Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
This healthy chicken and wild rice soup has no cream or milk, and only a handful of ingredients made in one pot! It’s easy to make, freezer friendly, and great for meal prep. At only 212 calories per serving it’s a low-calorie, comforting soup to make for cold days.
Is there ever a bad occasion for chicken soup? It’s great when you’re sick, when you’re healthy, when you’re cold, when you’re a kid, and when you’re an adult. I don’t think there is another meal as soul-satisfying, easy to make, and simple as chicken soup.
This version of chicken soup with wild rice is simple and tasty. It has all the classic tastes of traditional chicken soup with a bit of an earthy, nutty flavor and deliciously chewy texture from the addition of wild rice.
Most chicken wild rice soups have a thick, creamy base, but this version has no cream. It’s healthier and lighter than other recipes, and easily adaptable to be 100% dairy free.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Butter – use olive oil or ghee for a dairy-free option.
- Celery, carrots, onion
- Chicken stock – homemade chicken stock is best, but store-bought or boullion-based is fine.
- Wild rice – or a wild rice blend
- Cooked shredded chicken – leftover roast chicken, poached chicken breasts, or slow cooker chicken works well, or store-bought rotisserie chicken.
How to make chicken wild rice soup
- Sauté the veggies in butter in a large pot or Dutch oven.
- Add chicken stock and bring to a boil.
- Stir in wild rice along with some salt and pepper and simmer uncovered until rice is fully cooked.
- Add shredded chicken and continue to heat for few minutes.
Tips and Tricks
- Rinse the wild rice off before adding it to the pot. This is good practice for rice and other grains/seeds like quinoa as it will remove some surface starches and improve the flavor.
- To save time, you can soak the wild rice or use already cooked wild rice. Soak the rice overnight in salted water, drain and rinse, and add to the pot with 2 cups less chicken broth. If using pre-cooked, use 3 cups less chicken broth.
What is wild rice?
Did you know that wild rice is actually a seed, not a grain? And that it contains as much protein as quinoa? And it has a lot of fiber? It’s a great, healthy thing to keep in your pantry, and an awesome gluten-free alternative to noodles in chicken soup. It’s also lower in carbs than other rice.
Wild rice is a dark color. When you buy it, look for a bag with only the really dark wild rice, as pictured above. You can find it at Trader Joe’s or on Amazon.
Some bags of wild rice are actually wild rice mixes, and will include wild rice along with brown rice and other kinds of rice. You can use either kind in this recipe.
Wild rice takes a while to cook– usually around 45 minutes, but it can take an hour or more depending on the age, size, etc. So be sure to allot enough time to cook!
Can I freeze it?
Yes! This soup freezes really well. Since chicken noodle soup doesn’t freeze well (the noodles get mushy), chicken wild rice soup is great to stick in the freezer.
Whenever I make soup, I usually freeze half of it. I just run some warm water over the container I froze it in to dislodge it, then I pop the frozen soup block right into a pot and heat up on the stove. So easy!
Can I make it in my slow cooker / pressure cooker?
Yup!
To make this soup in your slow cooker, just add everything except the chicken to a slow cooker and cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours. Then, stir in the cooked chicken and heat. You can omit the butter if you like, or keep it in for added richness.
To make this soup in your instant pot, sauté the veggies in the butter using the “sauté” setting, then add the stock and rice. Cook on high manual pressure for 30 minutes, then manually release the pressure. When the float valve has depressed, open the pot and str in the chicken, and season to taste.
Other recipes with wild rice
- Creamy mushroom, chicken, and wild rice soup
- Wild rice and mushroom casserole
- Wild rice and black bean veggie burgers
- Mushroom and wild rice pilaf
- Wild rice stuffing
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Chicken Wild Rice Soup
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Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter or olive oil for dairy free
- 2 ribs celery diced
- 2 carrots diced
- 1 onion diced
- 6 cups chicken stock/broth
- 3/4 cup wild rice
- kosher salt and black pepper to taste
- 2 cups cooked shredded chicken more or less than 2 cups is fine
Instructions
- Sauté the celery, carrots, and onions in butter (2 tablespoons) in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat until softened (about 5 minutes).
- Add the chicken stock (6 cups) and bring to a boil.
- Add the wild rice along with a pinch of salt and pepper. Stir.
- Cover and simmer for about 45 minutes, or until rice is cooked. Once the rice is cooked, stir in the cooked shredded chicken (2 cups) and continue simmering for 5 minutes until heated. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. Serve.
Notes
- Slow cooker instructions: Add all ingredients except for chicken into a slow cooker. Cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours. Stir in the chicken at the end and heat for 5 minutes.
- Freezer directions: Freeze in an airtight container for up to 6 months. When ready to eat, run warm water over the outside of the container to dislodge the soup, and heat frozen soup on the stovetop in a pot over medium heat until heated through.
- A note on wild rice: I used 100% wild rice, but often you will see wild rice blends in the store, which are usually a combination of wild rice with brown rice or other rice. You can use any kind you like, but keep in mind the cooking time may vary. In addition, wild rice can take a long time to cook, depending on its age, etc. So if you are unsure, I recommend planning for more cooking time (it can take over an hour sometimes) for the rice to fully cook.
- To save time, you can soak the wild rice overnight in salted water, drain and rinse, and add it as instructed in the recipe. If you do this, I recommend decreasing the chicken stock by 2 cups. Or, you can use pre-cooked wild rice– just add it in along with the chicken to heat up, and reduce the chicken stock by 3 cups.
