Wild rice is one of my fav's for fall, so an easy slow cooker or Instant Pot recipe with wild rice is just what this mama needs!
Note: this post contains affiliate links that when you click to buy any product I get a few cents in my bucket at no extra cost to you. Thank you for your support!
My Instant Pot has been getting its use this season as our stove is out of order for now, and I highly recommend investing in one of these cookers if you don't have one yet!
Every week this little machine is busy with some food prep: hard boiling eggs, making a big soup of some kind, cooking a big pork or beef roast with half the time, or quickly cooking chicken breasts for the week's lunches.
Is the Instant Pot truly 'instant'?
The Instant Pot is definitely more of a hands-off way of cooking than it is a super fast cooking method, in my opinion. Yes, it can cut down cooking time for roasts or other slow cooker meals for sure! But by no means does everything cook in 10 minutes flat - which was kind of my expectation when I first bought it.
However, I love using my Instant Pot because it's more of a hands-off way of cooking. This comes in handy when my toddler is clingy and I can't stand by a stove for more than 5 minutes at a time.
The Instant Pot allows you to sometimes literally throw everything in the pot, set it, and let it do its thing. That is my favorite way of making dinner!
Which type of Instant Pot should I buy?
Newer Instant Pots have all the bells and whistles, many of which I've never used, but what this one in particular has is the ability to save Instant Pot settings for your favorite meals. You may find that you make the same thing with your Instant Pot every week, like I do, so to have a way to save your settings would be one more way this handy tool that much faster.
The settings I usually use are the 'Manual' setting, 'Sauté' function, and even 'Slow Cook' every once in a while. So while the more expensive Instant Pots may have more settings, you may find you don't need them or don't use them like you thought you would.
The more important factor for you may be the size of the pot. For my family of 5 (2 adults, 3 kids) my 6 quart pot works great. But for my brother's big family of 8, for example, they need the 8 quart size. Choosing a simpler Instant Pot version with a bigger size pot may be the way to go if you need size over function.
My love for the Instant Pot runs deep, but if you don't have one just yet the slow cooker is always tried and true - it'll just take a bit more time to whip up certain recipes like this one.
I've shared directions for using both a slow cooker and an Instant Pot below...
Wild Rice Chicken Casserole
Serves 4-6 adults
Per serving: Calories = 216 Protein = 24g Carbs = 14g Fat = 5g
Ingredients
1 Tbsp butter
2 ribs celery, diced
1 large carrot, peeled and diced
1/2 onion, diced
4 oz mushrooms, diced small (optional)
1 cup uncooked wild rice
2 cups chicken broth
1 pound chicken, about 2-3 breasts
2 Tbsp coconut aminos
1/2 Tbsp Italian seasoning
Salt and pepper to taste
Slow Cooker Directions
1) In a medium skillet, head butter over medium high heat. Add celery, onion, mushrooms (if using) and carrots to the pan. Cook until onion becomes translucent. Transfer the veggies into the pot of a slow cooker.
2) Add remaining ingredients to the slow cooker. Set the cooker to low for 8 hours or high for 5 hours.
3) When chicken is cooked through, remove and shred then return to the pot. Toss to mix and enjoy!
Instant Pot Directions
1) Set Instant Pot to 'Sauté' function. Add butter, celery, onion, carrot and mushrooms (if using) and cook until onion becomes translucent. Turn off the Instant Pot for now.
2) Add remaining ingredients to the pot, placing the chicken on top.
3) Set to 'Manual' for 25 minutes and allow the pressure to naturally release.
4) Open the lid and remove chicken. Shred the chicken and return to the pot. Toss to mix and enjoy!