Cozy, creamy, and full of comfort, this Slow Cooker Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup is everything you crave on a chilly day. Tender chicken, nutty wild rice, and a savory blend of carrots, celery, onion, and pancetta slowly simmer together to create rich, layered flavor. Finished with a touch of cream and fragrant rosemary, this soup delivers a warm, hearty bowl that’s guaranteed to become a family favorite.
We love our creamy soups here On The Ranch. You too? Take a look at one of our favorites for Creamy Sausage Potato Soup.

This Crockpot Cream of Chicken Soup was first published January, 2015 and updated January 2021 with new photos.
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Why This Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup Stands Out
Looking for a cozy, comforting soup that practically cooks itself? This Slow Cooker Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup is the perfect answer.
- Who can resist tender chunks of chicken breast.
- Hearty wild rice is a healthier and unique way to make chicken and rice soup. Wild rice is actually a whole grain that brings more protein to this meal than using white rice.
- You simply won’t believe the flavor and texture of the creamy rich, velvety broth.
- It’s a set-it-and-forget-it recipe that delivers serious flavor with minimal effort.
The base starts with a classic mirepoix of carrots, celery, and onion, which builds layers of savory depth. Poultry seasoning and fresh rosemary infuse the soup with that traditional chicken soup taste, while chopped pancetta adds a hint of smoky, bacon-like richness.
To finish, a stovetop roux is stirred in during the final hour, giving the soup its signature creamy texture. And the best part? It tastes even better the next day. Let’s dive into how to make this cold-weather favorite.
Ingredients You’ll Need

- Wild Rice: With a chewy texture, and earthy nutty flavor, It’s a wonderful addition to any soup and especially when made into a creamy wild rice soup.
- Aromatics: Onions, celery and carrots. A classic flavor combination for most soups.
- Herbs: Poultry seasoning, a blend of dried herbs such as sage, rosemary, ground black pepper, and marjoram, it’s a wonderful spice to have in your pantry. Rosemary and bay leaves. Be sure to pull the bay leaf out of the soup before serving.
Ingredients To Make The Roux


- Chicken Broth
- Half and Half
- Flour
- Butter
For The Protein

- Chicken and pancetta
Ingredient Variations
- Dairy Options: Replace the half and half with whole milk. The butter and flour will still do it’s job to create that thick creamy base.
- Grains: I love the chewy texture and nutty flavor of wild rice, but you can also substitute barley or even farro. Brown rice would also make a nice substitution here.
- What’s the best way to use a wild rice blend vs pure wild rice? Wild Rice Blends can also be substituted.I’ve only tried this with Lundberg Family Farms blend of Wild Rice and black, brown and red rice. Use can use this hearty blend without adjustments in the cooking time.
- Meat: This recipe would make a great “turkey leftover” Thanksgiving soup. Since the turkey is already cooked, just add it at the end and cook just long enough to heat through. This recipe calls for chicken breast, boneless skinless chicken thighs are also a great option.
- Pancetta is salt cured meat and adds a depth and flavor to any soup recipe. Be careful substituting bacon for pancetta. Bacon will bring a stronger smokier flavor to this otherwise delicate flavored soup.
- Veggies: Got a couple of potatoes that need to be used? They’d make a great addition to this chicken and wild rice soup recipe. Just add them at the same time you add the carrots and celery.
How To Make Crockpot Cream of Chicken Soup

- Saute the vegetable Mirepoix: Always sautee before adding vegetables to any slow cooker recipe. Doing so will seal in the flavor and also help keep them crisper during a long cook. Add the olive oil to a hot pan, and when it is shimmering, add all of the vegetables and the pancetta. Cook for about 5 minutes. I used a separate fry pan, but if your have a slow cooker with a stove top safe insert, it will make this recipe even easier.
- Cooking the pancetta: Pancetta needs to be chopped and cooked before adding to this soup. Sauteeing it with the chopped vegetables is a perfect time to cook it.
What is Mirepoix? (pronounced Meer-pwah) is a classic French aromatic flavor base, commonly used in soups and sauces. It’s made by lightly cooking a mixture of two parts chopped onion, one part chopped celery and one part chopped carrot. For instance, 2 cups onion, 1 cup celery and 1 cup carrot. The vegetables are cooked slowly in butter or oil to bring out thier flavors without browning or caramelizing.

- Add the cooked vegetables, pancetta, chicken broth, wild rice and seasonings to the crockpot. Cover and cook on low for 5 hours.



