This Instant Pot Coconut Rice is super flavourful thanks to the coconut milk. Top it with peanut chicken and mango salsa for a full meal!
Ingredients and substitutions
- Coconut oil – coconut oil will add to the coconut flavour but if you’re in a pinch, use butter or a neutral oil.
- White rice – use any white rice such as basmati rice or jasmine rice for this recipe.
- Coconut milk – use canned coconut milk for a richer taste
- Coconut sugar – if you can’t find any coconut sugar, brown sugar will work just as well.
- Salt – to taste.
Mango salsa
- Mango – pineapple or peach would also be a great base for this fresh and fruity salsa
- Red onion – white onion would be good instead or you can leave the onion out altogether.
- Red pepper – use any colour bell pepper of your choice.
- Cilantro – parsley or chopped basil leaves can be used if you’re not a fan of cilantro.
- Lime juice – use fresh or bottled lime juice. In a pinch, swap out the lime juice for lemon juice.
- Salt – to taste.
Peanut chicken
- Chicken breast – chicken thighs are a great alternative to chicken breast and they may even provide a juicier cut of meat!
- Peanut butter – any nut or seed butter can be used if you have a peanut allergy.
- Soy sauce – tamari or coconut aminos are the best soy sauce substitutes.
- Garlic – fresh garlic is best but jarred minced garlic would also work. In a pinch, use garlic powder.
- Ginger – fresh or jarred grated ginger is recommended.
How to make coconut rice in the Instant Pot
- Make the coconut milk mixture.
- Add the rice to the Instant Pot.
- Cook on high pressure for 3 minutes.
- Marinate and cook the chicken.
- Make the mango salsa.
- Serve and enjoy!
What to serve with coconut rice
I like to pair my coconut rice with peanut chicken and mango salsa – the flavours create a delicious tropical dinner that you’ll love! If you’re looking for more ideas on what to serve with your coconut rice, here are some more great options:
- Red curry chickpea curry
- Pineapple glazed chicken
- Buddha bowls
- Teriyaki chicken
- Mongolian beef
- Grilled pineapple pieces
- Honey glazed salmon
Frequently Asked Questions
Coconut rice offers a tropical spin on classic white rice. Instead of cooking the rice just in water, it cooks with coconut milk, coconut oil and coconut sugar, resulting in a delicious flavour you’ll love.
While its super tasty, coconut rice isn’t necessarily healthy. The white rice is high in carbs and the coconut milk is high in calories and fat.
Yes! The combination of the coconut oil, coconut milk and coconut sugar all give this rice dish a distinctly coconut flavour.
Storing and reheating
Cooked rice is the perfect dish to make ahead of time because it can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. When reheating the rice, add an extra tablespoon of water for every cup of rice to make sure that the rice doesn’t dry out. Pop it in the microwave for 1 to 2 minutes then serve!
Since an Instant Pot is large, you can double, triple or even quadruple this recipe without adjusting the cooking time! Just make sure you don’t over fill the Instant Pot past the fill line.
Freezing this recipe
You can freeze any leftover coconut rice for 2 to 3 months. Make sure to store it in an airtight glass container or freezer-safe Ziploc bag to prevent freeze burn.
When you’re ready to use your coconut rice, let it defrost in the fridge overnight and reheat as normal. If you need it sooner, you can reheat it in the microwave right from frozen for about 6 to 7 minutes. Make sure to add some water to the bowl so it doesn’t dry out and stir the rice every 2 minutes or so.
More Instant Pot rice recipes
Meal prep tools for this recipe
- Grab some glass meal prep bowls if you plan on storing this rice as leftovers.
- Freeze this recipe in glass microwave-safe bowls up to 3 months.
Instant Pot Coconut Rice
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- 2 cups basmati or jasmine rice
- 14 oz coconut milk
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 tbsp coconut sugar or brown sugar
- 1 tsp salt
Optional Mango Salsa
- 1 mango, diced
- 1/2 red onion, diced
- 1/2 red pepper, diced
- 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
- 1 tbsp lime juice
- 1/2 tsp salt
Optional Peanut Chicken
- 1 lb chicken breasts, diced
- 1 tbsp peanut butter
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 tbsp fresh minced ginger
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
Instructions
- Add coconut oil to the bottom of Instant Pot. In a large bowl, mix together coconut milk, water, sugar and salt, stirring well to combine, then add to Instant Pot. Add rice last, gently submerging rice under liquid but being careful not to stir (stirring will usually result in a burn message).
- Place lid on Instant Pot and make sure valve is set to seal. Press the pressure cook button and set to high, then cook for 3 minutes. Instant Pot will take about 5-10 minutes to come to pressure then pressure cook for 3 minutes.
- Meanwhile, if desired to serve alongside the rice, mix the ingredients together under the mango salsa heading in a medium-sized bowl, and mix the ingredients under the peanut chicken heading together in another medium-sized bowl, being sure to whisk the peanut butter with other sauce ingredients to combine before adding diced raw chicken to marinate.
- Heat a medium skillet over medium-high heat, then add 1 tbsp coconut oil and saute the chicken for 7-8 minutes until fully cooked through before removing from heat.
- Do a quick release of the pressure on the Instant Pot by flicking the switch at the top with a spoon. Open the lid when pressure gauge has dropped and the lid opens easily.
- Once safe to open, stir coconut rice and plate in large bowls, then top with mango salsa and peanut chicken (if serving). Enjoy!