Wild Rice in the Pressure Cooker!

Updated on

Pressure cooker wild rice social media graphic

Sometimes I am a little slow to catch on to trends. For example, so many people have been talking about Instant Pots (or pressure cookers) for the last couple of years.

I have been resistant to jump on the train just because everyone else is already on it.

Can you relate?

However, life with 3 boys gets busier and busier. And we work harder and harder to provide healthy, homemade meals for our family without taking up our entire day. As I have been weighing these things, a friend told me about a pressure cooker on sale at a local store.

I had to go there, anyway, for a birthday present, so I searched around until I found that pressure cooker. It was still on sale. Gosh, I love finding deals!

I decided to pick up this pressure cooker and give it a try. Not only do I love finding deals when shopping, I also love finding tools or tips that help me save time and effort! Oh, and I should mention that I LOVE kitchen gadgets. Life is too busy and too short to be struggling unnecessarily!

Since I have never previously used a pressure cooker before, I have to admit to feeling a little anxiety about using it. I have heard horror stories of people being injured and burned from using the old stove top pressure cookers – thus another reason why I never ventured into this “world” before.

Then I did what I usually do, and I researched about using pressure cookers. It turns out that the pressure cookers on the market now are much safer than the first generation pressure cookers from before. In fact, when used properly, they are as safe to use as a crock pot (my favorite kitchen gadget)!

Bella pressure cooker

In case you are like me and knew almost nothing about pressure cookers, here is a little basic info:

How it works

A pressure cooker looks a lot like a rice cooker or maybe even a crock pot; however, it has an interlocking lid that uses a rubber gasket to create a seal.

To use a pressure cooker, you place the food in the cooker with some water (amount depends on what you are making, but generally because steam can’t escape the cooker, pressure cooking uses less water than other cooking methods use). Once the lid is locked in place and the pressure cooker is turned on, steam begins to develop and can’t escape.

The trapped steam creates an increase in atmospheric pressure inside the cooker by about 15 psi (pounds per square inch). This increase in atmospheric pressure raises the boiling temperature of water from 212°F to 250°F. The higher boiling temperature causes food to cook faster.

Once the pressure cooker has reached full pressure, a release valve opens, releasing steam at a regulated rate to provide a consistent and constant pressure within the cooker.

Once cook time is complete, you can allow the cooker to sit and gradually release pressure over time (good for meats and beans), or you can manually do a quick release (better for veggies and grains). After the pressure is released, then you can open the cooker (great safety feature!) and enjoy your creation!

Extra bonus: the countertop pressure cookers on the market today have multiple settings for various foods, making it more simple to determine how long to cook. You also have the ability to adjust the cooking time (and often the pressure) anytime you want.

Pros of using a pressure cooker

  • Because the cooker maintains a higher cooking temperature and a constant pressure, cook times are shorter
  • More energy efficient because of shorter cooking times
  • Atmospheric pressures decrease at higher altitudes, causing water to boil at lower temps and causing longer cook times. A pressure cooker creates constant and precise atmospheric conditions, resulting in shorter cook times even at high altitude.

Cons of using a pressure cooker

  • Some adjustment is necessary – liquid amounts vary from conventional cooking and that takes time to get used to.
  • Checking to see if your food is done isn’t easy to do. To be safe, the pressure must be released from the cooker before opening it up. Once that is done, pressure must increase until it reaches full pressure in order to continue cooking.
  • Food and cooker can scorch if enough water isn’t put into the cooker or food is left in just a little too long

For more information, check out this article.

 

Ok, so I had the pressure cooker, and I had done my research. What to make? Well, I have been playing around with it, trying out a few things, and getting more familiar with it along the way!

Let’s make some wild rice!

pressure cooker wild rice

I developed a wild rice recipe because my family loves wild rice, but I get super annoyed with the long cook time necessary to make wild rice that isn’t a complete crunch-fest.

We eat wild rice with almost any meat: chicken (try our Slow Cooker Tangy BBQ Chicken), ribs, pork chops, turkey, and seafood (like our Maple Dijon Salmon).

However, I don’t always have an hour or more to cook wild rice. And if I’m honest, the days that I do have the time to traditionally cook rice are getting more and more rare. Homework, sports, and other activities eat up our afternoons and evenings.

So my mission became to make wild rice in the pressure cooker to see if it was as good, better, worse, or even any faster.

pressure cooker wild riceOur wild rice was a hit! The kids loved it, and so did my husband and I.

I also loved the 35 minute cook time (including waiting for the cooker to reach full pressure and doing a quick release of the pressure after cook time ended). That cut down the cook time by half – win!

