Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup Recipe
Published September 27, 2024. This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
Make this delicious, simple-to-prepare Chicken and Wild Rice Soup that the whole family will love. Loaded with four different kinds of rice, chicken, and vegetables, this recipe comes together in just one hour.
Some soups, like my Italian Minestrone Soup or my Tomato Soup with Grilled Cheese, are so comforting and perfect all winter. Like these recipes, this soup is hearty and easy to make.
Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
Chicken and wild rice soup is a stock-based soup with vegetables, chicken, rice, and cream. This easy-to-make recipe comes together quickly and is excellent for serving a large crowd or freezing as leftovers for a later day. Watch my video below to see detailed instructions on how to make it.
It can also be tweaked to fit your taste buds. Try adding herbs or using different vegetable and rice blends. Additionally, you can make this without cream to keep it low in fat or try using yogurt.
History of Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
This recipe was created by Chef Willy Mueller of the Orion Room in Minneapolis, Minnesota, during the 1970s. He loved wild rice and wanted to incorporate it into many dishes on his menu. However, he’d often have a good bit left over at the end of the night.
With wild rice being expensive, he created the soup by combining it with bechamel and other ingredients as a way for his restaurant to save money and utilize all the leftovers. Chef Willy then served it up for lunch and everybody fell in love. From there the soup has become a popular soup across the United States ever since.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Oil — I like to use olive oil for richness, but any neutral-flavored oil, like avocado, will work. Additionally, you could use ghee or clarified butter.
- Chicken – Boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs may be used.
- Vegetables — I used carrots and celery to accompany the onions. Other vegetables you could use are mushrooms, parsnips, potatoes, rutabaga, celeriac root, or turnips.
- Onions — You can use white, yellow, or sweet onions. You’ll also add minced garlic cloves.
- Rice – Any wild rice blend will work for this. Some of my favorite rice to use are basmati, brown, long grain, medium grain, short grain, red, wild, or texmati. I personally prefer a blend like this one (aff link)
- Stock – Chicken Stock is best to use for this soup. However, you can also use vegetable stock, brodo, or water.
- Cream — Heavy whipping cream is best for bringing about the most flavor. However, you can use half and half or milk.
- Cornstarch—To thicken the soup, you will need to make a slurry of cornstarch and water. Other thickening agents you could use are roux or beurre manie. The starch from the rice will help to thicken the soup as well, but one of these other agents is still needed.
- Seasonings – Only coarse salt and freshly cracked pepper were used. However, you could additionally add in Worcestershire or Tabasco sauce.
- Herbs – I finished the soup with fresh, finely minced parsley. You could also add in 1 to 2 teaspoons of finely minced fresh thyme for enhanced flavors. A bay leaf would also be good to add as the soup cooks.
How to Make Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper and brown them in a large pot with olive oil until golden brown and cooked throughout.
Remove the chicken and add the vegetables and sweat over low heat for 8-10 minutes. Chop the cooked chicken up while the vegetables are cooking.
Add the chopped-up chicken and rice blend to the pot with the cooked vegetables.
Add in the chicken stock and cook for 25 minutes until the rice is cooked and then add in the slurry (4 tbsp cornstarch mixed with 3 tbsp cold water) and mix until combined and thick.
Pour in the cream and finish with parsley, salt, and pepper.
I love serving this with either Homemade Dinner Rolls or a Classic French Boule.
Cooking Variations
Slow Cooker: Sauté the chicken using the sauté function until browned and cooked through. Cut it up and add it back to the slow cooker along with the vegetables, rice and chicken stock and cook on high for 4-6 hours or until the rice is cooked. Whisk in the slurry until thick, finish with cream, parsley, salt, and pepper, and serve.
Instant Pot: Sauté the chicken using the sauté function until browned and cooked through. Cut it up and add it back to the slow cooker with the vegetables, rice and chicken stock. Place on the lid and close the valve and cook for 20 minutes. Whisk in the slurry until thick, finish with cream, parsley, salt, and pepper, and serve.
Make-Ahead and Storage
Make-Ahead: For freshness, you can make this soup up to 2 days before.
