How Long Does Cooked Wild Rice Last

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Wild rice is a beautiful, traditional food that often takes a long time to prepare. Yet, this nutrient-dense pseudograin has 30 times more antioxidants than white rice and is full of fiber! Learn how to cook this gluten-free, nourishing aquatic grass in your pressure cooker. Instant Pot Wild Rice saves time and gives you perfect results every time!
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white bowl of instant pot wild rice

I love wild rice. It's a local food for me because I live in its native region.

It's high in protein, allergy-friendly, gluten-free, has has 30 times more antioxidants than white rice.

Yet, it has one major downfall….

It takes FOR-E-VER to cook. 😉 (For-e-ver said like Squints from The Sandlot)

The first time I cooked wild rice, it took over an hour on the stovetop.

Although I'm unfortunately part of the "Microwave Generation", my family and I don't even own a microwave, so I'm really not whining here.

That's just a big jump from 20 minutes of cooking sprouted brown rice and sushi rice, which I also cook in my Instant Pot. And ever since I got my IPs (yep, I've got 2 now!), I've shaved the cooking time off lots of things… from bone broth to pulled pork to ribs and even rendered animal fat!

Now, I'm cutting the cooking time of one of my favorite traditional foods: wild rice!

What is wild rice?

First, contrary to its name, wild rice isn't rice. It's an aquatic grass!

It's called rice because it looks and cooks like rice, but that's pretty much where their similarities end.

Wild rice is a "pseudograin", meaning it looks, acts, cooks, and even tastes like a grain, except it's not. Quinoa and amaranth are also "pseudograins" which are actually seeds! (Learn how to cook quinoa in your Instant Pot.)

Wild rice is the only rice native to North America. Only one other type of wild rice grows in the world — in Asia — where it's eaten as a vegetable, not as a grain.

Unfortunately, the "paleo diet police" don't consider wild rice a Paleolithic food. I'm not sure why, though, since it's been collected, eaten, and even regarded as a sacred food for indigenous North American peoples, such as the Anishinaabe (Ojibwe) tribes, for thousands of years.

Wild rice is a healthy source of…

magnesium, folate, manganese, zinc, and iron
B vitamins
fiber (3g of fiber per 1/4 cup — more than oats, quinoa, and all other types of rice!)
antioxidants — 30x more than white rice!

instant pot wild rice in white bowl with instant pot in the background

How To Use Wild Rice

Once you've got wild rice cooked up perfectly in your Instant Pot, it's a great staple to keep in the fridge and add to meals throughout the week!

Love chicken and rice? Use wild rice instead!
Do you add rice to soups? Add wild rice instead!
Add it to burgers, meatloaf, or salmon patties.
Mix in veggies and fermented soy sauce or coconut aminos, and you've got a wild rice stir-fry!
Try my Salmon & Wild Rice Burgers with Avocado Garlic Aioli!
Or my Creamy Wild Rice Soup!

Types Of Wild Rice — It Matters!

Updated: 10/06/2017 — I received several comments from readers who tried this recipe and it didn't work perfectly for them. Their rice ended up cooked, but they were also left with lots of liquid, which they had to strain/drain off.

So, here's what I've figured out…

The type of wild rice you use REALLY matters. There are so many varieties, and I don't use a variety that can be bought off the shelf at your local supermarket. I buy it from friends who go out in a canoe and harvest the rice by hand, according to traditional Native practices. I pay $11 per pound for this beautiful, local food. (If you don't have a valuable resource like this, I recommend Wildly Organic's hand-harvested, hand-parched wild rice.)

Our wild rice (nor Wildly Organic's) is not patty-grown. It is not dark black or brown; more of a grey-ish brown color.

If your wild rice is patty-grown, black in color, or machine-parched, your results may be different.

This is my best guess as to why others who have followed this recipe ended up with vastly different results. Just know that as long as the rice is cooked through — not too al dente and not mushy, but perfectly cooked — and you're still left with water, simply drain the water and use the rice. It's really ok!

And… Altitude!

It's a thing. Unfortunately.

I am at a low altitude — less than 1,000 feet. Therefore, my cooking time will be less than someone who's higher, say 3,500 or 6,000 feet.

Since I have not tested this recipe at various altitudes, I have included the liquid ratio and time that worked for ME. And I have tested and re-tested this recipe, and it DOES work for me every time.

So, if you're at a higher altitude, experiment with a longer cooking time and/or less liquid.

Does wild rice need to be soaked?

Sources are inconsistent on this. Some say yes; some say no.

Rather than relying on mixed messages, I went with a different approach: I asked my friend Kaare, from Finnskogen Farm. Kaare and his wife Pam have been studying and harvesting wild rice for years and years.

And, not only does Kaare know his wild rice, he also knows nourishing food and Ojibwe culture. He says phytic acid is not an issue in wild rice, and to his knowledge, Native people did not utilize any sort of soaking methods to improve digestibility or reduce phytates.

I can also say, from years of eating it, that consuming unsoaked wild rice has never caused any sort of digestive discomfort or reaction for me or any of my family.

Remember: wild rice is an aquatic grass — not a grain like wheat or oats or rye. For this reason, I assume it's just fine to eat without soaking first. If anyone has evidence or knowledge to the contrary, please share it with us in the comments! 🙂

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Instant Pot Wild Rice

I've cut my cooking time for wild rife almost by half since switching from the stovetop to my Instant Pot!

The rice is fluffy, tender, and perfectly cooked every time.

Instant Pot Wild Rice is a staple I like to prepare during my weekly meal prep and then have on hand to add to dishes and meals throughout the week.

Here's how to cook wild rice in your Instant Pot!

white bowl of instant pot wild rice

Instant Pot Wild Rice

Cook Time 35 minutes

Total Time 35 minutes

Instructions

Add the wild rice, water and/or broth, and salt to the Instant Pot.
Place the lid on the Instant Pot and turn until it locks into place. Make sure to seal the vent.
Press the Manual button and adjust the cooking time to 35 minutes and the pressure to high.
When the Instant Pot beeps, manually release pressure.
Open the lid immediately and fluff with a fork.

Pin it!

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Updated 10.06.17, 05.02.2018, 07.30.2018, 3.20.2019