Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

This creamy chicken and wild rice soup is comfort food at its best. With pieces of chicken breast, vegetables and a wild rice mix this soup is more than a soup, it’s a meal. Pair it with a generous piece of crusty bread for a satisfying dinner the whole family will enjoy.​

This soup is a wonderful way to use up leftover chicken and rice. If you don’t have a wild rice mix but do have leftover white rice, then make about a quarter cup of plain wild rice and combine it with the white after it’s cooked. Try this creamy chicken and rice casserole and this chicken and rice soup to put those leftovers to good use.

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Ingredients

• Butter – Regular salted butter works well, unsalted works too.
• Produce – Onions, carrots, celery, garlic, and thyme add wonderful flavor to the soup.
• Flour – The flour is used to give the soup body. Use all-purpose flour.
• Broth – Use your favorite chicken broth. If you are sensitive to salt use low sodium broth, then adjust the salt at the end.
• Cream – We use half and half instead of heavy cream to make the chicken and wild rice soup. It’s lighter but still creamy enough to give us the flavor we need.
• Cooked Wild Rice Mix – We used a mix of wild rice, whole grain brown rice, black, and red rice. Use your favorite wild rice mix and cook to package directions.
• Cooked Chicken Breast – Best to use skinless, boneless chicken. For this recipe we used poached chicken breast because it’s quick and easy to make. Leftover roasted chicken will also work great.

Recipe tips

• Start the wild rice mix first because it typically takes a long time to cook. For example, the mix we used took an hour to make.
• Things move quickly in the beginning for this soup. It’s best to have everything prepped and ready to go before you start cooking (except maybe the rice, but make sure it’s well on its way).
• Keep prepped ingredients in nesting bowls so everything will be at your fingertips when you need it.
• Tie the thyme sprigs together with a piece of kitchen twine to make it easier to find and remove the stems when done.
• The easiest and quickest way to cook chicken is to poach it. Try this poached chicken if you need a recipe. It takes less than 30 minutes to make and is great for soups and salads.
• If you are poaching the chicken, don’t discard the chicken broth you used for cooking. Strain it and use it for the soup. That’s some concentrated chicken broth goodness you have there.

Instructions

1. Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onions, carrots and celery and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
2. Add the garlic to the pot, cook for 1 minute, stirring frequently.
3. Add the flour stirring constantly until well incorporated. Cook the mixture for 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently to cook out the flour taste a bit.
4. Slowly add in the chicken broth while stirring until it is incorporated. Use a whisk to make sure to dissolve the flour. If you don’t have one, stir vigorously with a wooden spoon. Add the thyme bundle to the soup.
5. Raise the heat to medium-high and bring the soup to a gentle simmer. Lower the heat to medium-low, half-cover the pot and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
6. Use tongs to remove the thyme. Add the cooked chicken and wild rice, half cover the pot and cook for 5 minutes. Lastly, take the pot off the heat and add the half and half and black pepper, stir to combine. Return the pot to low heat and warm through.

Taste the chicken and wild rice soup and add salt, if needed. As a reference we did not add extra salt to ours.

Storing and reheating

Store the soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. To freeze the soup, store it in an airtight container. Remember to leave enough room to allow for expansion when freezing, an inch or two should do it. Freeze the soup for 2-3 months.

Gently, reheat the soup in a covered saucepan over medium-low to low heat until it reaches at least 165°F, stir occasionally – or reheat in the microwave. Avoid letting the soup come to a full boil as the cream could separate.

You may also like

• Chicken Salad Sandwich
• Cream of Chicken Soup
• Chicken Egg Noodle Soup

Print Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

This creamy chicken and wild rice soup is comfort food at its best. With pieces of chicken breast, vegetables and a wild rice mix this soup is more than a soup, it’s a meal.

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time45 mins

Total Time55 mins

Course: Soup

Cuisine: American

Keyword: chicken, chicken and rice

Servings: 6

Calories: 330kcal

Author: Elizabeth

Ingredients

• 6 tablespoons Butter
• 1 Medium Onion finely diced
• 2 Medium Carrots diced (about ¾ – 1 cup diced)
• 1 Celery Rib diced (about ¼ cup diced)
• ½ cup All Purpose Flour
• 8 cups Chicken Broth
• 3-4 Thyme Sprigs tied together with kitchen twine
• 2 cups Cooked Wild Rice Mix we used a mix of wild, whole grain brown, red and black rice prepared to package directions.
• 2 cups Cooked Chicken diced or shredded (about ¾-1 pound chicken breast)
• ½ cup Half and Half
• ¼ teaspoon Black Pepper
• Salt if needed at the end

Instructions

• Cook the wild rice mix according to package directions or use leftover rice.
• Dice or shred the cooked chicken. To cook the chicken, see how to poach chicken breast instructions.
• Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. When the butter has melted and starts to foam, add the onions, carrots and celery.
• Cook the vegetables gently for 5 minutes until the onions become translucent and start to soften, stir frequently.
• Add the garlic to the pot, cook for 1 minute, stirring frequently.
• Add the flour while stirring constantly until well incorporated. Cook the mixture for 2-3 minutes, stirring almost constantly to cook out the flour taste a bit.
• Slowly add in the chicken broth while stirring until it is incorporated. Use a whisk to make it easier to dissolve the flour. If you don’t have one, stir vigorously with a wooden spoon.
• Add the thyme bundle to the soup.
• Raise the heat to medium-high and bring the soup to a gentle simmer (it will take about 3-5 minutes).
• Lower the heat to medium-low, half-cover the pot and continue simmering for 20 minutes, stir occasionally. Keep the soup at a simmer if it starts boiling too vigorously lower the heat a bit.
• Use tongs to remove the thyme bundle.
• Add the cooked chicken and wild rice. Raise the heat to medium-high and bring to a simmer. Lower heat to medium low, half cover and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally to make sure the rice is not sticking to the bottom.
• Take the pot off the heat and add the half and half, stir to combine.
• Add the black pepper, stir.
• Return the pot to low heat and warm through, do not let it come to a boil. Taste the chicken and wild rice soup and add salt, if needed. As a reference we did not add extra to ours.

Notes

The soup will thicken as it cools.

Nutrition

Calories: 330kcal | Carbohydrates: 26g | Protein: 20g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 77mg | Sodium: 1312mg | Potassium: 580mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 3898IU | Vitamin C: 26mg | Calcium: 70mg | Iron: 2mg

The nutritional information above is computer generated and is only an estimate. There is no guarantee that it is accurate.This data is provided as a courtesy for informational purposes only.