Chicken Wild Rice Soup Recipe
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Add as Google Trusted SourceThis slow cooker chicken wild rice soup is creamy and comforting, but still nourishing with lots of veggies, shredded chicken and wild rice. Added bonus: it’s so easy to whip up, gluten-free + dairy-free.
Chicken wild rice soup is one of those meals I come back to every single winter. It’s hearty and comforting without being heavy, and the slow cooker does all the work while you go about your day.
This version came together during a week of in-person recipe testing with my EBF team member Emily, who flew to Richmond to cook with me in my kitchen. Wild rice soup is her all-time favorite comfort food, and after a few rounds of testing together, we landed on this one. It’s now a regular in my cold-weather rotation.
What makes it worth coming back to: it’s naturally gluten-free and dairy-free without sacrificing any of that classic creamy texture. The trick is a simple roux made with olive oil, gluten-free flour and non-dairy milk, which thickens the broth beautifully without any heavy cream. Serve it with a slice of my homemade sourdough or almond flour crackers for the ultimate cozy meal.
Table of Contents
- Why You’ll Love Chicken Wild Rice Soup
- Chicken and Rice Soup Crock Pot Ingredients
- Chicken and Wild Rice Soup Recipe Variations
- How to Make Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
- Brittany’s Tips
- How to Serve This Chicken Wild Rice Soup Recipe
- How to Store Chicken Wild Rice Soup
- Chicken and Wild Rice Soup Crock Pot FAQ’s
- More Delicious Soup Recipes
- Slow Cooker Chicken Wild Rice Soup Recipe
Why You’ll Love Chicken Wild Rice Soup
- Two cooking options – Whether you prefer using a slow cooker or the stovetop, this recipe has you covered!
- Cozy and hearty – Packed with tender chicken, chewy wild rice, and a creamy broth, this soup is pure comfort in a bowl.
- Dairy-free friendly – Use plant-based butter and milk to make this soup completely dairy-free without losing any creaminess.
- Perfect for meal prep – This soup stores well and tastes even better the next day, making it ideal for easy lunches or dinners throughout the week.
Chicken and Rice Soup Crock Pot Ingredients
- dry (uncooked) wild rice blend – I really like the Lundberg wild rice blend.
- chicken breast – you’ll cook the chicken right in the slow cooker with the rest of the ingredients!
- vegetables – yellow onion, celery, carrots and garlic.
- seasonings and spices – dried thyme, rosemary, bay leaves, sea salt and pepper.
- chicken broth – I prefer to buy the low sodium version so I can control the amount of salt.
- olive oil – for making the roux. Butter, ghee or vegan butter will all work.
- flour – we’re whisking this with the oil and milk to create a creamy roux that helps to thicken the soup! Gluten-free all-purpose flour, regular all-purpose flour or oat flour will all work.
- milk – to help make the roux extra creamy! I like using unsweetened almond milk or oat milk.
- fresh thyme – for serving. This is optional, but I love adding fresh herbs to my dishes to really elevate the flavors!
Chicken and Wild Rice Soup Recipe Variations
- Make it vegan: This is a little trickier, but to make this soup vegan simply use vegetable broth in place of chicken broth, use vegan butter and omit the chicken breast. You may want to add more vegetables or even chickpeas or white beans to make this a heartier soup with more protein!
- Make it dairy-free: Use dairy-free milk and vegan butter to keep this soup dairy-free. If you’re a dairy lover, feel free to use traditional cow’s milk and butter.
- Make it gluten-free: Use all-purpose gluten-free flour to make this soup gluten-free. Again, if you can tolerate gluten, traditional all-purpose flour works fine as a substitute. You could also use oat flour.
How to Make Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
A lot of people think that all slow cooker recipes are simple, but that’s not true! I’ve made plenty of slow cooker recipes that take a ton of prep before the ingredients go into the pot. Not this one!
Step 1: Rinse the rice and place it in the slow cooker along with chicken, garlic, onions, celery, carrots, thyme, rosemary, salt, bay leaves, chicken broth, and water.
Step 2: Cover and cook on high for 3-4 hours or on low for 7-8 hours.
Step 3: In the last 30 minutes of cooking, remove the chicken, shred it with two forks, and set it aside.
Step 4: Once the rice is done, remove the bay leaves and add the shredded chicken back into the slow cooker.
Step 5: In a saucepan, melt butter (or heat oil), whisk in flour, and cook for 1 minute. Slowly whisk in the milk and cook until the mixture thickens.
