Cooking Instant Pot wild rice is incredibly easy. Just add the rice and water to the pot, set the program, and away you go! A healthy and nutritious side dish, cooked without you in the kitchen!
The Instant Pot can be a true time saver in the kitchen. While I have personally found the Instant Pot to deliver similar cooking times to conventional methods once you factor in the heat-up and pressure release times, what it does do is allow an easy 'set it and forget it' style of cooking, where there is no need to hover over the stove or pots.
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Why Not Just Cook Wild Rice The Old Fashioned Way?
A true set it and forget it recipe, Instant Pot Wild rice lets you walk away to focus on cooking the main start of the meal, while your side dish happily cooks away. You could easily cook wild rice on the stovetop, the old fashioned way just as you would cook basmati rice. The main difference between these two methods is the following:
- Wild rice results cooked on the stove will vary, depending on how tight fitting a lid you use, the temperature you cook it at, etc.
- Wild rice cooked in the Instant Pot, on the other hand, offers consistent results every time.
The reason the Instant Pot delivers such consistent results is due to a few factors. There is no water loss through evaporation, and all the moisture you initially add to the pot along with the rice is actually used up. There is also a consistent heat source used each time, as the IP cooking program uses the same heat setting each and every time.
If you cook wild rice on the stove, it can be hard to have the exact same temperature setting each and every time. This means you have to check the rice periodically to make sure there is still enough moisture in the pot.
Instant Pot Wild Rice Settings
Due to the large amount of Instant Pot models available, all with different settings, you may need to refer to your user manual if the following setting doesn't work out for you. I use the Instant Pot Lux-80.
I have found the best results with cooking any type of rice in the Instant Pot to be 1:1. That means if you use one cup of rice, you'll need one cup of water. Stovetop recipes will call for more water as much of it evaporates over the long cooking time wild rice needs.
The IP Lux-80 which I use comes with a handy 'Multigrain' program which is ideal for cooking wild rice. The 'Rice' program cooking time is too short, and you'll end up with hard, un-cooked grains. If your Instant Pot doesn't have a 'Multigrain' program, you can also use the ' Manual' or 'Pressure Cook', and then manually set the cooking time.
Multigrain Program Settings
The Lux series of Instant Pots all come with the 'Multigrain' program with the exception of the Lux Mini. The 'Multigrain' program has three settings. Less, Normal, and More.
- Less: Has a cooking time of 20 minutes and is ideal for wild rice, if you like the rice to have a bit of a bite and only be partially burst open.
- Normal: Has a cooking time of 40 minutes and can also be used for wild rice. This setting results in a softer cooked end product where all the grains are fully burst open.
- More: This setting includes a 45 minute warm water soaking period before cooking for 60 minutes under high pressure. This setting is less then ideal for wild rice and the end product is total mush.
Note: If your Instant Pot does not have a 'Multigrain' function you can use the 'Manual' or 'Pressure Cooking' setting to manually select 28, 30, or 32 minutes of cooking on 'normal' pressure, depending on how 'done' you like your wild rice.
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Recipe
Instant Pot Wild Rice
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup Unbroken Whole Wild Rice
- 1 cup Water
Instructions
- Combine the 1 cup of wild rice and 1 cup of water in the Instant Pot.
- Select the Multigrain program, and adjust the program to "less" or "normal". See above blog post for the difference in cooking times.
- Place the lid on the Instant Pot ensuring it is properly latched and the vent set to 'sealing'. Allow the Instant Pot to heat, and cook.
- Once the Instant pot beeps indicating the cooking program is over, allow the pressure to release with the 'natural release method' Do not release the steam manually by turning the valve to 'venting'.
- Serve the Instant Pot wild rice while hot, or cool it down and use in other recipes.
If Your Instant Pot Doesn't Have A Multigrain Setting
- If your Instant Pot lacks the 'Multigrain' program, you can manually set the cooking time and pressure by using the 'Manual' or 'Pressure Cooking' setting. Select 'normal' and then adjust the time to 28, 30, or 32 minutes depending on how well done you like your rice.
Nutrition
Nutrition info is auto-generated. This information is an estimate; if you are on a special diet, please use your own calculations.
Gwen
Has anyone made it in the IP with brown lentils and mushrooms?
Chef Markus Mueller
Hi Gwen, seeing as the lentils would have a different cooking time then the wild rice, I would suggest cooking the lentils seperatly from the instant pot wild rice and then mixing afterwards.
As for the mushrooms, I don't see why you couldn't saute the mushrooms in the IP first, then add your rice Nd liquid and proceed as normal!
Jamie
Hi! My Instant Pot Pro only has a White/Brown Rice option....or manual. Within the Manual Mode...do I choose High or Low Pressure??? AAAAAGGGGHHH!
