Instant Pot Chicken Wild Rice Soup is a fast and flavorful take on classic chicken soup. The Instant Pot works its magic while you sit back and wait for the comforting mix of chicken, wild rice, vegetables, and herbs to finish cooking.
Chicken and rice is a classic combination for good reason – it’s hearty, nourishing, comforting, and delicious! I’m always leaning on this One-Pan Chicken And Rice and Gluten Free Chicken Meal Prep Bowls for quick and satisfying meals, and now I can add this Instant Pot Chicken and Wild Rice Soup to the rotation.
Made with a vegetable medley, hearty chicken, wild rice, and a blend of spices, you can’t go wrong with this quick one-pot soup. It also happens to be naturally gluten-free and easy to make vegetarian. You’ll feel good about serving this instant pot rice soup to all your friends and family, but don’t be surprised when they start begging for seconds!
What is wild rice?
Wild rice is technically not rice at all! It’s the seed of a semi-aquatic grass that is native to North America. While rice and wild rice aren’t technically related, they’re both tender grains with delicious earthy and nutty flavors.
You can find dry wild rice at most grocery stores. The best wild rice will be on the pricier side, but will be hand-harvested, all-natural, and have the best flavor. Wild rice comes in a variety of different colors; I like to pick up a mix to give this soup some color.
Chicken and wild rice soup ingredients
- Chicken breasts – Make sure to cut the chicken into small pieces so they cook quickly and evenly in the pressure cooker.
- Wild rice mix – You should be able to find a wild rice mix at most grocery stores or online. You could try using another type of long-grain rice, like brown rice, basmati, or jasmine, but you may need to adjust the cooking time.
- Chicken broth – A homemade chicken bone broth is the most flavorful choice and adds a ton of nutrients.
- Vegetables – A mixture of white onion, garlic, carrots, celery, mushrooms, and kale creates a fun variety of textures and flavors.
- Heavy cream – Just a splash at the end will make this soup deliciously rich, creamy, and comforting.
- Spices – Fresh thyme, salt, and pepper add the finishing touches to this tasty soup.
How to make Instant Pot chicken wild rice soup
Chicken and wild rice soup instant pot is an easy set-it-and-forget-it dinner that can be made in just 5 simple steps:
Step 1: Using Saute mode on the Instant Pot, saute the onion and garlic in oil until translucent.
Step 2: Add in the carrots, celery, and mushrooms. Season with thyme, salt, and pepper and cook until soft.
Step 3: Add the chicken broth, wild rice, and cubed chicken. Give everything a good stir, turn off Saute mode, place the lid on top, and cook on high pressure.
Step 4: Allow for a 5-minute natural pressure release before manually releasing the remaining pressure.
Step 5: Open up the Instant Pot and add the cream and kale. Stir to combine all the instant pot rice soup ingredients, serve, and enjoy!
Stovetop instructions
Wild rice can take at least 40 minutes to cook in a pot of boiling water on the stovetop. Get this step done first before preparing the rest of your soup:
- Cook the wild rice according to package instructions. Set aside.
- Saute the onion, garlic, carrots, celery, and mushrooms in a large pot on the stove. Season with thyme, salt, and pepper.
- Add the chicken broth and cubed chicken. Add a lid on top and let the soup simmer until the chicken is cooked through.
- Add the cooked wild rice, heavy cream, and kale to finish. Give everything a good stir before serving.
Slow cooker instructions
- Place the wild rice, chicken, onion, garlic, carrots, celery, mushrooms, thyme, salt, pepper, and chicken broth into the slow cooker.
- Cook on Low for 7 to 8 hours or until the chicken is cooked through but some liquid remains.
- Add the heavy cream and kale and give everything a good stir. Serve and enjoy!
Tips and variations
- Looking to make an instant pot vegetarian wild rice soup? Omit the chicken and use vegetable broth instead of chicken or bone broth, or make my Instant Pot Mushroom Wild Rice Soup which can be made as an instant pot vegan wild rice soup by using vegetable broth.
- Speed up the process for swapping the raw chicken for leftover roasted chicken or a shredded rotisserie chicken. Stir it into the soup when you add the cream and kale.
- This soup pairs really well with a side of Irish soda bread or no knead artisan bread.
FAQs
Depending on the recipe and the cooking method it is not always necessary to cook the rice before adding it to the soup.
Yes, you can substitute with a different type of rice though the combination of wild rice and chicken tastes great.
Storage and reheating
To store: Place the instant pot wild rice soup into an airtight container and store it in the fridge for up to 4 days.
To freeze: Make sure the leftovers have cooled completely before transferring them to an airtight container or ziplock bag. Store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
To reheat: Place the chilled or thawed soup into a large pot and heat over medium-high heat. Add additional chicken broth as necessary and serve when warmed through.
Looking for more cozy Instant Pot soup recipes?
RECIPE TIP
If you don’t have any kale on hand or if you’d rather not add kale, feel free to add your favorite leafy green; spinach, collard greens or watercress will all work well.
