Instant Pot Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
Chicken and wild rice soups tend to be dairy for some reason, but I found a couple that weren’t and based this recipe on them. Jen from Life Beyond the Lesson Plan has an instant pot version, and Delish has a very similar stovetop version. I’ve cut them down a bit, and dug up more spices.
Serves 2–3.
Ingredients
- ¾ lb. bone-in chicken thighs (about 2 large ones)
- ¾ c. wild rice
- 2 carrots, chopped
- 2 stalks celery, diced, or celery seed to taste
- 4 oz. mushrooms, sliced
- 1 T olive oil
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced (optional)
- 4 c. chicken broth (or more, depending on desired soupiness)
- 1 t. thyme
- 1 t. sage
- 1 t. rosemary
- 2 bay leaves
- dried or fresh parsley to taste
- salt to taste
- pepper to taste
- fresh dill to taste (optional)
- 2 c. dark leafy greens (optional)
Directions
- Optionally, sauté onions, mushrooms, and garlic, on low.
- Optionally, remove onion mix (to make room) and brown thighs, on medium.
- Toss all ingredients except fresh herbs into the Instant Pot.
- Close Instant Pot, seal vent, and press the Soup button or set to Manual/high for 30 minutes.
- Release naturally unless you’re in a rush.
- Dice or shred chicken thighs before serving.
Serve hot.
Variants
There’s definitely enough cooking time here for frozen bone-in thighs.
The traditional spices are pretty…midwestern, so some people punch it up with Old Bay spice mix, or a copycat mix.
The stovetop version includes an interesting step of frying the skins separately, dicing them, and returning them to the soup after cooking.
If you want that creamy style without dairy, stir in a cup of coconut milk after releasing the pressure.
You can leave out the chicken and/or add some potatoes or sweet potato.
