Instant Pot Wild Rice with Dried Cranberries and Pecans
This instant pot rice is both sweet and savory and is the perfect side dish for the holiday season. And...it's easy enough for an everyday side dish! This rice pilaf is a mixture of brown and wild rice that is pressure cooked in a citrus vinaigrette with flavors that are so delicious...people can't resist!
Servings: 6 people
Calories: 232kcal
Equipment
- Instant Pot
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- ¾ cup brown rice
- ¼ cup wild rice
- 1 cup water
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- ½ cup pecans, chopped
- 1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 Tablespoon fresh orange juice
- ½ teaspoon lemon zest
- ½ teaspoon orange zest
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 teaspoon unsalted butter, (only use if making this on the stovetop)
Instructions
Instant Pot Instructions
For The Citrus Vinaigrette
- In a small bowl, add the olive oil, fresh lemon and orange juice, sugar, and the zest of the lemon and orange. Mix well and set aside.
For The Instant Pot
- In the Instant Pot, add in the water, citrus vinaigrette, brown rice, wild rice, dried cranberries and a dash of salt and pepper, to taste.
- Stir well and the place on the lid. Set the valve to steaming, and lock the lid in place.
- Set the Instant Pot to manual mode on high pressure for 28 minutes.
- Once the timer counts down to 0, the Instant Pot will beep. Turn the valve to venting and let the pressure release for 15 minutes.
- Remove the lid and add the chopped pecans and scallions. Fluff the mixture with a fork and serve.
Stove Top Instructions
- Use the amount of water for the rice according to instructions on the package. Typically straight brown rice is 1:2 ratio rice to water. Straight wild rice is a ratio of 1:3 of wild rice to water. Make sure to follow the directions on the package on how to cook the rice on the stove top.
- Bring the rice, ½ teaspoon of salt, butter, and water to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook 50 minutes. Do not stir or uncover during this 50 minutes.
- Once done, remove the pot from the stove and let it sit, covered for 10 minutes. Then uncover and fluff with a fork and allow to cool.
- In a medium sized serving bowl, gently mix the rice, pecans, and green onions.
- In a separate container with a lid, mix the lemon juice, olive oil, orange juice and zest, sugar, and salt and pepper to taste.
- Just before serving, mix the citrus vinaigrette into the rice mixture. Serve warm, chilled, or at room temperature.
Notes
- This recipe can also be made on the stovetop! Step-By-Step instructions are in the recipe in their own section.
- Instead of using individual bags of brown and wild rice, you can use a mix such as Lundberg Wild Blend.
- Black rice can be substituted. If you use this type, set the pressure timing to 30 minutes instead of 28 minutes.
- When making this recipe the pressure and the timing can be controlled by using the manual mode setting. If the rice mode setting is used, it will be undercooked and crunchy.
- Only use dried cranberries with this dish. Fresh cranberries change the flavor to be more tart instead of sweet.
- Don't use butter if making this in the Instant Pot because it will make the entire dish mushy.
- This dish can be served either hot, cold, or at room temperature.
- Store leftover in a container with a lid and place it in the refrigerator for 4-5 days.
Nutrition
Calories: 232kcal | Carbohydrates: 33g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 2mg | Sodium: 4mg | Potassium: 137mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 28IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 19mg | Iron: 1mg