Instant Pot Chicken Wild Rice (Printer-friendly)
Hearty Instant Pot soup with chicken, wild rice, and mushrooms for a quick, comforting weeknight meal.
# What You Need:
→ Proteins
01 - 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs, cut into 1-inch pieces
→ Vegetables
02 - 8 oz cremini or white mushrooms, sliced
03 - 2 medium carrots, peeled and diced
04 - 2 celery stalks, diced
05 - 1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
06 - 3 garlic cloves, minced
→ Grains
07 - 3/4 cup uncooked wild rice blend, rinsed
→ Liquids
08 - 6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
→ Seasonings & Extras
09 - 1 tsp dried thyme
10 - 1 tsp dried parsley
11 - 1/2 tsp dried rosemary
12 - 1 bay leaf
13 - 1 tsp salt
14 - 1/2 tsp black pepper
15 - 2 tbsp olive oil
→ Garnish
16 - Fresh parsley, chopped
# How to Make It:
01 - Set the Instant Pot to Sauté mode. Add olive oil and heat until shimmering. Add onion, carrots, and celery. Sauté for 3–4 minutes until softened.
02 - Add garlic and sliced mushrooms to the pot; cook for 2 more minutes until fragrant and mushrooms begin to soften.
03 - Stir in the chicken pieces and rinsed wild rice blend.
04 - Pour in chicken broth. Add dried thyme, parsley, rosemary, bay leaf, salt, and black pepper. Stir thoroughly to combine all ingredients.
05 - Secure the Instant Pot lid and set the valve to Sealing. Cook on Manual High Pressure for 25 minutes.
06 - Allow a natural pressure release for 10 minutes, then carefully quick release any remaining pressure.
07 - Remove the bay leaf. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. Ladle soup into bowls and garnish with fresh parsley if desired.
# Expert Tips:
01 -
- It tastes like slow-simmered comfort but takes less time than your lunch break.
- The wild rice soaks up all those savory flavors and gives the soup real substance without feeling heavy.
- One pot means barely any cleanup, which somehow makes the soup taste even better.
02 -
- Don't skip the sauté step even though you're using a pressure cooker; those few minutes of browning the aromatics create a depth that pressure alone can't.
- The natural pressure release is not optional—rushing it with a quick release will make your chicken tough and your rice mushy.
- Rinsing the wild rice prevents the soup from becoming starchy and cloudy, which I learned the hard way the first time I made this.
03 -
- Minced fresh garlic added during the sauté step tastes infinitely better than garlic powder mixed in at the end.
- Keeping your knife sharp and your cutting board stable makes vegetable prep so much faster that you'll almost enjoy it.