- Step 4: Make The Roux: In the meantime, Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the flour and let the mixture bubble for 1 minute. Slowly whisk in the half and half until a thick, creamy mixture forms. One hour before the soup is to be done, add the roux to the rice and chicken in the crockpot and stir to combine. Stir, remove bay leaf and stem of rosemary and serve.
How to Serve It
To serve the soup: This soup is a hearty meal. Ladle into bowls and and all you’ll need is an Accompaniment Salad and some rustic crusty bread.
My super popular recipe for Cheesy Cornbread is always a good choice here. Or try this popular recipe for Rabbit Hill In Molasses Bread. A super healthy salad is a welcome side, take a look at this Baby Kale Salad with Granny Smith Apples.
Tips For Success
- Don’t skip sauteeing the vegetables. This quick step adds a deeper layer of flavor.
- Did you somehow get lumps in the roux sauce? This probably happened because you did’t whisk the flour enough before adding the half and half. An easy way to fix this is with an immersion blender or some elbow grease using a whisk. You can also take the back of the spoon and crush the flour lumps against the side of the pan.
- This recipe calls for six cups of chicken broth. Three cans of chicken broth is just short of this measurement. Instead of opening another can, just add water to equal 6 cups.
- Slow Cooker Basics: This is not a soup you can prepare in the morning and cook all day for a meal when you arrive home from work. Over cooking chicken that long in the slow cooker will compromise the texture. You’ll find it to be dry, tough and stringy. Stick to the cooking time instructions.
Creamy Chicken and Rice Soup FAQ’s
No! It’s simply not recommended to put frozen chicken into a slow cooker. Doing so can create unsafe food practices and cause illness. The USDA reports that the chicken spends too much time in the “danger zone”, which is a temperature between 40 degrees and 140 degrees before it comes to a safe temperature of 165 degrees. That time in the danger zone can cause bacteria like salmonella.
This soup will work beautifully on the stove top. Just use a 5 – 7 quart soup pot or Dutch oven. Follow directions below, however once the vegetables, rice, seasonings and broth are added, the cooking time will decrease to 45 minutes to an hour. Or until the rice is tender. Then follow instructions to prepare and add the creamy roux. Continue to cook the soup for about 15 minutes or until roux has thickened the soup.
Using the sautee feature, add the vegetables and pancetta to the Instant Pot. Saute for about 5 minutes. Add the rice, broth and seasonings. Cook on high pressure for 30 minutes. Release the pressure. In the meantime prepare the roux ingredients stove-top. Once you’re able to open the lid to the Instant Pot, stir in the prepared roux ingredients. Return the setting to sautee and cook, stirring occasionally for another 5 – 10 minutes.
Yes, all you need to do is swap the all purpose four for Almond Flour or a gluten free flour. Almond flour will make a nice roux, but with a slightly less creamy texture.
Leftovers and Storage:
- This creamy wild rice soup recipe makes a large batch. About 10 servings. Store in the refrigerator for 3 – 5 days in an air-tight contained. Gently reheat stove-top or microwave and enjoy.
Freezing
- I’m not a fan of freezing creamy soups of this nature. It simply compromises the texture due to milk separation. But it can be done. I like using freezer safe zip-lock style bags. Stand the bag upright and spoon cooled soup into the bag. Press the air out and make sure it’s sealed well. Lay the bag flat in the freezer to optimize freezer space. It will keep for up to three months. Thaw the soup in the refrigerator overnight then give it a good stir with a whisk. Reheat stovetop over low heat.
Slow Cooker Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup Recipe