**NOTE: Because of the faster cook time, not as much water is absorbed into the rice. This will result in some water being left inside the cooker after cook time is complete. That’s ok! It SHOULD be that way. Don’t try to reduce the amount of water for cooking because the food and cooker will scorch, causing damage to your cooker. Simply drain the water and serve immediately.

On to my next dish to tackle: roast chicken (we eat a lot of roast chicken)!

Welcome to our lives, Bella (the pressure cooker)!

Pressure cooker wild rice Pinterest Pin

Enjoy the giveaway and please let us know in the comments below: What would you like to make with this pressure cooker (or would you give it as a gift)?

Bella 6 Qt Pressure Cooker Giveaway

Bella pressure cooker

With the holidays quickly approaching, we thought it would be super fun to give away a brand new pressure cooker! Keep it for yourself or give it as a gift. This pressure cooker is amazing! It features:

  • Cook full birds, brisket, pork, lamb, fish, stews, soups and even pasta in minutes. Safely and quickly cook your favorite meals up to 70% faster than conventional cookware.
  • Features 10 pre-set functions specifically engineered to cook various types of food to perfection. With one touch you can: Saute, brown, pressure cook, slow cook, soup, stew, meat, chicken, cook rice and even risotto
  • Sear and brown your foods directly in the pressure cooker to lock in flavor and juices to all your recipes. No need for a stove top
  • Safety features include: steam release valves, airtight locking lid, and a safety-minded user interface for 100% assurance that you are cooking safely
  • Easy cleanup features: a non-stick removable cooking pot and moisture catching container are built in to make clean up a breeze

Read rules below. Thanks for entering, good luck, and Happy Holidays from Lisa and me!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Rules

This giveaway is completely sponsored and paid for by Made In A Pinch. The prize is approximately a $130 value. Giveaway Begins December 5, 2017 and ends December 18, 2017 at 11:59 pm Mountain Time. We will contact the winner on or around December 19, 2017 by email. The winner will have 2 days to respond before they are disqualified and a new winner is chosen. By entering, you give us permission to share your first name, last initial and comment publicly but we will not share any other information with anyone. Giveaway only open to US residents, aged 18 or over, residing within the 48 US contiguous states. We are not liable for errors stemming from lost/delayed e-mail or mail, posting or typographical errors, technical failures, etc. Void where prohibited by law.

Neither Facebook nor Twitter in no way sponsors, endorses or administers this promotion. You understand that you are providing your information to the owner of this Facebook or Twitter page and not to Facebook or Twitter.

Promoted On:

Giveaway Monkey

pressure cooker wild rice

Wild Rice in the Pressure Cooker

Wild rice normally takes about an hour to cook. Now you can have it in 35 minutes by using this pressure cooker recipe!
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Servings: 6 servings
Course: Side dishes
Cuisine: American
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 3/4 cup uncooked wild rice blend I buy mine in bulk at Sprouts
  • 3/4 cup uncooked brown rice to mellow out the wild rice mix
  • 4 cups water
  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 Tbsp butter
  • 2 tsp Better than Boullion Reduced Sodium Chicken stock base
  • 1 Tbsp dried parsley
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp dried basil
  • 1/2 tsp dried rubbed sage
  • 1/2 tsp Celery Salt
  • pinch salt and pepper to taste; I recommend 1/4 tsp of each

Method
 

  1. Add ingredients to your pressure cooker.
  2. Close and seal your pressure cooker. Plug it in and choose the cook setting you want: rice.
  3. If necessary on your model, adjust cook time to 30 minutes.
  4. Once cook time has ended, manually do a quick release of pressure.
  5. **Rice will seem soupy due to less water being absorbed into the rice. This is normal! Drain off excess water and serve immediately.

Tried this recipe?

Let us know how it was!

Similar Posts

146 Comments

  13. What a great product for the working , busy mom. I’d love to win this for my busy schedule and my love of cooking. I wish everyone luck also on winning

    Reply

  21. Im thinking I would make a Pot Roast, maybe Swiss Steak or open face. Then all the leftovers get my ancient chinese secret BBQ Sauce for sandwiches lol

    Reply

  22. I would give it to my brother. He has 3 kids and a wife and they waited til later in life to have kids. Between sports and school they are aslways on the run and I know they’ve been wanting one

    Reply

  25. My fiancé and i have been talking forever about how we want one of these. Id want to find a new recipe to try with him.

