Instant Pot Wild Rice Recipe

Today, we are cooking wild rice in the instant pot. For years, I cooked my wild rice on the stovetop, which started with soaking wild rice from the night before and then cooking it on the stovetop the next day. I even published a detailed blog post about how to cook wild rice.

However, nowadays, with pressure cooking being so convenient, I am also cooking wild rice in my Instant Pot (affiliate link.) In addition to being a timesaver, it allows me to skip the soaking part, which is great because I usually forget to do it from the night before.

I have to admit it took me a minute to get into using my Instant Pot, but now I am hooked. Though I am still a student in learning, I love the ease and convenience of using my pressure cooker daily, especially when it comes to cooking the basics.

So today, I am here to tell you everything you need to know about cooking wild rice and my favorite wild rice blend in a pressure cooker. Before I continue, please know that it took me two weeks of testing and over ten times of cooking wild rice in my instant pot with different wild rice brands to write this post.

Wild Rice Brands:

Before I talk about how to cook wild rice in a pressure cooker, I want to caution you on something. During my recipe testing, I learned that the results you get from one wild rice brand to another vary. I found out about this the hard way when I kept getting different results when I switched from one brand to another.

They were minor but still slightly different. In the end, I found a ‘water to wild rice ratio” that works perfectly with three different brands (below links are affiliate links):

• Reese Minnesota Wild Rice – Minnesotan hand-picked wild rice
• Lundberg Organic Wild Rice – A national brand you can find in almost every store.
• Organic Wild Rice that I purchased from the bulk section of our local grocery store here in Manchester, Vermont.

Now, this is not to say this instant pot wild rice recipe will not work with any other wild rice brand. My goal here is to let you know that there might be slight differences in results based on the wild rice you are using.

Wild Rice Water Ratio

The wild rice to water ratio for cooking wild rice in an instant pot is:

1 cup (6 ounces = 170 grams) of wild rice to 1 ⅓ cups (330 ml.) of water.

While it might sound like the amount of water is not enough, please keep in mind that when you cook food in a pressure cooker, the cooking liquid has nowhere to evaporate. As a result, the rice absorbs all the liquid leaving you with perfectly cooked and moist wild rice that is ready to serve.

The rice to liquid ratio of 1 to 1 ⅓ provides wild rice with some grain that is “fully burst” with some that are “just about to burst,” which I think is the best way to serve wild rice. Additionally, this ratio will give you wild rice with no excess liquid in the pot after it is cooked.

With that being said, I know that some people think that wild rice should be cooked in plenty of liquid and that the leftover juices should be used in cooking. If you feel that way, you can increase the amount of water to 1 ½ cups. Though be aware that even though your rice will be perfectly cooked, you will have to drain the excess liquid in the pan before serving.

How to cook wild rice in Instant Pot (In electric pressure cooker)

To cook wild rice in an instant pot:

1. Rinse the rice: Place a cup of wild rice into a colander, rinse under cold water, and drain. You do not need to soak wild rice when cooking it in a pressure cooker.
2. Place rice and water in the pressure cooker: Transfer the rinsed and drained wild rice into the instant pot and pour in 1 ⅓ cups of water. If preferred, you can add some salt as well.
3. Set the instant pot: Secure the lid and make sure that the pressure regulator is set to sealing position. Select Manual and cook at high pressure for 20 minutes, followed by a 10-minute natural release. If there is any pressure left, release it by turning the pressure regulator knob onto the venting position. Carefully open the lid.
4. Serve: Fluff the now-cooked wild rice with a fork or a wooden spoon and serve.
   Or add your cooked wild rice into soups, salads, casseroles, or serve it as a side dish.

FAQs

How to cook wild rice blend in Instant Pot:

While I am a lover of wild rice as a grain by itself, lately, we have been enjoying Lundberg’s Wild Rice Blend (affiliate link) quite a bit. This post is not sponsored by them, but I love their rice blend and serve it quite a bit. Therefore, I thought it would be helpful to share how I cook my favorite wild rice blend in a pressure cooker as well.

According to their website, Lundberg Wild Rice Blend consists of long-grain brown rice, sweet brown rice, wild rice, Wehani® red rice, and black rice. As you can imagine, with all different kinds of rice types, it is hard to figure out how much liquid to use and how long to cook. But no worries, I am here to help.

Wild Rice To Water Ratio To Cook Instant Pot Wild Rice Blend

The ratio of wild rice blend to water (or liquid) to cook in pressure cooker is 1 to 1 ½ cups. In other words, you should cook 1 cup (6.8 ounces = ~ 193 grams) of Lundberg Wild Rice Blend in 1 ½ cups (375 ml.) of water.

How To Cook Wild Rice Blend In A Pressure Cooker:

1. Rinse the wild rice blend: Place a cup of the wild rice blend into a colander, rinse under cold water, and drain.
2. Place wild rice blend and water in the pressure cooker: Transfer the rinsed and drained wild rice blend into the instant pot and pour in 1 ½ cups of water (or chicken or vegetable stock). If preferred, you can add some salt as well.
3. Set the instant pot: Secure the lid; make sure that the pressure regulator is set to sealing position. Select Manual and cook at high pressure for 28 minutes. Let it naturally release for 10 minutes. If there is any pressure left, release it by turning the knob onto the venting position. Carefully open the lid.
4. Serve: Serve your wild rice pilaf warm as a side dish with your favorite meat or veggie dishes.

From start to finish, it takes around 42 – 45 minutes for wild rice blend to cook in a pressure cooker. Below is the breakdown:

• ~5 minutes for the instant pot come to full pressure
• 28 minutes to cook the wild rice
• ~10 minutes for natural release

How much cooked wild rice blend do you get from 1 cup uncooked wild rice blend:

1 cup of uncooked Wild Rice Blend yields 3 cups of cooked wild rice blend.

As I mentioned earlier, I used Lundberg’s Wild Rice Blend, so the numbers you see below are based on that particular brand of wild rice blend:

1 cup uncooked wild rice blend = ~ 6.8 ounces (192 grams)
1 cup cooked wild rice blend: ~ 6 ounces (170 grams)

With many health benefits like being high in protein, fiber, magnesium, and antioxidants, I think we can all agree that this naturally gluten-free grain is a wholesome grain that we should include in our diet (*Source). So now, with the ease and convenience of the pressure cooker, we have no excuse not to.

Below is the recipe along with a quick how-to video to show you how I cook wild rice in my instant pot. Check it out and let me know if I can answer any questions.

A Few wild rice recipes you might like:

• Wild Rice Salad
• Healthy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
• Instant Pot Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
• Wild Rice Blend Pilaf recipe
• Wild Rice Dressing