Cheesy Rice in the Instant Pot

I’ve gotten lots of requests for recipes that I make in the Instant Pot IP-DUO60 7-in-1 Multi-Functional Pressure Cooker. I was leery about buying one. For me, the $100 or so that it cost was a lot of money for me to spend on a kitchen appliance that I wasn’t sure I would use. I use it ALL THE TIME. It’s gotten to be right hand for me.

My problem is this…I am not a recipe girl. I just get an idea in my head and give it a try.

Here’s an example. Last week I was feeding the childcare kiddos hot dogs. I didn’t have buns and honestly, the kids don’t like buns so I needed a different item from the bread group. A thought jumped in my brain that said cheesy rice would be perfect so I tried to think how I could make that.

I know the regular recipe for rice is 1 1/2 cups water to 1 cup rice. Hit the rice button and I have rice. My thought was- “how do I modify that to make cheesy rice?” This is what I did….I thought about mac and cheese in the box. It needs milk, butter and the cheese sauce so how to I improvise.

I put in 1 cup of milk, 1/2 cut of water, 1 cup of rice, 2 tablespoons of butter…now for the cheesy part..Hmm….Velveeta?

Well I only had Queso Blanco Velveeta…well I already had the other ingredients in so I went with it. I but 2″ off. I cut that into chunks and threw it into the pot with the other ingredients.

I hit the button and 12 minutes later…Cheesy Rice and it was good!! Really good. I won’t feed it to Hubby. He hates rice but the childcare kids…they loved it just as good as Mac and Cheese.

See? It really isn’t a recipe. It’s more of an experiment. This experiment happened to work.

I ALWAYS make potatoes in the Instant Pot. I NEVER boil potatoes anymore…EVER. This is how I make potatoes… I always put red potatoes in in with a cup or so water with the trivet in. I use manual pressure for 20 minutes. They are hands down the best potatoes every time.

Sometime we eat them plain with butter or sour cream. I purposely make extra. The next day I use them for fried potatoes. I cut the potatoes up and fry them with butter and onions…then add cheese over the top at the end.

I adore my Instant Pot. If it came down to that I could only have two kitchen appliances, I would take my Instant Pot and my Heritage Grill. I’d take these over a microwave and even over the stove…the oven I’d want…but the stove I could give up. I like them that much.

8 thoughts on “Cheesy Rice in the Instant Pot”

Debra Hageman
February 28, 2017 at 6:31 pm

I got one for Christmas this year, and gotta say I love mine too. Cooking hard boiled eggs is s snap and perfect every time. They peel so easy too. Last week I made potato salad in a matter of 45 minutes start to finish!! I did the potatoes and the eggs in the instant pot. I love it!!

Paulac
February 28, 2017 at 7:45 pm

I love mine too! I make Greek yogurt every week and love it!

Sally Richter
March 1, 2017 at 8:00 am

This morning I am making pumpkin chip cake in mine…..love the recipe from PressureCookingToday, also altered recipe to make banana/pecan cake. YUM! So easy you should try it.

Diane
March 1, 2017 at 7:06 pm

Jo, Tried to e-mail you and it comes back saying it’s not a valid address. Please e-mail me.

thanks, diane

Diane
March 1, 2017 at 7:11 pm

Never mind Jo I figured it out. Sorry for the confusion, diane

Bobbie Campbell
March 2, 2017 at 2:48 am

I keep reading about the instant pots, everybody loves them. But am not familiar with the Grill-what do you use it for?

Tami Chaullk
March 5, 2017 at 9:12 pm

My husband was sitting next to me when I was reading through your blog and I told him that you were Jo, the one who told me about the Instant Pot I got him for his birthday. I read how you do potatoes now and it might actually get him to give it a try. Thanks!

Randall P
February 13, 2023 at 9:00 pm

The cheesy rice recipe is the bomb! I was going to make Mac & cheese but I didn’t have any noodles. My son absolutely loved this recipe but he said it needed something to add to it. So next time I’m going to make popcorn chicken or shrimp in the air fryer and serve it as a combo dish. I served it with air fryer burgers tonight which was good, but I like my son’s idea as well. Great recipe!