If all of your favorite cold weather comfort foods were in a shouting match, who do you think would win? Because I’d put all my money on this chicken and wild rice soup right here. Oh yeah. Then I’d be shouting money money money money… money!
(Don’t worry, I have a “jump to recipe” button that you can mosey on over to now…)
Still with me? Good! This Instant Pot Chicken and Wild Rice soup is so darn good! It’s gluten-free and dairy-free and you’d never know it! So many exclamation points, I know!!
MY LATEST VIDEOSI really think you’ll love this soup. The wild rice adds that nutty, earthy flavor to the soup and great texture too. The chicken and mushrooms make this dish feel nice and hearty. This soup also has a lot of flavor: lots of garlic, fresh thyme and sage and spices. Yum. It tastes even better the next day – leftovers for the win!
I use cultivated wild rice in this recipe (hello, Trader Joe’s) but I bet this would also be amazing with hand harvested wild rice if you can get your hands on some (lucky ducks!).
This soup is the solution to all your holiday problems. Seriously, let me give you some examples:
- What the heck do I do with all my leftover Thanksgiving turkey? Leave the chicken out of the recipe and stir some cooked turkey in at the end! Problem solved!
- What the heck do I feed my visiting family/guests before/after/during the holiday (think: Thanksgiving Eve, Christmas Eve, New Year’s Eve/Day)? THIS easy no-fuss, one-pot meal! Problem solved!
- How do I keep my family from discussing politics at the dinner table? TALK about how FANTASTIC this soup is! Chicken and Wild Rice Soup to the rescue! Problem solved!
You know what really bums me out? When restaurants put flour in soup. I mean, what is up with that? I get the concept of a roux, but you can thicken soup in so many other ways! My recipe for wild rice soup is flour-free. NO GLUTEN ALLOWED IN THIS SOUP.
I use a vegetable to make a “roux!” I make my “roux” by blending a cooked potato with coconut milk (you can definitely use heavy cream or whole milk if you’re not dairy-free). I know what you’re thinking… “Ashley, you are brilliant! Also, I didn’t know you could read minds!”
Yes friends, not only can I read minds – I can also predict the future. My prediction: you will make and love this soup. Come back and tell me if I was right!
Instant Pot Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeIngredients
- 1 ½ pounds skinless and boneless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 cup chopped carrots
- 1 cup chopped celery
- 1 (8 ounce) package portabello mushrooms, sliced
- 1-2 tablespoons minced garlic (I use 2 tablespoons but we are garlic lovers!)
- 1 Serrano pepper, minced
Spices
- 3 teaspoons fresh thyme plus extra for garnish, to taste
- 2 teaspoon minced fresh sage
- 2 teaspoons salt, adjust to taste
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 4 cups chicken broth or bone broth
- 1 cup uncooked wild rice
- 1 medium potato (leave whole)
Add later:
- ½ cup full-fat coconut milk (or you can use heavy cream/milk)
- 2 tablespoons ghee, butter or sustainable palm shortening, optional
Instructions
- Rinse the wild rice and drain.
- Add all of the ingredients to the pot except for the potato, coconut milk and mix well.
- Place the potato on top of the mixture.
- Secure the lid, close the pressure valve and cook for 30 minutes at high pressure.
- Naturally release pressure.
- Remove the potato and place it into a blender along with the coconut milk. Pour this mixture back into the pot along with the butter and mix well.
- Garnish with fresh thyme if desired and serve.
How much wild rice – it is not listed in the ingredients.
Hi Linda 🙂 it is listed underneath the spices but to answer your question, 1 cup of uncooked wild rice. hope that helps!
This was delicious, I just had turkey stock which turned out great. I quartered my mushrooms as I like them chunky. I had a Trader Joes wild rice mix. I did add fresh spinach after it was cooked. Will definitely do again, even picky grandson ate it.
★★★★★
Linda, I’m so happy to hear that you and your grandson liked the dish! Thanks so much for letting me know how it turned out for you 🙂
I cannot wait to try this – it sounds amazing!!!! Probably a dumb question but…you peel the potato, right?
Kira, I can’t wait to hear what you think! I actually leave the peel on but you can definitely peel it too!
Finally got to make this last night and I LOVED it!! So delicious! I’m having leftovers for lunch today! 🙂 Thanks for a great recipe!
★★★★★
Kira, I’m so happy to hear that! Thanks for letting me know how it turned out for you 🙂
Thank you Ashley, for another delicious gluten-free, dairy-free recipe that doesn’t sacrifice taste. I made this soup for dinner this week. It was amazing- so flavorful and creamy!
April, I’m so happy to hear that you liked it! Thank you for letting me know how it turned out for you 🙂
We are trying this tonight! I thinking I’m being obtuse, but just want to confirm… Do you add the chicken raw?
Hi Emily! Sorry for the late reply but yes you add raw chicken 🙂 I hope you loved it!
My family has requested that this be made at least once a month, if not more. We have several picky eaters, but everyone finished their bowls. The leftovers the next day were even better – and did not last long! I didn’t have fresh thyme or sage, but the dry varieties worked fine. I also was out of white potatoes, so I substituted a sweet potato – and I think I’m going to use a sweet potato again in the future. So good! This soup is excellent on chilly nights when you crave something savory and hearty. You will not be disappointed!
★★★★★
Hannah, I’m so happy to hear that!! Thank you so much for letting me know how it turned out for you and your family! 🙂
I can’t wait to try this, but I have one question – can I use a sweet potato instead of a regular potato? Thanks!
Hi Angie! I’m sure that using a sweet potato instead of a white potato will work just fine and taste great too! Let me know how it turns out for you 🙂
This soup was amazing! I left out the white potato, and just added a little more coconut milk. I also threw in some vital proteins collagen bone broth. It was delicious, and so easy to make. I will definitely be making this more often.
