Instant Pot Chicken and Wild Rice Soup is a heart-healthy and soul-warming soup you’d love to prepare in the Fall and winter. It all comes together in the pressure cooker in about an hour, but it will taste like you’ve been simmering it all day long.
There’s just nothing like chicken and wild rice soup. The chewiness of the wild rice, the creaminess of the broth, the rustic vegetables, and chicken flavors… it just might be the most perfect food there is!
If you love our pressure cooker Zuppa Toscana, this creamy soup needs to get on your list, too! One spoonful and it’s sure to become one of your favorite things to cozy up to this winter season.
Fun facts about wild rice
Wild rice is not actually rice at all. First discovered by Native Americans in the Great Lakes region of the United States hundreds of years ago, it’s the seed of a type of aquatic grass that grows along the shores of streams and lakes. It’s referred to as rice because it is prepared in a similar manner.
Wild rice is lower in calories than white or brown rice but contains more protein. In fact, it’s considered a complete protein. It also contains high levels of nutrients and antioxidants.
This recipe for Instant Pot creamy chicken wild rice soup starts out by sauteeing the onion, celery, carrots, and garlic until they’re nice and soft. Then, you turn off the saute mode and add the chicken, rice, mushrooms, broth, herbs, and seasonings.
It cooks in the Instant Pot for 32 minutes, then naturally releases for 5 more minutes. From there, remove the bay leaves and thyme sprigs and discard.
Remove the chicken and shred with two forks. It’ll be super-tender and should fall apart easily. Toss in a good handful of kale to boost color, texture, and nutrients.
Finish off the soup with a cup of heavy cream and adjust taste with salt and pepper as needed. That’s it… super easy and super comforting on a chilly day.
Cooking tips
- The recipe calls for chicken breast but dark meat works well, too. You can also use any leftover rotisserie or holiday turkey; just shred and add after the rice soup is cooked along with the kale.
- For a lighter soup, swap the heavy cream with half and half or milk. For a non-dairy option, replace it with coconut milk.
- You can use all brown rice if you like, without change to cook time.
- For a thicker consistency, turn on the Sauté feature after the chicken has been shredded and returned to the pot, and allow the soup to cook for an additional 4 to 6 minutes to thicken up.
How to serve
- Creamy Instant Pot chicken wild rice soup makes a great starter or a meal-in-itself. Serve with crusty French bread or warm rolls and a side salad for a satisfying lunch or dinner the whole family will love.
- Rice freezes well for future use. Store leftovers in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
- As the rice expands and absorbs quite a bit of the liquid, add a splash or two of fresh cream or milk to thin the soup out to the desired consistency when reheating.
- If you’re planning to freeze the whole batch, I suggest undercooking the rice for a few minutes for better texture when reheated.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 onion, peeled and chopped
- 3 stalks celery, diced
- 3 carrots, peeled and diced
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1 pound chicken
- 3/4 cup wild rice, uncooked
- 1/2 cup brown rice, uncooked
- 1 cup baby bella mushrooms, sliced
- 1 1/2 cups kale, trimmed and roughly chopped
- 2 bay leaves
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon dried sage
- 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1 cup heavy cream
- salt and pepper to taste
Equipment
- 8-qt Pressure Cooker
Instructions
- PRESS the SAUTE mode button on the Instant Pot. When HOT appears on the display, add butter and heat with the Instant Pot lid open until it begins to melt.
- Add diced onion and cook for 1 minute, stirring occasionally.
- Add in the celery, carrots, and garlic. Continue to cook for another 2 to 4 minutes or until vegetables are softened.
- Press the CANCEL button to turn off saute mode..
- Add ½ cup of the broth. Deglaze the pot by scraping the bottom to remove any browned bits.
- Add the wild and brown rice, chicken, mushrooms, fresh thyme, bay leaves, dried sage, and dried rosemary.
- Pour the remaining broth into the pot.
- Close and lock the lid and set the valve in the SEALING position. Pressure cook on HIGH for 32 minutes.
- Once it finishes cooking, allow to naturally release for 5 minutes, then turn the valve to quick release any additional steam.
- Carefully open the Instant Pot lid. Remove the bay leaves and thyme sprigs and discard.
- Remove the chicken and shred with a fork. Return to the pot.
- Add the kale and push down into the broth.
- Add the heavy cream and stir well. Allow to simmer for 1 to 2 minutes or just until heated through.
- Season with salt and pepper as needed. Serve hot.
Nutrition Information
“This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.”
Ann Marie Wiltse says
I substituted spinach for the kale. Delicious
Felicia White says
This was by far the best chicken and wild rice soup I’ve made.!! I did not have Kale on hand and I don’t like mushrooms, so I omitted those. I will add Kale next time.
I had the Royal Blend by Rice Select (Texmati white, brown, wild and red rice mix) in my pantry, so I used that instead of the wild rice and brown rice as the recipe called for. Since I used the Royal blend, I reduced the cook time from 32 minutes to 27 minutes as the white and red rice cook faster. I’m also dairy-free, so I used oat milk instead of heavy cream. That was probably the biggest substitution I made.
The minor adaptations I made were for my dietary restrictions and for what I had at home (I’m snowed in right now).
This will be a regular! Simple ingredients and fantastic flavor.
Candida G says
I really like this recipe. I would use less sage next time. Use use 1/2 teaspoons powdered maybe that is different than dried sage. Nonetheless I loved it. Next I will add lemon.
Candida G says
I really liked this recipe. I would use less sage next time. I used 1/2 teaspoons of powdered…maybe that is different than dried. Nonetheless I loved it. I will add lemon next.
Joe Ubl says
At the print recipe page an 8 quart instapot is listed under equipment. I would guess most readers have a six quart. Will a six quart work?
Pipa says
My “go to” for comfort food.
Yummmmm!