Instant Pot Wild Rice Soup with Chicken is one of the best soups I make. It uses real wild rice, earthy seasonings, mushrooms, and chicken, to make a hearty, classic soup. This pressure cooker wild rice soup with chicken is a staple from the beautiful state of Minnesota, and I adapted my mom’s recipe for the Instant Pot! It’s delicious!
Instant Pot Wild Rice Soup with Chicken
My love of soups is strong, and sharing fabulous Instant Pot soup recipes with you is so much fun! Instant Pot Wild Rice Soup with Chicken (or make it without meat) is so delicious, earthy, and hearty. With mushrooms, and just a few simple herbs and spices, and a creamy broth, it’s so good!
First, a little history. Wild Rice is actually the State Grain of Minnesota. Did you know there was such a thing as a State Grain? I didn’t.
Wild Rice is native to North America, and mostly grows in the Great Lakes region. It has a higher protein content than most cereal grains.
The color is a beautiful dark brown, and to me it smells a little like tea (though it doesn’t taste like tea). When cooked the grains “burst” and the texture is creamy and kind of chewy.
In this recipe you only need 1 cup, and that is the perfect amount with all of the other ingredients.
There are wild rice blends out there, but they don’t fare too well in this soup because the grains that are not wild rice get cooked away.
If you can only find the wild rice blends in your grocery store, look for the ones with the highest percentage of wild rice in them. Look on Amazon, too. I provided a link below to the brand I like.
Here is a quick look at the steps to make this amazing pressure cooker Wild Rice Soup with Chicken:
It is as simple as sautéing the veggies and aromatics, then adding the remaining ingredients and pressure cooking it all.
This is a tasty, healthy wild rice soup that is total comfort food. I hope you enjoy it!
Instant Pot Mushroom Soup
Instant Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup
Instant Pot Broccoli Cheddar Soup
Instant Pot Split Pea Soup
Instant Pot Creamy Chicken Gnocchi Soup
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If you make this fabulous wild rice soup, please leave a comment below with a star rating. I’d love to know how you liked it!
Instant Pot Wild Rice Soup with Chicken is delicious and hearty. With wild rice, mushrooms, herbs and a creamy broth.
- 5 slices Bacon, chopped
- 1 med Onion, chopped
- 2 lrg Carrots, chopped (2 cups)
- 3 ribs Celery, chopped (2 cups)
- 2 Tbsp Butter
- 1 Bay Leaf
- 1/2 tsp Thyme, dried
- 3 lrg cloves Garlic, pressed or minced
- 4-5 cups Chicken Broth*, low sodium
- 8 oz Mushrooms, sliced
- 1 sprig Rosemary, fresh
- 1 cup Wild Rice, rinsed
- 1 1/2 cups Heavy Cream, divided in half
- 2 tsp Kosher Salt (or 1 1/2 tsp table salt)
- 1/2 tsp Pepper
- 2 Chicken Breasts, uncut (skinless/boneless)
- 1/4 cup Flour
- 3/4 cup Heavy Cream (from the divided heavy cream above)
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Turn the pot on to Sauté. Add the bacon pieces and cook, stirring occasionally, until mostly done. If you use a leaner bacon, leave the fat in. If there is more that 1 Tbsp of fat, spoon it out, leaving 1 Tbsp.
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Add the onion, carrots, and celery. Stir and cook a couple of minutes.
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Add the butter, bay leaf, and thyme. Cook for a couple of minutes.
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Add the garlic and stir it in, cooking for 1 minute.
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Pour in the broth and stir it well.
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Add the mushrooms, rosemary, and rice. Stir.
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Add 3/4 cup of heavy cream, salt, and pepper, then stir. You can use half and half instead of heavy cream, if you want (if you want to use milk, add it after pressure cooking as it will not cook well. Heavy cream or half and half tolerate pressure cooking).
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Add the chicken breasts, and submerge them in the broth.
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Put the lid on the pot and set the steam release knob to the Sealing position. Then cancel the Sauté setting. Press the Pressure Cook/Manual button or dial. Then press the + or - button or dial to select 35 minutes. High pressure.
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When the cooking cycle is finished, let the pot sit undisturbed for 15 minutes (15 minute Natural Release). Then Manually release the remaining steam/pressure, carefully, using a controlled Quick Release (A controlled quick release is when you open the valve a little at a time to be sure no soup/sauce is going to spew out along with the steam when you release it. By starting out slowly and releasing the steam in bursts, you can avoid the mess! use a wooden spoon handle, or silicone oven mitts to avoid a steam burn.).
