For years rice was something I just simply hated. Mom only ever made the white stuff which always, ALWAYS was either chewy or gummy and BLAND. So I hated it. Yes I tried adding salt, pepper and even butter to hers but that was just one thing she simply couldn’t master – kinda like me with a true New York cheesecake. I can make absolutely beautiful ones but the taste – nope, not right. Even when I use Mama Fantabulous’ recipe for hers which is heavenly (and she’s from New York as well), I just fail at it every single time. Anyway about 15 years ago or so I made brown rice and OMG it was incredible. I mean so flavorful and just perfect. Now the trick to making amazing flavored rice I’ll share in a bit but after that day I decided to explore more with various types of rice. Anyway I always made my rice on the stove but I found as I started to get into wild grains and so forth that it took upwards of an hour to make. I don’t have time for that! The box says ‘minute’ so it should take a few minutes… not an hour. LOL But then along came my dear friend, the Pressure Cooker!!! I mean why not, right?!
Out came my pressure cooker and in went the first batch…
then the second…
and the third. It was like I was having my own little children’s story when it came to this rice. First it was too hard. Second it was like mush – over cooked. Third time.. NAILED IT!
See the first time I made it I only put it in for 12 minutes. I mean it’s rice and it’s in a pressure cooker. It should cook faster, no? Yeah, even the pressure cooker cannot cook wild grain rice that fast. So the second time I made a batch I put it in for 40 minutes. Um.. nope! Don’t do this. Well okay you can as it’s usable but not as rice.
But the third time… NAILED IT! The rice was tender but not mushy, soft and billowy. Now full transparency here there will be liquid left in the pressure cooker. Remembers pressure cookers need liquid. You never ever want to run it without liquid. It’s not a lot. All I did was drain and it was fine. Actually that leftover liquid was perfect to use with chicken and make a great sauce!
As you can see this rice turned out beautifully and the fact that it was cooked under pressure the flavor from the stock was so much richer and intense. The butter is totally optional but I like that almost silky texture it adds to the rice. But please use stock, not water or even broth. Stock is richer in flavor. This is one of those recipes that I make weekly and a double batch that way we can have rice all week long either as a side dish, as a stuffing/filling or in casseroles.
Now remember my telling you about those first two batches I made – the rock hard version and the mushy version? Well I didn’t pitch those. Heck no! I’m not Oprah rich and can’t afford to waste food. Instead I took the rock hard rice, tossed it in a casserole pan with some chicken, veggies and stock and cooked that into a killer casserole.
And that mushy rice? That stuff is PERFECT in meatballs, veggie patties or even arancini type bites! It’s so soft and tender that it almost adds creaminess to the dish without all that extra fat or calories!
This is a must-make recipe that should be included in your recipe rounds. Experiment too when you make it! Add spices and seasonings to it – Mexican rice perhaps? Curry? Sweet rice? OH yeah!
10-5-17 – UPDATE
All, there will be liquid left in the pressure cooker. In my pressure cooker (see the pictures) you need the 3 cups of liquid. Yes I had to drain off the liquid in the pot when the rice was done. That is mentioned in the recipe. You can try in your pressure cooker 2 1/2 cups of liquid (if you have a different model than the one I used here. I did not use the Instant Pot for this recipe).
PrintPerfect Pressure Cooker Wild Grain Blend Rice
- Yield: 2 cups
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Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cup wild grain blend rice
- 2 1/2–3 cups stock (chicken, beef, vegetable) *See note as this depends on your pressure cooker
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- pinch of salt
Instructions
- Rinse the rice and drain.
- Place the rice, stock, rice and butter into the pressure cooker.
- Close the lid and lock. If using a Gas Pressure Cooker, place over high heat and once the pressure cooker is up to temperature, reduce the heat to low to maintain a high pressure and set the timer for 30 minutes. If using an Electric Pressure Cooker, set it to high with a timer of 30 minutes.
- When the timer is done, carefully do a quick release to allow the steam to empty out fast.
- Once all of the steam is released, remove the lid, drain off any excess liquid and fluff. Repeat YOU WILL HAVE LIQUID TO DRAIN OFF.
Notes
For the Instant Pot you can reduce the liquid to 2 1/2 cups of stock. But you will have liquid leftover that you will have to strain. This liquid is awesome as a base for chicken and rice soup!
And yes I know I’m repeating myself here but if you looking for the BEST Gas Pressure cooker out there then I HIGHLY recommend the All-Clad PC8! It’s INCREDIBLE!!!
If you’re looking for an Electric Pressure Cooker I recommend one of these 2 as they both are awesome:
Emeril by T-fal CY4000 Nonstick Dishwasher Safe Electric Pressure Cooker
or the Instant Pot IP-DUO60 7-in-1 Multi-Functional Pressure Cooker
I used your recipe in my 6qt Instant Pot, but increased the rice to 1 1/2 cup with the recommended 2 1/2 cup chicken stock, no draining required and perfectly cooked rice!
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Hi, beautiful blog post, however, this recipe is critically missing a key piece of information: the poundage of pressure to cook under. I tried your recipe under 8 lbs of pressure (low) but mine failed because I used real, not commercially grown wild rice. Which brings me to your next flaw, there is a significant difference in authentic wild rice and commercially grown. Thanks
Hi Jean,
It’s technically not missing anything as the recipe is written for either an electric pressure cooker or the one that I have pictured that is powered by gas. There is no mention at all in the instructions about poundage under pressure so please don’t assume that it’s written that way. That stove top pressure cooker I mention doesn’t have you measure poundage per pressure as it does it all for you.