★★★★★
Konika, I’m so happy to hear that you liked it! Great to know that it works well without the potato! Thank you for letting me know how it turned out for you 🙂
This is delicious!!! Such a hearty, healthy soup! I made a few adjustments: I had 4 bone in chicken thighs. I cooked them first – with some carrots,celery and onion. Then I had broth for th soup. I took the meat off the bones and cut it into bite sized pieces. I didn’t weigh it – just put all the meat in the pot with the rest of the ingredients. Rather than coconut milk, I used a combination of almond milk and soy creamer for the milk requirements. I had two red skinned potatoes ( each a little smaller than my fist). When the soup was done I put them (skin and all) in my Vitamix along with the milk ( I used a little more milk than in the recipe). then put that mixture back in the pot! My husband love it. We had it for dinner last night and I put four more containers in the freezer for meals in the future! This recipe is a real winner!
Susan, I’m so happy to hear that you and your husband liked the soup so much! And thanks for sharing your adjustments – those will be helpful to other readers, I’m sure!
Hi there! This recipe looks amazing and I can’t wait to try it. About how many servings does it make? If I need to double the recipe, what would the cooking time need to be changed to? Thank you!
Thanks Sou! This recipe makes about 6-7 cups worth – if you double the recipe, keep the cook time the same. When you double a recipe, the pressure cooker takes longer to reach pressure but the settings for this recipe will remain the same. Let me know what you think of it!!
Made this last night. It is delicious. My husband really liked it as well. And I am really liking using the instant pot. So please keep the instant pot recipes coming. Thanks Ashley!
★★★★★
Ginger, that’s great to hear! Thank you for letting me know how it turned out for you 🙂
No pressure cooker…want to make this! Help 👍
I haven’t converted to the instant pot yet. How do you convert this to a pot on the stove or crockpot?
Hi Laura, wild rice takes about an hour to cook on the stovetop so you can certainly make this – it’ll just take a bit longer. You may also need to add more liquid as that boils off when simmering on the stovetop so I’d just keep an eye on it and add liquid as needed. Hope that helps!
How many servings?
Made this for the first time tonight and we LOVED it! Delicious! Thanks so much for the recipe.
Phyllis, I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you for letting me know how it turned out for you 🙂
Can I ask what kind of wild rice you used? or if there is a brand you recommend? I’m always nervous that different brands cook differently. Thank you!
Hi Haley! I buy the cultivated wild rice from Trader Joes (here’s a link: https://www.traderjoes.com/fearless-flyer/article/3230). Whole Foods sells it too! I buy the all black wild rice (not mixed). Hope that helps 🙂
Also, (sorry!) can I leave the mushrooms out without it affecting anything (the thickness?) too much? Would I need to add anything else to it as a substitute?
You can leave the mushrooms out 🙂
Can this be made without a pressure cooker? I don’t have one
Hi Tammy, yes you can make this on the stovetop. Wild rice takes about an hour to cook on the stovetop. You may also need to add more liquid as that boils off when simmering on the stovetop so I’d just keep an eye on it and add liquid as needed. Hope that helps!
I am making this as part of our Christmas lunch meal. I don’t see how many servings it makes, but I have a bad feeling i’ll need to run to the store and pick up some more wild rice so that I can triple this recipe (We’re having 18 people). Its smells amazing as it cooks on the stove top. Packed with flavor. Thank you for sharing your recipe!
Katie, I hope everyone loved it! This makes quite a bit of soup, but for 18 people – yes – you may want to at least double it. Tripling it would be safe… let me know what you ended up doing!
Can you substitute the potato for the cauliflower? Trying to make this Keto friendly!
I haven’t tried it that way but if you do, please let me know!
I made this with leftover ham in place of the chicken and it was absolutely amazing! So much flavor. Picky husband and toddler approved. 😊
Abby, that is awesome! I actually have a ham and wild rice soup recipe if you’ve still got your ham bone and are looking to make another batch 🙂
Amazing! I made this tonight for my family-husband and two tween girls-and they LOVED it. I did too! My oldest even said she liked it so much she was going to do all the dishes herself as a thank you for such a great meal. Thank you!
Jenn, I’m so happy to hear that you and your family loved the recipe!! Thank you so much for letting me know how it turned out for you all 🙂
This is the most amazing soup I’ve ever had. Highly recommend.
Sara, I’m so happy to hear that! Thanks for letting me know how it turned out for you 🙂
This is getting up to pressure in my IP at the moment! I can’t wait to try it.
One thing I’ve been noticing is that you have ad boxes on your printable recipes now and they sometimes cover the recipe (I’m using Chrome on Windows). For example, the coconut milk and butter are both covered up on my print out with a longer ad box! I knew from originally needing the recipe online that I needed coconut milk but the amount wasn’t there. I tried it again tonight to see if it was a fluke and this time a rectangle one appeared on the second page. Gratefully it isn’t covering ingredients or directions this time!
Thank you so much for letting me know! Emailing my ad company about this right now! Let me know how the dish turns out 🙂
Probably a silly question, but the chicken gets thrown in raw, correct? (I’m new to this whole instant pot thing.) Thanks!
No questions are silly! Yes, add the chicken raw 🙂 Let me know how it turns out for you!
Hi my family ( wife, 5 y.o. and 2 y.o.) and I love this soup. I just leave out the red pepper and serrano and just add it to my own so, the kids don’t think it’s spicy. And we normally double it so, we do half rice and half quinoa.
Justin, I’m so happy to hear that your whole family likes this soup! I like the half rice and half quinoa idea – I will have to try that some time 🙂