Instant Pot Chicken Wild Rice Soup Recipe

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Warm and cozy instant pot chicken wild rice soup takes under an hour to make! It’s cream, snug, and studded with celery, onions, mushrooms, and carrots. The perfect meal for chilly winter nights!

Instant Pot Chicken Wild Rice Soup Recipe | Little Spice Jar (1)

Snug as a bug!

Instant pot chicken wild rice soup has been the most memorable recipe I’ve made this fall. It’s warm and cozy and features ingredients like, garlic, onions, dried herbs, and studded with carrots, mushrooms, and celery. Every bite starts with tender chicken, nutty and chewy wild rice and smooths out with that luscious, rich and creamy flavor.

And though chicken wild rice soup was not something I’d had until I was much older, it always reminds me of those simpler times.

It’s also easily customizable. If you don’t like mushrooms, just omit it from the recipe and if you don’t eat chicken, just double the mushrooms, so you get a little bit in every bite.

The hardest part about this whole instant pot chicken wild rice soup is waiting for 45 minutes. But here’s the thing – it’s simple, humble, feel-good food. It’s also perfect for those of us that want a warm bowl of soup for lunch every day of the week as this recipe makes enough for 6-8 servings.

Quick to throw together, straightforward, easily adaptable to your preference. Instant pot chicken wild rice soup is perfect to meal prep on Sundays and enjoy all week long!

In fact, I think it’s going on the menu again for next week!

Instant Pot Chicken Wild Rice Soup Recipe | Little Spice Jar (2)

Ingredients for instant pot chicken wild rice soup recipe:

Mirepoix:A mirepoix is a fancy word for a medley of onions, carrots, and celery.I like to use equal parts of all three and chop them up so that you get a little bit in each bite.
Mushrooms:I use baby Bella mushrooms for this recipe and slice them up.
Uncooked wild rice:Keep in mind that wild rice is different from a wild rice blend. A wild rice blend typically contains, brown rice, white rice, and black pearl or wild rice. For this recipe, it’s best to use wild rice only!
Chicken:I typically use thaw chicken breasts for this recipe. You can also use boneless, skinless chicken thighs in the same amount. Keep in mind that you will need to adjust the cooking time slightly if the chicken thighs are significantly smaller.
Chicken broth:you can also use water and bouillon if you like, that’s typically what I do if I don’t have prepared chicken broth in the freezer.
Garlic:Lots and lots of minced garlic goes into this recipe!
Seasonings:you’ll need dried thyme, Mrs. Dash seasoning, bay leaves, salt, black pepper, and garlic powder.
Butter:the base of the roux that we’ll make to thicken the chicken soup. Swap the butter with plant-based butter to make this dairy-free.
Flour:we’ll use this to make the roux.
Milk:You can also use half and half to make the recipe a bit more luxurious. Half and half is a product sold in the US that is made with 1:1 ratio of whole milk and heavy cream. You could also use coconut milk (the canned variety) here if you’d like to make the soup dairy-free.

Instant Pot Chicken Wild Rice Soup Recipe | Little Spice Jar (3)

Instant Pot Chicken Wild Rice Soup Recipe | Little Spice Jar (4)

Instant Pot Chicken Wild Rice Soup Recipe | Little Spice Jar (5)

How to make chicken wild rice soup in a pressure cooker:

Easy, peasy – toss it all in!Start by adding everything but the ingredients for the roux into the instant pot and cook it over high pressure until the chicken is cooked through. Do a quick pressure release by turning the valve and allowing to vent.
Shred it up.Remove the lid. Then using two forks, shred the chicken into bite-sized pieces. Add the chicken back into the instant pot.
Make the roux.In a saucepan on the stove top, melt the butter over medium heat. Stir until melted. Then add the flour and garlic powder cook for a few minutes until it starts to turn lightly golden. Continue to whisk as you stream in the milk. Once the milk has been added and the liquid thickens, add a small sprinkle of salt.
Make chicken wild rice soup.Stir the prepared liquid into the soup. Let the soup sit for a few minutes, this will allow it to thicken slightly. Then taste the soup and adjust with seasonings as desired. Fish out the bay leaves then serve this up with homemade no knead bread.