How to Store: This soup will last up to 5 days covered in the refrigerator. You can freeze it covered for up to 3 months. Be sure to thaw it for 1 day in the fridge before reheating.
How to Reheat: Add your desired amount of chicken and wild rice soup to a medium-size pot and heat over low heat until hot.
chef notes + TIps
- What if It’s too Thick? If for some reason the rice has taken over and it’s too thick, simply thin with a little bit of chicken stock.
- What if It Breaks and Turns Thin: If the cream separates for some reason, bring it to a boil in a pot and stir in the same amount of slurry and mix until thick.
- No matter the thickening agent you use, it must come to a boil once added for activation.
- If you’re concerned that the soup will get mushy as it sits, cook the rice and hold it separately from the soup. Add the rice and hot soup to the serving bowl when you want to serve it.
More Soup Recipes
Video
Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup recipe
Ingredients
- 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 peeled medium diced carrots
- 3 medium diced stalks of celery
- 1 peeled small-dice yellow onion
- 3 finely minced cloves of garlic
- 1 ¼ cups wild rice blend
- 8 cups chicken stock
- 4 tablespoons corn starch whisked with 3 tablespoons cold water
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley, optional
- coarse salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Season the chicken breasts on both sides with salt and pepper and set aside.
- Next, add the oil to a large pot over high heat. Once it begins to smoke lightly, add in the chicken, turn the heat down to medium, and cook for 3-4 minutes.
- Flip over, turn the heat down to low, and cook for 5 minutes, and then flip back for a further 5 minutes or until browned and cooked throughout.
- Remove the chicken and large dice it. Set it aside.
- Add the carrots, celery, onion, and garlic to the pot and sweat the vegetables over low heat for 8-10 minutes until tender.
- Add the chicken back in along with the rice and chicken stock. Cover and cook over low heat for 25 minutes or until the rice is cooked.
- Make the cornstarch and water mixture and mix it into the soup. Turn the heat to high and bring it to a boil. It will become very thick.
- Turn the heat off and finish by adding, cream, parsley, salt, and pepper. Serve.
Great recipe! My family enjoyed every bit of this soup. It will now become a regular in the line-up. It’s rich, flavorful, and satisfying. Thank you for sharing your expertise.
My pleasure. Thanks for giving it a try!
Chef! Oh my gosh is this soup so stinking good!! I had a group of creative gals over (we are card makers) and I served this and did everyone rave over the amazing favor!! Thank you so much for this and also for all the delicious recipes….I am a big fan!!
So glad it was a hit! Thanks for giving it a try!
Excellent recipe! I couldn’t wait til dinner, I had a bowl (taste test) 2 hours before dinner. Then 2 bowls for dinner! Easy and delish!
So good!
Chef Parisi- your soups are so fun to make, so rewarding to serve to guests and so delicious to eat! Problem is now I have so many favorites I have to make myself take time out to try something new! This recipe is comfort food in a bowl! Thank you!
So glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Hey Chef, this is just perfect. It looks like a complete meal to me. I’m so ready for a good bowl of soup right now. This is such a welcome to me. Thanks for sharing your Mom’s recipe with all of us. Looks so delicious to me.
My pleasure!
I made this soup and it was delicious.
Excellent!
This soup is amazingly delicious and so comforting on a cold day. I have made this twice and will make it again! The recipe is easy to follow, and it makes a ton of soup! Very filling, I had soup for days
Excellent!
Dinner in a bowl is such a delight! And this recipe is hearty, filling and flavorful! We served it to guests and they liked it so much they asked to take some home! That is always my measure of a great recipe! We have guests in for dinner a couple times a month and always I rely on chef parisi recipes for entertaining! I also served tiny meatballs with the soup! And if you haven’t made chef Parisi’s meatballs you are truly missing out!
I Appreciate you trying it!
I’ve made a lot of chef Billy’s soup and everyone is Amazing thank you sooooo much fur sharing
I made this soup tonight for dinner! Everyone loved it!
Great flavor! My family enjoyed it immensely.
