Instant Pot Chicken Wild Rice (Printable Version)
A nourishing blend of chicken, wild rice, and fresh vegetables cooked in a pressure cooker.
# What You Need:
→ Poultry
01 - 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs
→ Vegetables
02 - 1 medium yellow onion, diced
03 - 2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
04 - 2 celery stalks, sliced
05 - 3 cloves garlic, minced
06 - 1 cup sliced mushrooms (optional)
07 - 1 cup baby spinach (optional)
→ Grains
08 - 3/4 cup uncooked wild rice blend (not instant)
→ Liquids
09 - 6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
10 - 1/2 cup heavy cream or coconut milk (optional for creaminess)
→ Seasonings
11 - 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
12 - 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
13 - 1 teaspoon dried thyme
14 - 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
15 - 1 bay leaf
→ Garnish
16 - 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
# How-To Steps:
01 - Set Instant Pot to Sauté mode and heat a drizzle of olive oil. Sauté diced onion, sliced carrots, and celery stalks for 3 to 4 minutes until slightly softened. Add minced garlic and optional mushrooms; cook 1 minute more.
02 - Add wild rice, chicken pieces, low-sodium chicken broth, kosher salt, black pepper, dried thyme, dried rosemary, and bay leaf. Stir thoroughly to combine.
03 - Secure and seal the Instant Pot lid. Set to Manual or Pressure Cook mode at high pressure for 25 minutes.
04 - Allow natural pressure release for 10 minutes, then carefully perform a quick release to vent any remaining pressure.
05 - Remove chicken to a plate and shred with two forks. Return shredded meat to the pot, then stir in optional baby spinach and heavy cream or coconut milk. Let rest for 2 to 3 minutes until spinach wilts and soup is creamy.
06 - Discard bay leaf, adjust seasoning to taste, ladle into bowls, garnish with chopped fresh parsley, and serve immediately.
# Helpful Tips:
01 -
- It tastes like you've been cooking for hours, but your Instant Pot does the heavy lifting while you do literally anything else.
- The wild rice stays wonderfully nutty instead of turning mushy, and that texture makes all the difference.
- Naturally gluten-free and dairy-free if you skip the cream, so it actually works for almost everyone at your table.
02 -
- Don't use instant wild rice or regular white rice—under pressure, they'll turn into mush and you'll lose the whole point of this soup.
- That ten-minute natural release is not optional; it lets the rice finish cooking gently and keeps it from shattering into bits.
- Taste your finished soup before serving because salt levels shift once everything cooks, and you might want just a touch more than you think.
03 -
- If your Instant Pot gives you a burn warning, it usually means something's stuck to the bottom—just cancel the cycle, give the bottom a gentle scrape with a wooden spoon, and try again.
- Make the whole recipe earlier in the day up through pressure cooking, then finish it with the spinach and cream right before serving so everything tastes fresh and bright.