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When the pin in the lid drops down, open it up and carefully remove the chicken to a bowl.
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Mix the flour and remaining 3/4 cup of heavy cream together very well, and stir into the hot soup.
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Shred the chicken and add it back into the soup. Let sit for a few minutes to thicken.
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Serve hot. Even better the next day!
*Use 4 cups of broth if you want the soup thick. 5 cups will make it soupier.
Resources to make pressure cooker Wild Rice Soup with Chicken recipe and more
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Kelley
So delicious! We ended up using brown rice because I couldn’t find wild rice and it was thick and hearty! We made it two weeks in a row.
Frank
This really is a terrific recipe. I did wind up using chicken leg meat, and substituting a small amount of xanthin gum in place of the flour in order to keep the carbs to a minimum. The flavor was excellent. I got about 2 1/2 quarts.
Michelle Jones
This is a great recipe! I will definitely make this again. Thank you for sharing.
Emily
We’ve made around five dishes with the instant pot, and this one has definitely been the best! My dad actually proclaimed it the best soup he has had and could not stop waxing poetic about it throughout the meal. We only ended up using 1/2 cup of rice due to a shopping mistake (also, wild rice is expensive in our area), but it was still very filling.
Colleen
Oh my gosh! My boys are home from college and they loved this! I used 8 chicken thighs and had ordered the wild rice from Amazon. I also increased the amount of chicken broth. Excellent and easy to follow directions and this will be a staple in our house. Thanks for another delicious recipe!
Alison
My sister is a picky eater and doesn’t eat pork or beef. I don’t feel like turkey bacon would have the amount of grease or same effect for sautéing the veggies. Can I use olive oil as a substitute?
Sandy
Yes, that would work just fine.
Sheila
HI Sandy. I really enjoy your instant pot recipes.
I’m going to use leftover chicken for this recipe and I was wondering what the timing should be. I think 35 minutes will be too long with already, cooked chicken. Thoughts?
Sandy
The timing is for the rice to cook. It takes longer than normal rice.
Shannon
I made this last night. The only changes I made were that I used chicken thighs instead of breasts and I added a little more garlic. I also used half &half because that’s what I had on hand. This came out like a stew rather than a soup but oh my goodness it is phenomenal. Delicious, comforting, Mmmmm.
Oh I also added maybe a half teaspoon of chicken bullion just for good measure.
george
Can this recipe be used as a make ahead prep meal for storage in the fridge?
Sandy
I haven’t tried it. I can’t think of a reason not to!
Tracy
If I don’t have heavy cream or half and half, can I use whole milk or 2%?
Sandy
Sure!
Merindy
This is delicious! I always like a bit of brown rice with the white rice, but was Leary of adding too much as the ingredients were creeping up to the full mark and I know brown rice swells some. I added just 1/2 cup, but could have added the full cup. I rinsed it first. Due to the extra rice I added an extra cup and a half of liquid (so 5.5 cups. It was still nice and thick. I could have maybe squeaked in another half cup of broth and still had it fit. I think the flour and cream mixture added at the end would be a little better if the flour was browned first in a roux, but I wanted to try it as written first. It was still delicious, but I think it would be even more flavorful with the roux, altogether a very well written recipe and the step by step instructions are super helpful, as I haven’t used my instant pot much, despite having it for at least three or four years.
Gary
Good day
I made your soup yesterday but I had to make a few changes. My wife doesn’t eat carrots or celery so I turned it into a thanks giving soup. I instead of the celery and carrots I added butternut squash and extra onions. wonderful
Ericka
I’m cooking this recipe for the first time, right now. Regardless of how it turns out, I really want to thank you for the step by step directions. I have really struggled with my instapot and other recipes. I haven’t even used my instapot in a year and a half and then I found this recipe. The directions were enough to give me confidence and take one more go at the instapot.
Daressa Finch
My boyfriend and I made this together tonight. It was delicious and easy to prepare. The house smelled fabulous while prepping in the Instant Pot and the Rosemary gave it a fantastic flavor. Very filling!
Jenne
I made this from scratch, and followed the recipe almost exactly, except that I did not have fresh seasonings, so I used all dry spices, and the only shortcut I took was using minced garlic from a tube—Oh, I also had a full lb. of mushrooms instead of what was listed to use in the instructions, also my chicken breasts were large and frozen, but turned out AMAZINGLY well!!
