Wild Rice Pilaf Instant Pot

Easy wild rice pilaf instant pot recipe is one of the tastiest dishes using the wild rice blend. Loaded with veggies, nuts, and dried fruit, this Mediterranean inspired dish is an easy and tasty side to try. Presenting my instant pot wild rice pilaf recipe.

In our Indian cuisine, people make a number of rice dishes. Add spices, ghee, vegetables, and season the rice, and pressure cook for a nice fluffy pilaf or pilaf. Indians call pilaf either pulao or pilav. Every region, again, has its own recipe of pulav. This wild rice pilaf is inspired by the middle eastern pilafs.

Most often, pilafs from the Middle East have saffron, nuts, and dried fruits. My recipe has vegetables, nuts, and dried cranberries. I haven’t added many veggies. Just carrots, beans, and peas are some of the few. 

What is Wild Rice Blend?

Unlike the regular wild rice, which is just the aquatic grass, the wild rice blend comprises of five varieties of rice grains, including two varieties of brown rice, wild rice, red rice, and black rice. 

• A major portion of the wild rice blend is long-grain brown rice, which adds a nice texture and flavor to the cooked instant pot wild rice blend. 
• The other short-grain brown rice adds a mildly sweet flavor and starchy texture. 
• The aquatic grass is the major ingredient in the wild rice blend, which has a typical black-brown color and is chewy in texture.
• Another ingredient is the medium-sized red rice, which is very aromatic, red-tinted, and has a nice, fragrant flavor like the basmati rice.
• Another ingredient is black rice, which looks sharp but turns soft and purple when it is cooked and has a distinctive nutty flavor.

Want to learn more. Read this article on the health benefits of wild rice.

How To Cook Wild Rice In The Instant Pot?

Instant pot wild rice blend cooks in less than 30-minutes. While the stovetop version takes around 60-minutes to cook the rice perfectly, the instant pot version takes just 28-minutes to cook. Of course, there is an extra 5-7 minutes of pressure building time and 10-minutes of natural pressure release, which makes the total time 42-45 minutes. However, that’s still better than 60-minutes, and considering the method is totally hands-free, it's a perfect win-win. Click here for the instant pot wild rice blend recipe.

How To Make Wild Rice Pilaf Instant Pot Version?

Making wild rice pilaf in an instant pot is very easy when you have the cooked wild rice blend ready. I always prefer this method over cooking veggies with the rice and pressure cooking them together. In this method, the cooked and cooled wild rice blend is sauteed with veggies and dried fruits with nuts. There is no spice used in this recipe except the common salt, cracked pepper and some lime juice to finish this dish.

Ingredients:

2 cups of cooked wild rice blend (cooled), 1 teaspoon of cooking oil of choice, 1 cup of veggies of choice or ½ cup carrots diced, ¼ cup green peas, ½ cup cherry tomatoes halved, ½ cup dried cranberries, and roasted cashew nuts, ¼ teaspoon dried thyme and oregano, salt, and pepper to taste, ½ cup peeled and chopped apple, juice of half lime or ¼ lemon and parsley to garnish

Method:

• Prep all your veggies and keep aside.
• Heat the instant pot to a sauté mode and allow the digital screen to display "hot." Now add oil, and allow it to warm up.
• Now add carrots and saute it for a while. Once the carrots start to brown and partially cooked, add green peas. Saute well and allow it to cook.
• Add cherry tomato halves and give it a good stir. Add salt, pepper and all the seasonings, and mix well.
• Now add cranberries and roasted cashews and mix well. Mix in cooked wild rice blend and gently mix it with the veggies and dried fruits and nuts.

• Add lime or lemon juice and adjust salt and pepper if needed. At this point, you can add the chopped apples or wait till the rice cools down. I prefer to add apples right before serving.

• Garnish with chopped parsley. Serve with your favorite main dish.

Serve this wild rice pilaf instant pot dish with some vegan cauliflower tabbouli.

Cauliflower tabbouleh