Instant Pot Chicken Wild Rice Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 large white onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 large carrots, sliced
- 1 cup celery, thinly chopped
- 1 cup mushrooms, sliced
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup wild rice mix,
- 1 1/2 lb 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 1 tsp thyme, fresh or dried
- 1 pinch sea salt and black pepper, to taste
- 2 cups fresh kale, chopped
Instructions
- Turn instant pot on sauté mode and add in oil. When the oil is hot add onion and garlic and sauté until fragrant and onions are translucent (2-3 minutes)
- Start to add in the carrots, celery and mushrooms. I first add the carrots, let them sauté while I chop the celery to save time. Then I add the celery, stir and let it sauté while I slice the mushrooms. Finally I add the mushrooms, thyme and season with salt and pepper. Stir and sauté for 3-5 minutes.
- Add broth, rice and chicken, stir to combine. Turn sauté mode off and set on high pressure for 25 minutes.
- Allow 5 minutes of NPR then release all remaining pressure. Open the instant pot and pour in heavy cream and kale. Stir to combine. You may want to cover the pot to allow the kale to soften a bit, however you don’t need to.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
It’s a cold rainy day here in north Texas. I decided to make your Chicken and Wild Rice soup. It is delicious but I’m not happy with myself because I over cooked the rice. I will definitely make this again but cut down on cook time. Thanks for posting and by the way I love how easy it is to get to the recipes you post!!
That’s the nicest compliment, thanks so much Tina!! Thanks for trying my recipe and coming back to leave a feedback. Hope you will try (and love) many more! xoxo 🙂
Vontade de fazer todas as receitasb
Where did you find that rice blend? What is brand? Thank you.
I usually buy mine at Whole Foods, their brand 365 organic wild rice mix or Lundberg wild blend. They are both the same thing which is a mix of brown basmati and wild rice. This is the link to one of them on Amazon so you can take a look and see what it looks like: https://amzn.to/2LyJVm5
Thank you. I was shopping when I asked. I bought & used a Rice Select Royal Blend – Texmati white, brown, Wild & Thai red blend. The soup was delicious!
Aw thank you so much Anita! I am so so glad you liked this recipe 🙂 Thanks for your feedback also, that means a lot to me!
Very delicious!
This was delicious! One question…when i made it i went ahead and sauted the chicken, as i wasn’t sure if it needed to be cooked first. Do you cook your chicken first in the IP before pressurizing the rest? It was great, and better the longer it sat! Thanks!!
That’s great Amy, I am very happy to hear! To answer your question no, you do not need to sauté the chicken but I am sure it can’t hurt. 25 minutes under pressure is plenty time for the chicken to fully cook.
Hello, I haven’t tried your recipe, but I have some questions…
– Can I substitute Half & Half for Heavy Cream?
– I’m surprised to see the Kale doesn’t need to be sauteed? And I like Dino Kale over regular kale. Can I substitute it?
Thank you!
Thank you for your interest in trying this recipe. Although I haven’t personally tried, other have substituted the half and half for milk, heavy cream and dairy-free milk successfully. As for the kale, you can sub for other types of kale, collard or spinach and no it doesn’t need to be sauteed, the green will cook and soften in the hot broth within minutes. I hope this helps!
Can I double this recipe?
I would only recommend doubling the recipe if you have the larger instant pot, mine is a 6qt which will definitely not hold a double batch.
I have the flu and I bought the ingredients to make this before I was diagnosed. I found the strength to make this today and it looks and tastes delicious. Thank you!!!
Oh Emma, I hope you feel better soon. This is a great recipe for when you have a cold or flu. I had it once, honestly it is NOT fun and I lived off of soup. Wishing you well… 🙂
Wow…now, this Recipe is GGGOOOOO! This is the 2nd time making it and I only modified it slightly. I diced my Chicken into roughly 1 inch cubes & did not shred later on. I added in (1)…a small palmful of chopped FRESH DILL (fresh is best) (I AM Polish, after all! lol!!) (2)…a small palmful of FESH ITALIAN PARSLEY, and (3) a 1/4 teaspoon squeeze of CHILI PEPPER PASTE & (4)…the juice of 1/2 LIME (after it is cooked), to cook it up a notch!! This is de-lish, though, as is written, and a nice dish during this Covid 19 Crisis here in Ontario. Thanks for the Recipe; it is keeper!~~~
Thanks so much Linda for your feedback! I am so happy to hear that you enjoyed this recipe! Stay safe and healthy 🙂
Hi! I would love to make this soup in my large crockpot! How can I alter recipe?
My suggestion is that you follow sautéing instructions in a skillet or pot, then transfer everything to the crockpot and set to cook. I just don’t know how long you might need to cook for since I haven’t tested this recipe in the slow cooker.
Our family LOVED this! Even the kids. Usually when I make soup we have leftovers for the next day. Not with this recipe- every bite was eaten at dinner time.
That’s wonderful Shaunda, so happy to hear!