The absolute best Chicken and Rice soup I have ever had in my entire life this puts panera’s to shame absolutely delicious thank you Billy
Really good soup. Has become a regular at our house
one of our favorites now
excellent!
One of my favorite soups. Made it this week with the left over turkey, using stock made from the carcass. DELICIOUS.
excellent!
So simple to prepare and so delicious. Thanks!
many thanks!
I have made this soup. It is really delicious. 🙂 If you are a soup lover like me, I highly recommend you try it.
Thank you!
I made this but I wanted wild rice and not the blend. I just cooked chicken thighs and veggies for flavor. I removed all and cooked rice in chicken broth for an hour. I did add mushrooms and sherry put it over the top. Once the rice was done I put all back in and simmered for another 15 minutes. It was delicious. Thank you!
Glad you tried this!
Made this soup this week. Fantastic! Thanks Billy! Five stars from me!!!
Delicious! I followed the recipe exactly as written. It was so easy! Will definitely be making this again.
love it!
Thank you for this outstanding recipe! We just had it for the first time and will definitely be making it again!
Easy and so easy to customize. I tossed in a bit of my fresh rosemary and thyme from my counter garden. Just a nice little boost. It’s awesome as written but is so very flexible. A family favorite when we finally get cool weather here in South carolina.
THE BEST CREAMY CHICKEN WILD RICE SOUP EVER!!!
This is so simple yet so delicious. The first time I made it I think my husband licked the bowl. Make sure to use good quality chicken broth. My husband makes this even in the middle summer at least once monthly, sometimes twice a month. And eats it everyday for lunch.
perfect!!
Excellent! A new family favorite.
amazing!
I will never use another recipe. This is a classic, full of flavor, easy to make soup. A few occasions, I was short on time and used a rotisserie chicken. Still fabulous! The soup is even better the next day, too.
amazing!
A family favorite!
Awesome!
My wife is a picky eater and thinks chicken soup should only be made one way. She was skeptical about it but ended up loving it. She asked me when I planned on making it again.
Great recipe!!
That’s awesome.
So yummy!!!
Yes!
Made it loved it. Easy to follow
thanks for giving it a shot!!
This soup was so good and soul soothing. The directions were super easy to follow and it was delicious.
Best chicken and rice soup!
Our family favorite now! It is easy & delicious.
This is the best tasting soup ever. It is in my rotation of soups. thanks for sharing.
My son who is a picky eater loves this!!! It was earthy, creamy, and tasty! Perfect for a cold day soup!!!!
What are your suggestions for non-dairy options. I’ve ready where you could substitute coconut milk or unsweetened almond milk for the cream. I love cream, but it doesn’t love me!
I’m honestly not sure there is a great sub for this. I would stick with earthier milk like pea or oat milk before I go the nut milk route.
Hello Chef Billy: Thank you for all the delicious recipes you share with us. I would like to make your Creamy Chicken & Wild Rice Soup tonight. I have everything except the cream. I have half n half and wonder if I could use that instead with a little butter. I also have some evaporated milk. What would you recommend?
1/2 and 1/2 would work.
This was excellent. I used left over rotisserie chicken…used frozen carrot/pea mixture…made in my IP…so, so good…a great comfort food or warming soup on a cold day! I served it with an avocado salad with olive garden dressing. Thank you for the soup recipe.
Super yum!! Thanks for sharing!
What is wild rice blend? I buy wild rice by the pound and wondering if this blend is a frozen thing? What is it blended with? Thanks
In the grain aisle there are tons of wild and basmati and other rice blends, really just take your pick 🙂
A quality family meal is made from scratch and draws from years of experience, knowing what good food really is. It is always a labor of love, giving the best to the ones that mean the most to you. It can’t be rushed and takes much longer to prepare than to consume. Is it worth it? Oh, yeah.
Quality meal is made from scratch with love for your family and friends.
A quality family meal is one made with love and sometimes the sacrifice of time and energy. Good quality ingredients, creativity, trying something new or eating old favorites. Sharing it with those you love best and inviting other folks to join the meal. In our family, especially at dinner, we begin by thanking God for the blessings of the day and asking God in particular ways to bless our family and friends.