Step 6: Stir the creamy mixture into the slow cooker, adjust the consistency with extra milk or water if needed, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with fresh thyme and serve.
If you’d rather make this soup on the stovetop, the complete instructions are included in the recipe card below.
Brittany’s Tips
- Rinse the rice: Always rinse the wild rice before cooking to remove excess starch. This keeps the soup from getting too thick or gummy.
- Adjust the thickness: Wild rice can soak up a lot of liquid, especially after storing leftovers. Add extra broth or milk when reheating to bring the soup back to your preferred consistency.
How to Serve This Chicken Wild Rice Soup Recipe
This meal is truly a complete meal on its own – protein, veggies, healthy fats… it’s balanced! If you’re like me though, you want to serve it with a little something on the side! I love it with hearty, seedy bread and a side salad. Here are some ideas:
- Serve with a slice of crusty bread like homemade sourdough or honey whole wheat bread. Crackers would also be delicious with this soup. You can make my almond flour crackers or use your favorite store-bought cracker. I’ve been hooked on the Simple Mills almond flour crackers because they have minimal, clean ingredients and taste delicious!
- Some salads that would go well with this soup: roasted sweet potato salad or garlicky kale salad.
How to Store Chicken Wild Rice Soup
This soup is perfect for meal prep! I love making a batch on the weekend so I have lunch or dinner ready to go for the week.
For storing, allow the soup to cool completely and then carefully transfer to an airtight container. Store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. You could also freeze for up to 3 months in a freezer-safe container.
For reheating, heat the soup over medium low heat in a saucepan, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking/burning. As the soup sits it’ll thicken so you might need to add a splash of water or broth when reheating to prevent sticking to the bottom of the pan. Alternatively, you can reheat the soup in the microwave.
Chicken and Wild Rice Soup Crock Pot FAQ’s
Yes, shredded rotisserie chicken or pre-cooked chicken breast works perfectly. Just add it toward the end of cooking to warm it through.
Of course! Diced potatoes, parsnips, or even mushrooms would be delicious additions to this soup.
Totally! Swap the chicken for extra vegetables or a can of chickpeas, and use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth.
Nope! The wild rice goes into the slow cooker uncooked and cooks right along with the chicken and veggies. Just be sure to use wild rice, not a wild rice blend, since cooking times can vary.
The wild rice holds up pretty well in leftovers, but it will continue to absorb some of the broth as it sits. If the soup gets too thick, just stir in a splash of broth or water when reheating.
More Delicious Soup Recipes
- Sweet Potato Soup
- Butternut Squash Soup
- Sausage Kale Soup
- Mexican Sweet Potato Chicken Soup
- Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup
- Turkey Soup
Be sure to check out the full collection of soup recipes here on EBF.
If you enjoyed this recipe, please consider leaving a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below.
Slow Cooker Chicken Wild Rice Soup
Ingredients
- 1 cup wild rice blend, uncooked
- 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup yellow onion, chopped
- ¾ cup celery, chopped
- ¾ cup carrots, chopped
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 2 teaspoons sea salt, plus more to taste
- 2 bay leaves
- 6 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 2 cups water, or additional chicken broth
- ¼ cup olive oil, butter, ghee or vegan butter
- ½ cup gluten-free all-purpose flour, or regular all-purpose flour
- 1 cup unsweetened almond milk, or oat milk
- pepper, to taste
- fresh thyme, for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Rinse the rice under running water. Place the uncooked rice, chicken breast, garlic, onions, celery, carrots, thyme, rosemary, salt, bay leaves, chicken broth and water into your slow cooker.
- Cover and cook on the high setting for 3-4 hours or on the low setting for 7-8 hours.
- In the last 1/2 hour of cooking, remove the chicken from the slow cooker. Allow to cool slightly and then use two forks to shred the chicken into small pieces.
- When the rice is done cooking, remove the bay leaves and add the shredded chicken back into the slow cooker.
- Melt the butter or oil in a saucepan. Add the flour and let the mixture cook for 1 minute. Whisk the mixture slowly while adding in the milk. Continue to whisk until all lumps have dissolved. Allow the mixture to thicken and become creamy.
- Add the creamy mixture into the slow cooker. Stir to combine. Add additional water or milk to your preference if the consistency is too thick. Taste and season with salt and pepper if needed. Garnish with fresh thyme and serve.
Stovetop
- Cook rice according to instructions on package.
- While rice is cooking, heat 2 Tablespoons of oil, butter or ghee in a Dutch oven or large pot. Once hot add onion, carrots and celery and saute for 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add garlic and saute for 1 minute longer.
