This chicken and wild rice soup sears chicken breasts, sweats a mirepoix of carrots, celery, and onion, then simmers everything with a wild rice blend and chicken stock before finishing with a quick cornstarch slurry and a splash of heavy cream. It takes about 60 minutes from start to finish and is a genuinely cozy, from-scratch soup that tastes better than most restaurant versions.
Now, if you are a big time soup lover, but are looking for a really simple recipe, this chicken and wild rice soup is where it is at! It takes about 60 minutes from start to finish to get this soup on the table. It is creamy, it is amazing, and you are going to love it.
Table of Contents
Why You Will Love This Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
Listen, it is all about understanding simple techniques! Once you understand how to make a quick slurry to thicken a soup and how to properly cream it at the end, you put that into your cooking and you are going to make the best homemade cozy soup ever. It is completely from scratch, it takes just one hour, and I promise you, it is going to be way better than anything you are going to get at a restaurant or the store!
If you love a rich, comforting chicken soup like this one, you are also going to want to try my White Chicken Chili, another creamy, hearty chicken soup built for the exact same cozy craving.
What You Will Need
Special Equipment
- Large pot or Dutch oven
- Garlic press
- Sharp chef’s knife
- Cutting board
- Meat thermometer, to safely confirm the chicken is fully cooked
The Ingredients
- 7 to 9 oz boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 1 to 2 breasts)
- Sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper, to taste
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 large carrots, peeled and medium diced
- 2 stalks celery, rinsed and medium diced
- 1 small yellow onion, small diced
- 3 cloves garlic, pressed
- 1 1/4 cups wild rice blend (a mix of brown, red, and wild rice works best)
- 5 to 6 cups chicken stock, homemade if you have it!
- 2 tbsp cornstarch mixed with 1/4 cup cold water, for the slurry
- 1 cup heavy cream or half and half
- Fresh parsley, chopped, for garnish
Let us Get Cooking!
1. Getting the Chicken Perfectly Golden Brown
Get some boneless skinless chicken breasts, right around 7 to 9 ounces. First thing you want to do is season them with sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper. Pro Tip! Remember, season high! Be about a foot away so that every square centimeter of that chicken is seasoned, and every bite is delicious.
Head over to your cooktop, and in a very large pot, add in some olive oil. Crank that heat. When it begins to lightly start smoking, you know it is the perfect time to start sauteing. Add your chicken breasts to the pot about an inch or so apart so they get that perfect golden brown.
Immediately turn down the heat to medium. After 3 to 4 minutes, give it a flip. Crank the heat down to low, cook it for 5 more minutes before flipping it again, and then cook it for another 5 minutes. Confirm the chicken has reached an internal temperature of 165°F (74°C) with a meat thermometer before pulling it out, since golden color alone does not guarantee it is fully cooked through. Pull your chicken out, set it onto a plate, and set it to the side.
2. Time to Prep the Mirepoix (And No Garlic Chopping!)
Now you get started on cutting up your mirepoix, which is the carrots, celery, and onions.
- The Carrots: Peel a couple of large carrots, and then simply medium dice them.
- The Celery: Do the exact same thing with some rinsed stalks of celery. Give it a nice medium dice.
- The Onion: Cut off the ends, peel it, and small dice it so that it incorporates into the soup seamlessly without big chunks.
- The Garlic: Last, but not least, garlic. Run it through a garlic press. Do not chop it!
3. Sweat the Veggies and Chop the Chicken
Head back over to the cooktop. In that same pot, add in the carrots, celery, onion, and garlic. Over low heat, simply sweat these vegetables. You are not looking for a full caramelization. You just want them to be a little bit tender before you finish the cooking process.
While they sweat, place the cooked chicken breasts on a cutting board. If this board or your knife touched raw chicken earlier, wash it first before chopping the fully cooked chicken. Using a really sharp knife, roughly chop the chicken into nice, bite sized pieces. There is nothing worse than taking a huge chunk of chicken in a soup! Once it is chopped, simply scrape the chicken right back into the pot over top of our tender cooked vegetables.
4. It is Rice Time, My Friends!
Use about a cup and a quarter of a wild rice blend. Do not forget, when liquid hits rice, it swells up, so you do not need a massive amount! This blend has dark wild, red, brown, and basmati. I would not recommend using all dark wild rice because it might be a little more earthy than you are used to.
Simply sprinkle the rice right over top of the chicken and vegetables. Next, add in some chicken stock. I use about 5 to 6 cups to get the right ratio. Take a spoon, give it a little mix, and add the lid.
5. Simmer
Let it cook for about 25 minutes over low heat. When you come back and take a peek, boom! Beautiful. To know it is done, take a little spoonful out. If you see how the rice has cracked and opened up, you know it is perfectly cooked!
If you are in the mood for another cozy, homemade soup night, my Easy Tomato Basil Soup is another comforting classic that comes together just as easily.
6. Thicken and Cream It Up
First, you need to make a slurry to thicken up the soup. This is simply a thickening agent using cornstarch and water. Mix those together with a spoon or whisk. You could use a roux or a liaison if you wanted to get super classically French, but stick with the slurry! It is way easier!
Make sure your soup is at a nice bubbly little simmer to activate that slurry. Pour in the slurry, and immediately start to move it around while stirring constantly. Within seconds, you will see it become nice and thick, with all those vegetables and rice suspended at the top.
Now, you are going to cream it. Add in 1 cup of heavy cream or half and half. Do not worry if it thins out a little bit because the rice and the starch will keep thickening it up.
