Instant Pot Herb Butter Rice
Herb butter rice is the perfect easy side dish for chicken or seafood. This 5 minute Instant Pot recipe is perfect for a holiday dinner because the pressure cooker keeps the cooked rice warm for up to 20 minutes giving you flexibility to finish the main course as needed.
During the busy holiday season, everyone needs a super easy side dish that basically cooks itself and keeps warm until you're ready to serve it.
I'm not sure what we'd ever do without our Instant Pot mini. It cooks our rice so perfectly fluffy and takes less than a minute to set up. I love being able to completely ignore the pressure cooker until I'm ready to lift the lid and serve the dish.
This delicious herb butter rice has plenty of flavor by itself but is the perfect base for a saucy protein spooned over the top.
It was created especially to go with my very favorite apricot chicken recipe but I'm sure you'll find tons of reasons to use it for elegant and easy dinners all month.
Why This is the Best Recipe
- Easy Upgrade: If you want something more than just plain white rice, this is the easiest rice upgrade for your dinner. Just adding a touch of butter and herbs transforms this into an elegant side dish!
- Easy to Tweak: I've shared my favorite herbs to use but you can make this a whole new dish just be swapping that one ingredient.
- Great for Saucy Dinners: The herb butter rice is perfect to pair with a saucy chicken dinner, it will soak up every last delicious bit!
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Ingredients
3 ingredients, 1 minute to prep? YES, PLEASE.
- Jasmine Rice: I use jasmine rice anytime a recipe calls for white rice. It's our favorite. But, you could substitute long grain white rice if you prefer.
- Butter: I always use salted. If you prefer unsalted, you may wish to add a little more salt to the water.
- Fines Herbs: This dried herb blend can be found at most major grocery store chains. It's a simple mix of parsley, chives, tarragon, and chervil. It's far cheaper to just buy the blend than to try to mix your own. You can buy an affordable flat pack pouch with free shipping right here.
Tools
I always use our Instant Pot mini to cook rice because I think the smaller pot comes to pressure faster and doesn't need to be filled with as much food as the larger sizes.
It also takes up so much less room in the kitchen!
If you use a larger Instant Pot, be sure to check the minimum food level required.
How to Cook the Rice
Add the rice and the water to the Instant Pot pot. Be sure to stir them together so no dry rice touches the bottom of the pot or it may scorch.
Chop the butter into smaller cubes and sprinkle them over the water. This helps ensure that it will melt evenly all throughout the rice as it cooks.
Sprinkle the fines herbs, salt, and pepper into the pot and stir.
Cover and seal the Instant Pot. Cook the rice on HIGH pressure for 3 minutes.
You can do a quick release of the pressure and serve immediately, or you can leave the pot sealed and let the Instant Pot keep your rice warm for up to 20 minutes.
This is such a handy way to cook a side dish for a busy holiday dinner because your rice will be ready whenever your main dish finishes!
Make Ahead Tips
If you're prepping meals for your freezer, this is an excellent base to use.
I like to layer the herb rice in individual dishes and top with my saucy chickens and freeze them together. They reheat perfectly together.
You can make the rice dish itself in advance and store it in the fridge for up to 2 days, just reheat it in the microwave.
Serving Suggestions
This yummy herb butter rice is the perfect side dish for my favorite saucy apricot chicken or roasted meyer lemon chicken but would pair wonderfully with macadamia halibut, my oven baked salmon that has just a hint of mustard, or an easy roast chicken with vegetables, too!
More Instant Pot Side Dishes
Our Instant Pot mini is one of my favorite small kitchen appliances for making easy family dinners.
You can use it to make plain jasmine rice for any meal that has a delicious sauce you want to highlight.
My rich sticky butter rice comes together in minutes and is a heartier side dish for chicken or fish. And my easy Instant Pot wild rice pilaf is the perfect holiday side dish for an elegant menu.
📖 Recipe
Instant Pot Herb Butter Rice
Ingredients
- 2 cups jasmine rice or long grain white rice
- 2 cups water
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 3 tablespoons fines herbs see notes
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Fresh cracked pepper
Instructions
- Add the rice and water to the bowl of the Instant Pot and stir them together so that no dry rice touches the bottom of the pot.
- Cut the butter into smaller cubes and sprinkle them over the rice. Add the herbs, salt, and a pinch of pepper and stir everything together.
- Cover and seal the Instant Pot and cook on HIGH pressure for 3 minutes.
- You can quick release the pressure and serve immediately or keep the Instant Pot sealed and let it keep the rice warm for up to 20 minutes. Fluff the rice with a fork before serving.
Recipe Notes
Herb Substitutions:
Fines herbs is a special blend of French herbs that pair wonderfully with the butter in this rice dish. If you can't find it or don't want to use it, you could substitute your favorite herb blend. Italian herbs, Mediterranean herbs, or Greek herbs would all taste wonderful, too.Save This Recipe to Your Recipe Box
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