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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
Awesome! I’ve seen this post twice and learned so much from it, thank you. As for seeing where I am in my journey, hope it will work. We’re down to just hubby and me now so our chicken/broccoli casserole will need to be very much adjusted down in size. So glad to still have these resources available. Loved doing the OAMC plans decades ago when my kids were little and love trying to adapt them to our lifestyle now. Thank you for your lovely blog posts!
I’m so happy to hear that you find my posts helpful Molly; thank you so much! I’m always here to help!
Best Kitchen Wishes!
My comment disappeared! I refer back to it every time I make this to avoid the excess moisture.
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Your comment is still there. It’s on a few pages back of the comments. It’s around April 2018.
I only show 10 comments per page as that helps with the load time. Just hit “older comments”.
Best Kitchen Wishes!
It cooked up beautifully in my electric pressure cooker. I did not have any liquid left over. Since we are on a low sodium diet, I left out the salt and reduced the butter. I cooked it in water. For serving I added some rinsed and drained low sodium black beans. To add flavor back in I sprinkled on some crystalized orange /ginger granules. It was very nice. Thank you very much for the recipe!
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I’m so happy you loved it Lauren. Oh I’m LOVING the addition of the orange and ginger!!! That sounds incredible!
Best Kitchen Wishes!
It cooked up beautifully in my electric pressure cooker. I did not have any liquid left over. Since we are on a low sodium diet, I left out the salt and reduced the butter. I cooked it in water. For serving I added some rinsed and drained low sodium black beans. To add flavor back in I sprinkled on some crystalized orange /ginger granules. It was very nice.
Followed your recipe exactly in my Presto 6 quart cooker. Of all the recipes I’ve tried over the years, this Wild Rice recipe would get the gold medal.
As to loss of nutrients in boiled wild rice vs. steaming, the rice contains 82% carbs and 15% protein with fat 3%. The difference in steaming calories for a cup of the rice is 200 vs. boiling a cup of rice has 166 calories. Hardly a dietary impact in the loss of nutrients.
Can I double this recipe using authentic wild rice in my instapot?
I’ve not tried doubling it. Just make sure you have enough liquid in it. Also with this type of rice you will have to drain it after it’s done. That’s normal. This rice is not like brown or white where that will absorb all liquid.
Best Kitchen Wishes!
I used the InstantPot for this and found the flavor to be bland, and the rice was very mushy and almost porridge.
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Turned out perfect, thank you for the tips! (I used 2.5 cups broth in an 8-qt IP & did have to drain).
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Yeah! Yes you have to drain on this type of rice. So happy you loved it!
Best Kitchen Wishes!
I made this using the wild rice blend from
Costco and it turned out very well. I think I added
More Better Than Bouillon (chicken) than I needed…I know I know, can there ever be TOO much? But it looks very good and creamy, almost like a risotto. I’m now thinking next time I will use the beef and add in a bunch of mushrooms and it would be an amazing side dishes this batch however, is meant for chicken soup and any spare can be a side dish for tomorrow
Thanks for your help, was hoping I could add a pic.
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Hi Wanda!
Yeah! I’m so happy you loved it and I love the thought of ‘risotto!’. I love the way you think!
Post a pic on our facebook wall or on Instagram tagging me @thekitchenwhisperer I’d love to see it!
Best Kitchen Wishes!
Made the wild rice in bulk and it came out great! Thanks for the recipe 🙂
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Yeah!!! So happy you loved it! Thank you so much!
Best Kitchen Wishes!