This chicken and wild rice soup is seriously craveable comfort food. It’s creamy sauce uses chicken broth, white wine and a splash of heavy cream, and it envelopes every bite of tender chicken, aromatic veggies and wild rice. A perfect soup to warm up your belly and your soul on a chilly day.
A popular soup+salad chain – rhymes with Tanera- makes a soup similar to this, but they only serve it a few days out of the week. And I never seemed to make it there on the right day. So, I knew I wanted to- no, needed to- learn how to make this for myself. And now, I can enjoy it whatever which day of the week I want. And so can you!
It’s creamy, it’s chock full of good-for-you chicken and veggies, and it’s just plain yummy.
What you’ll need for Chicken and Wild Rice Soup:
- 2 cups of shredded or diced chicken. It needs to be already cooked here. I used a rotisserie chicken, but in a pinch I have cooked chicken breast in a pan and diced it up real quick before cooking the soup.
- Celery + carrots + onion. Good aromatic veggies to give this soup layers and layers of flavor.
- Butter + flour. These combine with the chicken and veggies to make a roux, which acts like a thickening paste for our chicken broth. This is what takes regular chicken broth to a thicker and more substantial soup base.
- Chicken broth + a cube of chicken bouillon + white wine. I used about 1/2 a cup of Pinot Grigio and it was to die for. Seriously, it just does something magical for the soup. The alcohol will cook out, but if you prefer not to use it, you can leave it out. The soup will be delicious either way – but the wine compliments it really, really, really well.
- Wild rice. No need to buy a big canister of the stuff, which can be pricey. I used a box of rice-a-roni Long Grain & Wild Rice (minus the seasoning) for less than a dollar. Easy stuff here. If you want to use regular wild rice, measure about 2/3 cup for the soup, and adjust your cook time for another 5-10 minutes, or until the rice is tender.
- Splash of cream + dried thyme + salt and pepper to taste. I use the dried thyme leaves (not the ground thyme) but crush them up in my palm before adding them in. These finishing touches really give the soup such a fantastic, savory flavor. Something you’ll dream about, something you’ll fantasize about on a cold winters day – you get the picture.
Tips to make the ultimate Chicken and Wild Rice Soup:
- Dice all of your veggies around the same size, so that they cook evenly.
- Once the veggies are cooked in the butter until translucent, add the chicken and flour. Stir and cook for a few minutes until the flour coats everything and starts to brown. Then, when you stir in your chicken broth and white wine, that flour will thicken up the broth. Things should be smelling heavenly in your kitchen at this point!
- You’ll cook it all for a few minutes to thicken, and then add in your cream, thyme, salt & pepper and wild rice mix. Stir and bring to a boil, and reduce heat to a lower-medium heat. By that, I mean medium with a hint of low. We want to boil the rice in the soup without scalding the bottom or losing too much liquid. Continue to cook, stirring often, for about 25 minutes or until the rice is cooked.
Note: If things start to get too thick, you can add a bit more chicken broth or water so that the rice can absorb more. It’s a similar method to my one pot rigatoni recipe!
And that’s it! In to time at all, you’ll have a hearty and tasty homemade soup to serve up with some crusty bread. Any day of the week that you want!
Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp butter
- 2 stalks celery diced
- 2 large carrots diced
- 1 small white onion diced
- 3 tbsp flour
- 2 cups cooked chicken shredded or diced
- 3 1/2 cups chicken broth reserve extra 1/2 cup for later
- 1 cube chicken bouillon
- 1/2 cup white wine pinot grigio
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 tsp dried thyme crushed
- 1 tsp salt + pepper to taste
- 1 box Rice a Roni Long Grain Wild Rice omit seasoning packet
Instructions
- Melt butter in dutch oven or large stockpot. Add veggies and saute over medium-high heat until translucent, about 4-5 minutes.
- Add chicken and stir to combine. Add flour, stir to coat, and cook for 2-3 minutes until flour is golden.
- Slowly pour in chicken broth, and white wine, stirring to combine. Add cube of bouillon and let cook for 2 minutes or until broth has thickened.
- Add heavy cream, thyme, salt and pepper, and wild rice mix. Stir and reduce heat to medium (on the low side). Once soup is between simmering – boiling, cook for about 25 minutes or until rice is tender.
- If the rice absorbs too much broth and it gets too thick, you can add a bit of extra chicken broth or water while cooking.
- Serve hot + with plenty of crusty bread to dip in. Enjoy!