Place ¾ cup brown rice, ¼ cup wild rice, ½ teaspoon onion powder, 1 TB nutritional yeast, ¼ teaspoon salt, and 1 clove garlic, sliced in the bottom of the Instant Pot.
Add 1 ¼ cups water, 1 TB soy sauce, and 1 TB olive oil. Stir to mix. Place the lid on the pot and set the cooker to high pressure for 38 minutes.
When the cooker signals that the 38 minutes is up, allow the steam to release naturally with the valve closed for 10 minutes. Then, manually release any remaining steam.
Open the pot, sprinkle 2 TB parsley over the top of the rice, and fluff it with a fork.
Variations
Cranberry pecan - Stir ½ cup each chopped dried cranberries and toasted pecans into cooked pilaf.
Mushroom - Saute 1 ½ cups of sliced mushrooms in olive oil and season with 1 tablespoon of cooking sherry or apple cider. Evaporate juices and stir while hot into the cooked pilaf.
Stuffing - Add one tsp. of poultry seasoning to the cooking water. Saute ½ cup each of diced celery, onion, and chopped water chestnuts in vegan butter while the rice pilaf cooks. Stir into the cooked pilaf.
Indian Curry - Add one teaspoon of garam masala or fresh curry powder to the cooking water. Omit the parsley and fluff the cooked wild rice blend with ¼ cup of raisins and ½ cup of chopped cashews or sliced almonds. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of sliced cilantro.
Mexican - Add ½ teaspoon each of cumin powder and dried oregano plus ¼ teaspoon of chili powder to the cooking water. Serve with salsa.
Asian - Add one teaspoon of grated ginger and ⅛ teaspoon of white pepper to the cooking water. Omit the parsley and fluff cooked pilaf with ¼ cup of sliced green onions.
Storing leftovers
Store leftovers by cooling rice pilaf before refrigerating or freezing and storing them in a tightly covered container in the refrigerator for one week or for up to 3 months in the freezer.
Reheating leftovers
Oven- Place leftovers in an oven-proof dish, spritz the top lightly with water, and cover. Heat in a 350-degree oven for 20 minutes.
Instant Pot - Place leftovers in an oven-proof dish, spritz the top lightly with water, and cover. Pour 1 cup of water into the cooker, add a trivet, and set your dish on top. Put the lid on the pot and set it to high pressure for 5 minutes. Release steam from the cooker manually.
Notes
Recipe tipsDo not rinse rice before cooking unless you thoroughly dry it after.Remove parsley stems before mincing.Let pilaf sit briefly with the cover removed and the Instant Pot set to warm if any liquid remains at the bottom of the pot after pressure cooking.Save time on recipe variations by sauteing cooked vegetables separately while the rice pilaf cooks. They'll stay fresh and won't become mushy.