Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

Creamy chicken and wild rice soup is cozy, hearty, and flexible. Use wild rice for a nutty bite, or swap what you have on hand like long grain or a rice blend. Leftovers reheat the next day for a great lunch.

 

Why We Love Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

• Warms You Up On A Chilly Day – This soup is the perfect way to warm you and your family to your toes, especially when it’s cold or wet outside in the fall and winter.
• Creamy Delicious – Creamy soup just hits right some days, and this one will have everyone excited to come around the table.
• Made With Flexible Ingredients – Other than the wild rice, you would find most of these ingredients in my kitchen and I hope you have them in your kitchen too! Many of the ingredients in this recipe are flexible, so don’t be afraid to use up what you have available and adjust to your own taste. The wild rice is a little less common in home kitchens, but can be swapped for other kinds of rice.

Ingredients For Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

• olive oil
• chicken breast – boneless, skinless, cubed into 1-inch pieces. Both boneless chicken breast or boneless chicken thigh work. If using leftover chicken from another chicken recipe or rotisserie chicken, add it after the veggies and skip the browning step. Leftover turkey can also be used!
• salt
• black pepper
• yellow onion – diced, you can also use white onion or whatever onion you have on hand
• celery – diced
• carrots – peeled and diced, in a pinch I’ve also diced up baby carrots or used shredded carrots I already had
• salted butter – If you only have unsalted butter, just add more salt to taste at the end.
• garlic – minced or garlic powder can be used. You can also use the jar garlic
• all purpose flour –
• chicken broth– I prefer low sodium broth to control the salt at the end of cooking, but you can use your favorite broth
• heavy cream – Heavy cream gives the silkiest finish, but half-and-half works too. Milk can also work but the soup will be thinner and less creamy.
• wild rice – I have also swapped with long grain rice and reduced the cooking time. See more about different types of rice swaps in the notes section of the recipe card.

How To Make Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

1. In a large heavy bottom pot or dutch oven over medium heat, warm the olive oil.
2. Place the cubed chicken, salt and pepper in the pot. Cook the chicken for 5-7 minutes until it just starts to be lightly golden and is no longer pink in the middle. Remove the chicken from the pot and set to the side.

3. Add the onion, celery and carrot. Cook for about 6-8 minutes until the onions begin to appear translucent and the vegetables are softened, stirring frequently. Be sure to scrape any brown bits off the bottom of the pot as this will give the soup extra flavor. Add the garlic and cook while stirring for about 30 seconds.
4. Place the butter in the pot with the vegetables and turn the heat down to medium. Stir until the butter is melted. Then add the flour and stir until it coats the vegetables. Cook the vegetable and flour mixture for 1 minute, as this will keep the soup from having a floury taste.

5. Place the cooked chicken back in the pot. Add the chicken broth, heavy cream and rice to the mixture. Stir and allow the liquid to come to a gentle boil across the top of the pot, this will take about 6-8 minutes. I don’t recommend heating this on higher heat, as it can split the dairy. We want to heat it gently.

6. Cover the pot with a lid and turn the heat down to medium low, so the soup continues to simmer. Allow the soup to cook for 30-45 minutes or until the rice is fully tender. The grains will split and it will be chewy when done. Then serve and enjoy!

Chicken With Wild Rice Variation Ideas

Use Chicken Thighs – Have boneless chicken thighs instead of chicken breast? No problem, just make sure to cut it into bite sized pieces.

Try Adding Leftover Chicken – Leftover cooked chicken or rotisserie chicken can easily be thrown in the pot, just remove any bones and skin. Toss cooked chicken in after you cook the vegetables instead of before.

Use Leftover Turkey – Have leftover turkey from Thanksgiving? Throw some in this soup in place of the chicken!

Add Other Meat – Have a little bacon or ham in the fridge? Try dicing it up and crisping it while cooking the chicken. Other cooked meats can be added,

Swap More Or Less Vegetables – You can swap a little more or a little less of any of the vegetables in this soup, it’s pretty forgiving. I have also added a little celery salt when I didn’t have celery, then just added the salt to taste at the end, and added more carrot and onion.

Try Other Vegetables – Bell pepper, zucchini, corn cut off the cob, peas and potato can all be great addition to this soup, but don’t be afraid to throw other extra vegetables in. I recommend dicing any extra vegetables into small pieces so they fit on your spoon.

How Long Will Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup Last?

Expect this creamy chicken and wild rice soup to last for about three days if stored in a covered container in the refrigerator. T

his soup will continue to thicken after your store it in the fridge. The type of rice you use can also sometimes make the soup a little thicker, this happened to me when I tested used regular long grain rice.. You can quickly fix the issue by adding some more water, I start with between 1/2 a cup to a cup, and then add more if I need it!

Freezing this soup is a little tricky because the dairy can sometimes split when being reheated from frozen.