Homemade Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

Creamy chicken and wild rice soup is packed with vegetables, creamy broth, and flavorful herbs. It’s the perfect soup for simmering on chilly evenings.

I love making a roasted whole chicken, then saving the leftover chicken for later meals like southwest chicken salad, sourdough chicken pot pie with biscuits, or a quick soup like this one.

During the fall and winter months (also known as soup season around these parts!), you will often find a pot of hearty soup bubbling away on the stove all day long.

We eat it for lunch and dinner. If someone is hungry between meals, they can grab a ladle of soup.

This chicken and wild rice soup regularly makes its way into our dinner rotation this time of year, and is a favorite soup of mine for a cold day. You will want to print the recipe off to make it over and over again!

There’s so much flavor packed into this rich, creamy, chicken soup. Notes of bright lemon mixed with the savory taste of tender chicken and delicious herbs, makes this meal hard to resist! It’s perfect and filling on its own, but I highly recommend serving it with a side of homemade sourdough crusty bread

Nothing beats dipping warm sourdough bread, smothered with homemade butter, into your hot soup. Nothing.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Nutritious – This creamy soup is packed full of nutritious whole ingredients like chicken, wild rice, celery, carrots, lemon and an assortment of herbs. This delicious soup is a great way to get a nutrient dense meal on the table for your whole family to enjoy!

Simple – Although there are a handful of ingredients that make up this recipe, they are all simple and come together quickly into the best homemade soup.

Cold weather recipe – The best part about the cooler months is making warm, comforting meals to cozy up with during those chilly days. This recipe is a great one to add to your cold weather recipe collection.

Ingredients

Wild rice blend – If you do not have wild rice you could also substitute with white rice or brown rice.

Chicken stock – I like to use homemade bone broth because it is inexpensive and has a lot of health benefits. Check out my post on homemade bone broth to learn how to make your own.

Herbs – For the rosemary, thyme, celery seed and bay leaves, you can opt to use fresh herbs if you have them, or grow them in your garden.

Chicken breasts – You can also substitute skinless chicken thighs, a pre-made rotisserie chicken, or any leftover shredded chicken you may have.

Lemon – Consider opting for organic lemon since you will being using the lemon zest in the soup.

Whipping cream: You can also use heavy cream or light cream.

All purpose flour – You could also make this gluten free by making a cornstarch slurry out of water and cornstarch.

A full ingredient list with exact amounts can be found in the recipe card below.

To make creamy chicken and wild rice soup in a slow cooker:

Add all of the ingredients (except for the flour, butter, cream, and milk) to the slow cooker. I would recommend leaving the chicken breasts whole. Cook on low for five hours. Take out chicken and shred. Add it back to the slow cooker. Create the roux in a separate pot and add it to the slow cooker. Add the cream and stir until soup has thickened. Serve.

How To Make Creamy Chicken And Wild Rice Soup

Step 1: In a large pot, cook carrot, celery, and onion in the melted butter over medium heat until the vegetables are tender.

Step 2: Season with salt and pepper. Add the wild rice, chicken stock, rosemary, thyme, celery seed, and bay leaves.

Step 3: Raise the heat slightly to allow soup to simmer, covered, for 20 minutes.

Step 4: Add chicken pieces, simmer for approximately 20 minutes more until chicken is cooked and rice is tender.

Step 5: To finish the soup, add zest of one lemon and lemon juice, whole milk, and cream. Season with more salt and pepper to taste.

Step 6: To thicken the soup, melt 1⁄4 cup of butter in a separate small pot and whisk 1⁄4 cup of flour into it and stir for a minute or two.

Step 7: Add this flour and butter paste to the soup to thicken.

Step 8: Bring the soup back up to temperature and serve with fresh thyme sprinkled on top.