Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

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My favorite cozy chicken and wild rice soup recipe is made with the most delicious creamy broth, a generous helping of veggies and greens, plus the classic chicken and wild rice that we all love!

For those of you who are also craving some cozy comfort food right about now, I vote we return to a classic today that’s always good for the soul…

…a warm, hearty, oh-so-delicious bowl of chicken and wild rice soup. ♡

My favorite chicken wild rice soup recipe is full of all of the tender chicken and hearty wild rice that we all know and love.  But I especially love this version because it’s also loaded up with lots of veggies and greens too.  Plus it’s also made with the most delicious rich and creamy rosemary broth that’s lightened up a tad by using milk instead of heavy cream.

I typically make this soup on the stovetop, but I’ve included an Instant Pot option below as well.  Plus I’ve also included options for how to make this soup gluten-free (or even vegetarian), different seasonings you can use, other ingredients you can swap in or swap out, plus my favorite ingredient to add to this soup when I’m feeling indulgent (hint hint: it’s bacon).

Alright, let’s make some chicken and wild rice soup, friends!

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup Ingredients:

A few quick notes about the ingredients you will need to make this chicken and wild rice soup recipe!  (As always, full ingredient amounts and instructions are included in the recipe at the bottom of this post.)

• Mirepoix: We will use the classic mix of carrots, celery and onion as a base for this soup — sautéd in butter or olive oil until softened.
• Garlic: And lots of it, to add rich garlicky flavor to the broth.
• Flour: I used all-purpose flour to thicken this soup, but see the alternative options below for gluten-free thickeners you can use instead.
• Chicken stock: Or veggie stock, whichever you have on hand.
• Chicken: I typically just toss two boneless skinless chicken breasts into the soup, which cook along with the wild rice, and then shred them afterwards.  But you also have the option to pre-dice the raw chicken and then add it to the soup.  Or you can just add in precooked diced or shredded chicken that you have on hand instead.
• Mushrooms: I like to use baby bella mushrooms in this soup — either diced or thinly sliced — but you can omit them if you don’t like mushrooms.
• Wild rice: As always, be sure to double-check that you are using 100% wild rice and not black rice (which will turn the soup purple!).  Or, you are welcome to use a wild rice blend too.
• Rosemary: I add a tablespoon (or more, if you’d like!) of finely-chopped fresh rosemary to this soup.  But you could also sub in 1 teaspoon (or more) of dried rosemary, if that’s what you have on hand.
• Bay leaves: Whose flavor really enhances this broth.
• Milk: I used whole cow’s milk in my soup, but you could also use any other plain plant-based milk that you prefer.
• Baby spinach: Just to sneak some greens into this soup too!  I like to add chopped baby spinach, but you could also use collard greens or kale.
• Salt and pepper: As always, for seasoning.

How To Make Chicken Wild Rice Soup:

To make this chicken wild rice soup recipe, we will simply:

1. Sauté the veggies.  Melt butter or oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat.  Add onion and sauté for 4 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add carrots, celery and garlic and sauté for 3 more minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add in the flour and sauté for 1 more minute, stirring frequently.
2. Add in the next round of ingredients.  Gradually pour in the chicken stock, stirring the soup frequently as you pour so that the clumps of flour can melt into the broth.  Add the chicken breasts, mushrooms, wild rice, rosemary, bay leaves and stir to combine.
3. Simmer.  Let the soup continue cooking until it reaches a simmer.  Then reduce heat to medium-low to maintain the simmer, cover, and cook for 30 minutes or until the wild rice is tender — being sure to stir the soup every 5-7 minutes so that the bottom of the pot does not burn.
4. Shred or dice the chicken.  Use tongs to carefully transfer the chicken breasts to a clean plate.  Then you can either dice or use two forks to shred the chicken into bite-sized pieces, and stir it back into the soup.
5. Add the remaining ingredients.  Stir in the milk and baby spinach until combined.
6. Season.  Remove and discard the bay leaves.  Taste and season the soup with however much salt and black pepper you think it needs.
7. Serve.  Serve warm and enjoy!

Possible Chicken Soup Variations:

There are so many delicious ways that you can customize this soup, so please feel free to get creative and add in whatever favorite ingredients you have on hand!  For example, feel free to…

• Make it gluten-free: Omit the all-purpose flour, and make a cornstarch slurry (with equal parts cornstarch and cold water whisked together) to thicken the soup instead.  Once the rice has cooked, add in 1-2 tablespoons of the slurry to the soup at a time until the broth reaches your desired level of thickness.
• Make it vegetarian: Feel free to sub in a can of chickpeas in place of the chicken (and veggie stock in place of chicken stock) to make this soup vegetarian.  Or I would also recommend my vegan Cozy Autumn Wild Rice Soup recipe, which is made with a base of sweet potatoes and coconut milk.
• Make it in the Instant Pot or Crock-Pot: See instructions in the recipe box below.
• Skip the thickener: If you would like a thinner broth, feel free to omit the flour (or cornstarch) altogether.  You can also use an immersion blender to just purée some of the broth (be sure that the chicken has been removed when you do this) to thicken the broth a bit, if you would like.
• Add bacon: If you really want to amp up the flavor of this soup, I highly recommend frying 6-8 slices of bacon at the beginning of the recipe.  Then remove and crumble the bacon to use as bacon bits to garnish your serving bowls, and use the leftover bacon grease to sauté the veggies (instead of the butter or oil).
• Use Old Bay: In place of the rosemary, I also love using a few tablespoons of Old Bay Seasoning to give this soup more of a Cajun twist.  Trust me, it’s delicious!
• Use different greens: Collards or kale would also be delicious in place of the spinach.
• Use different rice or orzo: Feel free to sub different kinds of rice or orzo pasta in for the wild rice, if you would like.  Just note that the cooking time will be different depending upon which type of rice/pasta that you choose.

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