• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Home
  • About
  • Category Index
  • How To

Indian Ambrosia

menu icon
go to homepage
  • Category
  • Recipe Collections
  • Chicken
  • Vegetarian
  • Subscribe
  • Instant Pot
  • Quick & Easy
  • What's New
  • About
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Pinterest
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • Category
    • Recipe Collections
    • Chicken
    • Vegetarian
    • Subscribe
    • Instant Pot
    • Quick & Easy
    • What's New
    • About
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Pinterest
  • ×

    You are here: Home » Soups and Stews

    Published: Nov 24, 2019 · Modified: Jun 3, 2022 by Saima · This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases · This blog generates income via ads.

    Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

    1.5K shares
    • 418
    Jump to Recipe
    chicken and wild rice soup in a bowl

    Creamy chicken and wild rice soup along with mushrooms, carrots and celery is pure comfort in a bowl. Thick, delicious and totally satisfying!

    Note: I always make this soup with a pre-steamed wild rice blend (wild rice + brown rice). The reason being that it gets cooked right along with the other ingredients at the same time. However, if you want to use raw wild rice, do soak it for a few hours and cook it separately before you add it to the other ingredients, as it has a longer cooking time than anything else. More on this below.

    chicken and wild rice soup

    This soup here. This chicken and wild rice soup. It's going to blow your mind, I promise. It's one of those crazy good, lick-the-bowl-clean kind of soups. And no wonder. With lots of beautiful ingredients like boneless chicken, mushrooms, carrots, onions and celery simmering away in a creamy broth, it's bound to emerge a winner.

    Speaking of chicken soup, here's another chicken soup recipe on the blog. This one's a light and clear soup with fresh cilantro, lemon, and shredded cabbage for a little crunch. It's quite wholesome and nutritious:)

    Back to our chicken and wild rice soup. Let's talk about the wild rice part of it.

    Wild rice is not really a variety of rice as you might know. It is a grain harvested from an aquatic grass native to North America, India and China. Minnesota, in North America, is a producer of high quality wild rice.

    Wild rice has a lot going for it. It is packed with protein, dietary fibres, vitamin B and some minerals. Like true rice, it does not have gluten and is low in fat. Quite the nutrient powerhouse I'd say. However, the downside is that it is more expensive than regular rice and takes a much longer time to cook. In this recipe, I used a pre-steamed wild and brown rice blend to cut down on the cooking time. The soup was done in 5 minutes of pressure cooking in the instant pot!

    What to do if you want to make this recipe with only wild rice

    If you don't want to use a blend of wild and brown rice, go ahead and make the soup with just wild rice. However, there are two things you must do then.

    First, soak the wild rice in water for at least 6 hours and preferably overnight.

    Second, pressure cook the wild rice beforehand. Add the rice along with 2 cups water to the instant pot and pressure cook on high for 25 minutes. Now the rice is ready to be used in the recipe. Here's a good quality Minnesota wild rice (affiliate link) you can use.

    Ingredients

    Note: Exact quantities of ingredients are given in the recipe card below. 

    • Chicken breasts
    • Butter (affiliate link)
    • Yellow onions
    • Carrots
    • Cremini mushrooms
    • Celery, chopped
    • Wild Rice blend (affiliate link)
    • Sea salt (affiliate link)
    • Chicken broth (affiliate link)
    • All purpose flour (affiliate link)
    • Ground black pepper
    • Heavy cream
    • Cheddar cheese

    How to make instant pot chicken and wild rice soup

    Instant pot wild rice soup does not have very many steps. This is what you need to do.

    Preparation

    • If using raw wild rice, soak it for at least 6 hours before cooking and cook it for 25 minutes on high pressure with 2 cups of water. Once the rice is cooked, you can add it to the rest of the ingredients.
    • Chop and slice the vegetables and grate the cheese (if using a block of cheese). You can buy a packet of shredded cheddar also to avoid grating it by hand.
    • Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces.
    • Whisk together flour and one cup broth until smooth and lump-free.

    Cooking

    • Switch on the instant pot to sauté and melt the butter. Add chicken and saute until lightly browned on both sides.
    • Add the flour and broth mixture, onions, carrots, mushrooms, celery, wild rice blend, black pepper and sea salt. Stir everything for 1-2 minutes.
    • Add the rest of the chicken broth, deglaze the pot (scrape the browned bits off the bottom with a wooden spoon) and cancel sauté.
    • Secure the lid, make sure the steam release handle is sealed and hit pressure cook (manual in some models). Set the timer to 5 minutes.
    • When the timer beeps, let the pressure release naturally (12-15 minutes) and open the pot. Press sauté again, and add the heavy cream and cheddar. Cook the soup for 4-5 minutes or until you can see it taking on a smooth, creamy texture. Cancel sauté and take out the soup in individual bowls. Sprinkle some freshly ground, coarse black pepper on top if you want to.

