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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 :).
Can i use long grain brown organic rice? Its impossible to find short grain brown rice in Minnesota. Thank you
Hi Marina! I haven’t tested this with long grain brown rice so keep in mind if you are substituting that long grain requires a little less water and also may cook slightly faster than short grain. It may work with pork.
Natasha thank you very much for this delicious recipe!! Made it today and it was very tasty!!
Would love to see a recipe for white rice plov in the instant pot.
Trying to use my instant pot more 🙂
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for the wonderful review!
I only have long grain brown rice. Is there something different I need to do? I also only have pork chops. Can I use that instead of beef?
Hi Greta, I haven’t tested this with long grain brown rice so keep in mind if you are substituting that long grain requires a little less water and also may cook slightly faster than short grain. It may work with pork.
Can I double the ingredients for a larger party? Or would it overflow in the instant pot? Not cook thoroughly?
Hi Alina, I do think it might work for the larger sized instant pot. It may be slightly too much to double it in the 6Qt instant pot however.
Made it’s exactly as written and it’s delicious!
Yesterday, realized I had only 1/2c of brown rice as i was sautéing meat – ended up using white, jasmine but set the Instapot to “rice”. I mean, it was that or dinner would be delayed for hours 🤷🏻♀️ It turned out perfect! Very delicious! Definitely making it again both ways (brown and white)! ♥️
That’s so great! Thank you for sharing that with us Yuli!
On the multigrain setting, my instant pot takes about 45 min just to preheat and then cooks at 30 mins. Is that normal? I’ve looked through the comments and nobody has mentioned it. Am I doing something wrong?
Hi Svetlana, I haven’t experienced that lengthy of a preheating time. Are you using a different instant pot than this? Also, be sure your vent is closed at the top while preheating. If anyone else has some insight into this, please let us know 🙂
First of all, Thank you very for this delicious recipe Natasha !
I think you should update the recommendation of using multigrain option as it does take 50 minutes of presoak before building pressure.
Thank you for sharing that with us, Vlad!
Same problem, but I didn’t wait that long. I sent a request to Instant Pot. Waiting for a reply. I reset to pressure cook. Turned out delicious!
I had this same issue and looked into it. Apparently the instant pot lux and a few other models have a built in program for the multigrain button. The instant pot soaks the hard grains for 45-60 minutes before actually starting to build pressure. I didn’t want to wait that long so I just put it on manual, high heat, and did 30 minutes. Turned out great!
Thanks for sharing that Bree!
Thank you for this info Bree! Appears the Ultra is the same. I’m going with 30 minute high manual pressure.
Ah ha! I was wondering what was going on, setting to manual now!
I had the same problem with multigrain setting. I just switched to pressure cook with natural release. I have Ultra
This is an amazing recipe! I have made it 4 times since finding it. Thank you so much for it and for your page.
Thats so great Laurlaine! I’m so happy you enjoyed that! I’m so happy you discovered our blog!
Love this recipe! Quick, easy and delicious!
Thank you so much for this great review, Mal!
Looking forward to trying this recipe. Can you please post more insta pot recipes? 🙂
Hi Anna! All in due time. I love them also 🙂 Thanks for the great review!
This was great! I typically make my Plove in a dutch oven but this time used your idea of using Instant Pot. I have to admit, the meet is so much better! However, I did go more of the traditional style of using lamb instead of beef.
You can’t go wrong with traditional lamb! Thank you for sharing this with us! We appreciate the awesome review!
this recipe looks great — in fact I think I’m going to take the plunge and order an Instant Pot at long last. My question: what size is best to order? It’s just me but I cook large batches of food for my dog (I know, she is very lucky 😉 Also, what size Instant Pot did you use for this recipe?
Hi Sharon, here is the instant pot that we purchased and I think it is the perfect size for a 2-8 person family. Explore all of our favorite instant pot recipes here.
thanks a lot — I ordered it!
I just bought an Instant Pot and this is the second recipe I’ve made. It’s very tasty. I added in about 12 oz of chopped mushrooms. To the person that thought it was bland…how old are your spices?
Thank you for the great review, Cheryl!
We made this last night almost exactly as stated (except used 2 cups beef broth and 1 cup water). It was so delicious! Next time I would add some more beef and carrots to fill out the rice. Other than that it was super easy and everyone loved it!
Thank you Kim! I’m so happy you all loved it!
how can I make this using jasmine rice and how long would I cook it for
Hi Alina! Jasmine rice is not ideal for this recipe because it would over cook in the time it takes for the beef to become tender.
First time ever making plov (had it before, it’s one of my favorite dishes) but when i tried it, the rice tasted mushy and almost flavorless. What did I miss? I followed all the steps in the recipe. 🙁
P.s meat is delicious!
Hi Kat! If you make it with plain brown rice (not instant rice, white rice, or converted or semi-cooked rice), it won’t turn mushy. I’ve never had that experience with using brown rice. Did you substitute the rice? Or maybe make any changes to it that I may troubleshoot?
Hey Natasha,
I used the same exact rice you used. Ate it the next day and it wasnt as mushy any more, but all the flavors weren’t there… what am i missing? should i add to the amounts of spices you have?
Hi Kat, this normally reheats really well. We love it toasted on a skillet so edges of the rice get crispy. You might try that! 🙂
Will try that next time 🙂 thank you!
Also, would 2 cups of water work better?
3 cups worked fine for us. If you choose to lessen the amount I can’t say how it will turn out. Let me know how you like it if you experiment!
I am planning to use this recipe for friends dinner night. I wonder if I add beef short ribs would it cook well too?
Hi Elena! I haven’t tried that but one of my readers wrote: “Made it today — so good! I used boneless short ribs and increased cooking time to 35 minutes.”
You are a lifesaver! Thank you!
I have a “Magic Chef” ,which looks like the Instapot, that someone gave me a long time ago and I never used. I followed the instructions in your recipe and everything worked and came out great! So delicious. I don’t even like brown rice but it was great in this recipe.
Thank you for sharing that with us! I’m sure I’ll readers will find this helpful! Thanks Jenny!
Years ago, I used to fix my one pot suppers in a pressure cooker a.k.a late 70s. One of them is similar to your plov beef and rice. Instead of rice, you may use potatoes. This was my beef stew that would turn out perfect every time.
What a great idea! Thank you for sharing that with me Donna!
I don’t have an Instant Pot so I am wondering if.this great dish can be made in a Crock Pit?
Hi Beryl, the slow cooker would probably require some modifications and much lengthier cooking. I haven’t tested plov in a slow cooker so I can’t provide specific instructions. Sorry I can’t be more helpful. I do have a few stove-top versions as well if you don’t have an instant pot. They are also very good 🙂
could you put your other stove top versions on facebook…dont have an instant pot…
Hi Susie, I have a couple of great stove-top versions on my blog. Type “plov” in the search bar and they will all pull up.
Thanks for great recipe!!! (Дякую!!!)
You’re so welcome, Nataliya!