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A warm and cozy chicken wild rice soup made right in the slow cooker. This soup is loaded with carrots, celery, boneless chicken and of course, wild rice! It’s the perfect slow cooker meal for a chilly winter night! The best part is, you’ve probably got most of these ingredients at home already!
Hello Monday. You’ve managed to sneak up on me once again.
I think I need a redo on my weekend. Don’t you hate it when it’s Friday and you’re all like hip-hip hooray and before you know it, it’s Sunday evening and you’re asking yourself ‘where did the weekend go’?
Whose with me for scraping it all and doing it over?
I see a lot of virtual hands.Even though this weekend went by lightening fast, I did accomplish a few main goals:
The hubby and I spent most of Saturday scrubbing our entire apartment from top to bottom. It’s not that it was super messy or anything. I get on these crazy cleaning streaks where I.must.clean. And I must not clean by myself. And because I get cranky doing it all by myself, the husband gets wrangled into cleaning with me. I love how that worked out. 🙂 This weekend just happened to be one of those crazy cleaning weekends. After what seemed like 8 hours of cleaning (but it was probably more like 2), we invited our neighbors over for a little dessert and a movie night. It’s always fun with those two. We partied hard till 3am. HA. <— If playing cards in your pajamas counts as partying!
I spent all of Sunday being sick. And I mean really sick. Like theres-so-much-congestion-between-my-brain-and eyes-that-it’s-making-my-face-hurt, sick. You know the kind of sick where you go from laying in bed to laying in front of the TV to drinking soup for every meal of the day and still not being able to tell the taste difference between soup and oatmeal. And the kind where you run through a few boxes of Kleenex per hour.
Luckily for me, I had a big slow cooker full of this creamy chicken wild rice soup to slurp up all Sunday. My poor throat thanks me times a million. But there went a whole day from my weekend, stolen right from under my nose!
This. Is. Magnificent. I’m eating leftovers right now. Next day soup is my favorite. So good!
How to make Chicken Wild Rice Soup
Like most of my slow cooker soup recipes, this one is a breeze to whip up.
We start by tossing a pound of boneless, skinless chicken into the crockpot with some carrots, onions, and celery. I chopped up my own veggies but if you’re in a pinch you can always just substitute store bought mirepoix mix. You’re also going to need a couple of bay leaves, some garlic, and of course one must use wild rice in chicken and wild rice soup. Make sure to use regular wild rice, you don’t want to use the parboiled wild rice as they will get really mushy.
Also, my recipe calls for a seasoning blend. Make sure to use one that’s salt-free. We’re using a whole 2 tablespoons (yes, you read that right) so we want our seasoning to be free of salt. I used the 21 seasoning salute from Trader Joe’s for my chicken and wild rice soup. Any kind of herb you can think of is in this baby and it makes this soup taste fantastic!
In goes the chicken broth and a couple cups of water and this chicken wild rice soup will cook itself. I know I’ve said this before, but meals that cook themselves are always my favorite kind of meals. You can cook this soup in the crockpot on the low or the high setting. I’ve done it both ways and both work just fine.
30 minutes before the cooking time is up, pull out the chicken breast and allow it to cool before shredding with 2 forks. In a small saucepan, heat the olive oil and butter. Add the flour and allow the flour to cook for 1 minute. Whisk in the milk and allow it to get all nice and thick. This is the ‘creamy’ part of the creamy chicken wild rice soup. Add this along with the chicken back into the slow cooker. Give it a good stir until it thickens.
That’s it!
This cozy, creamy, stick-to-your-ribs chicken wild rice soup will keep you nice and warm on a chilly winter night. I love the fact that it makes my sore throat feel all better too. Plus the fact that I didn’t have to do much to make the soup 😉
A big bowl of soup, with lots of crusty bread to dip is all you need. Did I mention all the time you’ll save not having to cook dinner?
Love how my slow cooker friend is there to get me through my sore throats and sniffles. What a good friend.
Creamy Chicken Wild Rice Soup (Slow Cooker)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup wild rice blend rinsed
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs
- 1 cup onions chopped
- 3/4 cup celery chopped
- 3/4 cup carrots chopped
- 4-5 cloves garlic minced
- 2 bay leaves
- 6 cups chicken stock low sodium
- 2 cups water or additional chicken broth
- 2 tablespoons salt-free seasoning blend such as Trader Joe's 21 Seasoning Salute OR Mrs. Dash's Original Blend
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons olive oil or substitute more butter
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 2 cups milk
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Rinse the rice under running water. Place the uncooked rice, chicken breast, onions, celery, carrots, garlic, bay leaves, chicken broth, water, and the seasoning blend in a slow cooker. Cover and cook on the high setting for 3-4 hours or on the low setting for 7-8. In the last 1/2 hour of cooking, remove the chicken from the slow cooker. Allow to cool slightly before shredding using two forks.
- When the rice is done cooking, add the shredded chicken back into the slow cooker. Melt the butter and 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 this creamy mixture to the slow cooker. Stir to combine. Add additional water or milk to your preference if the consistency is too thick. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Notes
- To make the soup richer and creamier, replace some or all of the milk with half and half.