Instant Pot Chicken Wild Rice Soup Recipe | Little Spice Jar (6)

Tips for the best chicken soup:

Use actual wild rice

with 35 minutes of cooking time, you’ll need to use real wild rice for this one. I don’t suggest a wild rice blend, or brown rice, or white rice. It’swild rice. It can be difficult to find in stores so if you’ve got a Trader Joe’s nearby, you can pick it up there. Keep in mind you’ll want to rinse the wild rice as the outer coating can sometimes make the soup a bit purple if you don’t rinse it!

Get the right seasonings!

like the slow cooker version of my chicken wild rice soup, this one also calls for a seasoning blend. I use the 21 seasoning salute from TJ’s, butMrs. Dashalso makes one that you can find in almost all grocery stores. Just be sure to use the salt-free kind.

Get the roux right!

the roux for this instant pot chicken wild rice soup is cooked separately from the soup so you’ll need a small saucepan. Depending on my mood, I might even add half teaspoon of garlic powder to amp up the flavor a little more.

When in doubt, serve it with bread!

This is a great recipe to serve with homemade no knead bread. You could also make my all-time favorite no knead focaccia. Or serve with roasted garlic rosemary focaccia.

Instant Pot Chicken Wild Rice Soup Recipe | Little Spice Jar (7)

If you like this recipe, you might also like:

Instant Pot Beef and Barley Soup
Cuban Black Bean Soup
Luxurious Turkish Lentil Soup
Instant Pot Chicken Pho (Pho Ga)
Roasted Garlic White Chicken Lasagna Soup

Yield: 6-8 large servings

Instant Pot Chicken Wild Rice Soup

Prep Time10 minutes

Cook Time35 minutes

Total Time45 minutes

Warm and cozy instant pot chicken wild rice soup takes under an hour to make! It's cream, snug, and studded with celery, onions, mushrooms, and carrots. The perfect meal for chilly winter nights!

Ingredients

soup:

3 cups mirepoix (equal parts, chopped onion, carrots, and celery)
8 ounces mushrooms, diced (see notes)
1 cup uncooked wild rice, rinsed (see notes)
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
6-8 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1-3 tablespoons Mrs. Dash's seasoning(see notes)
2 bay leaves
4 cups chicken broth
2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon EACH salt AND pepper

roux:

5 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder(optional)
2 cups milk (or half and half)

Instructions

INSTANT POT: Add all the ingredients listed under the soup section into the instant pot, cover, and cook on manual (high pressure) for 35 minutes. During the last 5 minutes prepare the roux. Quick-release the steam by turning the valve. Remove the chicken, shred it using two forks, and add it back into the instant pot.
ROUX:In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat and whisk in the flour. Let the flour mixture cook for 2 minutes before adding the garlic powder (if using). Continue whisking as you slowly start streaming in the milk (or half and half). Once the sauce thickens (about 2-3 minutes), add a sprinkling of salt.
CHICKEN WILD RICE SOUP:Stir the prepared roux into the instant pot and let sit for 5-7 minutes before serving. This allows the soup to thicken just a tad bit. Taste and adjust salt and pepper as desired. Serve with tons of crusty bread!

Notes

01/21: After several reviews, I've changed the quantity of the all-purpose seasoning to 1-3. The original recipe called for 3 tablespoons but some readers have mentioned that this made their soup quite spicy for them. We make this soup with 3 tablespoons often and don't find it spicy, but you may want to start with 1 tablespoon and add more if this is your first time making this soup!

Purchase prechopped veggies or pop each individualveggie into a food processor and give it a few pulses to make this faster.
I used Trader Joe's 21 seasoning salute for this recipe (that's their version of the Mrs. Dash salt-free Original seasoning blend.)
The soup will thicken significantly as it sits. Leftovers should be placed in an airtight container and refrigerated. Additional milk, cream, broth, or water can be used to adjust the consistency of the soup when reheating.
I suggest using real wild rice for this recipe. A wild rice blend, white rice, or brown rice won't produce the same results. Unfortunately, they do soften quite a bit in the time needed to prepare this recipe.

Update: Leftovers can be frozen, just allow them to defrost in the refrigerator overnight. You may need additional water or broth to help bring it back to its normal consistency.

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Instant Pot Chicken Wild Rice Soup Recipe | Little Spice Jar (2024)