Hearty + healthy Chicken and Rice Soup – comes together in the instant pot and ready in under 30 minutes! Perfect for fall and winter dinners! | Gluten Free + Dairy Free
One thing that I really love about being married to someone who grew up in a different country is when we’re able to introduce each other to different foods we had growing up. He gets to share with me his appreciate for pork pies, yorkshire pudding, and kinder eggs and I get to make him the things my mom used to make for my family when I was a kid.
There’s something uniquely comforting and nostalgic about being in a different kitchen in another country but surrounded by the smells you used to know so well.
Even though this chicken and wild rice soup isn’t exactly the most traditional recipe – made without dairy and gluten flour – it’s still got that same base flavour profile that I remember devouring when I was young.
So let’s get into it!
How to Make: Chicken and Wild Rice Soup in the Instant Pot
Unlike your average Chicken and Wild Rice Soup this recipe comes together and is ready to be served on your table in under 30 minutes thanks to the Instant Pot.
It starts off with a quick sautéing of veggies. Once your olive oil is nice and hot and in your vegetable blend: chopped onions, celery, carrots, and mushrooms. Let those babies soften, simmer and smell amazing for a few minutes before adding in your garlic and herbs.
After a minute or two add in the wine and wild rice blend. Feel free to use all wild rice here – I’d have done the same but it’s not so easy to find here in the UK.
Then just add your chicken pieces, a little bit of tapioca flour or corn starch for thickening, and chicken stock and you’re ready to cook. Set the cooker to 5 minutes and just wait. The instant pot may need a few minutes to come to pressure before it actually starts cooking and I recommend letting it depressurise in the end at its own speed. Even with the waiting before and after this soups should still be done in under 30 minutes which makes it a perfect weeknight meal when you want something quick & easy.
This soup is hearty enough to enjoy on it’s own but you can’t go wrong with a thick slice of french bread (egg free version) on the side!
Enjoy!
Instant Pot Chicken & Wild Rice Soup
Hearty + healthy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup - comes together in the instant pot and ready in under 30 minutes! Perfect for fall and winter dinners! | Gluten Free + Dairy Free
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 large celery stalks, diced
- 2 large carrots, diced
- 1 large onion, diced
- 1 cup mushrooms, sliced (8oz)
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 3/4 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper, each
- 1 cup uncooked wild rice blend - ensure gluten free
- 4 cups chicken stock (960ml)
- 1 1/2 cups water (360ml)
- 1/2 cup dry white wine - on more water (120ml)
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 2 tablespoons tapioca starch or corn starch + 2 tablespoons water
Instructions
- Press the sauté button on the instant pot and wait for it to heat up. Add the olive oil. When the oil is simmering add the onion, celery, carrots, mushrooms, garlic, thyme, rosemary, salt and pepper. Cook for about 7-8 minutes until the vegetables have softened.
- Add in the rice and cook another 2-3 minutes.
- Add the chicken breast to the pot then cover with the chicken stock, water and wine.
- Secure the lid on the instant pot and make sure the dial on top is set to 'sealing'. Cook on high pressure for 5 minutes. (Press 'Manual' or 'Pressure Cook' and set the timer to 5 minutes.)
- After the time is up the Instant Pot will automatically switch the keep warm. Let it keep warm for 10 depressurising on its own before releasing the steam valve.
- Remove the chicken breasts from the pot and transfer to a cutting board or a plate. Using a couple of forks shred the chicken into small pieces and then add back into the soup.
- Switch the instant pot back on to the 'sauté' setting to simmer with the lid off. While simmering, mix the starch and water together in a small cup, then pour into the soup. Let cook another few minutes until the soup thickens up.
- Taste and season with additional salt and pepper if needed and serve.
Notes
If you have leftover roast chicken or turkey you can easily add them to this soup. Instead of adding the uncooked chicken breast before cooking just add the cooked shredded chicken/turkey at the end.