- Add thyme, rosemary, salt and bay leaves and mix until veggies are coated.
- Add chicken broth, water and chicken into the pot. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer and cover. Simmer for about 20 minutes or until chicken is fully cooked. When chicken is fully cooked, remove from pot and shred using two forks.
- Add shredded chicken and cooked rice into pot.
- In a separate saucepan melt ¼ cup oil, butter or ghee. Add the flour and let the mixture cook for 1 minute. Whisk the mixture slowly while adding in the milk. Continue to whisk until all lumps have dissolved. Allow the mixture to thicken and become creamy.
- Add the creamy mixture into the pot. Stir to combine. Add additional water or milk to your preference if the consistency is too thick. Taste and season with salt and pepper if needed. Garnish with fresh thyme and serve.
Video
Notes
- Storage: Let the soup cool completely before storing it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Reheat on the stovetop over medium-low heat, adding a splash of water or broth if it’s too thick, or warm it in the microwave.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like This Recipe? Rate & Comment Below!
Do you think I Could use basmati rice instead? Thanks
Hi Christina – I have not tested this recipe with any other types of rice. I am not sure how basmati would work since this recipe is specifically made for wild rice. If you do gibe it a try with another rice, I’d love to know how it works out for you!
i used basmati rice and turned out great.Also my soup was creamy already so did not need to add last ingredients.
Yay! I am so glad that the basmati rice worked out well for you, Kim. Thank you for coming back and sharing your review + star rating, I really appreciate it!
I made this for dinner last night and oh man it was fabulous!! it tastes like a high quality restaurant soup!!
I made it in my Presto digital pressure cooker instead of the show cooker. I dumped I 32oz box of Bone Broth in with almost 2lbs chicken tenderloins. I did the seasonings and ingredients as the recipe called for except I doubled the salt and chicken and lots of black pepper. Also I had some purple fingerling potatoes (about 4 cups) so I added those, cut up bite size. cooked on high pressure for 13 minutes and everything was perfect texture! when I removed the chicken to shred it was falling apart.
when I made the roux it turned into a thick paste so I added the second box of chicken bone broth to it and whisked. that made it perfect and creamy. dumped into the pressure cooker and set it to low slow cook until we were ready to eat. It DOES NOT TASTE DAIRY FREE!!
Thank you so much for this recipe. I need to check out what other gems you have to share!!
Wow! I am so happy that you are loving this recipe, Kathy. Your additions sound like the perfect touch! Thank you so much for your review + star rating, it means so much to me!
This turned out delicious & as pictured! Love the ease of putting it all together. I’m always on the hunt for recipes I can make while taking care of my 8mo old, this is a tasty dish to meal prep for the week too.
AH YAY! I am happy to hear that this recipe is a hit, Holly. Thank you for your review & star rating, I really appreciate it!
Hi- I followed the directions and got a very thick roux but when I added it to the soup it did not thicken… 😞 How can I fix this?
Hi Tara – Did you change anything about the recipe? What type of flour & milk did you use? Did you let the mixture thicken in the saucepan before adding it to the soup?
By far one of the more flavorful and textually satisfying slow cooker soups! Husband and kids all ate it, which is a huge win 🙂 I used regular flour and 2% milk because that’s what I had on hand, and it turned out great!
So glad this soup was a hit!! Thanks for making it and for coming back to leave a review. I so appreciate it!
Could I substitute arrowroot flour or tapioca flour for the flour listed in the recipe?
That should work just fine!
This soup is so amazing!! Such good flavors and easy to make! I did the stove version and it came together nicely! Even my kids loved it! This will be on the rotation!
Ahh yay! I’m so glad the whole family loved this soup. Thanks for making it and for coming back to leave a review. I so appreciate it!
Can I freeze this?
Hi, Stacie. I haven’t tried it yet, but freezing creamier soups tends to change the texture. I don’t recommend it.
Do you have to put the roux mixture in or can you leave it out. Will it taste good without it?
Hi, Kaylyn. I haven’t tried it without the roux and I do imagine it would change the taste and creamy texture. If you try it without the roux let me know how it turns out!
I absolutely loved this recipe the first time I made it! I am planning to make it again and wondered if you think I could substitute white beans or chickpeas for the chicken to make it vegetarian? What do you think?
I’m so glad you loved this recipe, Diana! You can absolutely use white beans or chickpeas. I would use two cans – rinse and drain them before adding to the slow cooker.