Creamy Chicken & Wild Rice Soup

Written by on in Soups & Stews

There is nothing better then coming home to a hot bowl of soup on a cold day and this Creamy Chicken & Wild Rice is the perfect soup to come home to.

This Creamy Chicken & Wild Rice Soup is comfort food at its best. With the big chunks of carrots, thin slices of mushrooms, the pieces of chicken scattered throughout and the addition of wild rice gives this soup a hearty bite with every spoonful.

My husband is a soup connoisseur. It doesn’t matter what kind. Whether it’s chicken noodle, Italian Wedding Soup or Tomato Soup, he loves it. He even wants soup in the summer ( I just can’t eat soup in the summer unless its a cold fruit soup. He likes that one too. ). So I’m always trying to come up with a different version of soup. When I do make soup, I like to make a big pot of it so that there is plenty left over to stick in single serving size containers and store in the freezer for a quick lunch or dinner.

Soup is such a comforting meal. I remember as a kid, whenever I was feeling under the weather, my mother would make a bowl of soup for me, and somehow it always made me feel better. It just gives you that warm cozy feeling inside.

Normally I just make a Chicken Noodle Soup, a family favorite, but this time I wanted to change things up. I had a bag of Wild Rice Blend on the shelf, so I thought, why not do a Chicken & Wild Rice Soup. The addition of milk and Parmesan cheese gave the broth its rich creamy flavor.

The best part of this soup is that it is was really easy to make and it being a one pot meal, clean up was easy as well.

Tips For Making Creamy Chicken & Wild Rice Soup

  • To make this recipe even easier you can buy a roasted chicken at the supermarket and then just cut it up. Or you can roast your own. I like to buy chicken breasts and put sage butter under the skin, (literally just fresh sage chopped up and mixed into soft butter). Then I top it with salt, pepper and fresh thyme and bake it at 350º until it reaches 165º. Once cooled I cut it up into small pieces and pour it into the soup.
  • Cut vegetables into small pieces so that every spoonful contains some vegetables.
  • If you don’t have fresh thyme, dried thyme will work fine.
  • I like to serve this soup with some toasted baguettes that are rubbed with fresh garlic and drizzled with olive oil.

Creamy Chicken & Wild Rice Soup

Ingredients:

  • 1 Large onion diced
  • 4 Medium carrots, diced
  • 4 Stalks celery, diced
  • 3 Cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 Lb. baby belle mushrooms, thinly sliced
  • 6 Cups chicken broth
  • 1/4 Cup white wine
  • 2 Cups chicken, cooked and diced
  • 1 Cup Wild Rice Mix
  • 1 Cup milk
  • 1/2 Cup Parmesan Cheese
  • 1 Teaspoon fresh thyme
  • 2 Tablespoons butter
  • Olive oil
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 Tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
  • Parmesan cheese for serving

Instructions:

  1. Place butter in a large dutch oven over medium high heat. Add sliced mushrooms and sauté for 12 to 15 minutes or until all the liquid from the mushrooms has evaporated. Remove from pot and set to the side.
  2. Add a splash of olive oil to the pot, along with the onions, carrots and celery and cook for 10 to 12 minutes or until vegetables have become tender. Mix in the minced garlic and fresh thyme and cook for an additional 2 to 4 minutes. Deglaze the pot with the white wine and cook for an additional 2 minutes to cook out the alcohol.
  3. Return the mushrooms to the pot. Add the cooked chicken, wild rice and broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium, cover pot and allow to come to a simmer. Continue cooking an additional 30 to 35 minutes
  4. Uncover, add the milk and Parmesan cheese and continue to cook for 3 to 5 minutes or until cheese has melted. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Top with fresh parsley and some grated Parmesan cheese and serve.
  5. Enjoy.