All I would change is to add a bit of extra chicken base, this turned out perfectly, as ALL of your IP recipes have for me! Thank you for another great recipe, Ms. Sandy!
Nancy
I tried to make half a recipe with long grain white rice and might have included too much cream. It turned out more like stew, but still tasted good. Definitely want to try again with wild rice, less cream and more broth!
Layla
It’s a cold February night here. It’s perfect for a hot piping bowl of soup. I made this and croque monsieur. I made a few substitutions due to health reasons: half salt, low sodium broth, low sodium bacon, 2 celery stalks (not a fan), and 1/2 dried tsp rosemary (not a fan). The soup turned out very earthy, delicious, and flavorful. It is definitely a favorite that I will make in the future!
Mary
I made just as recipe said but used half and half. I made a roux with leftover bacon grease and 1/2 C flour, added the 1 1/2 cups fat free half and half and poured in at end. It is delicious. Very thick and I used 5 cups broth. 4 would be too thick for us. It won’t let me click the stars but 5*for me.
Connie
Followed the directions almost to a T (I used less bacon, 2 slices of thick cut from Whole Foods) and it turned out perfectly aside from maybe needing some more salt (maybe because I used less bacon). Will try next time with an alternative to the heavy cream due to the high fat content. Sounds like coconut milk is a good one.
Georgia
made this tonight – AWESOME! won’t be going to Panera anytime soon for their soup – I did use 1/2 & 1/2 for both calories and to kept it more like a soup based on other comments – glad that I did – only 2 of us; we had dinner, will have leftovers and I put another dinner in the freezer since she she it freezes well
Jean
Great flavor but not enough broth. I could eat it with a fork. I’m surprised nobody mentioned this in the comments.
Sandy
I didn’t have that experience. Thank you for letting me know. 🙂
Barbie
So good! I omitted the mushrooms but the flavor was on point! I agree it could use another 1-2 c of broth but I’ll definitely make this again!
Sallie
Love this soup! What would be the cook time for a crockpot? Thanks!
Susan McClain
Another great recipe, I really enjoy your blog! I subbed bite-sized boneless chicken thighs to the recipe, lots of extra herb and seasoning, and no flour at the end. The heavy cream thickened it nicely. Delicious. 🙂
Laura
Absolutely fantastic! Easy to follow instructions, delicious outcome! I did use a Trader Joe rice blend and it was still amazing and not soggy!
Jeanie Ahrens
5 Stars! (Site wouldn’t let me click on the rating stars.) This is a delicious and filling soup. I didn’t change a thing. In looking at the photos now, I realized I chopped my veggies too small and think the larger chunks would be even better. I pre-chopped all the veggies in the afternoon, Next time, I might cut the chicken breasts into chunks instead of shredding them (easier) . Allow about 90 minutes for the entire recipe (minus veggie prep), including sautéing time and time for the IP to get up to pressure.
Paula
Can you replace the heavy cream with coconut milk?
Sandy
Yes you can.
linda m walsh
I used half and half and it looked curdled! Did I do something wrong?
Sandy
That can happen with lower fat milk. I have not had an issue with half and half. you may be able to stir it really well and it will smooth out.
Julie
Excellent recipe. Had to use full fat evaporated milk for cooking and half and half to finish. Still wonderful. I did add the trader Joe’s Mushroom and Company Umani seasoning since I’m a bit addicted to it BUT it is a regional product! I bought it in Florida while visiting my mom then looked for it in Ann Arbor, MI and was tools it was regional!
Angie Schwab
Is this recipe for a 6 quart pot?
Sandy
yes, or the 8 qt.
Shelia
I made this last night for dinner. I was absolutely the best soup I think I’ve discovered in a long time. I made it with cooked turkey chunks left over from Thanksgiving. It was so good. I had to leave out the mushrooms (husband doesn’t like). After we finished eating he said “it was missing something”…I said “yeah, mushrooms”, lol We will definitely make again.
Sandy
That’s so great, Sheila! Just a FYI, Trader Joe’s has a mushroom powder that adds the umami flavor without having to use actual mushrooms. I think it’s called Umami Powder.
Karen
Can I use nonfat heavy cream
Sandy
Yes, if you add it in after pressure cooking.
Laraine C Mayer
I followed the recipe perfectly, and this has to be the richest, most flavorful, and most comforting dish I have made in a long time. I will make it again, and will be proud to serve it to company. Thank you!