    Reply

  46. My mom and grandma always used the old style pressure cookers so I was raised on the awesomely tender food they created but it scared me so bad, I never trusted myself with a manual one. About 8 years ago I did buy one of these when they first came out, and unfortunately it broke within a year because I used it soooo much! But my absolute favorite meal that I am always asking my mom to make me (because I could not afford to buy another electric one and am still scared of the old ones), is Pork Roast – you brown up the pork roast in a pan first and then throw them in with taters and onions and whatever else you want and just cook for about 30 minutes. My favorite meal I think on the planet! I could eat that almost every day so I would make this all the time 🙂 And my daughter is very picky because she has Williams syndrome, so she is 11 but only will eat about 10 foods – and meats made in this way are some of the few things other than chicken and mac and cheese that she chows down! One of these days I will have another one, I can’t wait 🙂 They really do make things so easy!

    Reply

  47. I have one of these new pressure cookers on my Christmas list this year so it would definitely find a place in my kitchen. I think the first thing I would cook is a pot roast because I remember my Grandmother making pot roast in her pressure cooker.

    Reply

  57. I like to keep extra supplies on hand in case of an emergency. After 2 major moves, I ended up selling and/or leaving everything I had stored behind, including tons of canned ‘meals in a jar’. I would use this to rep!enish that supply, so I could have the
    piece of mind knowing that my family and I would be ok…for a little while, anyway, should disaster strike.
    Thank you for the chance! =)

    Reply

  60. I would make a pot roast in it. My Aunt always used one of the old fashioned pressure cookers, and I was afraid of them, so when these came out, I knew I wanted one. It would be so great to win this. Thank you and Merry Christmas!

    Reply

  61. I’d give it to my daughter as a housewarming gift – she just bought her first place! This would be awesome!

    Reply

  62. I’d love to make a good white chicken chili in 1 of these! I’ve heard it’s great for pressure cooking the beans perfectly…

    Reply

  63. I have never cooked with a pressure cooker. My days of cooking are somewhat past so I would give it as a gift to my 3rd son who loves to cook. It’s his passion

    Reply

    1. They do seem to live up their hype of being handy and better in many ways than other methods of cooking (especially if you are short on time). Thanks for entering and good luck, Sunnie!

      Reply

  74. I would like to give it as a gift….but, I also want to make some meat/chicken and rice dishes if I were to keep it. Caught in the middle………..

    Reply

  75. I’ve never used a pressure cooker and neither did any of the women I grew up with so I don’t have a specific dish in mind to try first, but if I do win, I’ll be excited to look up ideas and try them out.

    Reply

    1. Hi Carrie! I had never used one either and was nervous to try, but it was easy and great to use! I see lots of experimenting going on in the future 🙂 Thanks for entering and good luck in the giveaway!

      Reply

    1. I love beef stew, but I only eat it about twice a year. It always makes me think of my grandma because she used to make it a lot. Thanks for entering and good luck!

      Reply

    1. How sweet of you, Jessie! That’s a lot of working away from home…it’s gotta be hard. We are so excited to have you! Thanks for entering and good luck!

      Reply

  85. Hi Ladies, I won a big pork roast in a meat raffle and I would love to use this pressure cooker to make it perfect! Thanks for the opportunity to win and also allowing me to join the community. I’m excited for future e-mails! Happy Holidays to all!?

    Reply

    1. Wow, you lucky duck! Thank you for the kind words, Deborah. That would be the perfect combo to win this so you can cook that pork roast! We are so excited you joined our community and are honored to have you. 🙂 Thanks for entering and good luck in the giveaway!

      Reply

  87. I would love to have this pressure cooker!! The first thing I would make is maple brown sugar steel cut oats, so yummy and perfect for this cooler weather! Thank you for the recipe and opportunity!

    Reply

  94. I would like to give it to my little brother for Christmas…He just bought his first house, so he’s still trying to fix it all up and get it to how he wants. He doesn’t have much yet, and I know he’d love this.

    Reply

  110. I would love making a good roast and of course soups! This would be a gift, I would wrap it up for myself LOL!

    Reply

  114. This would be for my son who has wanted one of these for a long time.

    Made a mistake on pinterest entry user name is first part minus @gmail.com

    Reply

  120. Oh Wow,I Have Wanted One Of These Forever. I Love My Cooktop Pressure Cooker.My Daugher Said These Are Much Better. I Want To Make Chicken In It. I Want It So Bad. Thanks For The Chance. Great Giveaway..

    Reply

  123. I’ve been hearing so many great things about a pressure cooker. Can’t wait to try a lot of different recipes if I win 😀

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.