Instant Pot Wild Rice Soup with Chicken

Step 1

Turn the pot on to Sauté. Add the bacon pieces and cook, stirring occasionally, until mostly done. If you use a leaner bacon, leave the fat in. If there is more that 1 Tbsp of fat, spoon it out, leaving 1 Tbsp.

Step 2

Add the onion, carrots, and celery. Stir and cook a couple of minutes.

Step 3

Add the butter, bay leaf, and thyme. Cook for a couple of minutes.

Step 4

Add the garlic and stir it in, cooking for 1 minute.

Step 5

Pour in the broth and stir it well.

Step 6

Add the mushrooms, rosemary, and rice. Stir.

Step 7

Add 3/4 cup of heavy cream, salt, and pepper, then stir. You can use half and half instead of heavy cream, if you want (if you want to use milk, add it after pressure cooking as it will not cook well. Heavy cream or half and half tolerate pressure cooking).

Step 8

Add the chicken breasts, and submerge them in the broth.

Step 9

Put the lid on the pot and set the steam release knob to the Sealing position. Then cancel the Sauté setting. Press the Pressure Cook/Manual button or dial. Then press the + or - button or dial to select 35 minutes. High pressure.

Step 10

When the cooking cycle is finished, let the pot sit undisturbed for 15 minutes (15 minute Natural Release). Then Manually release the remaining steam/pressure, carefully, using a controlled Quick Release (A controlled quick release is when you open the valve a little at a time to be sure no soup/sauce is going to spew out along with the steam when you release it. By starting out slowly and releasing the steam in bursts, you can avoid the mess! use a wooden spoon handle, or silicone oven mitts to avoid a steam burn.).

Step 11

When the pin in the lid drops down, open it up and carefully remove the chicken to a bowl.

Step 12

Mix the flour and remaining 3/4 cup of heavy cream together very well, and stir into the hot soup.

Step 13

Shred the chicken and add it back into the soup. Let sit for a few minutes to thicken.

Step 14

Serve hot. Even better the next day!