Decadent and delicious. Creamy and chewy. Savory and simple. We loved this soup and the slow cooker works like champ playing a part in the success of this dish. Your family will flip over this recipe.
More Popular Chicken Soup Recipes
And if you’re looking for more soup recipes, don’t miss my Soup Category. You’ll find lots of recipe ideas, including this brothier chicken soup recipe for White Wine Chicken Potato Vegetable Soup. Check it out.
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Slow Cooker Creamy Chicken And Wild Rice Soup
Ingredients
- 1 cup wild rice uncooked, rinsed
- 1 ½ pounds chicken breast boneless, skinless, cut into bite size pieces
- 1 cup pancetta rough chopped
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 carrots cleaned and thick sliced
- 2 stalks celery cleaned and thick sliced
- ½ onion chopped
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary or 1 sprig fresh
- 1 bay leaf
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
- ½ cup butter
- ½ cup flour
- 3 cups half and half or milk
Instructions
- In a fry pan heat oil over medium heat, add carrots, celery, onion and pancetta and sautee until vegetables are tender and pancetta is mostly cooked.
- Place the uncooked wild rice, sauteed vegetables, chicken pieces, chicken broth, poultry seasoning, rosemary, and bay leaf in crockpot. Cover and cook on low for 5 hours. The chicken should be cooked through and the rice should be soft.
- Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the flour and let the mixture bubble for 1 minute. Slowly whisk in the half and half until a thick, creamy mixture forms.
- An hour before the soup is to be done, add the roux to the rice and chicken in the crockpot and stir to combine. Stir, remove bay leaf and stem of rosemary and serve.
- Add extra milk or chicken stock if necessary to adjust the consistency.
Notes
- Don’t skip sauteeing the vegetables. This quick step adds a deeper layer of flavor.
- Did you somehow get lumps in the roux sauce? This probably happened because you did’t whisk the flour enough before adding the half and half. An easy way to fix this is with an immersion blender or some elbow grease using a whisk. You can also take the back of the spoon and crush the flour lumps against the side of the pan.
- This recipe calls for six cups of chicken broth. Three cans of chicken broth is just short of this measurement. Instead of opening another can, just add water to equal 6 cups.
- Slow Cooker Basics: This is not a soup you can prepare in the morning and cook all day for a meal when you arrive home from work. Over cooking chicken that long in the slow cooker will compromise the texture. You’ll find it to be dry, tough and stringy. Stick to the cooking time instructions.
Nutrition
Crockpot Cream of Chicken Soup With Wild Rice … It’s what’s for Dinner.
Why Trust My Recipes? I am a Culinary School Graduate and a lifelong student of home cooking. I hope to inspire you try to cook as often as you can. I’ve been cooking for 50 years, and my recipes are tried and true tested and tested and then tested again before published. To read more take a look at my About Page.
You certainly have lots of good flavors going on in that delicious sounding soup.
I’m glad you reposted this because I am a sucker for a wild rice soup. In fact, I’m making one with mushrooms and tofu tomorrow night. Yours looks fabulous with the pancetta and chicken! The rosemary is an interesting seasoning that I would never have considered for this soup. Now I have to try it.
Cheddar, jalapeno, and mashed potato? Heck yeah! Can I lick the spoon just for the filling?
We do a turkey and wild rice soup a few times a year but yours sounds better to be honest.
You can lick that spoon anytime Chris. This soup was pretty good Chris. It went directly to my permanent recipe database.
You are so lucky to have a friend who lives nearby who loves to cook as much as you! Your chicken and rice soup sounds delicious and I love the addition of the pancetta.
Thanks Susan, yup. Heather lives about a mile away.
Thanks Ansh, Happy New Year to you.
This is actually the healthy soup,looks delicious
Thanks so much.
I’m curious: When you use the slow cooker’s insert on the stove top, are you limited to how high the temperature can be? Years ago, the Crock Pot people had one that they claimed you could cook things on the stove top with first, but you had to do it over such a low heat that it didn’t make using that way worth it. If you can cook at medium or medium-high with the All Clad, then if would absolutely be worth the extra bucks! Oh, and the soup looks delicious!
Linda, there were no limitations in the instructions. I’ve used it twice that way and didn’t worry about it at all. It’s a metal type material, not ceramic.
My crockpot is getting on in years – much like me. I will admit to a bit of envy when I saw yours. I can take my pan out but I’m sure I can’t put it on the stove and saute with it. How cool is that feature!
Your soup looks SO creamy and delicious. I must make it.
I think it’s a great feature Maureen. I’m very pleased with the crock pot. Plus, along with the high, low, it has a “warm” feature. I’ve already used that twice.
I’m glad I stopped by here today because I’m looking at buying a new Crock Pot!
The recipe is lovely and homemade pierogies are hands down, my very favorite food in the world…
I’m really glad Santa brought me that All-clad. Nice crockpot
I soup sounds delicious LA and I’m sure about 3/4 of the country could go for a bowl or two of it. You guys look like serious pierogi makers – wish I’d been there as I don’t recall ever eating them.
I had them at a restaurant one time and I thought they were awful. Too much dough and too greasy fried in oil.
That is one gorgeous, bright, shiny new slow cooker. I am jealous! I am also jealous that you got to enjoy this delicious looking soup. I’ll have to give it a try soon.
I was pleased with that soup, being a recipe follower, I was proud that I threw it together on my own. It was wonderful.
Thanks for the shout out! It was so fun to make them with you! This soup looks delicious. I love creamy soups! Especially on a cold day… yum..
You’re welcome Heather .. thanks for the “event”. 🙂
I love that Heather brought the stuff to make pierogi – what a fun time! I’m smitten with that crockpot, too. Shiny is my favorite color. 🙂
ok, that’s going to be my new response for the rest of my life. When someone asks me what my favorite color is, it’s officially “shiny”. Works on so many levels. 🙂
A perfect opening – call my house during December. Dana answers the phone, “Buddy the Elf, what’s your favorite color.” 😀
ok, that’s hilarious.
I never thought I’d think of a crock pot as sexy but that is one sexy crock pot, it’s pretty enough to leave on the counter. I’ll check out your friends pierogi recipe, how fun to cook together! And the wine. I must say I am quite jealous right now, i am 5 months pregnant and wine is not something I can not have too often. The first weeks of learning I was preggers were hard- I like my cocktails!!!
Great looking recipe and photos as usual Le Ann, thanks for the inspiration!
I saw one at a pot luck back in September and knew I had to have that sexy machine in my kitchen! And CONGRATULATIONS, didn’t know you were expecting.
It is definitely soup weather time and I really like your slow-cooker and the fact that the insert comes out for easy searing. I don’t believe I’ve ever eaten a pierogi. They look delicious.
Sam
I had never had a pierogi until a pizza place boasted they made the best. I thought they were kind of gross. I have to admit, ours were better.
While the soup sounds wonderful, I’ve got to get some of those hibiscus flowers!
They were pretty cool Pam and they tasted good. Fun stuff.