Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup is rich, hearty and satisfying. A base of celery, carrots and onion, along with pancetta makes this classically irresistible. Rosemary adds an aromatic depth to the flavor. Rich, creamy and amazing.
This recipe for slow cooker chicken and rice soup was first published January, 2015 and updated January 2021 with new photos.
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About This Recipe, Why It Works
If you’re craving some cozy comfort food right now, this chicken wild rice soup recipe is for you.
It’s got so much going for it, flavor, texture and using the slow-cooker, a cinch to get to the dinner table.
Full of tender chunks of chicken breast, and hearty with wild rice. It starts with a classic mirepoix, which is a common flavor base of chopped carrots, celery and onions.
Poultry seasons brings that classic chicken soup flavor that we all love, and rosemary chimes in with it’s aromatic and pungent pine like flavor that pairs so well with chicken.
The surprise ingredient, chopped pancetta brings that beloved bacon essence to the already stellar lineup of ingredients.
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.
The roux is made stove top and added for the last hour of cooking and makes this a luxuriously rich soup.
And one of the big perks, the leftovers have been a continuing treat. Let’s take a look.
Ingredients
- Wild Rice: With a chewy texture, and earthy nutty flavor, It’s a wonderful addition to any 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.
- Roux: To make that beautiful thick creamy roux, you’ll need chicken broth, butter, flour and half and half.
- The protein: Boneless skinless chicken breast, and chopped pancetta.
Other ingredients you can use:
- Dairy: 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.
- 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 this Creamy Wild Rice Soup
- Saute the vegetables: 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.
- Add the cooked vegetables, pancetta, chicken broth, wild rice and seasonings to the crockpot. Cover and cook on low for 5 hours.
- 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.
- Finish the soup: An hour before the soup is done, add the roux to the crockpot, It will thicken the soup.
- To serve the soup: Ladle into bowls and serve with a fresh green side salad, and some rustic crusty bread.
How Else Can I Make This Soup?
Stove-top: 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.
Instant Pot: 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.
Leftovers:
This creamy wild rice soup recipe makes a large batch. About 10 servings. Store in the refrigerator for 3 – 5 days. Reheat stove-top or microwave and enjoy.
I’m not a fan of freezing creamy soups with rice. It simply compromises the texture. But it can be done.
Recipe for Creamy Chicken Wild Rice Soup
I hope you give this slow cooker creamy chicken wild rice soup a try. And if you do, please come back and let me know how you liked it and give the recipe a star rating.
Your feedback is valuable to me for developing future recipes. And if you have a favorite creamy chicken and rice soup recipe, let me know, I’d love to give it a try.
More Must Try Soups
- Creamy Olive Soup Supreme
- Creamy Lemon Basil Chicken Soup
- Chicken and Cheese Soup with Poblano Peppers
- Easy Cheesy Vegetable Chicken Chowder
- Potage Creme de Fromage (Cheesy Potato Soup)
And if you’re looking for more soup recipes, don’t miss my Soup Category. You’ll find lots of recipe ideas, including the most popular soup recipe on my site for Anthony Bourdain’s New Mexico Style Chili. Check it out.
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Creamy Wild Rice Soup With Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 cup wild rice uncooked, rinsed
- 1 1/2 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
- 1/2 onion chopped
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary or 1 sprig fresh
- 1 bay leaf
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
- ½ cup butter
- 1/2 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
Nutrition
Chicken Wild Rice Soup Recipe … It’s what’s for Dinner.
You certainly have lots of good flavors going on in that delicious sounding soup.