Create the perfect comfort food recipe with this Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice soup recipe made with simple ingredients, plain wild rice, and white meat chicken to make the most delicious soup. This easy creamy chicken soup is perfect to enjoy on a cold day as the best way to warm up! Serve this easy chicken and and rice soup recipe with a piece of crusty bread for dipping and you are ready to go!
Recipe Ingredient Notes
To make our creamy chicken and wild rice soup, you need the following ingredients:
- Oil: use olive oil or avocado oil for this recipe
- Vegetables: you will need to have chopped celery, diced carrots, fresh diced mushrooms
- Liquid: to make this wile rice soup recipe ou will need chicken broth and water, half and half, but you could substitute the half and half with heavy cream or coconut milk if necessary
- Chicken: use pre-cooked and cubed boneless tender chicken breasts or shredded chicken from a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store
- Rice: we used long grain and wild rice (we used wild rice blend from Rice a Roni), but you could also use white rice, but brown rice would not be the best option since it takes a long time to cook
- Butter: chose unsalted butter and then season the soup with additional seasonings like salt and black pepper to taste
- Flour: use all-purpose flour for the soup thickener
Equipment Needed
For this recipe, you only need a few simple kitchen tools. We recommend using the following equipment:
How to Make Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
- In a large soup pot over medium heat, saute celery and carrots in the olive oil for about 5 minutes. Add in the mushrooms and saute for another 2 minutes.
- Add the chicken broth, water, and chicken to the sauce pot. Bring to boiling, and then stir in rice (saving the seasoning packet for later). Cover and turn heat to low.
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter and then stir in the seasoning packet until the mixture starts to bubble to make the soup base. Reduce heat to low and slowly whisk in flour, tablespoon by tablespoon, until it makes a thick paste. Slowly whisk in half and half until completely smooth. Continue cooking and stirring until it starts to thicken (about 5 minutes).
- Stir the cream mixture into the broth mixture and cook until heated through (about 10 minutes).
Frequently Asked Questions
If you aren’t a huge fan of mushrooms don’t worry, that is an easy fix. I would say just leave it out and maybe up the amount of carrots and celery you’re using. Or you can even add in some onion to add more flavor.
This is not your standard chicken soup recipe. It is BETTER! While the chicken is stewing in the pot of chicken broth you will be creating a very flavorful roux with all the butter, seasoning, and cream mixture.
Once it is done you will combine the roux with the chicken broth mixture and form the most flavorful creamy chicken soup recipe!
You might be wondering what a roux is and why it is important. It is basically a butter and flour mixture that will serve as the thickener for your soup recipe.
To find out more about roux you can check out the wonderful information Bon Appetit has about what a roux is!
If you are worried about your creamy soup turning your rice mushy, you can try to avoid this by cooking the rice separately and then adding the rice in when you are ready to serve, however, this may adjust the overall texture of the homemade soup.
Another option is just to keep an eye on the rice to make sure you finish cooking the white rice right at the tender point so it can still have some time to absorb any leftover liquid over a long time.
Storage Instructions
Fridge: For any leftover chicken and rice soup place it in a large airtight container to serve the next day or up to 4 days.
Freezer: If you are like me and want to double the batch to store more for the soup season ahead for those cold days, let the soup get to room temperature and pour it into a freezer bag and you can freeze cream-based soups for up to 60 days.
Explore More Delicious Soup Recipes
Explore our collection of soup recipes made in the stovetop, slow cooker or Instant Pot. For more soup inspiration, check out our full list of soups.
- 20-Minute Chicken and Dumplings
- Chicken and Broccoli Cheese Soup
- Chicken Corn Chowder
- Chicken Enchilada Soup
- Chicken Noodle Soup
- Chicken Pot Pie Soup
- Chicken Tortellini and Vegetable Soup
- Creamy Chicken and Potato Soup
- Creamy Chicken Fajita Soup
Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons Olive oil
- ½ cup celery, chopped
- ½ cup carrots, diced
- ½ cup sliced mushroom, fresh, diced
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 2 cups water
- 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and cubed
- 4.3 ounces long grain and wild rice, Rice a Roni
- ½ cup butter
- ¾ cup flour
- 2 cups half and half
Instructions
- In a large sauce pot over medium heat, saute celery and carrots in the olive oil for about 5 minutes. Add in the mushrooms and saute for another 2 minutes.
- Add the chicken broth, water, and chicken to the sauce pot. Bring to boiling, and then stir in rice (saving the seasoning packet for later). Cover and turn heat to low.
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter and then stir in seasoning packet until the mixture starts to bubble. Reduce heat to low and slowly whisk in flour, tablespoon by tablespoon, until it makes a thick paste. Slowly whisk in half and half until completely smooth. Continue cooking and stirring until it starts to thicken (about 5 minutes).
- Stir cream mixture into the broth mixture and cook until heated through (about 10 minutes).
Notes
Nutrition
Did You Make This Recipe?We’d love to hear your thoughts! Leave a review or a question in the comment section below the post.
This looks delicious! I love soup, and this looks so creamy and easy to make! Can’t wait to try this one out on my picky eater. Thanks for sharing!
Shonee
It doesn’t say anything about adding the rice. When is the best time to add?
I created my own version of this a couple of years ago, and it is one of our favorite soups! I came across the soup at Panera Bread and loved it. One thing I add that I called the missing ingredient until I added it is potato soup. For the amount of ingredients you posted, I would add one or two small cans of cream of potato soup, according to preference. Try it! It does make a difference!
Thanks for all the wonderful recipes by Six Sisters!
In step 2 of the directions it says to add the rice. Hope this helps.
This is my go-to wild rice soup! I absolutely love it and have made it multiple times! My mom came across it a while ago (she also makes this one a lot) and gave me the link to your blog. So glad to have found it! Thanks for the great recipe!!
want to cook this instant pot – what would be the cooking time? 15 to 20 mins?
If I didn’t use rice-roni’s rice and just used my container of wild rice, what is the seasoning in the seasoning packet?
Here is a website that made their own – https://www.myforkinglife.com/copycat-rice-a-roni-2/