Instant Pot Garlic Rice

Growing up in a Filipino household, garlic rice was a regular part of our meals. Along with plain white rice, we ate Sinangag (Filipino garlic fried rice) morning, noon, and night!

For breakfast, we'd eat it with Spam and fried eggs. And some pandesal to dunk with our cocoa (and the adults, with their morning coffee).

At lunchtime, we'd have it with some pancit or lumpia.

And for dinner, we'd eat up Sinangag with pork or chicken adobo, dinuguan, or Filipino pork barbecue.

🌟 Why this recipe works

This recipe is a non-fried take on Sinangag, the Filipino garlic fried rice.

Making rice in the Instant Pot or Ninja Foodi electric pressure cooker is fast, easy and hands-off, and the rice turns out fluffy and fragrant each time.

Technically, it's not fried, so it's not technically Sinangag – but it's made with the same ingredients and tastes just like the Filipino garlic fried rice I grew up eating.

So if you are looking to make that classic, authentic Filipino recipe, but don't want to fry your rice, this Instant Pot garlic "fried" rice version is definitely one to try!

🍚 Key ingredients for garlic rice

This flavorful and fragrant Filipino garlic rice can be made with just 5 ingredients!

Rice - Use either jasmine rice or long-grain white rice for this recipe.

Garlic - the name should be a big hint: there's a lot of garlic in this recipe. I make it with 6 to 8 garlic cloves, depending on how large the cloves are. If you're not feeling like using that many, you can absolutely make this dish with fewer garlic cloves.

Olive oil - Use the best tasting extra-virgin olive oil you can afford, as the taste of the olive oil you use definitely affects the final taste of the whole dish.

Broth or water - I strongly suggest you use a vegetable or chicken broth to cook the rice. I've even made this with Homemade Turkey Stock. This adds so much flavor! But, you can also use plain water instead.

Salt and pepper - Use kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to season the rice.

✅ Step-by-Step Instructions:
How to make garlic rice in the Instant Pot

Turn your Instant Pot to SAUTE or your Ninja Foodi to SEAR/SAUTE on HI. Add the olive oil. Add the minced garlic and stir, cooking the garlic for 1 to 2 minutes, just until the garlic is soft and fragrant.

Hit CANCEL on your Instant Pot or press the START/STOP button on your Ninja Foodi to end the sauté.

Pour in the rice, then cover with the stock/broth/water. Use the wooden spoon to gently push the rice down to submerge it under the liquid.

Lock the lid onto your electric pressure cooker, making sure the valve is in SEAL mode. Then PRESSURE COOK on HI for 3 minutes. It will take a few minutes for your Instant Pot or Ninja Foodi to come to pressure, then it will start counting down. Once the pressure cooking is complete, NATURAL RELEASE for 10 minutes, then QUICK RELEASE the remaining pressure.

Once all pressure has been released and the pressure release valve pin has gone completely down, carefully turn and open the lid. Serve.

🔪 Kitchen tools and equipment

For this recipe, you just need a few basic kitchen tools:

Electric pressure cooker - For this recipe, you'll need an Instant Pot, Ninja Foodi, or other electric pressure cooker.

Spoon or spatula - wooden spoon or heatproof silicone spatula to stir the ingredients together.

Cutting board and knife - You'll need a sturdy cutting board and sharp knife to chop the garlic.

👩🏻‍🍳 Garlic rice recipe FAQs

For more, you can buy my Filipino cookbook: Modern Filipino Cooking, my 55-page e-Book with authentic Filipino recipes that I've adapted for today's modern kitchen!