It is quick and easy to cook nutritious wild rice in the Instant pot. These Instant Pot Wild Rice have a sweet aroma with a nutty flavor and a chewy texture.
Being an Indian, I love having rice as my staple food in our weekly meals. I am on the constant lookout for more nutritious versions of rice. That is when I came across this wild rice. It gives me the same satisfaction as having rice, and I love the earthy taste.
Wild rice is more nutritious than both white and brown rice. It is filled with protein and has high dietary fiber. It is also gluten-free, making it a perfect choice for your gluten-free diet.
The only downside to this great ingredient is that it takes a long time to cook. Do not worry if you have the Instant Pot. As the Instant Pot cooks wild rice under high pressure, it cuts that cooking time by half.
If you like wild rice and mushrooms, you will love this Creamy Mushroom Wild Rice Soup.
Table of Contents
Watch How to Make Instant Pot Wild Rice
What is Wild Rice?
The funny part is that wild rice is not actually rice. It is an aquatic grass that looks and cooks like rice. It is an edible grain found mainly in North America, India, and China. It is usually harvested only in North America.
Most nutritionists say that it is wholesome and has more dietary fiber than other kinds of rice. It is protein-rich, with vitamin B, minerals, and is low in fat. Wild rice has 30 times more antioxidants than regular rice and is gluten-free.
Apart from being very wholesome, this Instant Pot wild rice has a roasted, nutty, and earthy flavor that is hard to miss. It can be compared to quinoa, buckwheat, sorghum, and amaranth, which are actually seeds, not grains.
How to use Wild Rice?
Wild rice has a distinctive taste that is quite hard to miss. It is an excellent choice for making pilafs, grain salads, or adding them to soups, stuffing, or casseroles.
Here are some ways wild rice can be used:
- Switch to wild rice when making a pilaf or stir fry.
- Add wild rice to your soup for an excellent chewy taste, such as this mushroom wild rice soup.
- Add it to vegan or meat burger patties.
- It can be used just like rice, in wild rice salad, casseroles, or stews.
Why use a Pressure Cooker to make Wild Rice?
While you can cook wild rice in an open pot, it requires considerable effort and time. However, when cooked in the Instant Pot, you get no-fail wild rice every single time. It is because the Instant Pot uses the magic of pressure to churn out perfect wild rice.
How to Make Wild Rice in Instant Pot?
When you are cooking wild rice in the Instant Pot, there is no need for soaking. If you are cooking on the stovetop, you can soak to reduce the cooking time.
In case you are wondering where you can get wild rice, worry not. You can pick up the rice section of any grocery store, or you can get it on Amazon.
Also, there are different kinds of wild rice blends; however, this recipe works well with long-grain wild rice. It is not for quick-cook wild rice or a different wild rice blend. Here is the recipe for wild rice blend in the Instant Pot.
- Take one cup of wild rice and rinse it well under water before adding it to the Instant Pot steel insert.
- Add 2 cups of water (or vegetable or chicken broth) for cooking the rice.
- Optionally, add a tablespoon of ghee or oil to the pot. You can also add some salt to it according to your taste.
- Set the Instant Pot to manual or pressure cook mode. Secure the lid and set to cook in high pressure for 30 minutes.
- Let the pressure release naturally and then open the lid. Gently fluff the wild rice with a fork.
- Your wild rice is ready to be enjoyed.
How to Store Wild Rice?
Instant pot wild rice can be stored in the refrigerator for 4-5 days after cooking in an airtight container. Before storing, get the rice to room temperature and store it in an air-tight container.
Also, you can freeze this cooked wild rice and use it in batches. Even for storing in the freezer, the rice has to be at room temperature. Store in separate containers if you are going to freeze the wild rice.
They can be stored for up to 6 months. For thawing, place the required amount in the refrigerator overnight to thaw and then use it.
Make this delicious and nutritious wild rice in half the cooking time in your instant pot, and enjoy it in soups, stews, casseroles, or salads in place of other grains.
If you are looking to cook other types of rice/grains in the Instant Pot, check out the recipes below. Check out this collection of 23+ instant pot rice recipes.
Instant Pot Wild rice
Equipment
Video
Instructions
- Take one cup of wild rice and rinse it well with water. Then add it to the Instant Pot steel insert.
- Add 2 cups of water or broth for cooking the rice.
- Set the Instant Pot to pressure cook (manual) mode at high pressure for 30 minutes.
- When the Instant Pot beeps, let the pressure release naturally and then open the lid.