If using long-grain wild rice instead of the blend, simply cook the wild rice and chicken broth for 25 minutes on high in the instant pot. While the rice is cooking, prep the other ingredients for the sauté step. Once the rice finishes, quick-release and set broth and rice aside in another bowl and move onto the sauté steps. When the recipe calls for rice and broth to be added, just pour the mixture back into the pot and continue with the recipe
Angela says
I don’t know if I did something wrong, but mine turned out way too thick. Not a soup consistency. Next time I will half the rice and add a cup or two of water.
Julie says
I’ve been doing something similar. I double the liquid and use 3/4 cup rice. It turns out beautifully. Add a packet of dry ranch seasoning for extra flavor.
Sarah Nevins says
Oooh I like the way you think adding a packet of ranch seasoning!
Sunny says
This was so so good! My hubby loved it too. I actually didn’t do the tapioca/corn starch mixture but just added 1 cup of full fat coconut milk in the end to make it creamy. So tasty! Thank you!
Sarah says
Thanks Sunny! That sounds lovely with the coconut milk!
Stephanie says
I just made this recipe tonight and it was fantastic! Delicious and healthy! Perfect for the rainy weekend that we got this time around. Thank you for the recipe!
Sarah says
Thanks Stephanie!
sharon says
Just made this tonight while we wait for the snowy weekend. Delicious, easy and healthy ! Thank you ❤️
Sarah says
Thanks Sharon – so glad you liked it!
Cheryl Towery says
We love this soup!!! What is a serving? 1 cup? I chart my food and keep track of veggies. Kinda macro eating.
Sarah says
Thanks Cheryl! So glad you like it! And yes – a serving comes to about 1 cup
Amanda says
I’m about to try this. Are you positive that 5 minutes of pressure cooking + 10 minutes depressurize is enough for whole chicken breast AND wild rice blend? Everything I’ve read says 35 mins for wild rice blend in instant pot
Sarah says
Hi Amanda! I’ve tried this countless times & I’ve had a lot of positive feedback on instagram with this recipe – so far no one has commented on having trouble with the time. Hope you like it but let me know if you do run into any trouble!
cwrex says
35 minutes if you were using TRUE all wild rice – wild rice blend is mostly white or brown rice, with a smidge of ACTUAL wild rice. I mean you could totally try 35 mins with a blend, but it’ll probably break down the rice to a gelatinous pudding.
Sarah says
Ooh thanks for clearing that up!
Maria says
This looks amazing and I hoped it to be my first instant pot recipe, however my thawed chicken is now spoiled. I have frozen chicken breasts, do you think I could still do it with this, Sarah? If so any recommendations on the time change difference
Sarah says
Hi Maria! That’s no problem at all – cooking chicken breasts from frozen in the instant pot is super easy! All you need to do here is increase the time to 12 minutes and just let the pressure release naturally at the end you’re all set. Hope that helps!
Gina Turella-Garcia says
I added a couple of small bay leaves to the mix and more garlic (5 cloves) plus a bit extra vegetables and wild rice blend. The leftover Thanksgiving turkey and 2.5 quarts of homemade turkey bone broth rounded out the ingredients and made a fabulous tasting soup. Thank you for the recipe. I’ve never used rice in an IP soup before so I appreciate your detailed instructions. I will definitely be making this soup again!
Sarah says
Thanks so much Gina! So glad you enjoyed it!
Jess says
This was the 3rd recipe I’ve tried using my new Instant Pot, and it turned out great!
I have a ton of food intolerances right now due to breastfeeding (dairy, soy, wheat, peanut…), but this meal was delicious and allergy-free!
Sarah says
I’m so glad you liked it! Thanks so much for coming back to let me know what you thought!
Drew says
Can this recipe be doubled?
Sarah Nevins says
Hi Drew! It depends on how big your instant pot is – I’ve got a 6 quart pot and doubling the recipe would be too much for it. You might be able to get away with doubling it if you have an 8 quart pot. As a rule of thumb, you never want to fill your pot more than 2/3 of the way full
Mande says
This was amazing! We loved it and even my super picky little guy wanted to eat all the shredded chicken.
Sarah says
Thanks Mande! So glad to hear that you and your little one loved it!