This Chicken and Wild Rice Soup are perfect for dinner or a quick lunch. With a touch of bacon and mushrooms, this soup is creamy and hearty!
I love a good soup and this Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup is exactly what the doctor ordered. It is full of tender chicken and thick wild rice, while the touch of bacon and slivered almonds delivers a winter warming touch. This soup has been requested for years from my family in the winter time. The best thing about this soup is that it only uses items commonly found at the grocery store.
I typically make this soup on the stovetop, but I’ve included an Crock pot option below as well. Plus I’ve also included options for how to make this soup gluten-free or even vegetarian.
Alright, let’s check out this chicken and wild rice soup, friends!
Tips for Making Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
I really only have two big tips for making this soup
- Don’t skip the slivered almonds unless you can’t have nuts. Those little toasted goodies bring out the flavors of the soup.
- Uncle Ben’s Long Grain and Wild Rice is probably the easiest to find in the grocery store for this soup. However, you can use any brand you like. I do use the seasoning packet in the soup as well!
Can I freeze this soup?
Milk and dairy that have been mixed into a soup does not freeze well. The milk may curdle so I don’t recommend freezing this soup. However, you can store it in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Can I use leftover chicken or turkey?
Yes. You can use leftover cooked chicken or turkey. I have also used plain rotisserie chicken from the grocery store to cut down on the prep time.
CHICKEN SOUP RECIPE VARIATIONS:
Although I LOVE this soup as is, I understand other have diet restrictions, time limits, or maybe just want to experiment. For example, feel free to…
- Make it in the Instant Pot or Crock-Pot: See instructions in the recipe box below.
- 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: Swap out chickpeas for chicken and veggie stock in place of chicken stock to make this soup vegetarian. You can also use coconut milk instead of milk.
- Skip the thickener: If you would like a thinner broth, feel free to omit the flour (or cornstarch) altogether.
- Use a different rice or orzo: I like this soup for it’s ease of finding ingredients. However, feel free to add other rice or increase the amount of wild rice in the soup. The cooking time will be different depending upon which type of rice/pasta that you choose.
What to Serve with Soup
If I am making this chicken and wild rice soup for dinner, I usually serve a simple side salad and/or a warm, crusty bread like a French bread or ciabatta.
LOOKING FOR MORE HEARTY SOUP RECIPES? CHECK THESE OUT:
- Creamy Sausage and Kale Soup
- Cabbage Beef Soup
- French Onion Soup
- Creamy Seafood Chowder Soup
- Broccoli Cheese Soup with Real Cheese
Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
Ingredients
- 6 oz box of long grain and wild rice original or chicken flavor, Uncle Ben’s (use the seasoning packet)
- 4 strips of bacon diced
- 4 oz button mushrooms sliced
- ½ cup yellow onion diced
- 3 Carrots diced
- ½ cup Celery diced
- 3 Tbsp All Purpose Flour
- 2 Tbsp sherry
- 1 ½ cups Chicken Broth 1-12 fl oz can
- 2 cups shredded cooked chicken
- ½ tsp thyme
- ½ cup Milk any percentage is fine
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- ¼ cup sour cream
- salt and pepper
- Toasted slivered almonds
Instructions
- Cook rice according to package directions .
- In a large pot over medium-high heat, saute bacon pieces until crisp, about 8-9 minutes. Remove bacon to a paper towel lined plate.
- With the drippings still in the pan, lower heat to medium, and add mushrooms and onions. Cook until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Add carrots and celery and cook an additional 5 minutes.
- Stir in flour and and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly.
- Add sherry and deglaze the bottom of the pot, scraping up the bits on bottom.
- Stir in broth, cooked wild rice, chicken, and thyme. Bring soup to a boil. Add milk, heavy cream, sour cream, and bacon pieces.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper. Continue to warm soup to temperature but not boil. Garnish with almonds and bacon if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Not Sure
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Rebecca says
Oh god that soup again. SO DELICIOUS! This wild rice one though- it’s getting pinned.
Rachel says
haha, I do make quite a few soups. Nothing beats good soup in winter or on busy weeks where I can feed the family without cooking for a few days.
Erlene says
We love wild rice soup. I make mine a little different and have never added almond slivers, but I’ll try it the next time I make it.
Rachel says
I was surprised the first time I tried the almonds in the soup. The nuttiness makes sense with the wild rice but now I wouldn’t have it any other way!
Erika says
Hi Rachel, this recipe looks delicious! Thank you for joining the Thursday Favorite Things blog hop! 🙂
Erika