Easy pulled chicken, diced tomatoes, tender kale, hearty wild rice and rich chicken stock simmered in less than half the time with a little help from the instant pot. Instant Pot Hearty Chicken and Wild Rice Stew is perfect for cold weather comfort food cravings!
Oh here it is. The magic instant pot chicken stew we've been eating on repeat for the last two months. And I am 100% not exaggerating this.
Not like a "hey family I'm going to force feed you the same soup over and over again." No, no. It's like "this soup is so good and filling and healthy and ridiculously easy so I'm just going to keep it stocked in the fridge at all times, kthanksbye."
(My thoughts are typically run on sentences for the record.)
Using the Instant Pot for frozen chicken
You know those days, or nights, when you walk in the door and your brain is immediately like, "what the hell are we going to eat, all the meat is in the freezer?" Especially been feeling this since I've been using Butcher Box for all our meat.
Convenience of having all your meat mailed to you: 11 out of 10
Awesomeness of customizing your box with exactly what you want: 10 out of 10
Occasionally forgetting to thaw out your meat in time for dinner: 3 out of 10....well, unless you've got a handy pressure cooker to help you take the defrosting short cut!
Just grab two packages - about 1.5 pounds - of boneless, skinless chicken thighs and throw them right in the pot after the white wine. The chicken comes out of the pressure cooker near falling apart. Just pull the pieces out with a pair of tongs and pull apart with two forks before adding back to the soup.
Then all you need a is huge bowl and some crusty bread.
But what if my chicken is fresh? Well, congratulations on being better prepared for life than me. Just cook all the ingredients for the same amount of time.
The hardest part about this soup is waiting for the Instant Pot to depressurize so you can vent it, pull the chicken and get on to eating. And don't sweat it if some of the kale and rice and what not come out with the pieces of chicken. Everything is going right back in the pot after, so it doesn't really matter if there are a few stragglers.
Did you score an Instant Pot during Black Friday/Cyber Monday? If you're just starting out your pressure cooking journey, here are a few more recipes to try out this cold weather season:
- Instant Pot Lamb Ragu with Pappardelle
- Instant Pot Creamy [VEGAN!] Tomato Soup
- Instant Pot Pad Thai Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Still need a pressure cooker in your life? The 8 quart Instant Pot is the one that I have and love. The bigger size is great for making large batches of chicken stock and soups like this one. If that's a bit too much gadget for you, they also make a 6-quart version.
Before we get on to good eating, I have one last tip for you. When it comes to adding the chicken stock to your instant pot chicken and wild rice soup, I'd recommend using either homemade chicken stock or low-sodium chicken stock and then adding salt and pepper to taste. For me, that ended up being about 2 teaspoons but saltiness of stocks and the type of salt you use varies. So just see about it as you go.
Go forth and eat good soup my friends.
Instant Pot Hearty Chicken and Wild Rice Stew
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 yellow onion (diced)
- 2 cloves garlic (minced)
- ⅓ cup white wine
- 1 ½ pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs ( (fresh or frozen))
- 4 cups tuscan kale (chopped)
- 1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes ((do not drain))
- 1 cup wild rice
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 quarts low-sodium chicken stock
- salt and pepper (to taste)
Instructions
- Turn your Instant Pot to the 'Sauté' setting. When the olive oil is hot, add the onion and cook for 2 minutes until translucent. Add garlic and cook about 1 minute until fragrant.
- Add the chopped kale to the pot and let it cook down for 1 minute while stirring. Pour in white wine and reduce for about 2 minutes. Incorporate the remaining ingredients to the pot.
- Close the lid to the pot and set to 'seal'. Cook for 20 minutes on high pressure or using the 'stew' setting, depending on your Instant Pot model. After cooking, let the Instant Pot naturally depressurize for 10 minutes before venting. Once the red toggle button is down, you can open the lid.
- Remove the large pieces of chicken to a cutting board or plate. Using two fork separate the chicken into pulled chicken pieces. Once all the chicken is pulled, stir it back into the Instant Pot and serve.
Savy says
It looks like I'm the only person so far rating this recipe who actually made it. It was pretty good. I did have a problem when I first sealed the lid to cook it and got the message that it was burning, so I had to add more liquid. I think it was a bit bland and had to add a bunch of additional spices to give it flavor. Thanks for sharing the idea.
Lauren says
Hi Savy! Thanks for your feedback! I'm not entirely sure why the burn notification came up, with the 2 quarts of stock, the wine, and the juices from the diced tomato there should be plenty of liquid in the pressure cooker. Sorry about that!
Andrea says
I just received an instant pot, and I'm definitely adding this on my to cook list! Love all the flavors going on here!
Natalie says
Oh wow, this sounds and looks absolutely amazing. So comforting, warming and like it has healing powers (I'm sure it does!) I love the flavors you combined here and I love the addition of white vine. Saving this recipe and can't wait to give it a try.
Jagruti Dhanecha says
This wholesome recipe sounds perfect for winter nights, filling with so many good for you ingredients.
Amy says
This looks incredible! This is a great recipe for the cold winter months! Thank you!
Anne Lawton says
I could go for a big bowl of this soup right now! It looks so comforting for a chilly day.
Saima says
I don't have an instant pot, but I'm guessing this stew can be made in a conventional pressure cooker as well? Such a perfect recipe for cold winter days!
Lauren says
for sure! It can be done on the stove top as well, but I would recommend cooking the chicken seperately so the soup can simmer with the rice while the chicken cooks.
Amanda Mason says
I just printed this and I'm SO making it for lunches this week! Love that this can be made gluten free!!! Love every single ingredient in this!! YUM!
Allison says
I love that you add tomatoes and kale. A different twist from the version I make, but I'm sure I'll LOVE this one!
Carrie Ditton says
What a perfect dish for the cold wintery nights. We are getting snow as I type this and I think I am going to have to make this for dinner tonight...with some crusty bread!
Kelly Anthony says
The colors in this soup are gorgeous! And it looks so rustic and comforting! Definitely putting chicken and wild rice soup on the list!
Analida Braeger says
Mmm I always love a good winter soup. This one looks light enough to not give me a food coma, but hearty enough to warm me up in the snowiest of days. Thanks for sharing.
Veena Azmanov says
Oh, I'm finally getting my instant pot for Christmas. This is saved so I can make it soon. Looks so good. Love wild rice and chicken combination.
Aleta says
THIS! I just cracked open my instant pot and have been working it to the bone already... can't wait to give this recipe a try, it looks absolutely delicious!
Leslie Haasch says
My biggest problem right now is that to make this, I have to get out from under this blanket. But if I get out from under this blanket, I can make this, eat it, be warm, and then get BACK under the blanket.
Decisions, decisions.
Lauren says
That's a seriously rough set of decisions.