7. The Finishing Touches and Plating
Remove from heat. Finish off the soup with some fresh chopped parsley, and adjust the seasonings with sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper. Remember, taste twice, season once! Taste it, season it, and see if it needs a little bit more. Ladle into small soup crocks or bowls, top with a little more chopped parsley for that fresh look, and serve it up. Enjoy!
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FAQs
Do you have to cook wild rice before adding it to soup?
No, you do not have to! You just toss the dry wild rice blend right into the pot with the chicken, veggies, and broth. Just make sure you cover the pot and let it simmer for about 25 minutes until you see the grains crack open and puff up. It cooks perfectly right in the soup!
Can I use white or brown rice instead of a wild rice blend?
You definitely can, but you must adjust the cooking times! Wild rice takes longer to cook. If you use white rice, it only takes about 15 to 20 minutes. Just be careful. If you cook white rice too long in a soup, it will completely disintegrate into mush.
How do you thicken chicken and wild rice soup?
We use a simple cornstarch slurry! Just mix a little cornstarch and cold water together, and pour it into your simmering soup at the very end. You could make a classically French roux with butter and flour at the beginning, but honestly, the slurry method is way faster and easier!
Can you freeze creamy chicken and wild rice soup?
I really would not recommend freezing it after you add the cream. Soups with heavy cream or dairy tend to separate, curdle, and get a weird grainy texture when you freeze and thaw them. Plus, the rice will get incredibly soggy. If you want to freeze it, cook the soup base with the chicken and veggies, but leave the rice and dairy out! Add them in fresh when you reheat it.
Can I make this in a slow cooker or Instant Pot?
Yes, both work well with a few adjustments! For a slow cooker, sear the chicken and sweat the vegetables on the stovetop first as directed, then transfer everything to the slow cooker along with the rice and stock. Cook on low for 4 to 5 hours or high for 2 to 3 hours, until the rice is tender. Stir in the cornstarch slurry and cream during the last 15 minutes on high heat. For an Instant Pot, saute the chicken and vegetables using the saute function, then pressure cook with the rice and stock for about 25 minutes on high pressure with a natural release, followed by stirring in the slurry and cream afterward using the saute function.
Is this recipe gluten-free? Can I make it dairy-free?
As written, this recipe is naturally gluten-free, since it uses cornstarch rather than a flour-based roux to thicken. Just double check that your specific chicken stock brand does not contain any gluten-based additives, since some brands do. For a dairy-free version, you can swap the heavy cream for a full-fat coconut milk or a dairy-free heavy cream alternative, though the flavor and richness will shift slightly from the original.
Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
Course: Soups, DinnerCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy6
servings15
minutes45
minutes450
kcal1
hourThis easy, one-pot creamy chicken and wild rice soup takes just 60 minutes from start to finish and is rich, hearty, and made completely from scratch.
Ingredients
- Equipment Needed:
Large pot or Dutch oven
Garlic press
Sharp chef’s knife
Cutting board
Meat thermometer
- Ingredients:
200 to 255g (7 to 9 oz) boneless skinless chicken breasts
Sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper, to taste
30ml (2 tbsp) olive oil
140g (2 large) carrots, peeled and medium diced
80g (2 stalks) celery, rinsed and medium diced
100g (1 small) yellow onion, small diced
15g (3 cloves) garlic, pressed
200g (1 1/4 cups) wild rice blend
1200 to 1420ml (5 to 6 cups) chicken stock
16g (2 tbsp) cornstarch
60ml (1/4 cup) cold water
240ml (1 cup) heavy cream or half-and-half
Fresh parsley, chopped, for garnish
Directions
- Season the chicken breasts generously from high up with sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper.
- Heat the olive oil in a large pot over high heat. Once lightly smoking, add the chicken. Immediately reduce heat to medium and cook for 3 to 4 minutes.
- Flip the chicken, reduce heat to low, cook for 5 minutes, flip again, and cook for 5 more minutes until the internal temperature reaches 165°F (74°C) on a meat thermometer. Remove to a plate.
- In the same pot over low heat, add the diced carrots, celery, onion, and pressed garlic. Sweat the vegetables until slightly tender.
- Chop the rested chicken into bite-sized pieces (washing the board and knife first if they touched raw chicken earlier) and add it back into the pot with the vegetables.
- Pour in the wild rice blend and chicken stock. Stir, cover with a lid, and cook over low heat for 25 minutes until the rice is cracked open and tender.
- Whisk the cornstarch and cold water together to make a slurry. Ensure the soup is simmering, then stir the slurry directly into the pot to thicken.
- Stir in the heavy cream and fresh chopped parsley. Taste, adjust the salt and pepper, and serve warm in small bowls.
Notes
- The Rice Blend: A blend of basmati, brown, red, and wild rice is recommended. Using only dark wild rice can taste a bit too earthy.
- Seasoning: Taste twice, season once. Always taste the broth at the end before adding that final hit of salt and pepper.
- Chicken Safety: Confirm the chicken reaches 165°F internally using a meat thermometer rather than relying on color or cook time alone.
- Freezing: Freezing is not recommended once the cream is added, since dairy separates and gets grainy when thawed. To freeze, cook the base with chicken and veggies, then add fresh rice and cream when reheating.
- Gluten-Free: Naturally gluten-free as written using a cornstarch thickener. Double check your chicken stock brand for gluten-based additives.
- Dairy-Free Swap: Substitute full-fat coconut milk or a dairy-free cream alternative for the heavy cream.
- Allergen Note: Contains dairy (heavy cream or half-and-half).
- Nutrition: Calories are estimated and will vary based on cream amount and chicken portion size.