Sandy
Thank you, Laraine! I am so happy to know you enjoyed this soup recipe!
Liz
Can I use frozen chicken? Do you know what the time would need to be adjusted to?
Sandy
Yes, frozen will work just fine.
Tami
For frozen chicken does the cooking time need to be adjusted?
Sandy
No, it will thaw during the warm up.
Linda Adkins
I pulled apart the chicken while still quite warm in the instant pot, I don’t think the quality/flavor was diminished and I have 1 less bowl to wash!
Moni
Wonderful recipe! We all loved it! First time using my new instapot
Sandy
That’s awesome, Moni! Thank you. I’m happy you liked it!
Brad Ekhoff
My Mrs is an amazing chef. For us to approve this as a 5 star dish is so ez. Loved it and will definitely add it to our menu planning!
Sandy
That’s great, Brad! Thank you! I’m very happy that you and your lovely wife like this recipe!
Amy
I just made my own chicken stock so I have chicken ready to go. Should I cook for less time if not cooking chicken breasts in pot?
Sandy
Cook for same amount of time to cook the rice. Add the cooked chicken at the end and let it sit a few minutes to heat through.
Alise
If you don’t have true wild rice would you recommend cooking the rice mixture before hand & then putting it maybe the last five minutes of cooking? need all the help I can get!
Sandy
Hi Alise, Yes, I would add it in last. So set the pressure cook time for 20 minutes, then when it is done add in the rice blend, stir, and bring it back up to pressure. Hopefully it won’t be too thick to get back to pressure. If it is, add a little more broth. Then set for 10-15 minutes and the natural release.
Ellen
Any suggestions on doubling the recipe? Made it this weekend and it was incredible! I’d like to make it for a crowd, but don’t know if doubling everything is necessary. Thoughts?
Sandy
Hi Ellen, I would just double it. The rice needs the liquid, so it should be good. I’m so glad you liked it!
Sandy
This soup was unbelievably delicious! I followed the recipe exactly and it turned out as a thick, rich and filling soup bursting with tons of flavor! My husband can’t stop raving about it! Do yourself a favor and definitely use the heavy cream instead of half and half or milk – the extra calories are worth it and it would suit a bread bowl well (going to try that with the left overs).
Sandy
Hi Sandy! I am so happy to know that you and your husband like this wild rice soup! Thank you for the nice review!
Gretchen
Does this freeze well? Excited to try the recipe!
Sandy
Yes it does! Hahaha We’re eating it right now!
Jennifer Thiry
We are instapot rookies and the step by step instructions were so well written and easy to follow. The soup is delicious! The only fhing we will change for next time is using LOW sodium broth.
Julie Dezarn
I thought my children and hubby were going to lick the inside of the pot AFTER fighting to see who won the opportunity. Needless to say we didn’t have any leftovers. Had to use brown rice I made in my rice cooker (added at end) as I didn’t have any wild rice. 5 out of 5 stars from my family!
Sandy
That’s so funny, Julie! I love it! Brown rice is wonderful. I found a better deal on the wild rice at Trader Joe’s. They have great prices! So maybe that’s an option for you if you want to try it. Thanks so much for your review!
Jerianne Hoyles
Hi! I cant wait to try this recipe! I was wondering if you would change the measurements of anything for making it in an 8 quart IP? I’ve had some recipes turn out thicker than it seems it should at times . Maybe more broth?
Thank you so much!
Jerianne
Sandy
Hi Jerianne, This should be nice and thick, bit not too much in the 8 qt. But yes, you can add a little more broth if you’d like it thinner. Hope you like it!
MaryBeth Matthews
Hello! Just found your site when searching for mini Instant Pot recipes. Can’t wait to try them. I’m a newbie to Instant Pot, although a veteran slow cooker.
If I cut the other recipes, like this one, in half, would they work in a mini? Wild rice soup is one of my favorites!
Thanks. Hope you will put a book together! Love the whole food approach you take in your recipes.
Sandy
Hi MaryBeth! Yes, you can cut this recipe in half, but keep the cook time the same. I’m working on a book, so check back because when it’s finished I’ll be singing from the rafters (it’s a long process)!
Brittany
I see it says manual for 35min is that on High medium or low?
Sandy
High pressure
Theresa
This soup was so good even my picky 11 year old ate it! Thank you for the step by step directions, I’m still new to the Instant Pot. Will be making this again!
Sandy
That’s so awesome, Theresa! Thank you for your review!