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Instant Pot Chicken and Wild Rice Soup (Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free)

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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…)

Instant Pot Chicken and Wild Rice Soup by ashley of myheartbeets.com

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!!

I 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!).

Instant Pot Chicken and Wild Rice Soup by ashley of myheartbeets.com

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!

Instant Pot Chicken and Wild Rice Soup by ashley of myheartbeets.com

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 by ashley of myheartbeets.com

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Instant Pot Chicken and Wild Rice Soup by ashley of myheartbeets.com

Instant Pot Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

★★★★★ 5 from 17 reviews
  • Author: My Heart Beets
Print Recipe

Ingredients

  • 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

  1. Rinse the wild rice and drain.
  2. Add all of the ingredients to the pot except for the potato, coconut milk and mix well.
  3. Place the potato on top of the mixture.
  4. Secure the lid, close the pressure valve and cook for 30 minutes at high pressure.
  5. Naturally release pressure.
  6. 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.
  7. Garnish with fresh thyme if desired and serve.

 

Comments

      • 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.

        ★★★★★

        Reply

  3. 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!

    Reply

  5. 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!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  6. I can’t wait to try this, but I have one question – can I use a sweet potato instead of a regular potato? Thanks!

    Reply

  7. 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.

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  8. 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!

    Reply

  9. 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!

    Reply

    • 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!!

      Reply

  10. 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!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

    • 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!

      Reply

  14. 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!

    Reply

  15. 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?

    Reply

    • 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!

      Reply

  17. 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!

    Reply

    • 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!

      Reply

  19. I made this with leftover ham in place of the chicken and it was absolutely amazing! So much flavor. Picky husband and toddler approved. 😊

    Reply

  20. 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!

    Reply

  22. 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!

    Reply

  23. Probably a silly question, but the chicken gets thrown in raw, correct? (I’m new to this whole instant pot thing.) Thanks!

    Reply

  24. 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.

    Reply

  25. We made this tonight, and I think it’s absolutely wonderful. It reminds me conceptually of many brand-name canned soups with chicken and wild rice, except many times better! Your prediction is so right. 🙂 Another recipe of yours that makes me proud of the food we cooked!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  26. This recipe is AMAZING! There’s a ton of flavor and the potato blended with the coconut milk makes for a great, creamy base. I’ve just started getting into cooking and I feel like this is the first website of recipes that actually taste restaurant quality without being unhealthy. My boyfriend’s been so happy with my cooking progress and LOVED this recipe in particular!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

    • Kate, that’s so great to hear! And thank you for the compliment! I do try to keep things relatively healthy – or at least healthier 🙂 So glad your boyfriend is enjoying your cooking too! Let me know what you guys think of any other recipes you try from my blog 🙂

      Reply

    • Awesome recipe for lactose intolerant. Subbed dry herbs for fresh and used veggie broth, also hen of the woods mushrooms for portabellas. I’ll omit crushed red pepper next time because kids don’t prefer spicy. Just a fantastic recipe. Thank you!

      ★★★★★

      Reply

  27. AMAZING! I recently had to give up dairy and soy as my newborn has allergies and this was such a great meal that I could actually eat! Yum! I am even more excited for leftovers 🙂

    ★★★★★

    Reply

    • Ash, I’m so glad you liked this soup! Thanks for letting me know how it turned out for you! All of my recipes are soy-free and I have a ton of dairy-free options so hopefully you’ll find more recipes here that you like 🙂

      Reply

  28. My husband had 2 wild geese for me to cook so I looked for a chicken recipe because that made sense. I found this recipe and couldn’t wait to try it. I’ve never cooked or eaten goose. I cooked the breast ahead of time and it is exactly like roast beef. No joke. But it was the last ingredient for me to chop so I was committed. So, imagine your soup with big chunks of roast beef! Still good, but kinda weird! But the flavors! Oh, so good! I thought creamy wild rice soup was just gone for ever being a dairy free home. This was amazing! But I will for sure use chicken or turkey next time!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  29. The mushroom+wild rice combo sounds really divine! Any suggestions on how to adapt this for a vegetarian audience? Do I have to reduce the cooking time if I leave out the chicken?

    Reply

  32. Just found out I am allergic to dairy and I have been gluten free for a while. This was just what I was looking for. Hearty and creamy. Any other soup recipes I should try? Thank you!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  33. This soup IS AMAZINGLY DELICIOUS! Flavourful, hearty, and pure comfort food without the guilt! I doubled the recipe and will be freezing half of it. I made a few minor modifications: I took a handful of thyme and tied it up and put it into the soup (I’m terrible at picking off those leaves), instead of the potato, i used a head of cauliflower (without the leaves of course), and it was perfect. Had the creaminess, and no taste of cauliflower. 🙂 I have LOVED every recipe that I’ve tried here (butter chicken, beef stroganoff, chicken bhuna masala). Can’t wait to try more!!! The flavour for everything is ON POINT! Thank you!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

    • Ann, I’m so happy to hear that!! Love that you used cauliflower instead of potato – I will have to try it that way the next time I make this! Thanks for sharing 🙂 And I’m so glad you’ve liked the other recipes of mine that you’ve tried!!

      Reply

  34. hi…this soup looks amazing. I have a question. Is this recipe Keto friendly. I dont a lot about keto diet and have just started cooking for my daughter. The recipe has wild rice and potato, which she doesnt eat in her diet. Please advice..
    PS: ive never tried wild rice

    Reply

  38. This is full of flavor, easy, healthy, and delicious! Thank you so so much for sharing this. I didn’t use butter because I forgot to buy it at the store – and I do not think it made a difference.

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  40. Hi Ashley,
    Thank you for this wonderful recipe. I am a newbie with the instant pot. This was my virgin attempt in using it for the first time. I followed the recipe except I misread the bag of tri-color quinoa and used it instead of wild rice, both from Trader Joe’s. It turned out fine though. I used cauliflower and milk to thicken the soup from a tip from one of your reviewers. My family really liked it. I want to try more of your instant pot recipes. Thanks a million!

    Reply

    • Chris, I’m so happy to hear that you liked this recipe so much! And that’s great to know that quinoa works well with this 🙂 Can’t wait to hear what you think of my other recipes!

      Reply

  41. We love this soup and have made it several times using both regular and sweet potatoes (I prefer sweet). One crazy question – We’re entertaining 8 people – one of them is vegan and I was hoping to be inclusive without having to cook a separate meal. How do you think it would turn out without the chicken? It would suddenly be vegan if we used veggie broth. Do you think it would still be almost as delish? I could increase mushrooms or add tofu or something – what do you think?

    Reply

    • Lindsay, I’m so happy to hear that you like this soup! I’ll have to try it with sweet potatoes some time! I think it’d still be great even without chicken! And yes, consider adding more mushrooms or tofu! If you add tofu, maybe stir-fry it first then add it right before serving!

      Reply

  42. This was amazing! Thank you for sharing! I used the cauliflower that others recommended and subbed Coconut cream for a perfect thickener! Plenty for a few fridge meals and lots to freeze!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

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