Instant Pot wild rice pilaf is a simple and delicious side dish you are going to love!
This wild rice pilaf dresses up our rice with just a few extra ingredients, plus maybe 10 extra minutes of effort. We like plain rice too, but sometimes we just want more flavor. 😋
I made this while my parents were here visiting for the weekend. We ate it with some Instant Pot chicken (made separately in my 2nd Instant Pot), and it was a winning combination! 👍🏻
For this recipe I used the wild rice and brown rice mix from the bulk bins at Sprouts. You can use any wild rice mix you like.
Heads up on cook time though: some mixes are parboiled, meaning that they are already partially cooked, which would reduce cook time significantly. The mix I am using for this recipe is fully raw (NOT parboiled). The label will tell you.
If you want to, you could use a parboiled mix for this recipe, which will lower your total pressure cook time significantly; however, I am not sure by how much since I have not made it that way (yet)!
Mushroom are awesome in this, but I know some folks don’t like them. You can leave them out if you wish. It will still be good!
Tools Used to Make Instant Pot Wild Rice Pilaf
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- Instant Pot – I have both a Lux and Duo
- Knife and cutting board
- Measuring cups
- Fine mesh strainer to rinse the rice
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Instant Pot Wild Rice Pilaf Recipe
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Instant Pot Brown Rice Pilaf
Ingredients
- 1 2/3 Tablespoon oil - I used avocado oil (you could sub coconut, canola or even butter)
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 2 cups sliced mushrooms of your choice (I am using baby bella)
- 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 2 cups wild rice and brown rice medley, rinsed and drained (I used the kind from Sprouts in the bulk bins section)
- 2.5 cups water
- 2 1/2 teaspoons Better Than Bullion Vegetable Base (You could sub vegetable stock for the water + BTB vegetable base)
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh parley (optional garnish)
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
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Preheat the Instant Pot on sauté setting (regular), and add oil to the pot.
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After about a minute, add the onion and mushrooms, and cook for about 4 minutes, stirring frequently.
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Add the garlic, and cook 30 seconds more.
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Add the rice, and toast for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring constantly.
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Turn off the heat, add the water and Better Than Bullion vegetable base, and scrape to remove any rice that stuck to the bottom or sides.
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Place the lid on, lock it, and cook at high manual pressure for 20 minutes, and allow the pot to NPR.
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Once the pressure has released, turn off the pot (so rice doesn't scorch), remove the lid, fluff with a fork, and taste to see if you need to add salt. This will largely depend on how salty your stock/ broth was.
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Add (optional) chopped fresh parsley for garnish, and serve immediately.
Recipe Notes
I am using a raw rice mix for this recipe. If yours is parboiled (check the label!) it will need significantly less cooking time.
Brian says
Family loves it. Cut chicken into chunks and cooked in instant before making the rice. Took it out and added the chunks of chicken back to the finished rice and mixed it in. Complete meal! Delicious. Thanks for the recipe.
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Yay Brian!🙌🏻 I love how you made it a full meal with adding chicken.
Crispy says
Great flavors & overall taste. Doubled garlic, omitted additional salt, and cooked slightly less time (1-2 minutes) with quick release. I like my wild rice cooked with hint of crunch. Tried some other wild rice recipes but so far, this is my favorite and will be a regular 8n my rotating menu.
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
That is great to hear.👏🏻 Thank you for taking time to circle back and leave a rating.
Amanda says
This was easy to make and delicious! I’m tempted next time to make a creamy sauce to add to it. Tasty!
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Yay, Amanda! Oh creamy sauce sounds delicious.👌🏻
mitchell fuller says
How long do you npr for?
Yvette T Frieder Trevorrow says
I followed directions completely. Just too much liquid. Im going to take out the exxcss broth and make some brown rice to mix in. Pretty disappointing. Ive been able to make rice in instapot with less wTer or broth. I tho n this include too much
PedanticPatty says
I prefer Better than Bouillon myself, it’s a lot less pricey than buying bullion.
Marjorie@APinchOfHealthy says
I love BTB! There are three jars in my fridge right now – veg, beef and chicken.✅😋
Marjorie@APinchOfHealthy says
HI Hannah. I think this miiiight work if you find a parboiled rice, which reduces cook time significantly. Otherwise, with the recipe as written, I am afraid the chicken breast would be overcooked.🤔 I would tell you to try thighs, but I think 20 minutes would overcook those too. You might try something like bone-in chicken leg quarters. I am not 100% sure that would work…but you want to try and match up cook times. Hope that makes sense!
Fall is Best says
Did you add the mushrooms after the onions have cooked for 4 minutes…..or at the same time perhaps?
Marjorie@APinchOfHealthy says
Thanks for mentioning that! 💖👍🏻 With the onions. (updated the recipe instructions to reflect that)