stores near us so we went with long grain. If you go long grain like we did I recommend upping your time by 8-10 minutes and adding a 1/4-1/2 cup more liquid. Otherwise, it was lovely. Thank you Natasha.
Perfect! Thanks for sharing your good feedback and some tips with us too, Sabrina. That is so helpful!
Hi Natasha! Thank you very much for a great recipe. This amount is calculated for 6 qt Instant Pot? If I will double the recipe will it take it? Sorry for dumb questions i have newly bought the IP. One more questions if I will use white rice should i decrease the time of cooking? thanks and have a good day
Thank you for your question, Guldana. I haven’t doubled this personally, but I would keep the time the same if doubling. One of my readers doubled it and reported the following: “I did do 2 lb of beef and doubled all seasonings. I also did 5cups of rice and 5 cups of water. Fit to a T in the 6QT. Came out perfectly fine.” I hope that helps!
Love how it turned out! But what is the serving size? I can’t seem to see it on the web page
The serving size can be found at the beginning of the print-friendly recipe card (located at the bottom of the recipe post). The nutrition label shows counts “per serving.” This recipe serves 8 so it will be 1/8ths of the recipe. Hope that helps!
I made this tonight for my family of 6 – we all loved it! My lightest eater had seconds which rarely happens! I did use a 3 lb. chuck roast instead of just 1 lb. to up the protein (I seared it in batches and added it all back in after the carrots were sautéed) and it worked perfectly, and we have enough leftovers for 3 of us tomorrow 🙂 I can’t wait to try experimenting with different versions of this!
That’s the best when the whole family approves! Thank you for sharing that feedback with me!
Hi Natasha! I’m wondering how I could adapt your recipe using cauliflower rice instead of the brown rice. I love brown rice, but trying to cut the carbs! Any thoughts? I love your recipes!
Hi Julana, it doesn’t look like it anyone has tried this with cauliflower. If you experiment with that I would love to know how you like the recipe. Personally, I haven’t experimented with cauliflower in an Instant Pot.
Natasha, I absolutely love your recipes and videos! This was really good! Thumbs up from my husband and 3 boys and so easy to make. Definitely will be making again!!!
I’m so glad you all enjoyed it! Thank you for the wonderful review!
If I were to use half the rice, do I use half of the water as well?
Hi Rochelle, you can halve the entire recipe, but I haven’t tested that in a 6-quart Instant pot to be sure it’s safe. Make sure you are reaching the minimum required water level. If you happen to test that, please lt us know how you like it.
Natasha! Thank you for this amazing recipe! Quick question – when I sauté meat it gives a lot of water and then when I add onion – it is no longer “frying” but rather boiling in the water from meat. How do you deal with that?
Hi Yana, it sounds like you are overcrowding your pan. The meat should sear and not release water. Make sure your pan is hot enough before you add your meat. You can cook your meat in batched if using a smaller pan.
Thank you Natasha. I will try that! Merry Christmas!!!
You’re welcome and Merry Christmas too!
Plov to me was always such an intimidating dish to make. I remember as a child the enormous effort & process that it was. This recipe just turned everything upside down. I am so excited to be able to make this delicious dish in under an hour without much experience in the kitchen tasting EXACTLY LIKE an old fashion Plov my mom used to make when I was a child! Bravo, Natasha! Question – do I need to make any adjustments to this recipe if I want to use lamb instead of beef?
Hello Yulia, that makes me so happy. Thank you so much for sharing that with us. I haven’t really tested that yet to advise but others shared that they used lamb and it went well. If you would like to do an experiment, please share with us how it goes.
Your recipes never fail to amaze our family. I love making them because every one is sooo good! I love that it is easy to make with items that are usually all in my arsenal. Keep it up, your doing great things and you have a follower for life!
Thank you so much for trusting my recipes, Dan. I’m so happy that you and your family are enjoying my recipes!
I made this for dinner and it was not only easy, but so delicious. This recipe will become a staple in our house. Not only was it delicious it made the house smell so good.
I’m so glad you enjoeyd that, Diane! Thank you for sharing that wonderful review!
I just finished cooking and eating this right now. The flavors are great and everything is cooked very well.
Unfortunately, if you are planning for this dish to be a main course, you will need to either double the beef or halve the rice.
As is, the finished product is like 80% rice which is a bit much for a main dish.
I will definitely make this again and probably do something like:
2 cups of rice and 2 lbs of beef.
Thank you so much for sharing that with us, Alex! I’m glad you enjoyed this recipe!
Hi Alex! When you double the beef did you double also seasonings? Thanks.
I would like to be able to print just recipe without all of the comenments
Hello Gene, you may do that by clicking on Jump to recipe then click print. You can save the recipe first on your device then print it at a later time.
The best plov, exact same taste as I remember from my childhood.
Making a double batch right now, my whole family loves it!
Yay, love it! Thanks to you and your family for trying out this recipe.
Hi Natasha,
I have tried this recipe, and both times it tasted amazing! The only thing is, my rice was a little hard. Still really tasty but defiantly would want it softer. Also, if I doubled the recipe would I double the time? Thank you in advance, your recipes are absolutely the best!
Thanks for sharing that with us Lilia. I haven’t doubled this personally, but I would keep the time the same if doubling. One of my readers doubled it and reported the following: “I did do 2 lb of beef and doubled all seasonings. I also did 5cups of rice and 5 cups of water. Fit to a T in the 6QT. Came out perfectly fine.” I hope that helps!