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Instant Pot Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup made easy in the Instant Pot!

Course Dinner, lunch
Cuisine American
Keyword chicken, instant pot, soup, vegetables, wild rice
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 45 minutes
Servings 8

Ingredients

Chicken:

  • 2 chicken breast halves or thigh meat about 2-3 cups cooked and chopped, or a rotisserie chicken, chopped see recipe notes

Prepare rice:

  • 1 cup Wild Rice Blend (NOT instant wild rice mix) see recipe notes
  • 2 cups cold water
  • 1 teaspoon olive oil, optional

Prepare vegetables and soup:

  • 2 tablespoons butter or olive oil, or a combination of both
  • 2 stalks or about 1 cup chopped celery
  • 2 cups medium to large carrots sliced, or about 1 1/2 cups baby carrots, chopped
  • 1 cup chopped onion, white, yellow or sweet
  • 1 clove garlic minced (optional)
  • 8 oz fresh mushrooms sliced, about 2 cups
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon pepper
  • 1 cup parsley loosely packed, chopped and divided
  • 32 oz chicken broth or 4 cups water plus 5 teaspoons "Better than Bouillon"
  • 1 1/2-2 cups water start with 1 1/2
  • 1/2 cup cream or half and half

Instructions

  1. Place 1 cup of wild rice blend in the Instant Pot and add two cups cold water.

  2. Make sure the rubber seal is properly inserted in the lid of the Instant Pot. Turn the valve on the lid to SEAL position and close the Instant Pot. Place the setting to MANUAL or HIGH PRESSURE and set the timer to 30 minutes.

  3. While the rice is cooking, prepare the vegetables and the rest of the ingredients. Wash and chop the carrots, celery, onions, mushrooms, parsley, garlic and set aside. Chop the chicken, set aside. Measure out the chicken broth, water, cream or half and half and set aside.

  4. When the rice is cooked, allow Instant Pot to natural pressure release for 5 minutes, then carefully release any remaining pressure. Remove lid after pressure is released. Remove rice to a bowl and set aside.

  5. Rinse the insert of the Instant Pot and wipe out. Turn the setting to SAUTE and place 1 tablespoon olive oil and one tablespoon of butter into the Instant Pot. If the chicken has not already been cooked, add chopped raw chicken to the Instant Pot at this time. Stir and cook for a couple of minutes .

  6. Add the carrots, celery, onions and garlic to the Instant Pot and saute for 5 minutes. Season generously with salt and pepper. Add the mushrooms and parsley and sauté an additional 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. At this point, I often add 2 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce. Optional but recommended!

  7. Add the chicken broth, water, cooked chicken, and cooked rice to the pot. Cook until heated through. Add cream or half and half and additional salt and pepper if needed. Leave on SAUTE setting until soup is hot. Once soup is hot, turn to the KEEP WARM setting until ready to serve. Add remaining parsley just before serving.

Recipe Notes

  • The chicken may be pre-cooked (rotisserie chicken) or other white or dark meat chicken, cooked and cut into pieces equalling about 2-3 cups total. 
  • If using frozen chicken, use the directions linked in the recipe post for how to cook frozen chicken in the Instant Pot. If using fresh chicken, the chicken may be sautéed before or with the vegetables in the Instant Pot.
  • I recommend a wild rice blend. See recipe post for recommendations.
  • Do not use "instant" wild rice (usually sold in a box with a flavor packet), it will turn mushy in this recipe! Again, see recommendations in recipe post. 
  • I use 1 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon of olive oil to sauté the vegetables for best flavor. It's fine to use all olive oil or all butter as well. 
  • If the soup seems lacking in flavor when all of the ingredients have been added, add an additional teaspoon of "Better than Bouillion" chicken flavor or a bouillon cube. Make sure to completely dissolve the flavoring in the soup!
  • Heavy cream produces the richest and creamiest consistency, but half and half  or milk may be used as well. 
  • This soup freezes well. If you are making the soup and know you will be freezing immediately, do not add the carrots and mushrooms to the vegetable mixture. Wait to  sauté the carrots and mushrooms separately later and add when you are ready to serve the soup.  If you have leftover soup and would like to freeze, go ahead and freeze with the carrots and mushrooms, the texture changes a bit, but still tastes great!
  • Stovetop instructions: Make the soup as directed, using cooking directions for rice on package of wild rice blend.