How To Cook Rice in an Air Fryer

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Learn how to cook rice in an air fryer with these super simple steps. Personally, I don’t think this is the best method for cooking rice. You can’t go wrong with an awesome rice cooker or cooking rice in a pot on the stovetop burner, however, I love using my air fryer and new ways to cook things in it. Someone asked me how to cook rice in the air fryer so here we go!

Ingredients for air fryer rice

To cook rice in the air fryer you only need two simple ingredients and a few other things:

• Rice – I typically buy white enriched long grain rice and use that, but you can use whatever rice that you want. Brown rice typically takes a little longer to cook. Basmati rice, Jasmine rice, etc., are all good types of rice to use.
• Water – I always use filtered water because my tap water tastes gross.

Equipment/Tools

• Air Fryer
• Oven-safe bowl or pan that fits in the air fryer basket. A deep cake pan will work great, use a 3-inch deep one. A porcelain bowl or Pyrex bowl will work too.
• Aluminum foil – This will be the “lid” for the pot.

Air Fryer Rice – How to cook rice in an air fryer

Begin by rinsing your rice a few times to clean it and remove excess starch. However, if you are using “enriched” rice you do not pre-rinse it. Place the uncooked rice and the water in your oven-safe bowl or pot or cake pan. It just needs to be small enough to fit in the air fryer basket.

Cover the top of the bowl or pot with a piece of aluminum foil. This will act as the lid. If you have a lid do not use it, most likely it will be too high and could touch the heating element in your air fryer. Foil works great.

Set the air fryer to 385F or 195C on the air fryer mode if you have different modes. Cooking time will vary but usually it takes somewhere between 25 and 35 minutes depending on how much you are doing and how much water you use.

NOTE: If you like mushier rice use the full 2 cups of water, if you don’t like mushy rice I recommend using less water around 1 3/4 cups of water.

Once the rice is cooked you can remove it from the air fryer. Use a hot mitt to remove the cake pan or pot from the air fryer basket. Then fluff up the rice with a spoon, fork, or rice paddle. If you have some water left on the bottom or if the rice is a little mushy you can cover it again and cook it for 3 to 4 more minutes.

NOTE: Cooking times will vary depending on the type of rice.

Now you can use the fluffy rice for whatever you would like to use it for. Sometimes I just add a little soy sauce to the rice, or butter and salt and pepper and just eat it that way. There are so many things you can do with plain rice.

How long does cooked rice last?

Cooked rice will last 4 to 6 days in the fridge in an airtight container, then you should freeze it if you want to store it longer than that.

What method is the best for cooking rice?

Personally, I feel a specific rice cooker is the best thing to use to cook perfect rice every time, however, the traditional stovetop method has been used for hundreds of years and some would argue that is the best way to cook rice. Do what works for you! The air fryer method works too, if you happen to only own one of those and not a rice cooker or oven/stovetop burner or hot plate.

Here are some other rice-related recipes that you may like:

How to Make Rice Flour at Home

Easy Fried Rice Recipe

Easy Rice Pudding

Do you like this super easy air fryer rice recipe? Please give it a rating and comment down below, I really appreciate it.  If you make it tag me on Instagram @inthekitchenwithmatt. Also, sign up for the newsletter so you won’t miss out on any of my new posts and recipes.