Get ready to cozy up with a spoonful of heaven in a bowl – this creamy chicken and wild rice soup is the ultimate comfort food. With tender chicken, nutty wild rice, and a velvety broth, you’ll be making this recipe all soup-season long.
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This recipe is…
This creamy chicken wild rice soup has everything you’d want in a comfort classic: succulent chicken, hearty wild rice, soft sautéed veggies, and the most delicious, creamy, velvety broth. Whether you’re a kitchen pro or a newbie that just wants to cook up some comfort food goodness without the fuss, this recipe has your back.
If you’re looking for more comfort food classics, look no further. This beef pot pie is unbelievably delicious, this chicken and dumplings recipe has been a reader favorite for many, many years, and this Zuppa Toscana recipe rivals the popular Olive Garden recipe.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- It’s easy – this soup is made in one pot, making for an easy, fuss-free solution to mealtime.
- It’s creamy and delicious – this chicken wild rice soup is not your average recipe. It’s luscious, creamy, and will leave your guests’ bellies full and happy!
Recipe Ingredients
For such a rich, delicious recipe, the ingredient list is quite simple! You’ll need a handful of veggies, chicken (of course), wild rice, and a few extras to take the creaminess to the next level. Find ingredient notes (including substitutions and swaps) below.
- Wild rice – grab a wild rice mix (or blend) for this recipe.
- Chicken breasts – we used chicken breasts here, but chicken thighs work every bit as well. Feel free to use whichever you have on hand.
A full ingredient list with exact amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
Recipe Variations and Modifications
- Make it dairy-free – skip the heavy cream and use canned full-fat coconut milk instead to make this recipe dairy-free.
- Make it gluten-free – to make this recipe gluten-free, simply use a GF all-purpose flour (we used this King Arthur one).
How to Make Chicken Wild Rice Soup
This recipe is incredibly easy to make! Follow along below.
Step 1: Add the olive oil to a large pot over medium high heat, and season the chicken with salt (1 teaspoon). Once the pot is hot, sear the chicken on one side for 3 minutes, flip, and sear for another 3 minutes on the other side, until golden brown. Set aside.
Step 2: Add the onion, carrot, celery, and garlic to the pot, and saute until the onions are translucent and veggies start to soften.
Step 3: Pour the flour over the veggies, toss to combine, then add in the broth, 1 cup at a time, stirring continuously to dissolve the flour. Once all of the broth is in, add the wild rice and thyme and return the chicken to the pot.
Step 4: Bring the soup to a simmer, then cover and let simmer for 50 minutes, scraping the bottom of the pan every 5 minutes to make sure nothing is sticking. Test the rice for doneness. Pull chicken out, shred it, and return back to the soup.
Step 5: Stir in the cream, lemon juice, and pepper, and taste for salt. Garnish with additional thyme, serve, and enjoy!
Recipe Tip
If you have leftover cooked and shredded chicken on hand, feel free to use it in this recipe to save yourself a little bit of time and effort. If you don’t have leftovers on hand but you still want to skip cooking the chicken yourself, feel free to grab a rotisserie chicken!
How to Serve
Serve your soup all on its own (it’s a complete and DELICIOUS meal this way) or alongside a loaf of cheesy garlic bread if you really want to impress.
How to Store and Reheat
Store any leftover soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
To reheat the soup, simply pop a serving in the microwave for 1-2 minutes or in a small pot on the stovetop over medium heat for 7-10 minutes.
Frequently Asked Questions
No need to pre cook the rice before tossing it into the soup! It’ll cook in the broth until soft.
If your rice is still crunchy, it’s because it hasn’t finished cooking. After your soup has simmered for 50 minutes, be sure to check the doneness of the rice before adding in the lemon juice and heavy cream. If the rice isn’t completely cooked, let the soup continue to simmer until it is.
You can, but it takes a lot. If you’re following this recipe and simmering your soup for 50 minutes, we can almost guarantee that your rice won’t be overcooked and mushy.
More Favorite Cozy Soup Recipes
If you tried this Chicken and Wild Rice Soup or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below!
Creamy Chicken Wild Rice Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1¼ pound chicken breasts
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 carrots, cut into coins
- 3 stalks celery, diced
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup wild rice
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 lemon, juiced
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- Add the olive oil to a large pot over medium high heat, and season the chicken with salt (1 teaspoon). Once the pot is hot, sear the chicken on one side for 3 minutes, flip, and sear for another 3 minutes on the other side, until golden brown. Set aside.
- Add the onion, carrot, celery, and garlic to the pot, and saute until the onions are translucent and veggies start to soften.
