Instant Pot Wild Rice Blend. A mix of wild, brown, and other rices, ready in about 30 minutes thanks to pressure cooking.
Wild rice blends come with all sorts of interesting names. WildBlend, Fusion, Royal Blend, Wild and Brown Rice Blend…well, OK, that last one is straightforward. These blends are a mix of Wild rice, Brown rice, and usually have a few others thrown in for color and variety - red rice, black rice, and occasionally some plain old white rice.
Wild Rice blends make a nutty, healthy side dish. Their one drawback is the long cooking time, thanks to the brown and wild rice in the mix. It takes over an hour for brown rice to cook through on the stovetop. With pressure cooking, I can have it ready in about half that time. This recipe is a similar to my Instant Pot Brown Jasmine Rice recipe, and a simple version of my Pressure Cooker Brown and Wild Rice Pilaf.
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🥫Ingredients
- Wild Rice blend
- Fine sea salt
- Olive oil or butter (optional)
See recipe card for quantities.
How to make Instant Pot Wild Rice
Everything in the pot: Stir the rice, water, salt, and (optional) olive oil or butter into an Instant Pot or other pressure cooker.
Cook the rice at high pressure for 20 minutes with a Natural Release: Lock the lid and cook on high pressure for 20 minutes in an Instant Pot or other electric PC (“Manual” or “Pressure Cook” mode in an Instant Pot), or for 16 minutes in a stovetop PC. Let the pressure come down naturally, about 15 minutes (If you're in a hurry, you can quick release any remaining pressure after 10 minutes).
Serve: Fluff the rice with a fork, serve, and enjoy!
🥘 Substitutions
Wild Rice blends come in all sorts of varieties. Any of them will work in this recipe. (My current favorite is Lundberg Wild Blend from my local health food store.) Or, you can substitute brown rice - that’s a different recipe, but the cooking time is the same.
I add a tablespoon of olive oil (for a vegan version) or butter (for a not-so vegan version) to the rice, to add a little richness and body. You can skip the fat if you want, though - it’s still a good pot of rice without it.
🛠 Equipment
📏Scaling
This recipe doubles easily in a 6-quart pressure cooker. Cut all the ingredients in half and this recipe will fit in a 3-quart pressure cooker. The cooking time does not change either way - 20 minutes is how long it takes to pressure cook wild rice blend, regardless of the amount in the pot.
💡Tips and Tricks
- Buy fresh wild rice blend. Dry brown rice has a shelf life of about 6 months, and it starts to go rancid after that. (That’s the downside to healthier brown rice - the nutritious bran and germ are what spoil.) Check the “Best By” date on the bag, or try to buy from a store that has a lot of turnover.
Inspired by: Great Vegetarian Cooking Under Pressure, Lorna Sass
Print
Instant Pot Wild Rice Blend
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 4 cups rice 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Instant Pot Wild Rice Blend. A mix of wild, brown, and other rices, ready in about 30 minutes thanks to pressure cooking.
Ingredients
- 2 cups Wild Rice blend
- 2 ½ cups water
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 tablespoon olive oil or butter (optional)
Instructions
- Rice in the pot: Stir the rice, water, salt, and (optional) olive oil or butter into an Instant Pot or other pressure cooker.
- Pressure cook the rice for 20 minutes with a Natural Release: Lock the lid and cook on high pressure for 20 minutes in an Instant Pot or other electric PC (“Manual” or “Pressure Cook” mode in an Instant Pot), or for 16 minutes in a stovetop PC. Let the pressure come down naturally, about 15 minutes (If you're in a hurry, you can quick release any remaining pressure after 10 minutes).
- Serve: Fluff the rice with a fork, serve, and enjoy!
Equipment
Buy Now →
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Pressure Cooker
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: Instant Pot Wild Rice Blend, Pressure Cooker Wild Rice Blend
☃️ Storage
Cooked rice does not keep well - it carries bacteria spores (Bacillus cereus) that multiply in warm temperatures. If you need to store cooked rice, cool it down quickly in the refrigerator, or freeze, within an hour of cooking. Store refrigerated rice for 2-3 days, or frozen rice for up to 3 months, and make sure to reheat completely (to at least 165°F) before eating. (Source: Safe Handling of Cooked Rice, University of Wisconsin Extension)
🤝 Related Posts
Pressure Cooker Brown and Wild Rice Pilaf
Instant Pot Brown Basmati Rice
Pressure Cooker Brown Jasmine Rice
Pressure Cooker Rice
Instant Pot Coconut Rice
Instant Pot Brown Basmati Rice
My other Instant Pot and Pressure Cooker Recipes
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Denise McFarland says
Hi, Dad, I always enjoy your posts! Hey, what I do when I cook rice is first, heat the oil and uncooked rice together, for about 5-10 minutes, stirring 3-5 times. This "Dextrinizes" the rice. I got this off the internet: "During the heating process, the starches within the food are broken down (by a chemical reaction) into sugars called dextrin. ... Producing dextrin therefore results in a change in colour of food to golden brown. This is the process called dextrinization." I then pour in the water/salt/flavorings and seal the pot, and cook as usual. I like this process, it seems to coat each grain of rice just right.
Mike Vrobel says
That's a common step in Rice Pilafs, like this one: https://www.dadcooksdinner.com/pressure-cooker-brown-and-wild-rice-pilaf/ - and if you like doing it, go right ahead!