    Why this soup works

    • It is an easy and quick recipe - normally, anything to do with wild rice is not 'easy and quick' but I got around that problem by using a pre-cooked wild rice blend. Plus the steps are not too involved.
    • It is super creamy and thick, the way all soups should be. Just sayin'.
    • It has your daily requirements of protein, carbs and fats - with chicken, grains and three different veggies, it is a pretty complete package.

    More instant pot soups

    I'm obsessed with soup these days (I've posted three back to back soup recipes this month, and this is the fourth one with a mac and cheese in between), I'm obsessed with making them in my instant pot(affiliate link). Yes, I made them all in the instant pot and they turned out just perfect. I love the convenience and speed with which this appliance makes soup, so here are some more!

    Potato Soup - Made with the humble russet potato, this thick and chunky vegetarian soup has readily available ingredients like carrots, onions and garlic. Dashes of butter and cream add a lovely texture and richness to it!
    Mulligatawny Soup - An Indo-British curry soup loaded with chicken, vegetables, lentils and apples.
    Mushroom Soup - Comfortingly thick and tasty with an Indian twist!
    Tomato Soup  - Fresh, creamy and delicious, tomato soup tastes so good with some croutons and garlic bread.
    chicken wild rice soup in a bowl
    chicken and wild rice soup

    Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

    Saima Zaidi
    Creamy chicken and wild rice soup along with mushrooms, carrots and celery is pure comfort in a bowl.
    5 from 1 vote
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 10 mins
    Cook Time 25 mins
    Total Time 35 mins
    Course Soup
    Cuisine American
    Servings 6
    Calories 331 kcal

    Ingredients
     
     

    • 2 tablespoon butter
    • 2 chicken breasts boneless
    • 1 yellow onion medium
    • 2 carrots medium
    • 1 ½ cups cremini mushrooms
    • 2 celery stalks medium
    • 1 cup wild rice blend
    • ½ teaspoon sea salt
    • 5 cups chicken broth
    • 2 tablespoon all purpose flour
    • ¼ teaspoon black pepper freshly ground
    • ½ cup heavy cream
    • ½ cup cheddar cheese

    Instructions
     

    • Preparation 
    • If using raw wild rice, soak it for at least 6 hours before cooking and cook it in your instant pot for 25 minutes (2 cups of water, high pressure). Once the rice is cooked, you can add it to the rest of the ingredients.
    • Chop and slice the vegetables and grate the cheese (if using a block of cheese). You can buy a packet of shredded cheddar also to avoid grating it by hand.
    • Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces.
    • Whisk together flour and one cup broth until smooth and lump-free.

    Cooking

    • Switch on the instant pot to saute and melt the butter. Add chicken and saute until lightly browned on both sides.
    • Add the flour and broth mixture prepared in step 3 of prep, onions, mushrooms, celery, wild rice blend, carrot, black pepper and sea salt. Stir everything for 1-2 minutes with a wooden spoon.
    • Add the rest of the chicken broth, deglaze the pot (scrape the browned bits off the bottom with a wooden spoon) and cancel saute.
    • Secure the lid, make sure the steam release handle is sealed and hit pressure cook (manual in some models). Set the timer to 5 minutes.
    • When the timer beeps, let the pressure release naturally (12-15 minutes) and open the pot. Press saute again, and add the heavy cream and cheddar. Cook the soup for 4-5 minutes until it acquires a smooth, creamy texture. Cancel saute and take out the soup in individual bowls. Sprinkle some freshly ground, coarse black pepper on top.

    Notes

    1. The wild rice blend is pre-steamed wild and brown rice. Because it is steamed already, 5 minutes of pressure cooking time is enough.
    2. If using raw wild rice, soak it for 6 hours beforehand and pressure cook it on high in your instant pot for 25 minutes. 
    3. I have used the vegetables I like. You can add or subtract the veggies of your choice. Add green beans or cauliflower florets if you like those veggies.
    4. For extra flavour, add a sprig or two of the herb of your choice like thyme or rosemary before pressure cooking. Remove the leaves after the soup is pressure cooked.
    5. Since this soup has a lot of dairy in it, it does not freeze well. It will keep in the refrigerator for a couple of days, but do try to consume it quickly enough.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1cupCalories: 331kcalCarbohydrates: 28gProtein: 25gFat: 13gSaturated Fat: 7gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 85mgSodium: 1099mgPotassium: 640mgFiber: 3gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 3829IUVitamin C: 4mgCalcium: 118mgIron: 1mg
    Keyword chicken and wild rice soup, instant pot chicken soup, soup
    Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
    « Instant Pot Mac and Cheese with Broccoli
    Chicken Pho (Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Soup) »
    1.5K shares
    • 418

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Cathy says

      November 25, 2019 at 9:21 am

      I don’t see the rice listed??

