Instant Pot Plov (Rice Pilaf with meat) is a nutritious one-pot meal that is easy to make and delicious. I really like how Pilaf turns out in Instant pot. The rice comes out fluffy, fragrant, doesn’t burn or stick. And the meat comes out melt in your mouth tender. Perfect one-pot meal and perfect combination!
There are many variations of pilaf and today I’m sharing this easy Instant Pot Plov – Beef Rice Pilaf recipe, made in a pressure cooker. My beef rice pilaf recipe is a Russian/Uzbek style.
I usually choose lamb or beef for pilaf dish, however, you can cook it with chicken, pork or vegetarian. The cooking process is the same.
PS: Please save this Pinterest-Friendly photo below. If you’re not cooking Instant Pot Plov right now, you can easyly find it in your saves later.
You need: Ingredients for Instant Pot Plov
1 pound beef, cubed – you can select beef chuck, sirloin or beef stew meat
2 1/2 cups short-grain or long grain brown rice, rinsed and drained
2 Tbsp oil (olive oil or avocado oil), more if needed
4 Tbsp butter
1 large onion, diced
3-4 large carrots, julienned
3 cups hot water
1 garlic head (unpeeled)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground pepper
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground paprika
1/’2 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground garlic
1/2 tsp ground onion
1-2 TBSP freshly chopped parsley or freshly chopped green onion to garnish (optional)
If you don’t have all the above spices individually, you can get the Plov spice mix specifically for Pilaf (or any Eastern European supermarket should sell it).
Directions:
-
Rinse and drain rice and set aside. Set Instant pot to sauté on high heat and add oil.
-
Add beef in a single layer and sauté until lightly browned (5 min), stirring occasionally.
-
Add butter and chopped onion and stir 5 minutes until softened.
-
Add julienned carrots along with all seasonings and sauté 5 minutes until softened, stirring occasionally.
-
Spread rice evenly over the top (do not stir).
-
Push garlic head, halfway into the rice.
-
Pour warm (or hot) water directly over the rice.
-
Use the back of a wooden spoon to poke 4-5 holes through the rice to the bottom of the pot (this helps disburse flavor).
-
Cover, seal the vent and cook on high pressure for 30 min. Let instant pot rest and naturally depressurize 10 min before switching to the venting position to release steam.
-
Remove garlic head and discard. Stir rice well to combine all of the plov together.
Recipe Notes
Notes: I use organic long grain brown rice (I buy the “Wellsley Farms” brand bag sold at Bj’s).
DO NOT USE quick cooking rice
If cooking white rice (Jasmine or Basmati is great), set cooking time to 15 minutes
You can squeeze the garlic cloves back into the pot, because they are melt in your mouth delicious.
Alternative to cooking with the whole garlic head – you can add 3-4 garlic cloves, minced
Recipe adaptation from Natasha’s Kitchen
Check more hearty Instant pot one pot recipes
My friend slow cooks Uzbek Plov in a Giant Wok (Kazan) on fire. He uses lamb meat with the bone for this dish. You can cook Plov on the stovetop or in Kazan wok on fire. Add the same ingredients and follow the same procedure. Cook your rice according to instructions and keep stirring lightly until the water evaporates
I hope you enjoy it!
Yield: 8
Instant Pot Plov (One Pot Rice Pilaf with meat)
This Instant Pot Rice recipe is a healthy, juicy and flavor packed rice
pilaf called plov. It all comes together in one pot (the instant pot)
and you won’t believe how rich and tasty this is, while prepared quick
and easy.
Prep Time
5 minutes
Cook Time
40 minutes
Additional Time
10 minutes
Total Time
55 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 pound beef, cubed - you can select beef chuck, sirloin or beef stew meat
- 2 1/2 cups short-grain or long grain brown rice, rinsed and drained
- 2 Tbsp oil (olive oil or avocado oil), more if needed
- 4 Tbsp butter
- 1 large onion, diced
- 3-4 large carrots, julienned
- 3 cups hot water
- 1 garlic head (unpeeled)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp ground pepper
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp ground paprika
- 1/'2 tsp ground turmeric
- 1/2 tsp ground coriander
- 1/2 tsp ground garlic
- 1/2 tsp ground onion
- 1-2 TBSP freshly chopped parsley or freshly chopped green onion to garnish (optional)
- Note: If you don't have all the above spices individually, you can get the Plov spice mix specifically for Pilaf (or any Eastern European supermarket should sell it).
Instructions
Rinse and drain rice and set aside. Set Instant pot to sauté on high heat and add oil.
Add beef in a single layer and sauté until lightly browned (5 min), stirring occasionally.
Add butter and chopped onion and stir 5 minutes until softened.
Add julienned carrots along with all seasonings and sauté 5 minutes until softened, stirring occasionally.
Spread rice evenly over the top (do not stir).
Push garlic head, halfway into the rice.
Pour warm (or hot) water directly over the rice.
Use the back of a wooden spoon to poke 4-5 holes through the rice to the bottom of the pot (this helps disburse flavor).
Cover, seal the vent and cook on high pressure for 30 min. Let instant pot rest and naturally depressurize 10 min before switching to the venting position to release steam.
Remove garlic head and discard. Stir rice well to combine all of the plov together.
Notes
I use organic long-grain brown rice (I buy the “Wellsley Farms” brand bag sold at Bj's).
DO NOT USE quick-cooking rice
If cooking white rice (Jasmine or Basmati is great), set the cooking time to 15 minutes
You can squeeze the garlic cloves back into the pot because they are melt in your mouth delicious. (optional)
Alternative to cooking with the whole garlic head - you can add 3-4 garlic cloves, minced
Irina is a NYC area food blogger and recipe developer, loves to cook, travel and entertain. Follow her blog and enjoy her tips on Food & Travel, Lifestyle & Healthy delicious recipes.
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My husband LOVED this dish. So delicious. Minus green onions LOL Thank you for sharing
If you wanted to make this with lamb how much should you use and is there a specific cut you recommend?
Hi Erin, since lamb is pretty fatty I would recommend to find the most less fatty fillet.. trim the fat and cut into 1 inch cubes, you can use lamb ribs too
If using basmati you mention 15 minutes cooking time is this with NPR? Also how do you compensate for the beef needing a longer cook time. Thanks
HI Ruby, That’s right 15 minutes for basmati with NPR. You saute the beef with onions and carrots until browned. Then follow the rest of instructions. After the time is done and release, it will be perfectly cooked. Enjoy
This was delicious! I made it with diced lamb leg. I did have to adjust the seasoning at the end as it was a little land, I would double the salt in future, but it was such a great texture and the meat was meltingly tender.
I haven’t been able to go to Kazakhstan in over a year due to the pandemic and was really missing this dish. It’s great to be able to cook it at home and introduce it to my family here in the UK too.
I’m glad you’re enjoying the PLOV as much as I do. I make it quite often too. My favorite is with mixture of lamb/beef
Can I use a crock Pot instead?
Hello,
Although I haven’t done it in crock pot, but yes!
Follow the same directions and cook the rice along with meat and vegetables as you normally do in the crockpot.
I do not have an instant pot. How can I cook this recipe using the stovetop?
Hi Mary,
Yes. Please follow the directions in the recipe, the last step – add rice, cover, and cook like you normally cook the rice or until done and fluffy