- Keep in mind the soup will thicken as it sits. Leftovers should be placed in a Tupperware container and refrigerated. Additional milk or water may be added to adjust the consistency of the soup when reheating.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like This? Leave a comment & rating below!
I used Uncle Bens Rice Long Grain & Wild Original Recipe Box which had 23 herbs in it so I ended up not needing to add more of my own. This made it taste very flavorful and yummy. I would make this again!
When did you add the rice I did the same and it was mushy
I wanted to love this recipe, but unfortunately it was kind of a mess! The veggies weren’t cooked and it was really watery. I followed the recipe perfectly so I am not sure why that happened.
My family loves this soup. We’ve been making it for several years now. If you don’t have a Trader Joe’s and access to the seasoning in this recipe, a good substitute is Bragg’s 24 seasoning salute. The only thing I change due to a kiddo who cannot have dairy, is using unsweetened almond milk and all olive oil to make the thickening sauce. I usually also increase the veggies just to try and sneak in more for the kids :). Thanks for a great recipe!
Good soup. I will definitely make it again. I doubled the chicken and will double to rice next time. I did add salt and pepper. My kids weren’t fond of the Mrs. Dash. Very filling.
I made this a couple months ago and absolutely loved it. I was craving it again tonight and looking forward to it when it’s finished. I didn’t use the slow cooker function called for by the recipe, but rather, cooked it for 11 minutes on high pressure. From the time I put the ingredients into the pot until the time it was ready to eat was 42 minutes – not bad for such a yummy homemade treat. I used one box of low sodium chicken broth and one box of regular, and 3 large chicken breasts. I only used 2 cups of rice instead of one, as I like a bit more rice. Very tasty treat!
I had a hard time finding this rice so I bought the Rice a Roni brand of wild rice… do you think that will work? If so, would I make any changes?
I would probably throw it in the last 30-45 mins of cooking so it does not get over cooked!
This is a family favourite. We’ve been making it for years when the weather is cold.
This is a fantastic soup recipe!! I have been making this since 2015, and it is a much requested recipe. Thank you Little Spice Jar for sharing this recipe.
I loved this recipe! We thought it tasted delicious, although we prefer a realllly thick and rich soup so last minute added two small cans of cream of mushroom! Was a nice touch of flavor and gave it a good consistency.
So I made this recipe and it was a hit! I added a dash of everything bagel seasoning And Italian seasoning in lieu of the Mrs. Dash recommended.
I also added a pepper to the carrot/ onion/celery mix. I did a cup of half and half and a cup of milk to the roux mixture. Came out fantastic! Perfect thickness.
Does anyone know if the soup will freeze well?
Hi,
Where are the nutrition facts?
LOOOVE this recipe!! So easy and delicious! I made a few minor changes (added extra seasoning, garlic and vegetables like she mentioned at the end, all chicken stock instead of splitting with water, and used cream for the roux) and it has become a staple in our home! Thank you so much! Even my picky kids are asking for seconds!
Made this for the first time tonight. It was ok. I am going to add extra seasoning because when you add the milk mixture at the end it milds i out the flavors. Otherwise this was a good dish
Hi! I bought the ingredients to make this but now I can’t seem to find the actual recipe on the page – I think there may be a glitch because I swear I looked at it before. I knew it would be cloudy out today so I have been looking forward to making this and am so sad I can’t find the recipe Is there a way you can help me out? Thank you in advance!
Hi Martie, you’re right, it was a glitch on the backend. The recipe should be visible above now 🙂
After noting the warning that some people thought the soup was too bland; I added some extra spices. A bit of curry, some crushed red pepper and Italian seasoning. Then at the very end, right before I served I squeezed a half a lemon and added the juice to add some brightness. The soup was so flavorful and delicious my boys were raving. The recipe made so much and the roux tightened the soup up so much over night that I used the leftover soup the next day for chicken and wild rice over biscuits. So, I was able to make to delectable meals out of this single recipe. I will definitely be making this on a regular basis. It is really good!
I would say, though, the perhaps the people who said it was bland were using some stock that wasn’t as high quality. I find some stock brands add lots of flavor, while others are glorified water in a can. I think the ingredients “make” this soup. Thank you for this recipe. It is a keeper.
Made this recipe and was disappointed. The roux turned out nice and creamy on the stove but thinned out dramatically once I poured into the crock pot. Would have been a nice recipe if creamy.
Can I use Almond milk or oatmilk instead of regular milk?
Perfect! Hisband is on a low sodium diet, and this hit the spot on a cold winter day! For those who find this soup too “bland”, you may simply be suffering from the low sodium palate. Try adding a bit of salt to the bowl just before eating. Or replace low sodium broth with a regular broth and substitute poultry seasoning and salt instead of Mrs. Dash.
I;VE MADE THIS SEVERAL TIMES USING CAVENDER’S GREEK SEASONING. JUST MY PREFERENCE. ALSO, INSTEAD OF THE ROUX, I ADD A PACKAGE OF INSTANT GARLIC POTATOES.
I am so happy I tried this. I thought it looked too easy but I tried it anyway and now it’s one of my new favorites!