The BEST Wild Rice Soup – in the Instant Pot! So creamy and simple and ready in an hour. Perfect for fall/winter nights!
Oh just LOOK AT IT. I am hereby in love with this Instant Pot Wild Rice Soup.
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Me? Wild Rice Soup? Obsessed? Pshhh.
Okay fine, I might be a little obsessed. There might be something like three variations of wild rice soup already on this blog. I don’t know. It’s not a problem, okay? It’s just… a love.
In This Post: Everything You Need For Wild Rice Soup
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Variations Of This Wild Rice Soup
It might be helpful to do a quick recap of my wild rice soup journey over the course of my life.
My Mom’s Wild Rice Soup. I grew up in / still live in Minnesota. Wild rice soup was the food of my childhood. My mom still makes it every year for Christmas Eve dinner. It’s dark by 5pm and the evergreen trees are covered with snow and the soup has been simmering all day and the whole house smells like bacon and wild rice soup. And really, there is just nothing better. No electric appliances. Nothing being plugged in. It’s a purist version. In case you were wondering, I think the recipe comes from our church cookbook because obviously. This is how it gets done. God bless Minnesota, and mom, and the wild rice soup that raised me.
Crockpot Chicken Wild Rice Soup: Then came my need to make wild rice soup on the reg. I wanted to take it from Christmas dinner to an easier-to-make version of the classic. Like, crockpot level easy. This recipe was born and it became one of the most popular recipes on Pinch of Yum. It is also one of my personally most-made recipes in life. And that’s saying a lot, because I’m making new recipes ALL THE TIME. This became an excellent back-pocket recipe for making a quick dinner, having friends over last-minute, or bringing a meal to a friend. And now this
Instant Pot Wild Rice Soup (with mushrooms oh my gosh): This brings us to today. Yet another iteration of the wild rice soup that I so know and love. This time I ditched the chicken (although, to be fair, you can absolutely keep it around), added mushrooms, and put it in the Instant Pot (affiliate link). I know you want to hate me. But you do not hate me because this is going to blowyamind. The flavor of this soup, thanks to the mushrooms, I think, was so, so, so, so good. The prep and cook is SOS-level easy. And think about how much wild rice soup I’ve had in my lifetime. I feel very qualified to tell you that this right here is how it’s done. This is yummy, earthy, middle-of-winter wild rice soup.
How To Make This Wild Rice Soup
This is a dump and cook situation. It’s mostly hands-off (except for a short little step at the end to get that creaminess). And it’s weeknight and freezer-friendly. Let’s get to it!
You have options:
- The Best Flavor Option (this is how the recipe is written): Sauté onions and mushrooms to start. Add wild rice and cook for a bit to make a soup base. Add veggies just at the end, so they don’t get mushy. Add heavy cream, a bit more broth, and some sherry and umami seasoning to finish. OOF. So good.
- The Easiest Option: Add everything to the Instant Pot. Add heavy cream to make it creamy. The end.
- The No-Heavy-Cream Option: Same as either of the above to start, but instead of heavy cream, make a flour-butter-milk mixture as your creamy base. (This is how I’ve always made the recipe in the past, but more recently I’m finding that I like the heavy cream option better because the flavor is a bit richer and more developed.)
What To Serve With This Soup
You will obviously need some extras to go with your wild rice soup.
If it’s just an average Sunday soup day, you better be making a loaf of crusty No Knead Bread.
If it’s Christmas (who else makes wild rice soup for Christmas except my family? I literally know zero people), you better have a fancy salad to round out the meal. May I recommend the Bacon and Brussels Sprouts Salad of years past? It never gets old, does it? Or my family’s latest favorite, a Simple Green Salad.
Adding Other Proteins / Making Swaps
Protein options that you can add in or out:
About The Mushrooms
If you kind of don’t like mushrooms but you *might* like them sometimes, can I recommend that you give it a whirl? Cut up the mushrooms really thin so you get the flavor without the texture bothering you as much. I think you’re going to fall hard and fast.
