This Instant Pot Wild Rice Soup Recipe is cozy and naturally creamy, making it a 100% plant-based dinner. Serve with crusty bread.
Alex and I reluctantly bought an Instant Pot last year, but it’s actually become a much-used tool around our house! Don’t get me wrong: it’s not magic. It doesn’t cook food on the fly. For example, this Instant Pot Wild Rice Soup takes over an hour to prepare. So why use a pressure cooker for soup? Well it’s so, so delicious. It cooks dry kidney beans at the same time as the rice (wow!), and it’s hands-free for the most part. When I took the first bite after Alex created and prepared this recipe for me, I was blown away! It’s also vegan and vegetarian, so everything is naturally creamy. Read on to learn all the secrets behind this Instant Pot Wild Rice Soup recipe.
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How to Make Wild Rice Soup in an Instant Pot
This wild rice soup recipe is a little different from most. First, it’s made in a pressure cooker or Instant Pot! Alex and I wanted to try making Instant Pot soup. For our first recipe, we chose a wild rice soup because wild rice usually takes a long time to cook on the stove. Plus, we chose to make this wild rice soup without meat or dairy so it’s naturally creamy! We’ve made many Instant Pot soup recipes since then, but this one remains a favorite!
To prepare this Wild Rice Soup recipe, use the Skip Mode on the Instant Pot. Sauté the onion, celery, carrot, garlic and mushrooms, then add the remaining ingredients and pressure cook. And while the soup is cooking, a few cashew nuts are also soaked. Once the soup is ready, mix the cashews with part of the soup and some dried sage to create one naturally creamy base without cream. That makes this wild rice soup recipe vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free! Everyone we’ve served it to raves about it: it’s the perfect cozy fall meal.
Why Make Instant Pot Soup?
The benefit of cooking this soup in an Instant Pot instead of on the stove is this It’s completely hands-free once the cooking begins. You can toss the soup in the pot and then do something else until your dinner is ready! Since this recipe takes over an hour to prepare, we made the portion larger: it serves about 8 people. This way you can have enough leftovers.
A wild rice soup with dried beans
For this wild rice soup recipe we used dried white beans in the instant pot. In a regular stovetop soup recipe, you would typically use canned or already cooked beans and add them to the soup. Since wild rice has been taking so long to cook, Alex decided to add dried kidney beans to this wild rice soup recipe as they are cheaper and taste even better than canned. Dry-boiled beans often keep better in soups. Kidney beans also add a filling protein to the soup.
Related: Here it is Instant Pot that we use at home.
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The description
This Instant Pot Wild Rice Soup Recipe is cozy and naturally creamy, making it a 100% plant-based dinner. Serve with crusty bread. For a stovetop version, head over to Best Wild Rice Soup.
- ½ cup raw or roasted cashew nuts*
- 1 medium yellow onion
- 2 celery ribs
- 4 medium carrots
- 8 ounces Baby Bella Mushrooms
- 6 Garlic cloves
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tbsp dried thyme
- 2 tablespoons dried oregano
- 8 cups vegetable soup
- 1 cup wild rice (not a mix of wild rice)
- 1 cup dried great north White beans (not cans! The Instant Pot will cook the dried beans)
- 2½ teaspoons kosher salt, shared
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 teaspoons dried sage
- 1 tbsp Soy sauce, tamari or liquid amino acids
- Place the cashews in a bowl and cover with water. Let them soak while you prepare the recipe.
- Chop the onion. Thinly slice the celery. Slice the carrot. Slice the mushrooms. Chop the garlic.
- Add olive oil to the Instant Pot and turn it on jump mode. Add the onion, celery, and carrot and sauté, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and sauté for 2 minutes. Add the garlic, thyme and oregano and stir for 2 minutes.
- Add broth, wild rice, dry kidney beans, 2 teaspoons kosher salt and black pepper. Lock the Instant Pot lid. Place the pressure relief (vent) handle in the “seal” position.
- keep cooking High pressure for 45 minutes: Press the pressure cook button, make sure the ‘high pressure’ setting is selected and set the time. Note that it takes about 5-10 minutes for the pan to “preheat” and build pressure before you start cooking. (Avoid touching the metal part of the lid during cooking.)
- Fast Release: Release any remaining steam from the Instant Pot by setting the pressure release handle to “vent” and covering your hand with a heated towel or pad. Never put your hands or face near the opening when dispensing steam. Open the lid of the pressure cooker. Taste a bean to see if it’s soft (bean brands may vary). If not, cook under high pressure for another 5 minutes and quickly release.
- Using a liquid measuring cup, carefully add 2 cups of hot soup (including the broth, vegetables, and rice) to a blender. Drain the cashew nuts and add to the blender along with the dried sage. Blend on high for about 1 minute until creamy. Then put it back into the soup.
- Add ½ teaspoon kosher salt and soy sauce. Taste and season to taste. Garnish with a little olive oil and freshly ground pepper.
Remarks
*If using salted roasted cashews, omit the soy sauce at the end; then add it to taste. If you’re allergic to cashews, try using equal amounts of whole milk or cream for a creamy base.
- Category: main course
- Method: pressure cooker
- Kitchen: American
Keywords: Wild Rice Soup, Wild Rice Soup Recipe, Wild Rice Mushroom Soup, Vegan Soups, Instant Pot Recipes, Healthy Instant Pot Recipes, Pressure Cooker Recipes, Vegetarian Soups, Healthy Soup Recipes