      Reply
      • Saima says

        November 25, 2019 at 4:46 pm

        My apologies, Cathy. I have updated the recipe to include the rice.

        Reply
    2. Cathy says

      January 07, 2021 at 2:14 pm

      Is this a box of wild rice?

      Reply
      • Saima says

        January 07, 2021 at 2:58 pm

        Cathy, I use a cup of a pre-steamed wild rice blend because raw wild rice takes ages to cook. There is a link (affiliate) in the post that you can click on to see what it looks like.

        Reply
    3. Sadie says

      August 02, 2021 at 8:41 pm

      5 stars
      Great recipe. I really wish the recipe called for pre-steamed rice in the ingredients. I had to stop making the recipe and waited another 30 minutes for the rice to steam.

      Reply
      • Saima says

        August 02, 2021 at 10:21 pm

        Thanks so much Sadie! I'm glad you liked the recipe but sorry you had to stop to cook the rice. Actually the wild rice blend was pre-steamed. If you look in the notes and the body of the post, it is mentioned. Maybe I should put it where the rice is mentioned in the ingredient list?

        Reply
    4. Jessica Phelps says

      September 29, 2021 at 1:50 pm

      How many servings is this recipe?
      I appreciate the nutrition info but it is not helpful with out a serving size.
      Am I missing it??
      Thanks it sounds delicious.

      Reply
      • Saima says

        September 29, 2021 at 7:47 pm

        Hi Jessica, I have added the serving size and number of servings to the recipe card.Thanks for the heads up!

        Reply
    5. Jessica says

      October 06, 2021 at 3:57 pm

      Is there a stove top version if you don’t have a pressure cooker?

      Reply
      • Saima says

        October 06, 2021 at 8:53 pm

        Jessica, I'm afraid I haven't made it on the stovetop. You'll just have to cook the ingredients on low to medium heat for a long time (around 30-40 minutes) if making it on the stovetop. Do use a wild rice blend and cook this first, then add the other ingredients with the heavy cream and cheese only when the soup is almost ready. Hope that helps!

        Reply
    6. Jen says

      October 22, 2021 at 2:02 pm

      Made this today with total estimates of ingredients and it was absolutely amazing! Thank you! Also subbed out flour for gluten free plain flour and used Alpro Soya Cream instead of heavy dairy cream. A teaspoon of mustard also helped give it a real savoury flavour!

      Reply
      • Saima says

        October 22, 2021 at 6:02 pm

        Thanks Jen! I like your modifications to the recipe according to your taste and preference!

        Reply
    7. Corlie Lam says

      October 30, 2021 at 2:11 pm

      Yes, definitely should update the rice to be cooked first in the prep steps... I've put all my ingredients in, and started the pressure cooking with the raw rice. Fingers crossed it will work out!

      Reply
      • Saima says

        October 31, 2021 at 9:55 am

        Hi Corlie, I hope you are using a wild rice blend as mentioned in the recipe. If yes, it will cook perfectly well with the rest of the ingredients in the time specified. If it is raw wild rice, it will need to be pre-cooked before adding it to the other ingredients. Hope your soup turned out good!

        Reply

    Thanks for coming! Let me know what you think: Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Primary Sidebar

    headshot of Saima

    Hi, I'm Saima! I live in Alberta, Canada with my husband and twin boys. Here, you'll find Indian recipes with fresh, natural ingredients and easy, no-fuss cooking techniques. Welcome to my blog!

    More about me →

    Popular Posts

    • chicken malai tikka skewers on a plate with green chutney and roti on the side
      Chicken Malai Tikka
    • pooris on a checkered red and white cloth in a red basket
      Crispy and Fluffy Puri Recipe (Fried Indian Poori Bread)
    • lamb karahi gosht in a bowl with roti on the side and two green chillies
      Lamb Karahi Gosht (Indian Lamb Curry)
    • beetroot sabzi in a bowl with naan and green chillies on the side
      Beetroot Sabzi (Chukandar Sabzi)

    Web Stories

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • Privacy Policy
    • Cookie Policy

    Newsletter

    • Subscribe for emails and updates

    Contact

    • Contact

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Copyright © 2021 Indian Ambrosia

    Indian Ambrosia uses cookies to improve your experience. If you continue to use this site, we will assume you're okay with the terms:) GOT IT Read More
    Privacy & Cookies Policy

    Privacy Overview

    This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are as essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
    Necessary
    Always Enabled
    Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
    SAVE & ACCEPT