Instant Pot Wheat Berries–tender, chewy wheat berries cooked in minutes in your pressure cooker. I like to use them in salads, chili or spaghetti sauce.
Instant Pot Wheat Berries
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Wheat berries have a sweet, nutty flavor. They are tender and chewy. Their flavor works well in savory dishes as well as sweet breakfast dishes. They hold their shape and texture even after cooking for long hours in the slow cooker. These make them great in soups and chilis. I’ve made them many times in the slow cooker but today I wanted to see how they would fare in the Instant Pot.
You’ll want a ratio of 3 parts water to 1 part wheat. I used hard white wheat because that’s what was in my pantry. I set it to manual for 30 minutes and then did a quick release. This method worked wonderfully and now I can make my favorite wheat berry salad with avocados, peppers, jicama and tomatoes! Yum!
What Instant Pot Did You Use?
For this Instant Pot Wheat Berries recipe I used this Instant Pot IP-LUX60 V3 Programmable Electric Pressure Cooker. It’s 6 quarts, so the same size as most slow cookers. It cost me around $80 on Amazon.
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Instant Pot Wheat Berries
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
Ingredients
- 3 cups water
- 1 cup wheat berries (I used hard white wheat)
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
- Add water, wheat and salt to Instant Pot. Secure the lid and set the valve to “sealing.”
- Set the manual timer for 30 minutes.
- When the timer beeps you can do a quick release by moving the valve to “venting.”
- Drain the wheat berries and enjoy by themselves or in other recipes.
Notes
I used my 6 quart Instant Pot for this recipe.
–>>Click here for the SLOW COOKER VERSION of this recipe<<–
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I have 5 cups of wheat berries and a 6 quart IP. Do you think I can cook them in one batch?
For foods that expand like beans and wheat the general rule is not to fill your pot more than half full
my 6qt Duo Nova has a multigrain setting, it defaults at 40 minutes, would this be a good setting to use? And would I use the same amount of water to wheat ratio?
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Yes, I bet that would be great.
Well, I made them and the dish I made was A-ma-zing! But, when they were done cooking (and they were fully cooked) there was still liquid left. Is this normal? I just drained them. Should I maybe have used a little less water? I used 2 cups wheat, thought 6 cups liquid would be too much, but 4 not enough, so went with 5…maybe I should try 4 cups next time? Anyway, my cold Mediterranean salad was delicious! (Even the picky ones loved it!)
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Yes, I usually just drain the water. Glad the salad turned out! Sounds terrific!
Did you use high or low pressure on manual for these?
I used high pressure!
will your recipe work on a 3 quart Instant Pot?
Yep should be just fine in the 3 quart.
How much does 1 cup of cooked wheat berries yield?
1 cup uncooked? I would say they double at least.
I saw wheat berries at the store yesterday and remembered seeing this recipe, so I bought a pound. I liked the chewy texture. Used it in place of rice with the chicken adobo recipe from this site. Will make again and experiment using it other ways.
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It’s definitely chewy! Very unique taste!
If I double the amount of wheat berries (I eat them every day and 1 cup doesn’t last long) do I also double the amount of water? Thanks.
Just enough water to cover them by an inch or so.
I’ve been trying to sprout and eat wheat berries for maybe 5 years now. Sprouting never worked and I’ve never been into dirt and wheat grass growing. Now trying to cook them and seem to be eating cardboard with 2 different directions on your site. One was 4 cups of water to 1 cup of berries and 1 teaspoon of salt. IP on high for 30 mins. Not done. Put back in for another 5 minute increments and they just seemed more and more like cardboard. Maybe cooked 45 mins. Card board ! I’m trying again with another of your instructions: 3 cups of water to 1 cup of berries and a pinch of salt in IP for 30 mins.
Can you kindly suggest what I may be doing wrong here? Could it be the age of the berries I’m using and how does one know when buying? Thank you. Love, LOVE your site.
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They do have a shelf life and may have gone bad. It might be like dried beans, if they’ve been on the shelf too long they stay tough no matter how long you cook them. So my guess is they are old?
Margie and Romy, Have you thought of putting like a teaspoon of baking soda in the pot with your wheat? to soften maybe. I know you can do that with pinto beans. It softens them right up no matter what cooking method stove top or pressure. I am in AZ so I don’t have to make adjustments for altitudes.
I have cooked wheat berries for years for our Christmas Eve suppers. Have never added salt during the cooking process as it makes the wheat tough. Just cook in water and add salt if you want when it is cooked.
Can wheat berries be cooked with tomatoes and onions in this same time ?
The tomatoes would be totally mush I think. What are you making?
I adore wheat berries and this is very helpful! Usually when I make steel-cut oats, I soak the berries, but now that I have a 6-quart IP, I’ll be making them in there so this is great. One steel-cut oat IP recipe I have calls for manual 3 minutes/natural release. Another recipe says saute butter and stir oats in the butter for 3 minutes (nah), then high pressure 10 minutes, natural release. 30 minutes of high pressure for the wheat berries isn’t compatible with the oats. Maybe cooking wheat berries first is key here. THANK YOU!
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