This Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup is the definition of comfort food. Full of delicious, rich, earthy flavors and easy to make, it is filling and perfect for your next dinner recipe!
The thing I cook more of than probably anything else is soup. Probably at least once a week from early fall to late spring, our family gathers together for family dinner around steaming bowls of soup and fresh from the oven bread.
It is so easy to make up a big pot of soup and have it include all of the major food groups. You can make it full of delicious flavors and the possibilities are endless. This Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup is no exception. It is creamy, delicious, full of earthy flavors, and it is so hearty. A big bowl of this for lunch and I am totally full all evening.
How to Make Chicken and Rice Soup
This is a brief overview of how to make this delicious soup recipe. For the full recipe with all of the ingredients, see the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
- Sauté the vegetables. Melt some butter in a large Dutch oven and then add in the onion, garlic, and mushrooms. Sauté until the onions are translucent.
- Whisk in some flour. This will be the start of the roux that will help thicken the soup. Then slowly whisk in some chicken stock.
- Cook the chicken. Add in some seasonings and then chicken breasts. Simmer the chicken breasts for 20 minutes to cook them. Then remove them and shred them using two forks.
- Finish off the soup. Add in the cooked chicken, heavy cream, and cooked wild rice.
Mushrooms for Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
In this recipe, I’m calling for shiitake mushrooms and baby portobellos. I love the texture that both mushrooms bring to this soup as well as their deep and earthy flavor. That being said, you can really use any type of mushroom for this recipe that you enjoy most.
Buying Mushrooms
When shopping for mushrooms, you want to look for the following things:
- Choose mushrooms that are smooth and plump. This will ensure that they are fresh and full of flavor.
- Look for mushrooms with dark gills. These mushrooms will provide deeper flavor.
- The mushrooms should have a pleasant smell. They will smell earthy in a delightful way, not a pungent way.
Cleaning Mushrooms
Don’t stress over cleaning mushrooms. They are most often grown indoors and are very clean. Simply wipe them off with a damp cloth.
How to Cook Wild Rice
I really think the heartiness of this chicken wild rice soup comes from the wild rice. If cooking wild rice sounds intimidating, you can buy it pre-cooked and just throw it in this soup, but it’s really so easy to make.
Cook it up the night before you are going to make this soup for a jump start the next day.
- In a medium stock pot, combine 3 cups of water and 1 cup of wild rice.
- Bring to a boil, covered, then reduce to a simmer (the heat should be as low as possible while still seeing some decent-sized bubbles here and there) and cook, uncovered, for 45 minutes.
- Stir regularly.
- This will yield about 3 cups of wild rice.
Making a Roux for Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
A roux is important for any cream-based soup. A roux is when you combine fat and flour. The fat can be just about anything, and in this recipe, we are using butter. The fat and flour combine and the fat coats the flour so that it is evenly distributed throughout the cream-based sauce.
There are two things that help ensure a good roux. The first thing is that you thoroughly mix the flour and fat together so that there are no lasting tastes of the flour. Then, you need to add the liquid to the roux slowly. I like to start with a few tablespoons at a time, only add more once the roux absorbs what you first added. Though it is important to go slowly, you don’t need to overthink it. This whole process takes me less than two minutes.
Storing Leftovers
The leftovers of this soup are absolutely fantastic. They can be stored in the refrigerator for four to five days. To heat up leftovers, warm only the portion your plan to eat over low heat, stirring often. You can also microwave, covered, over half power until warmed through. The most important thing to keep in mind when reheating this soup is that it should be done over low heat so that the soup doesn’t separate.
Freezing Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
Cream-based soups freeze just fine. The important thing to note is that when you want to eat leftovers, you will want to thaw it in the refrigerator overnight rather than heating from frozen. This will help keep the soup intact and not separate. Leftovers should be stored in containers that allow room for expansion and kept in the freezer for up to three months.
What to Serve with Chicken and Rice Soup
Most of the time we only have bread with our soup recipes. You might like these fast dinner rolls or this beer bread.
But a salad is always great with soup. Here are a few that would be great next to this soup recipe:
If you make this delicious soup or any of my other recipes for your family, leave me a comment and let me know what you think!
Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter (28.25 grams)
- 16 ounces mushrooms (453.592 grams) shiitake and baby portabellas mixed, sliced
- 1 medium onion diced
- 2 cloves of garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons all purpose flour (15 grams)
- 3 cups chicken stock (709.765 ml)
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts (453.592 grams)
- 2 teaspoons oregano
- 1 teaspoon rosemary
- 1 teaspoon thyme
- 1 cup heavy cream (236.588 ml)
- 3 cups wild rice (492 grams) cooked
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add in the mushrooms, onions, and garlic, season with salt and pepper, and sauté until the onions are translucent, about five to seven minutes.2 tablespoons unsalted butter, 16 ounces mushrooms, 1 medium onion, 2 cloves of garlic, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- Whisk in the flour. Then slowly whisk in the chicken stock. Add in the chicken, oregano, rosemary, and thyme and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 20 minutes or until the chicken reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit.2 tablespoons all purpose flour, 3 cups chicken stock, 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, 2 teaspoons oregano, 1 teaspoon rosemary, 1 teaspoon thyme
- Remove the cooked chicken from the soup and shred it. Return it to the pot with the heavy cream and the cooked wild rice. Serve and enjoy!1 cup heavy cream, 3 cups wild rice
Notes
Teresa Legler says
Hi Lisa,
Wondering if could substitute soaked Shiitaki mushrooms could be substituted for fresh mushrooms. Made last year using regular white mushrooms. Will try with the canned Coconut Milk this time. Thanks again for sharing your wonderful recipes.
I have always avoided that method in my cooking because it feels like a pain to me personally, but I’m sure it would work fine.
Stephanie says
Can I freeze this recipe and just add the cream when I’m ready to use it?
I would want to test it to make sure the consistency stays nice, but I would guess yes. I would add the rice after thawing as well.
Denise Richards says
Fyi Lisa- looked thru out the web for a site that has good, simple recipes AND a NON-annoying host – You’re it! Thank goodness I found you!
I’m so glad! I hope you find recipes you love!
Stacy says
OMG! I ate two bowl fulls ! Now I’m stuffed, but oh my, it was worth it!
Yummy!!
I’m so happy you liked it, Stacy!
Michelle says
This was incredible, thank you!
I’m so glad you liked it, Michelle!
Stacy says
OMG! This was soooo good!! I had two bowlfuls and was stuffed.! My sis says I need to make this more often, and I will!
Thanks for the wonderful recipe 💕
I’m so happy that you liked this one as much as me!
Linda says
So delicious. My new favorite soup. I used frozen chicken pieces and it worked great. Had to make it again the following week. So easy to make.
I’m so glad that you liked it!