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.
This is a great recipe. Easy to make and is a very hearty and tasty soup. My wife loved it. I did add a couple of extra chicken breasts for more protein and a few more celery stalks and carrots. Next time I will also add another half cup of rice.
I did notice a comment or two on the cooking step when you pour in the rice. Instead of following the recipe (which says to then set the flame on low for 25 minutes) I turned it to high until the stock began to boil. Then I turned it to low, covered it and let it simmer for 25 minutes. Rice turned out perfect.
Great dish – thank you!
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!