Instant Pot Mango Sticky Rice

With the Instant Pot, you can make and enjoy mango sticky rice in less than 30 minutes. With every bite you get nutty grains of rice smothered in a fragrant coconut sauce and sweet mango.

With peak mango season, we’ve been making a lot of mango desserts like mango sticky rice, sorbet, and mango sago pudding. Making mango sticky rice used to be a hassle for me especially with soaking the rice the night before, steaming and making sure it comes out with the perfect consistency. Recently I started making the sticky rice in the Instant Pot and it’s so nice to have this popular Thai dessert whenever the craving hits. 

Ingredient Notes

• Sticky rice: for this recipe, I like using black sticky rice or glutinous rice which has a nuttier flavor compared to white sticky rice.
• Coconut cream: look for coconut cream, not coconut milk. The flavor you get from coconut cream is much richer. My favorite brands are Savoy and Aroy-d.
• Palm sugar: is very popular in Southeast Asian cooking. It contains less glucose and has a lower glycemic index compared to regular sugar. If you can’t find palm sugar, you can also substitute with coconut sugar, rock sugar, or light brown sugar. 
• Makrut lime leaves: they are one of the most aromatic herbs and a wonderful addition to many soups, curries, and desserts. We grow our own but you can find them in the fresh herb section at many Asian grocery stores. Look for fresh makrut lime leaves that are dark green, shiny, and without any browning or yellowing. 
• Mango: my favorite mangos are champagne or Ataulfo mangoes. These sun-kissed Champagne mangoes have creamy texture, floral fragrance, and a lot sweeter than other varieties. They’re also less fibrous, making them the ideal mango for desserts, salad, and salsa.

I have included a picture of the Thai sticky rice that I used for this recipe. Sticky rice varieties from Laos and Northern Thailand tend to have a longer grain and more floral scent compared to other stick rice.

Tips for Making Sticky Rice in an Instant Pot

• Use a non-reactive ceramic baking dish, glass baking dish, or stainless steel bowl. When cooked, the bran dyes the white inner endosperm dark purple and you don't want your container stained. I made a mistake of using a white baking dish and it took me forever to clean off the purple residues.
• Rinse the rice according to the package instruction. I rinsed mine three times.
• I used 1 cup of rice with ¾ cup of water.
• Cook the rice at HIGH pressure for 12 minutes and let it naturally release for 8 minutes.

How to Make the Coconut Sauce

For the sauce, I used a coconut sauce recipe infused with makrut lime leaves that I had created a couple years ago for a charity dinner with Anh and Chi and Eikcam Ceramics. I bruised the lime leaves to release its natural oil before adding them to a pot of coconut cream, palm sugar, and a touch of salt and letting everything simmer until the sugar is dissolved and everything comes together.

I love how we can have this delicious mango sticky rice at a moment’s notice with the help of the Instant Pot. There’s no need to soak the rice and its texture comes out perfect each time. Imagine nutty, toothsome grains of black sticky rice smothered in a rich coconut sauce paired with sweet slices of mango and toasted sesame seeds. It’s pure delight with every bite!

For more Instant Pot dessert inspiration, check these recipes: IP rhubarb ginger creme brulee, IP Earl Grey creme brulee, IP blood orange flan, IP blood orange flan.