Some of the Chicken Soup Recipes on Mom’s Dinner have been reported as “award winning’ and I think this Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup recipe might be right up there with the winners. It is thick and hearty with really good comfort food vibes.
This soup is loaded with tender pieces of chicken, nutty wild rice, and a mix of classic veggies simmered in a flavorful creamy broth. I also love that this Chicken Wild Rice Soup is even better the next day.
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Why You’ll Love This Soup
- It is a really hearty soup, made with simple ingredients.
- Even though it is simple it is super flavorful.
- Leftovers are amazing!!! Just like chili, this soup is even better on day 2.
- Makes a nice big pot, perfect for a family dinner.
- Chicken soup is amazing comfort food.
Ingredients For Chicken & Wild Rice Soup
Cooked Chicken – You can use a combo of cooked chicken breast and chicken thighs, or all chicken breast. I prefer to use shredded chicken in my soups rather than chopped chicken. A rotisserie chicken is a great shortcut, or you can poach or bake the chicken.
Mom’s Tip For Shredding Chicken – Place the cooked WARM chicken breasts in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle or whisk attachment. Turn the mixer on to low speed and let it run for 20-30 seconds, or until the chicken is shredded to your desired consistency
Wild Rice Blend – NOTE that this recipe is made with a wild rice blend, not pure wild rice!! However since you are cooking the rice separate you can sub in a pure wild rice. We love the Rice Select Royal Blend – see photo below.
Salted Butter – It’s the only butter we recognize here at Mom’s Dinner. Any chicken soup is made better when you start with butter!!!!
Celery, Carrots, Onion – This is also called a mirepoix and is the perfect veggie mixture to start this Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup.
Garlic – When we add garlic to almost any recipe we wait until the other veggies have cooked a bit. This prevents the garlic from burning and gives you a more pronounced garlic flavor.
Seasoning – A mixture of kosher salt, black pepper, onion powder, garlic powder and poultry seasoning creates a perfect flavor profile for this soup. Poultry seasoning is a mix of a lot of other seasonings and is used in a lot of our Stuffing Recipes at Thanksgiving and the Holidays.
Chicken Base – this is a super secret soup ingredient that we use all the time here at Mom’s Dinner. It is a flavor enhancer! You can find it in the soup aisle near the bouillon. It is in a paste form and comes in a jar. We prefer the Better Than Bouillon Brand.
Flour – All purpose flour mixes with the butter and the chicken base and then thickens the liquid in the soup… giving it a creamier texture.
Chicken Broth – is the main liquid used in this soup, so make sure you are using a flavorful chicken broth or stock. A chicken stock will have more flavor than broth.
Canned Evaporated Milk – this Wild Rice Chicken Soup does not use cream to make it “creamy”, instead you will use a can of evaporated milk which is milk that has been heated to remove 60% of the water content. It can give your soup a really creamy and velvety texture. Just make sure you don’t get condensed milk…that’s the sweet stuff!
Variations
I have also made this soup with 2 large handfuls of chopped kale added. It adds a really nice texture and color to the soup. You will add that when you add the chicken and rice. The heat of the soup will wilt the kale perfectly.
The recipe calls for a wild rice blend, but you will cook the rice separate from the soup so you could choose to use a white rice, brown rice or pure wild rice.
Mushrooms would also be a great addition to the creamy soup. Chop 1-1.5 cups of baby bella or button mushrooms. Add them in the last 5 minutes of the veggies softening.
The soup would be delicious with fresh herbs added! Some flavors that would be good are rosemary, thyme, parsley or sage. Add them with the garlic.
How To Make Chicken Wild Rice Soup
This is a quick overview of how to make Chicken and Wild Rice Soup, for more detailed instructions and ingredient amounts, pop down to the recipe card.
Step 1
Make the wild rice blend or wild rice per package instructions. (start the soup while this cooks)
Step
Soften the veggies for about 15 minutes in the butter. Stir in the garlic for 1 minute.
Step 3
Add the chicken base and the seasonings. Stir to combine. Add the flour and stir around the veggies for 1 minute.
Step 4
Vigorously stir chicken broth in. Scrape up any bits from the bottom of the pot. Bring to a boil then lower the heat and stir in the milk, simmer for 15 minutes
Step 5
Add in the shredded chicken and cooked rice and warm through for 5 minutes.
Storing
Keep leftover Chicken Wild Rice Soup in the fridge in a covered container for up to 4 days. The rice may absorb some of the liquid when it is in the fridge. If needed add a little more chicken broth or milk when reheating.
Serving
This soup is pretty hearty and can be served as a complete meal by itself.
For more of a dinner feel you can serve it with some warm crusty bread and a side salad, a bagged kale salad from the store would be perfect!
More Chicken Soup Recipes
Chicken and Wild Rice Soup Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup wild rice blend - cooked per package instructions
- 3 cups cooked chicken - shredded or chopped
- 4 tablespoon salted butter
- 1 yellow onion - finely chopped
- 1 cup carrot - diced
- ¾ cup celery - diced
- 4 cloves garlic - minced
- 1 tsp. kosher salt
- ½ tsp. pepper
- ½ teaspoon poultry seasoning
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme - optional
- ½ tsp. onion powder
- ½ tsp. garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon chicken base - Better than Bouillon brand is great
- ⅓ cup flour
- 6 cups chicken broth - or chicken stock
- 12 oz evaporated milk - 1 can
Instructions
- Cook the wild rice or wild rice blend according to package instructions. Fluff and then set aside while you make the soup.1 cup wild rice blend
- In a large Dutch oven or stock pot heat the butter over medium heat. Add in the onion, carrots and celery and sauté for approx. 10-15 minutes until they are softening.4 tablespoon salted butter, 1 yellow onion, 1 cup carrot, ¾ cup celery
- Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute longer.4 cloves garlic
- Stir in the chicken base and all seasonings.1 tsp. kosher salt, ½ tsp. pepper, ½ teaspoon poultry seasoning, ½ teaspoon dried thyme, ½ tsp. onion powder, ½ tsp. garlic powder, 1 tablespoon chicken base
- Sprinkle the flour over the veggies and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute.⅓ cup flour
- Gradually whisk (or stir vigorously) in the 6 cups of chicken broth and bring to a boil. Then lower the heat add in the milk and simmer partially covered for 15 minutes.6 cups chicken broth, 12 oz evaporated milk
- Add the remaining ingredients; cooked shredded chicken and cooked wild rice blend and stir to combine. Simmer for 5 more minutes.3 cups cooked chicken
- Taste for additional seasoning. I will sometimes add up to an additional ½ teaspoon of kosher salt.
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