Slow Cooker Chicken Wild Rice Soup
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This 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.
Spring will be here before we know it, but I’m still craving comfort food and easy slow cooker meals. This chicken wild rice soup fits the bill and it’s so delicious.
Plus, lately the weather here in Richmond has been so sporadic. One day it’s warm and sunny and the next it’s cold and rainy. Luckily this soup is the perfect rainy-day dinner!
A few weeks ago, one of the EBF team members, Emily came to town. She typically manages social media, but came to help me out in the kitchen for a week of recipe testing and creating! It was so great to meet her in person and crank out a bunch of recipes together. This recipe is inspired by her and her love for wild rice soup. Thanks, Emily!
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- 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.
Ingredients Needed
- 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!
Substitutions and 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
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 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 Leftovers
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.
Frequently Asked Questions
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.
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.
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.
- 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!
Could you freeze this?
I haven’t tried freezing it, but I would imagine it’d freeze just fine in an airtight freezer-safe container.
Yum! I am always looking for a great soup recipe.
Thanks, Kiera!
Hi can you tell me which brand of wild rice you use?
I love the Lundberg wild rice blend!
Love this recipe! I have made it a few times now. I do have one question… I have to track my calorie intake and I see it says 297 calories per serving which is 1/6 of the recipe. But I follow the recipe exactly and it seems like it makes so much more than 6 servings. Do you know the exact amount (like how many cups or ounces) would be 1 serving?
Hi Sabrina. Unforunately I don’t know off the top of my head, but next time we make it I will try to measure!
I prepped this soup this morning and it’s only been cooking for 4 hours on low and when I came home for lunch the rice is over cooked and mushy 🙁 I guess we will at least have chicken for dinner. I’m not sure what went wrong.
Oh no! Did you change anything about the recipe? The rice definitely shouldn’t have been overcooked only after 4 hours on low.
Can you cook this in a pressure cooker? What would be the cook time for that? I’m a newbie lol
Hey Trina, I haven’t tried this in my pressure cooker, but someone else has and these were her notes: Put all the ingredients (except for flour and milk) in the pot and stir lightly. Manual pressure for 25 min and let Natural Release for 10 minutes. Release pressure manually the rest of the way. Shred chicken, removed bay leaves. Add roux.
I’ve literally made this soup a dozen times. We absolutely love it. We follow the recipe and it turns out great every time! I have a batch of it in my crockpot right now!
Woo!! This makes me so happy to hear, Maddie!! I’m so glad this soup has been such a hit! Thanks for the review. I so appreciate it!
I found the soup was very bland in taste for some reason, I thought it was because of the gluten free flour (I need gluten free) the mixture got very very thick and I had to add more milk. Now I’m just having trouble on how to spice it up better! Any suggestions??
Sorry to hear that, Deidre! Did you make a roux before or did you add the flour directly to the soup? I think adding a bit more salt, pepper thyme and rosemary to taste should help make it more flavorful!
This is one of my family’s favorite recipes! I don’t add the 2 cups of water because I like it thicker like a chowder! We love it with some homemade biscuits
Yay! So glad this soup has been a hit amongst your family, Adrienne! Thanks for making it and coming back to leave a review. I really appreciate it!
I can’t have any dairy or the alternative milks, can I just not put that ingredient in the recipe?
Hey Brandy – I’m sure that’d be fine. The soup might just not turn out as creamy. Let me know how it turns out for you if you try it!
Haven’t tried recipe yet but looking forward to it! This is for Brandy, if you can’t make it creamy with alternative milks can you do beans? Blend up 1 can of great northern white beans and add that to make it nice and creamy! It works wonders!