And my friends who are already on team mushroom? A) Good for you, and B) GET. AFTER. IT. This recipe has been elevated to my new favorite version of wild rice soup which is a major big deal. Warm, creamy, cold-weather mushrooms and wild rice for the eternal win. ❤
Instant Pot Wild Rice Soup: Frequently Asked Questions
The fastest way to make this is just to throw everything on the first list in the Instant Pot, cook for 40 minutes, and then add your creamy element and you’re done!
Not really, no. Please use actual wild rice (affiliate link)! I know it’s on the expensive side, and hard to find, and I’m normally all about the substitutions, but in this case, it is not the same. Don’t use brown rice, don’t use white rice, and don’t use a wild rice blend, which is just white or brown rice with a few flecks of wild rice. Use straight WILD RICE.
Yep! Chicken can be added – if you’re using raw chicken, I would probably add it in right at the beginning with the wild rice, then take it out and shred it and add it back in at the end. For cooked chicken, you can just add that at the end.
My favorite spices / herbs in this soup are thyme and sage. I frequently use poultry seasoning as well which is usually a mix of thyme, sage, garlic, onion, etc. Anything with those warming, Thanksgiving-like herbs – thyme, sage, maybe even rosemary – will work nicely.
Yep! Just use your favorite dairy-free butter and milk, and it should work like a charm.
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Description
We’re making cozy Instant Pot Wild Rice Soup and it’s everything! Packed with mushrooms, carrots, celery, wild rice, cream, and seasonings. It’s so creamy, so cozy, and perfect for a night in.
For the Soup Base in the Instant Pot:
Make a Creamy Base on the Stovetop:
Optional For Finishing / Flavor:
- Instant Pot soup base: Using the sauté function, melt the butter and sauté the onions and mushrooms until softened. Add the wild rice, the broth, the salt, and the spices; cook on high pressure for 35 minutes. Release the steam, add carrots, garlic, and celery, and cook on high pressure for another 10 minutes. Release steam using the valve on top.
- Make it creamy: You have two choices for making it creamy – A) Add 1 1/2 cups heavy cream to the soup (plus more broth as needed) and you’re done! This is slightly thinner / more brothy, but so rich and flavorful thanks to the cream! B) To avoid using heavy cream (some people don’t like to use it), you can thicken the soup with a flour-butter-milk mixture, in which case you will start by melting the butter in a saucepan. Whisk in the flour. Let the mixture cook for a minute or two to remove the floury taste. Whisk the milk, a little bit at a time, until you have a smooth, thickened sauce. Throw a little salt in there for good measure.
- Together: Mix the creamy sauce with the soup in the instant pot. Voila! Mushroom Wild Rice Soup. This will be very thick (especially if you did the flour-butter-milk method), so use broth to thin it out to your desired consistency!
Notes
A note about wild rice: Please use actual wild rice (affiliate link)! I know it’s on the expensive side, and hard to find, and I’m normally all about the substitutions, but in this case, it is not the same. Don’t use brown rice, don’t use white rice, and don’t use a “wild rice blend”, which is usually just white or brown rice with a few flecks of wild rice in there. Use straight WILD RICE.
Crockpot version: Check out this recipe.
Stovetop version: Saute carrots, celery, onion, garlic, and mushrooms with oil. Add wild rice, broth, and salt. Simmer until wild rice is cooked (1-2 hours). Make the roux and mix it in (or add heavy cream). Thin the soup to desired consistency with broth.
Freezer Meal Version
- Freeze Together:
3 cups mirepoix, fresh or frozen
8 ounces mushrooms, fresh or frozen
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup uncooked wild rice
4 cups vegetable or chicken broth
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
1 lb. chicken breasts (optional) - Instant Pot Instructions: High pressure 30 mins + 10 mins natural release
- Slow Cooker Instructions: High setting 4 hours (thaw first if using chicken)
- Final Step: Melt 6 tbsp butter in a pan, whisk in 1/2 cup flour, whisk in 1 1/2 cups milk until creamy and thick. Add to the soup.
- Check out our full freezer meal posts with all recipes and instructions here!
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Instant Pot
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: instant pot wild rice soup, wild rice soup, vegetarian wild rice soup, wild rice, mushroom wild rice soup
View the freezer meal version of this recipe here.
You might also like our full freezer meals post.
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