Best Kitchen Wishes!
I will it try this way. I was wondering if you have ever tried doing the rice in a separate container, (stainless steel bowl) on a rack with a cup of water underneath in the main container. I have done it this way in a regular stove-top pressure cooker and it works well for whole grains/rice. The rice and stock in the stainless steel bowl are not as water bogged and you aren’t wasting as much stock just throw out the cup of water in the bottom.
Hi Kelly!
No I’ve not done that with this recipe. I actually save the “stock” and use in soup bases. The liquid from this rice makes an AMAZING base for wild rice soup!
Best Kitchen Wishes!
LOVE it! Weight watchers recommends one serving of grain a day. I am going to use this recipe with Lundbergs Wild Rice blend. I need to figure out how much I need for the week, but I want to make up a weeks worth of the blend, and keep in fridge. Then I’ll saute with different veggies and seasonings each day. Thank you for your persistence in getting the recipe just right, and then sharing it with us!
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You are most welcome Diana! I just can’t stress enough that when you pressure cook this type of rice you will have a fair bit of liquid leftover. That’s how it’s supposed to be. Just drain it (reserve it if you want to pressure cook chicken in it for added flavor!). The rice turns out perfectly every single time!
Best Kitchen Wishes!
Thanks so much! I used one cup wild rice blend and a quarter cup wild rice in my stovetop pressure cooker and it turned out exactly as you said. I used vegetable stock, 2 tablespoons non-dairy butter and a few shakes of salt, pepper, red pepper flakes and some dried parsley to season. I drained the excess water and the rice is amazing!!! I intend to add some sauteed vegetables and make a pilaf with it. Thanks again! 5 stars!!!
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Yeah! I’m so happy you loved it Kimber! Yes the biggest thing folks kind of forget is that you have to drain the water. That specific type of rice won’t bloat to absorb the liquid. However that liquid you can totally use it for another dish – cook pasta in it or chicken!
Best Kitchen Wishes!
I followed the recipe to the letter and it turned out perfect!
I made chicken wild rice soup with the rice and it was delicious.
Your program is the best I’ve seen for pressure cooking. Thanks much.
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Hi Paul,
Thank you so very much! Did you also make the soup in the pressure cooker too? That’s how I make mine. I pressure cook the rice then use the liquid to make the chicken with the veggies. It’s an all-in-one recipe then.
Best Kitchen Wishes!
This turned out PERFECT! Thank you so much! For those of you that it didn’t work out, all I can say is to please pay attention to her recipe & follow it EXACTLY! Yes you do need to drain it afterwards but it is so perfect for wild rice. Also make sure you are using real wild rice…not a blend because that may influence your outcome. So good!
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Hi LaRae!
THANK YOU so much for your feedback! I really, really appreciate it as folks didn’t get the fact that you have to drain it when it’s done. If you don’t, sure you’ll look like made soup but once drained, the outcome is absolutely perfect rice. I’m so happy you loved it!
Best Kitchen Wishes!
This recipe did not work with my instant pot. I had a ton of water remaining in my instant pot. Disappointed I used your recipe!
I’m sorry you were disappointed. In the recipe it does state you’ll have to drain off the liquid. This type of rice in a pressure cooker doesn’t absorb all of the liquid BUT it’s necessary to use it so the pressure cooker doesn’t smoke.
Best Kitchen Wishes!
Well, my rice looks exactly like yours… sort of a mix of brown rice, wild rice, and what look like wheat berries…. And I liked the doneness of the rice after 30 minutes. The brown rice was soft, with the wild rice and berry-looking things a little firmer. But it was basically rice soup. I’m going to try 2 cups of water/broth next time.
Hey Sara!
So here’s the thing when you pressure cook wild grain rice, you will have water left over. Remember with a pressure cooker you need that liquid in the pot otherwise you’ll PC will overheat and you could damage it. In the instructions I do state that you’re to taste/test the rice and if’s done to your likeness to drain off the excess liquid. Pressure cookers do not work like crock pots or a rice steamer. The liquid doesn’t dissipate.
Best Kitchen Wishes!
It might not DISSIPATE, but it is slowly absorbed into the cooking rice until it’s cooked. I don’t have excess liquid left over when I cook white rice in my P.C…..
some people just don’t read the recipe do they lol you obviously wrote that re would be extra liquid about 4 times … lol hoping this worked for me it’s cooking now but I used a wild rice blend so fingers crossed!!
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LOL it’s okay. I just take it that folks were so excited to make the recipe that they forget to actually read the recipe.
You got this!
Best Kitchen Wishes!
Is this 100% wild rice? It looks like it could be a blend.
Hi Lynsday!
My package just says wild rice. It’s funny as I’ve seen some blends that are called wild rice and some that have blend in the title. My bag doesn’t have the ‘blend’ on it.
Best Kitchen Wishes!
You titled this article ‘wild grain rice’ which I’m guessing is a mix of different types. The darkest kernels will be wild rice, but I can also see brown rice and red rice in the picture. I have some pure wild rice that I’m super excited to try out in my instant pot. I’ll use your recipe as my starting point, but expect that I may need to increase the overall cooking time.
Do you elevate the rice off the water? I use a silicone steamer insert, covering the holes with cheesecloth & laying the rice out on top.
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No, I don’t. I put mine in the water, just like I would in a rice steamer. Do you not let your rice touch the water?
Best Kitchen Wishes!
No, I never let food touch the water in my pressure cooker; I don’t want to boil my food. I’ve used steamers, too, our Black & Decker unit had the rice above the water as it steamed.