Instant Pot Mango Sticky Rice

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This Instant Pot Mango & Sticky Rice is made with glutinous sweet rice, coconut milk, sugar, and mango and tastes just as good as your local Thai take out. You’re going to love how easy it is.

» You might also like this Instant Pot Chicken Pad Thai.

Mango Sticky Rice

Sticky rice is used in many Asian dishes and one of my favorites is Mango Sticky Rice. We’ve already shown you how to make Instant Pot sticky rice for dishes like Chinese Sticky Rice, but now we’re going to make our favorite Thai dessert – Mango Sticky Rice.

The Instant Pot helps you make awesome sticky rice. I’ve made this so many times and it always turns out perfect – not under or overcooked, not soggy, not unappetizing. The rice is perfect! And you can then mix it with the coconut milk to make this dessert in the easiest possible way.

By the way: you can cook all kinds of rice in the Instant Pot, try cooking jasmine rice, basmati rice, and sushi rice as well.

Ingredients You Need

Mango Sticky Rice ingredients
  • Glutinous Rice: Use glutinous rice – also called sticky rice or sweet rice – to make the perfect sticky rice. Other rice variations will not work. This is due to the near absence of amylose and a very high concentration of amylopectin that makes it very sticky when cooked. Other rice types don’t have these same properties.
  • Water: The water to rice ratio is very important, so make sure to follow the recipe’s ratios.
  • Coconut Milk – Use canned full-fat unsweetened coconut milk, like Thai Kitchen, Aroy-D, or Chaokoh brand.
  • Granulated sugar – Use regular table sugar for this recipe – you can also substitute it with a granulated sugar substitute like monk fruit or allulose.
  • Salt – The salt off sets the sweetness and really brightens the flavor.
  • Cornstarch – Helps thicken the coconut milk that you pour over the rice.
  • Mango – Be sure to use really ripe and ready mangos for the best flavor. Not fully ripened mangoes are not good with this dessert.
  • Toasted sesame seeds – for garnish
Mango Sticky Rice

Equipment

  • Stainless steel bowl: You will need a stainless-steel bowl for the rice in this recipe. It works best as it heats up quickly and more evenly. Using a different type of bowl may change the cooking time and final texture.
  • Instant Pot: I use a 6-quart Instant Pot. You can also make it in an 8-quart, but you will have to adjust the amount of water in the base of the pot.
  • Trivet – You can use the trivet that comes with the Instant Pot in a pinch, but I prefer to use a steamer basket or tall trivet to keep the stainless steel bowl up out of the water.
  • Peeler – to peel the mango
  • Sharp knife – to extract the mango seed and slice the mango.

How to Make Instant Pot Mango Sticky Rice

Step One: Cook the Rice

Sticky rice in the Instant Pot

Let me just start by saying that it is not necessary to rinse the rice before cooking it in this recipe. It’s okay to do so, if you really want to, but it’s unnecessary and will save time if you skip it.

Pour 1 cup of cold water into the base of the Instant Pot liner and set a steamer basket or trivet inside.

Pour the rice and the remaining 2/3 cup cold water into a stainless steel bowl that will fit into your Instant Pot. This is called pot-in-pot cooking. You want to use stainless steel so it doesn’t get compromised under pressure, like glass can. It’s safer. Make sure all the rice is submerged, with no rice out of the water.

Place the stainless steel bowl on the trivet and close the lid. Pressure cook on high for 12 minutes with a 10 minute natural release. You can release any remaining pressure and then remove the lid.

Step Two: Make the Coconut Syrup

coconut syrup

While the rice is cooking, pour ⅔ cup of the coconut milk, ¼ cup of the sugar, and half the salt into a saucepan over medium-low heat. Simmer it until all the sugar is dissolved. Make sure not to turn the heat up too much. You don’t want to caramelize the sugar, just dissolve it. Take it off the heat once the sugar is dissolved.

Step Three: Soak the Rice in Syrup

soaking rice

Pour the coconut milk mixture over the rice. Mix it into the rice by fluffing the rice with a fork. Now let it sit for about 20 minutes (or up to 2 hours) so the rice can soak up the syrup.

Step Four: Prepare to Serve

When you’re about ready to serve the rice, mix 1 tablespoon of the coconut milk with the cornstarch in a bowl. Add the remaining coconut milk, sugar and salt to the saucepan over medium heat.

Once it’s hot, slowly pour in the cornstarch mixture to thicken the coconut sauce. Once it’s slightly thickened, remove it from the heat.

To serve, scoop some sticky rice onto a plate. You can make 6 servings of about 1/2 cup of rice each, or 12 smaller servings of 1/4 cup of rice each. Arrange the mango slices around the side of the rice. Drizzle the warm coconut sauce over the rice and garnish with toasted sesame seeds.

Mango Sticky Rice

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I scale this recipe up or down?

