Pressure Cooker Rice Pilaf with Carrots, Peas and Parsley
A colorful rice pilaf that cooks in only 3 minutes in the pressure cooker. A quick, easy and delicious way to get more veggies in your diet.
My family loves my Pressure Cooker Saffron Almond Rice Pilaf so I thought it would be fun to do another pressure cooker pilaf recipe and change it up a bit. This time I added carrots before cooking the rice, and peas, parsley, and almonds after the rice is done steaming.
Making Rice Pilaf with Carrots, Peas and Parsley in an Instant Pot
This makes a big pot of rice, you could easily divide the recipe in half if you’re not cooking for a crowd. Or, do what I did and eat it for lunch the next two days. It reheated wonderfully.
Rice Pilaf with Carrots, Peas and Parsley
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 celery stalk, chopped
- 1 large carrot, chopped
- 2 cups long grain white rice, rinsed
- 1 14 oz can chicken broth
- 1 1/4 cup water
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup frozen peas, thawed
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup sliced almonds, toasted
Instructions
Place the butter in the cooking pot. Select Sauté when the butter is melted and sizzling, add the chopped onions, celery, and carrot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender, about 3 to 5 minutes.
Stir in rice and cook, stirring frequently, until rice becomes opaque, about 1 to 2 minutes. Add broth, water, and salt. Cover and lock lid in place. Select High Pressure and set timer for 3 minutes. When beep sounds wait 5 minutes and then use a Quick Pressure Release to release pressure.
When valve drops carefully remove lid, tilting away from you to allow steam to disperse. Fluff rice, stir in peas, parsley, and almonds, and serve immediately.
Was wondering if this recipe can be tripled. Same cook time?
Hi Jenni – you can’t fill your pressure cooker more than 2/3’s full, so I think it would be too full if you have a 6 quart, but you may be able to triple it if you have an 8 quart PC.
Was wondering if this recipe can be tripled. Same cook time?
I do have an 8 at so I think maybe I will just double it. Does the cook time stay the sameness?
Yes, I would use the same cook time for triple the recipe in the 8 quart. Enjoy!
Thank you for the prompt answer! I’m sorry I’m still not clear though. The pilaf with white rice has 1 1/4 cups of water and 14 oz of chicken broth. Your brown rice recipe calls for 2 3/4 cups of water; do I add the 14 oz of chicken broth to that whole amount? Or to 3 or 3 1/4 cups of water?
You’ll use the 14 oz can chicken broth and 1 1/2 cup water.
We love rice pilaf, and it couldn’t be easier in the pressure cooker, using your simple recipe. I’ve made it with white rice before, but tonight I used parboiled rice and it was even better. Parboiled rice has a slightly nutty flavor that worked really well in this recipe. Digging through my produce drawer turned up a short inner celery stalk that was a little limp, some crinkle-cut carrot chips (also very sad) and half a large shallot. Close enough! I cooked it for 5 minutes, because past experience taught me that 3 minutes is too short for parboiled rice. It was perfect at 5 minutes with a 5 minute release. I always add the peas for color, although I don’t think they’re needed for flavor or texture. Parsley is a must. I omitted the almonds tonight, didn’t have any.
I scaled the recipe by half and it worked perfectly in my 3qt Mini IP. This is our favorite rice when we’re tired of plain boring rice.
Thanks so much for sharing your tips! It’s great to know that a half recipe works well in the 3 quart Mini. Love that you just used what you had on hand. I’ll have to try it with parboiled rice.
Love this recipe but made 2 changes. I can not stand peas – has to do with being forced to eat them as a kid, So – I used frozen string beans that I diced. I also changed the chicken broth to Better than Bouillon Chicken base which is low sodium and has no MSG in it. I also left out the almonds. Except for those couple of changes – this is a great recipe. I did only make half of the recipe and it came out great. I have a Power Pro XL so I have a rice icon that worked great on this recipe. Thanks for posting it.
Sounds like delicious changes. Thanks for sharing Kathi!
Is that one 1/4 cup water or 1-1/4 cups water?
1 cup plus 1/4 cup water 🙂
I made pulao with manual 4 minutes and quick release after five minutes. The rice was al dente but it had a little bit of stickiness on it. Is it due to quick release? Or should i reduce water content? I had water covering the contents.
I would recommend trying a longer natural release so the rice has longer to steam and absorb the water.
Leftovers would be perfect for fried rice!
Great idea!
Hi Barbara!
If I halved this recipe, how much liquid do I need and would I still set the timer for 3 mins?
Also I have this great recipe for a rice and noodle pilaf which uses broken up angel hair pasta that is sautéed with the rice until the pasta browns. I don’t have much experience in converting recipes so in your expert opinion, do you think it would work if I added the pasta with the rice and then pressure cooked it?
P.S. I have been using ur recipes for quite sometime now since I got my instant pot and just wanted to say thank you for this website! I can’t live without my pressure cooker AND your recipes! 🙂
That’s so nice Katherine!Thank you 🙂
You’d be able to halve the liquid in this recipe with no problem. The addition of the pasta however, might change the liquid you need since both pasta and rice absorb a lot of liquid. But it definitely sounds doable. I’d give it a try with the 3 minute cook time and maybe an extra 1/4 – 1/2 cup water depending on how much pasta you’re using. Just make sure the pasta and rice are completely covered by liquid. Let me know how it goes. 🙂
What a great recipe! It’s only the third time I have used electric pressure cooker and this recipe is going to be a staple. Thanks!
This is such a wonderful recipe. It reminds me of a dish my dad used to make.
This looks so inviting Barbara!
A three minute side sounds like the way to go!
Was this for a 15 psi pressure cooker or the Hot Pot?
Hi Kathy – I cooked this recipe in my electric Cuisinart Pressure Cooker which I understand is about 13 psi. I don’t think you’ll need to make any changes in a 15 psi stove top pressure cooker.
Do you think this could be done with brown rice? You’re pressure cooker brown rice is a staple at my house!
Hi Marci – it’s a staple at our house too. It would work well except I would add the carrots at the end with the peas and parsley. Just steam the carrots separately. Great question.
Would you add the chicken broth in addition to the amount of water for the brown rice?
Hi Diana – you may need to increase the water slightly. Maybe 1/4 – 1/2 cup additional water.