Chef Markus Mueller
Hi Jamie, I would suggest using the manual option and select low pressure. Then cook for 20-25 minutes depending on doneness.
Shannon
Thank you, Great recipe!
You should join this Instant Pot Tips & Recipes Facebook group. I got a lot of new ideas and recipes. highly recommended!
Eleanor
I concur that the 1:1 ratio works perfectly. I wanted to make a wild rice salad where the cooked grain marinates in a vinaigrette, but the recipe itself called for 1.5 cups of wild rice to 6 cups stock, which I thought was excessive. If you cook it long enough to absorb all the water, the rice will have lost all its integrity, or you end up pouring off the leftover stock and losing a fair bit of nutrition in the process. So, because I am used to a 1:2 or even a 1:1.75 ratio, I erred on the side of caution and added a wee bit extra stock to the Instant Pot. It was totally unnecessary. The grain cooked to perfection (on the lowest setting) and was still a bit wet when I opened the lid, so I just let the excess evaporate. But I wouldn't have had to do that if I had trusted the 1:1 ratio as per your instructions. This recipe is a godsend. Thank you for sharing.
Chef Markus Mueller
Hey Eleanor. So glad our wild rice to water ratio worked out for you! What wild rice salad did you end up making?
Eleanor
It was this recipe: https://www.capeandislands.org/show/living-lab-radio-on-cai/2014-11-24/cranberries-shine-in-native-american-wild-rice-salad
I substituted vegetable stock for the chicken, as I'm a vegetarian, and added a spoonful of Dijon mustard to the vinaigrette. It was a big hit.
Cheryl
As a newbie to the instant pot I’m a little confused on the total time. You have 25 minutes but if you add in the 18 minutes natural release wouldn’t the total time be 33 minutes?
Chef Markus Mueller
Hi Cheryl, Sorry for the confusion. There was just an error on the back end of the website that didn't add the natural pressure release time to the total time it takes to make the recipe. Do keep in mind that the total time calculation also takes the prep time into account. As for the natural pressure release time, I have reduced the time to 10 minutes(from 18) because I have found the pressure to be releasing faster for me lately. If after ten minutes there is still some pressure left, simply manually vent the small amount of remaining pressure. Hope that helps!
Randall Pierson-Weyers
I used Chicken broth and a bit of butter and got a rich flavorful wild rice.
Chef Markus Mueller
I also use chicken broth to cook my rice whenever I have some in the freezer! Adds nutrition and flavor!
Steve
Since when have you ever added rice and water at a 1:1 ratio? I've been searching for a good wild rice recipe for the Instant Pot and can't find any that use any common water / rice ratio. I've seen it up to 4 cups of water for one cup wild rice. I'll keep searching or try my luck with trial and error.
Chef Markus Mueller
Hi Steve. You are correct that in conventional cooking the water: rice ratio is usually not 1:1 But as I explained in the post above, " I have found the best results with cooking any type of rice in the Instant pot to be 1:1. That means if you use one cup of rice, you'll need one cup of water. Stovetop recipes will call for more water as much of it evaporates over the long cooking time wild rice needs."
The reason the IP uses a 1:1 ratio is that there is no water loss due to evaporation. All the water stays contained in the IP with the lid closed. I have no idea why a recipe would call for 4 cups water for 1 cup rice as in my experience this would result in soup, but I do know that my 1:1 ratio for the IP has worked pretty well for me.
You can read more about why this works here directly from the Instant Pot website. : Water To Rice Ratio In The Instant Pot
Jody
Can the recipe be doubled or tripled?
Chef Markus Mueller
Hi Jody, yes it can!
Lyne
Thank you so much! Wild rice is a favorite of mine; it is so satisfying. I always soak in water with vinegar for at least 8 hours to a day. So, the rice should come out perfectly good when using the Less option.
Chef Markus Mueller
Your welcome Lyne. Just out of curiosity, why do you soak the rice in vinegar? Does it help break down the kernels, or simply change the flavour?
Marlene
Your info is valuable as I followed a different recipe which the rice wasn't cooked! I had to finish it up on the stove!
Chef Markus Mueller
Glad this one worked perfectly Marlene!
Heidy
Wild rice is one of my favorite things to eat. Love this recipe!!!
Alina | Cooking Journey Blog
Now I know everything about cooking wild rice in instant pot! Thanks for sharing. Definitely need to include more healthy side dishes like this in my every day meal plan.
Andrea Metlika
This is a great side and using the instant pot really speeds up the process. Thank you for the instructions.
Adrianne
This looks like such an easy and quick dish Markus! Yum, I love simple dishes that take hardly any time at all to prepare, cheers for sharing!
Veena Azmanov
Thank you very much for all the information related to cooking of this Instant Pot Wild Rice. I am sure a lot of people must have benefited with yr explanation...