Yes! If your stainless steel bowl is spacious enough to fit more rice, then you can easily double the recipe. For 2 cups of glutinous rice, double the water in the bowl to 1 1/3 cup, with the same one cup of water in the base of the inner pot. You’ll also need to double the sauce and get 2 mangos.

If you want to half the recipe, just reduce all of the ingredients by half. The cook time stays the same.

Can I store mango sticky rice?

Storing mango sticky rice properly is not a great option. It’s not nearly as good the next day. You can’t really reheat it, so you’d have to remove it from the refrigerator and let it come back up to room temperature to eat it, but it will be hard and a little unappealing. I would suggest you eat it on the first day.

Can I use a sugar substitute?

Yes, if you want to reduce the sugar and calories from this recipe, you can use a granulated sugar substitute like allulose, Erythritol or monk fruit in place of the table sugar.

Mango Sticky Rice

Why Use An Instant Pot?

The Instant Pot is one of the most useful kitchen appliances you can buy, because it drastically cuts down on the cooking time for developing flavors in soups and stews, getting tough cuts of meat tender, and even baking a cheesecake. If you don’t have one, check out our guide on which one to buy. Also see our guide to How to Use an Instant Pot and the many accessories you can buy for it.

Instant Pot Duo Plus

Tips and Notes

  • Make sure to fluff the sticky rice to get the best texture and to fully incorporate the coconut milk. 
  • The water to rice ratio is important, so measure your ingredients carefully. Too much water can make it soggy, while not enough can make it undercooked.
  • You might find it weird to add salt to the coconut milk sauce, but it will really give a great balanced flavor and bring out all the flavors in the sauce, so don’t skip it.
  • Be sure to watch the coconut milk carefully on the stove top and don’t cook it at too high a temperature. You don’t want to caramelize it.

What to Serve It With

Mango Sticky Rice is a fantastic dessert for any Asian meal. While it’s a Thai dessert, that doesn’t mean you can’t serve it with anything you like. It goes well with almost any meal. Here are some dishes that I often make mango sticky rice to go with as dessert. 

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Mango with sticky rice and sauce

Instant Pot Mango Sticky Rice

This Instant Pot Mango & Sticky Rice is made with glutinous sweet rice, coconut milk, sugar, and mango and tastes just as good as your local Thai take out. You're going to love how easy it is.

Note: Made in a 6-qt Instant Pot

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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 12 minutes
Pressurize Time 20 minutes
Total Time 42 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine Thai
Servings 4 Servings
Calories 484 kcal

Ingredients
 

  • 1 cup (185 g) glutinous or sweet rice
  • 1 2/3 cup (394 ml) cold water
  • 14 ounce (397 ml) can full-fat coconut milk divided
  • 1/4 cup (50 g) + 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon (3 g) salt divided
  • 1 tablespoon (8 g) cornstarch
  • 2 (2) ripe mango peeled pitted, and thinly sliced
  • Toasted sesame seeds for garnish

Instructions
 

  • Pour 1 cup of the water into the Instant Pot and set a steamer basket or tall trivet inside.
  • Pour the rice into a stainless steel bowl that will fit into your Instant Pot. Pour in the remaining 2/3 cup cold water. Make sure all the rice is submerged.
  • Place the bowl on the steamer basket/trivet and lock the lid. Pressure cook on high for 12 minutes with a 10 minute natural release.
  • While the rice is cooking, pour 2/3 cup of the coconut milk, 1/4 cup of the sugar, and half the salt into a saucepan over medium-low heat. Simmer until sugar is dissolved.
  • Release remaining pressure after 10 minute natural release. Pour the coconut milk mixture over the rice. Mix it into the rice by fluffing with a fork. Let sit for 20 minutes (or up to 2 hours) so rice can soak up the sauce.
  • Mix 1 tablespoon of the remaining coconut milk with the cornstarch in a small bowl. Set aside.
  • When just about to serve, add the remaining coconut milk, sugar and salt to the saucepan over medium heat. Once hot, slowly pour in the cornstarch mixture to thicken the coconut sauce. Remove from heat.
  • To serve, scoop some sticky rice onto a plate. Arrange the mango slices around the side of the rice. Drizzle the warm coconut sauce over the rice and garnish with toasted sesame seeds.

Notes

  • You must use glutinous rice (aka sweet rice, sticky rice) for this recipe. You cannot make it with any other rice.
  • You can allow the rice to rest for up to 2 hours, but it can’t be refrigerated or reheated, so it’s best to eat the dish within a few hours of making it.
  • Be sure to use really ripe and ready mangos for the best flavor. Not fully ripened mangoes are not good with this dessert.
  • Use canned full-fat unsweetened coconut milk, like Thai Kitchen, Aroy-D, or Chaokoh brand.

Nutrition

Calories: 484kcalCarbohydrates: 70gProtein: 6gFat: 22gSaturated Fat: 19gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.4gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 313mgPotassium: 428mgFiber: 3gSugar: 27gVitamin A: 1120IUVitamin C: 39mgCalcium: 38mgIron: 4mg
Keyword Rice
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