A quality family meal is filled with food that is warming and filling and filled with love. It brings up memories and makes new memories and possibly tradition.
What A Quality Family Meal Means To Me Having My Family All Help Prepare The Meal Together And Enjoying The Meal All Gathered Around The Table. Making Memories.
It is the best time of the day when I cook a delicious meal for my family & we all sit around the table together talking, laughing and enjoying a great meal.
A Quality meal is, spending time with family and friends, gathering, preparing and enjoying whatever it is that you have, together, created and enjoyed.
A quality family meal is :
SEEING: Smiles on everyones faces as they gather around the table.
HEARING: The oohs and aahs once everyone has a nice taste.
SMELLING: Herbs, spices , and just pure deliciousness all through the house.
TOUCHING/ FEELING: Knowing that someones day has just been made through amazing food and the comfort of family time.
TASTING: The fruits of many laborious hours spent carefully planning and preparing our meals.
Finally I can understand my Mama stretching everything we had, to try and feed 7 kids and a Husband on construction wages, and it makes me wonder how she did it and how much she loved her family to make such great sit down family quality meals so we could all be together and talk about that days happenings, those meals really helped hold our family together, and you can believe chicken in all forms was a big part of it all…
It’s just my son and me. We are very busy with work school and hobbies. So mealtime isn’t always about what’s on the table but what’s going on in our lives. Don’t get me wrong we love a great casserole or some great leftovers. I generally cook on Sunday for the week. That way we have more quality time together!
i fondly remember dinners that we all took part in making and serving; my girl would pick the greens and make the salad, my boy, rolling biscuits, and me, making a pot of chili. I hold these memories in the happiest part of my heart, now that the kids are grown. I hope their meals continue to give them joy.
A really wonderful meal to enjoy with my family.
Some of our best memories as a family start in the kitchen with our aprons, a stereo, and lots of food! Our children are always part of the process of determining what a good quality meal is. Once the cooler weather is here, my kids will tell you that a good quality meal will always start as soon as they are in from school with a hot cup of mom’s homemade soup. 🙂
A quality meal begins with love. ~st praising God for all his provision. In our family, we sing a song together. A quality meal is a creative process. Sometimes it is as simple as eggs & toast. A family is brought together to share their passion and appreciation of food and one another. My father was an amazing cook. He could barely read so we siad he had magic in his hands…as he put together incredble meals. It was a wonder how his big longshoreman hands could patiently and articulately handle food. The dinner table is a haven which ensures that we will not live as strangers. Quality is a place passed on from generation to generation.
Love is the most important thing suggested and served. 1st honor God who is Love….by prayer. We have a song we sing together at my house. My father could barely read but was an incredible cook and did everything by intuition and love. I say to this day there was magic in his hands….and it was awesome to see his large longshoreman hands patiently work with his ingredients. Quality includes passion and appreciation. Quality inspires children to try everything with eagerness and anticipation. A quality dinner allows precious time to talk about one’s day….and we stay not strangers as time goes by. ~ <3 ~
Quality family meal means…..dedicating my time and energy to supplying my children and love ones with a nutritious and delicious meal. There is no greater joy then watching your little ones eat the nourishment they receive from your food, love and time to prepare their meals. The quality comes from watching them enjoying every bite but secretly knowing the food nourishes their bodies and your time feeds their souls. Quality family meals are the best time of each day!!!
Simple quality ingredients pleasing Americans and Internationals with rice as the staple in most countries
Hi Billy a “quality family meal” to me means:
– Hearing the family go “MMMmmmm”
– Something that draws the family to the dinner table
– Finger food or at least part of it … nothing like hearing the smack sound of your family licking their fingers because it is just that good
– Made with love and good ingredients
– Something simple not too complicated
– Quality Family Meal is Quality Family Time … the meal can even be prepared by a few family members if you wish
I like to have meat, a potato or rice, and a vegetable to feel like I’ve made my family a quality meal.
this is the best comfort food for me and my family family night wouldn’t be the same
Quality meal for me and my family is food ; that is wholesome, comford food and delish to the taste the whole family enjoys together at our gatherings, a recepie that is share for generations to come. <3