Coconut Rice Recipe (Made In Rice Cooker)

This Coconut Rice Recipe is so simple to make with only 5 ingredients. Coconut Rice is made in a rice cooker which makes it an easy dump & go side dish recipe! Learn how to make this sweet, fluffy, soft coconut rice with all my tips and serving suggestions.

Coconut Rice Recipe

I cannot accurately describe my love for this coconut rice! It’s a super easy, dump & go side recipe, that is so delicious served with a variety of dishes. It’s slightly sweet, moist but not wet, soft, and fluffy. The best part is that you only need 5 ingredients, which all get dumped into the rice cooker, to make it!

My family loves this rice served with my Thai Coconut Grilled Chicken, this Honey Lime & Cilantro Marinated Grilled Chicken, or as a base with my Easy Chicken Curry. 

Ingredients Needed

Here are the ingredients that you will need to make coconut rice in your own kitchen. I also share some tips which will hopefully make this recipe easy to recreate for your own family. 

• Jasmine Rice – I do not recommend substituting this with another rice. Jasmine rice is a Thai rice, that is very fragrant, and it really is the best and only rice to use for coconut rice. It can easily be found at any grocery store by the other rice varieties.
• Coconut Milk – This is not the coconut milk that you buy in the carton that is a replacement for dairy milk. This is a can of coconut milk that you will find on the shelves, usually by the soy sauce and other Asian type ingredients. Make sure you are using the unsweetened coconut milk.
• Water
• Kosher Salt – I prefer this salt because it flavors foods better rather than just making them taste ‘salty’ like regular table salt does. 
• Granulated Sugar – Don’t skip this! Just please don’t. It rounds out the coconut flavor and is just really good in the recipe.  

How To Make Coconut Rice in a Rice Cooker

Learn how to make easy coconut rice in rice cooker with these easy steps!

• Dump & Go : Add all ingredients inside the insert of a rice cooker and stir. 
• Cook : Press the ‘white rice’ button and let it cook. That’s it!
• Serving : Fluff the rice with a fork before serving. The rice will stay really well on the ‘warm’ setting inside the rice cooker for several hours so it’s perfect if not everyone is eating dinner at the same time, or if you are serving a large group at a gathering. 

Tips For Success

Here are my helpful tips for this coconut rice recipe, that will hopefully make this easy recipe a hit with your own family. 

• Wash Rice : Make sure you wash/rinse the rice before adding it into the rice cooker. Washing the rice provides a much fresher & cleaner flavor, and helps the delicate coconut flavor stand out. As you rinse the rice you will see that the water that comes out is actually very foggy looking. Rinse the rice until the water that comes out is clear like water. Make sure you have a fine mesh strainer to rinse the rice, or something else like a colander, but make sure the holes are small enough that the rice grains won’t fall right through. 
• Use Jasmine Rice : Don’t try to substitute this for anything else. Jasmine rice is the best rice to use when making homemade coconut rice. It’s fragrant, it cooks up perfectly, and has the best taste & texture. Jasmine rice is very easily found by the other rice varieties at the grocery store. 
• Don’t Skip The Sugar : It’s a very small amount of sugar but it makes a big difference in the overall taste of the rice. It helps the delicate coconut flavor stand out. 

Rice Cooker Coconut Rice FAQ’s

• Can I Make This Ahead of Time?
  • Yes you can make this coconut rice recipe ahead of time. Because it cooks in a rice cooker, it will automatically keep warm on the warm setting, once it’s done cooking. It will stay fresh & warm for several hours inside the rice cooker. I would not recommend making this rice the day before and refrigerating it until serving. The rice gets hard as it sits in the fridge, which means the rice won’t be as fluffy and soft when reheated. 
  • If you need the rice ahead of time, I would suggest making a few hours before serving, and letting it sit on the ‘warm’ setting of the rice cooker until serving. 
• What Kind of Rice is Best For Coconut Rice?
  • Jasmine rice is the best rice to use when making coconut rice. 
  • It’s a Thai rice, it’s super fragrant which lends well to the coconut flavor, and it cooks up soft & fluffy. 
• How To Store Leftovers
  • Leftovers can be stored in an air-tight container, in the fridge, for up to 3-4 days. 
  • The longer the rice sits in the fridge the harder it will get, and even if you warm it up in the microwave, it still won’t be as soft and fluffy as when it’s fresh. 
  • Leftovers are good, but the rice will have a different texture once reheated from the fridge. 
• Serving Suggestions
  • We love this served alongside some grilled chicken. I have linked several recipes that we eat it with above in the post. 
  • Use it as a base with this One Pan Chicken Teriyaki, Cashew Chicken, or this Pineapple Teriyaki Chicken Stir-Fry Recipe. 
  • It’s really good as the rice base for these Hawaiian Haystacks or Slow Cooker Hawaiian Teriyaki Chicken. 
  • Serve it with some meatballs. We love it with these Pineapple Teriyaki Chicken Meatballs. 
• Variation & Substitution Ideas
  • Make It Lighter : Although I don’t recommend this, you can use lite coconut milk if wanted. I think the regular fat coconut milk is so much better in this recipe, but it can be substituted if wanted. 
  • Spicy! : This is a lightly sweet coconut rice but if you want to add some spice then try adding red chili pepper flakes and/or red cayenne pepper. 

More Coconut Recipes You’ll Love

• Coconut Cream Fruit Dip
• No Bake Coconut Cream Pie
• Coconut Pistachio Cream Pie
• Slow Cooker Coconut Chicken Curry
• Homemade Coconut Oil Almond Granola
• Coconut Lemon Poppyseed Muffins