- Fluff the rice gently with a fork. Wild rice is ready to be enjoyed.
Does anyone else find that 2:1 ratio is too much water? I’ve cooked rice in a rice cooker for 40 years without problems, always with a ratio of 1:1 or 1:1.25 for brown or sticky rice, never 2:1. What do I need to adjust to achieve the great results everyone else is getting from Meeta’s recipe?
I followed her recipe exactly. When I opened the pot, about half of the water was still liquid and the wild rice was still hard. I put it in for another 30 minutes, and again waited for the natural release. About half the rice was normal, properly cooked, and about half was broken down into porridge.
Can I double this in an instapot and will the cooking time need to be adjusted? Thanks.
Hi Joyce – Sure, you can double the recipe. The pressure cooking time will remain the same.
This worked perfectly for me! Thanks.
I’ve always struggled to cook wild rice properly before.
Thank you for your wild rice recipe – can’t wait to try it…I have tried both wild and wild blend in the Instant Pot – absolutely wonderful…of course, now what do I do with all the other kinds of rice I have collected!!!! I just wish there were local providers rather than having to order online…I’ll just keep my eyes open…thank you again…always love your web-site!
Thank you, Elaine!
Elaine, if you live in the United States, you can purchase pure wild rice at Trader Joe’s (packaged – non organic) or at Whole Foods in the “bin” section where you get your rice, beans, nuts and seeds by weight.
Came out perfect in our Instapot
Hi D.K. – Glad to hear the wild rice was perfect. Thanks for sharing back!
Another Minnesotan checking in. I have it for breakfast because I have a sensitivity to oats so my porridge is wild rice, a little cream, fresh or dried fruit and hazelnuts. A spoonful of maple syrup to sweeten. Recipe stolen from the restaurant Hells Kitchen via Sen. Al Franken’s website a few years ago.
Hi Roberta – Thanks for sharing the breakfast recipe. It sounds delicious!
What happens if you use the wild rice blend? That’s all I had so I guess we’ll find out.
Hi Em – The cooking time for blend could be different. Did yours cook well?
Yes, indeedy! REAL northern wild rice, the hand-harvested and hand parched variety, is as good as it gets! I almost always use real chicken broth, some butter rather than ghee, and maybe 3/4 cup or so of diced onions for a batch this size. I make it in larger batches, though, because it keeps long enough in the fridge to be all gobbled up in a few days. This is a FIRST-RATE, NO-FAIL method for making real wild rice. It goes with anything, from eggs in the morning to a tasty midnight snack. EXCELLENT with meat, fish, or fowl. It’s really, REALLY good with, say, roast duck or goose. And it takes very well to gravy. Where;s the down side? Just don’t buy el-cheapo mixed wild and white rice and think it’s wild rice. That’s NOT real wild rice, any more than canned chicken noodle soup is the same as home-made.
Hi John – Glad to hear the wild rice cooked well. Thanks for sharing all the wonderful ideas for using the wild rice!
You have the best wild rice Instant Pot recipe online! All the others do not have enough water nor have long enough cook times. When I followed other recipes, the grains were not all split like in yours and just not as good. And the tip to add ghee is great. Thanks!
Hi Kayla – So happy to hear that. Thank you for sharing your experience 🙂
This came out quite mushy following this recipe. It was still edible and tasty but I think 30 minutes might be too long, unless that was the intent.
Hi John – I wonder if you used wild rice blend? That does cook in lesser time, about 20 minutes on high pressure.
I’ve been eating real Minnesota wild rice all my life and I know how it’s supposed to be once cooked, and this method rendered absolutely perfect rice — slightly blossomed, slightly chewy, but not undercooked. The only slight change I made is to add about a cup more water to mimic the stove top method my great grandma, grandma, and mom have been using all their lives; you always have to drain wild rice when it’s cooked, in my experience. Just made my wild rice casserole (celery, onion, and mushrooms sautéed in a good amount of butter, add cooked wild rice and slivered almonds and whole sweetened cranberries if you like and pop in the oven at 350 for half an hour, covered) and it is delicious. Thank you!
Oops, I meant I added about half a cup more water, so I did 1-1/2 cups of rice to 3-1/2 cups water.
I needed to cook 1.5 cups of raw rice and I used the 3.5 cup amount of liquid and it came out perfect!!
Hi Deanna – So good to hear that. Thank you for sharing your experience. The casserole sounds absolutely delicious. 🙂
Oh, that sounds wonderful! I am also from Minnesota.
Could you include exact recipe please?