- Pour the flour over the veggies, toss to combine, then add in the broth, 1 cup at a time, stirring continuously to dissolve the flour. Once all of the broth is in, add the wild rice and thyme and return the chicken to the pot.
- Bring the soup to a simmer, then cover and let simmer for 50 minutes, scraping the bottom of the pan every 5 minutes to make sure nothing is sticking. Test the rice for doneness. Pull chicken out, shred it, and return back to the soup.
- Stir in the cream, lemon juice, and pepper, and taste for salt. Garnish with additional thyme, serve, and enjoy!
Recipe Notes
- Make it dairy-free – skip the heavy cream and use canned full-fat coconut milk instead to make this recipe dairy-free.
- Make it gluten-free – to make this recipe gluten-free, simply use a GF all-purpose flour (we used this King Arthur one).
Nutrition
so delicious!!! This will definitely become a regular in my recipe rotation. A little note – I doubled the recipe but ended up only having 8 cups on broth instead of 12, but it worked out perfectly! So, if doubling I’d day don’t use double broth, it would be way too watery.
We are so happy you loved it, Monique! Great tip on the broth! Thank you for letting us know!
This was such a hearty and delicious soup! We followed the recipe exactly as written and were so impressed. Definitely adding to our winter rotation!
Woohoo! We are so glad you enjoyed it, Elise!
Delicious and easy soup! Simple ingredients, lots of flavor, a family winner dinner!
Yay! We are so happy you loved it, Katie!
This was everything I was hoping for in a creamy chicken and wild rice soup! So delicious and warming. I like that the chicken cooks in the simmering soup – makes it easy to get it going and then get the rest of your dinner ready (or clean up a bit!) while it cooks. I’m excited to eat the leftovers and make it again soon!
Awe yay!!! We are so so glad you loved it, Whitney!!!
My family of 6 really enjoyed this and it was relatively easy to make. I used shredded chicken I had leftover from another meal and added some mushrooms I needed to use up. This soup was so flavorful, I will definitely be making it again! It was very filling as well.
During the fall and winter months I always make a pot of soup and crusty bread for dinner. This soup was so delicious and I couldn’t wait to have the leftover every day for lunch the next week. I had leftover turkey so used that instead of the chicken. Can’t wait to make it again!
Yay! We are so happy you loved it, Kari!
The whole family loved it! I added extra carrots and celery, and will try adding some mushrooms next time. Delicious and comforting soup recipe that you can reinvent, endlessly. It will remain on our winter dinner rotation!
YUM! That sounds so tasty! We are so glad y’all loved it, Cate! Thank you so much for taking a moment to share!
This soup is so delicious! I used shredded rotisserie chicken, a pouch of wild rice, and 1 teaspoon of dried thyme for a quick weeknight meal. Cook time was around 30 minutes. My husband said it’s one of the best soups he’s ever had. I’m excited we had leftovers to take for my lunch the next day! This will be going into our dinner rotation for sure, and we’re already planning on making it for my hubby’s next pot luck lunch at work.
WHAT?!?! That is so so sweet, Amber! We are so happy y’all loved it!!
Such a flavorful and hearty dish and easy to make, too! I’ll definitely be making this again!
Yay! We are so glad you enjoyed it, Jordan!
This recipe was easy and delicious. The lemon juice is definitely the secret ingredient, don’t skip it! It was perfect for a weeknight meal on a cold winter day.
Yay! We are so happy you enjoyed it, Aliston! And you are so right about the lemon!
This was THE BEST Chicken and Wild Rice soup I think I have ever eaten. The flavors are amazing. I made it exactly like the recipe except with dried thyme since I couldn’t find any fresh. Serve it with some sourdough bread and it is company worthy soup!!
This soup was so comforting and warming last week when it was bitterly cold. We loved it! Our daughter had made it the week before and suggested making bread to go with it. So I made peasant bread plus a fruit salad and it was the perfect dinner.
We are so happy this soup was able to bring some comfort! Thank you sos much for taking a moment to share this with us, Holly!
WHAT?! That is so incredibly kind, Andrea! We are so happy you loved it!!
My kids loved this! I made a loaf of sourdough to go with this and everyone cleaned their bowls. This is a fantastic recipe that us now on our rotation!
That is awesome, Jenna! We are so happy y’all loved it!
So good! My favorite soup at Panera was always their chicken and wild rice, but I haven’t been able to have it since going gluten free 10 years ago. This was so delicious and satisfying!
That is so great, Holly! We are so excited you are able to enjoy your favorite again!
Loved making this, was nice to have a change to regular chicken noodle soup for the cold weather! Delicious!
Oh yay, Melissa! We are so happy you loved it!