Creamy Chicken Wild Rice Soup Recipe

This creamy chicken wild rice soup is pure comfort in a bowl, with tender shredded chicken, chewy wild rice, and sweet carrots and celery simmered in a rich, velvety broth. It tastes like the cozy soup from your favorite cafe, but made from scratch in one pot, and it reheats beautifully for easy lunches all week long.

This creamy chicken wild rice soup is the ultimate comfort food. It is super easy to make, and it is a great option to have for dinner and then reheat the next day or two for lunches. We are a homeschool family, so coming up with lunches every day is a challenge of its own, it requires a lot of thinking ahead. Soups come in super handy for us even outside of soup season, and the easy warm up and cleanup is a bonus.

It does take an hour or more to cook this soup because wild rice takes longer to cook. I am using leftover shredded chicken so that's a step less I have to do. I'll also include a section below on how you can add chicken if you don't have any leftover. You can totally skip the chicken too. I used to make this creamy soup as a side dish to dinner, but the past few times I just thought since it's almost a whole meal on its own, why not just throw some chicken in as protein and have it as your meal.

Key Ingredients for Creamy Chicken Wild Rice Soup

• Wild rice: Cook it separately according to the package directions and stir it in near the end. This keeps every grain chewy instead of mushy, and it stops the rice from soaking up all the broth as the soup sits. A wild rice blend works just as well.
• Chicken: Leftover roast chicken or rotisserie chicken makes this a fast weeknight soup. If you do not have leftovers, cube two boneless skinless chicken breasts and simmer them right in the broth until cooked through, then shred or chop.
• Bacon: A few strips sauteed at the start build the savory base, and the vegetables cook right in the rendered fat, so do not drain it. To make this lighter, skip the bacon and start with a spoonful of butter instead.
• Heavy cream: Stirred in off the heat at the very end for a velvety finish. Adding dairy after the soup stops simmering keeps it from curdling. For a dairy-free version, use full-fat coconut milk.
• Shredded cheese: A handful of freshly shredded cheddar melts into the hot broth and makes the soup extra rich and creamy. Use dairy-free shreds or skip it if you prefer.

How to Make Creamy Chicken Wild Rice Soup

1. Start by cooking the wild rice according to the package instructions. When it is ready, pour it over a drain. 
2. Dice carrots, onion and celery. 
3. In your large dutch oven over medium heat, sauté the bacon until it is crisp around the edges. 
4. Leaving the bacon fat in with the bacon, add your chopped onions, celery and carrots. If you are using leftover bacon, do add another oil like olive oil or butter. 
5. Add fresh herbs generously.
6. Add a teaspoon of black pepper, tbls of salt, and a tbls of garlic powder. 
7. Let that sauté for a couple minutes, just to give the vegetables a head start.      
8. Add your broth and wild rice and let it come to a boil. Turn it back and let it simmer for about 10 minutes, until the vegetables are tender. 
9. Whisk the flour and the cold milk together in a separate bowl until its clump-free. When the soup is at a boil/simmer, pour in your flour mixture. 
10. Let that come to a simmer again, you should be able to see that it has thickened up a bit. 
11. Add your shredded cheese now, and your chicken.
12. Turn off the heat and add the heavy cream. 
13. Stir, serve and enjoy a bowl of divine nourishment.

How to prepare chicken for this soup if you don't have leftover chicken:

Take 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, trim them and cube them into small pieces. After you add your broth and wild rice to your large soup pot, add the diced raw chicken in too and let that cook for about 15-20 minutes instead of 10. You could also use shredded rotisserie chicken. 

Creamy Chicken Wild Rice Soup FAQs

Expert Tips for the Best Chicken Wild Rice Soup

• Cook the wild rice separately and stir it in at the end so it stays chewy and does not soak up all the broth.
• Whisk the flour and cold milk until completely smooth before adding it to the simmering soup to avoid lumps.
• Take the pot off the heat before stirring in the heavy cream to keep the soup silky and prevent curdling.
• Shred cheese from a block if you can. Pre-shredded cheese is coated to prevent clumping and does not melt as smoothly.
• This soup thickens as it sits. When reheating, loosen it with a splash of chicken stock and warm it gently.

More Cozy Dinner Recipes to Try

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Creamy Chicken Wild Rice Soup Recipe

by Sylvia Hofer

Packed with herbs, nutty wild rice, veggies and chicken, this soup is everything you need to warm up on a chilly day.

5 from 2 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr

Total Time 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Servings 12

Calories 566 kcal

Equipment

• ▢
  1 Large dutch oven
• ▢
  1 Medium bowl

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• ▢ 4-6 cups cooked wild rice drained
• ▢ 4 large carrots chopped
• ▢ 1 onion chopped
• ▢ 4 stalks celery chopped
• ▢ 2 quarts chicken stock
• ▢ 1 tbls sage, thyme, rosemary, parsley fresh or dried
• ▢ 1 tablespoon salt
• ▢ 1 teaspoon pepper
• ▢ 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• ▢ ⅓ cup flour
• ▢ 1 ¾ cup milk
• ▢ ¼ cup heavy cream
• ▢ 1 cup shredded cheese cheddar cheese
• ▢ 2 cups chicken cooked and chopped
• ▢ 8 strips bacon chopped

Instructions

 

• Start by cooking the wild rice according to the package instructions. When it is ready, pour it over a drain.
• Dice carrots, onion and celery.
• In your large dutch oven over medium heat, sauté the bacon until it is crisp around the edges.
• Leaving the bacon fat in with the bacon, add your chopped onions, celery and carrots. If you are using leftover bacon, do add another oil like olive oil or butter.
• Add fresh herbs generously.
• Add a teaspoon of black pepper, tbls of salt, and a tbls of garlic powder.
• Let that sauté for a couple minutes, just to give the vegetables a head start.
• Add your broth and wild rice and let it come to a boil. Turn it back and let it simmer for about 10 minutes, until the vegetables are tender.
• Whisk the flour and the cold milk together in a separate bowl until its clump-free. When the soup is at a boil/simmer, pour in your flour mixture.
• Let that come to a simmer again, you should be able to see that it has thickened up a bit.
• Add your shredded cheese now, and your chicken.
• Turn off the heat and add the heavy cream.
• Stir, serve and enjoy a bowl of divine nourishment.

Notes

What to serve with this:

Sometimes I serve it just plain, but there's nothing plain about it. When I warm it for the 2nd or 3rd time I'll either add a side salad or sourdough

Storage: Store leftover soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. The rice will continue to absorb broth as it sits, so stir in a splash of chicken stock when reheating to loosen it back up.

Freezing: Let the soup cool completely, then freeze in airtight containers for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and reheat gently over low heat, adding a splash of broth as needed.

Reheating: Warm gently over low heat, stirring occasionally. Do not boil after the cream and cheese are added, as high heat can cause the dairy to curdle.

bread. But the soup is packed with protein, veggies, carbs and fats so you really don't need anything else.

Nutrition

Calories: 566kcalCarbohydrates: 24gProtein: 12gFat: 47gSodium: 981mgFiber: 1gSugar: 5g

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