Nutrition
Nutrition Information Disclaimer
The provided nutrition information is my best estimate and reflects one serving of the recipe (total servings indicated at top of recipe card). It does not include any added sodium from seasoning to taste, any optional ingredients, and it does not take brands into account. I use an automatic API to calculate this information. Feel free to calculate it yourself using one of these tools:
This post originally appeared on Bowl of Delicious on September 28 2014. It has been republished with new photos, improved recipe instructions, and more pertinent information.
This soup is so delicious! I added mushrooms because I had some that needed to be used and because I love them in soup!! Without them this soup would also be delicious!!
Thanks for the recipe <3
So glad you liked it!
I loved this soup! Healthy and so flavorful and simple. I will be making this one often❤️
So glad you liked it! One of my favorite simple soup recipes.
Just to let you know, Ghee IS dairy, so using ghee would not be a dairy-free option.
This is a common question about ghee! Ghee is clarified butter, which means the dairy particles have been removed, and is suitable for someone who needs a dairy-free option (which was the reason for my posting this suggestion). So while technically a dairy “product,” the lactose solids have been removed. If someone wants a 100% dairy-free, vegan option, olive oil or a vegan butter would be a good alternative here!
Thank you for this recipe! I made this because I had wild rice, but I am currently dairy-free so I can’t make the “creamy” version I see a lot online. I also did not want to use dairy-free milk because I know it would not be the same result. I used homemade chicken broth and added baby bella mushrooms. It came out delicious! I also like that this recipe doesn’t use a lot of ingredients.
So glad you liked it! Love the idea of adding mushrooms.
Doubled the amount so I can freeze the extra…
Great idea!
Simple to make and very delicious! My husband and I finished the whole pot of soup between us for lunch. Will definitely make it again.
So glad you liked it!
YUM! More often I don’t get the results of online recipes that are promised. This is not one of those. I made this according to recipe (added 3 garlic cloves minced), used a wild rice blend and this soup was amazing. Thank you for a delicious and healthy broth based soup. I will try more of your recipes soon.
So glad you liked it!
I made this soup for brunch and have frozen the rest. It is subtle and delicious. Instead of butter, I indulged with bacon fat but couldn’t tell in the end, oh well. I used store-bought rotisserie chicken meat. I used a wild rice blend, which needed 4 c. more chicken stock than my 6 c. homemade chicken broth (from the rotisserie chicken carcass), and I added a small dollop of Better than Bouillion (roast chicken flavor), thanks to previous commenter Tom. Other than that, I made no substantial changes, as rare as hens’ teeth for me. IT IS FANTASTIC! Thanks so much, Elizabeth.
P.S. If you’d like my Baked Greek Salad recipe, let me know. It’s incredible with crusty bread to sop up all those wonderful juices!
So glad you liked it, and thanks for sharing your modifications! Baked Greek Salad? I’m super interested in that!!
Hi Elizabeth, sorry it took so long:
Baked Greek Salad — a pint of halved grape tomatoes, a medium-diced green bell pepper, a medium-diced red onion, about 1/2 c. halved kalamata olives, an 8-oz. block of feta, a handful (or more) dried oregano, olive oil/olive juice/feta liquid/lemon juice/lemon zest to taste. All (except the feta) tossed together, then put the feta in the bottom of an 8” square baking dish and pour everything over. Baked at ~375°F for about 20-30 min. or until it smells good. And I serve it over rice, either jasmine or basmati.
Holy moly that sounds amazing!!! I can’t wait to try this.
Great Soup. I made a few changes to enhance flavor a bit. I added green beans to the vegetable list as I had just picked some from our garden. I used 4 celery stocks and 5 medium carrots and 1 Vidalia onion. I used 8 cups chicken stock (store bought) and a large dollop of Better than Bouillion (roast chicken flavor). No salt needed as this provides plenty of salt taste. I roasted 3 large bone in chicken breasts but only used 2 for the soup. I saved and filtered the pan drippings and added this to the soup prior to adding the rice. (yes I know this adds a bit of fat to the broth but the amount when spread over 6 bowls is fairly minor). This adds texture, smell and flavor to the broth…..and its all about the broth with any soup! I used 1 cup on Lundbergs Family Farms wild rice mix and lightly simmered for 1 hour. I added the chicken…..let simmer another 5 minutes….. salt and black pepper to taste and Voila…..a great easy meal
So glad you liked it!
This is a quick and delicious soup. Wonderful for a lazy Sunday or a quick weeknight dinner.
My sister is on dialysis and this recipe is renal friendly once the salt is eliminated.
So glad you liked it, and happy to hear it worked well for your sister!
I love this soup! I make it in my instant pot. I just pressure cook everything but the chicken for 30 minutes then add the chicken after it’s done.
So glad you liked it and thanks for adding your tips on making it with a pressure cooker!
I made this maybe about 6 times and its delicious. Its simple, its hearty and I’m making homemade soup and not store brought without the chemical preservatives.
I put a remark some months ago and as it continues to stay cold this is my go to recipe everybody loves it.
So glad you have made it so many times with great results!
I love it, I made it twice and now that its getting cold i’m making it again today. Simple wholesome recipe comforting soup
So glad you liked it!
So good! Easy. Used crockpot with frozen, boneless chicken. This is a keeper. Healthy as well. Thank you 🥰
So happy you liked it!
I made this for a friend undergoing chemotherapy and took a little taste before I took it to her. I was sorry we didn’t keep some for us so just made another pot. I added a few spices since I didn’t want to add anymore salt. New favorite soup! Seriously, thanks for sharing!
I’m so happy you liked it, and I hope your friend finds it comforting and nourishing during this difficult time!
don’t have any pre – cooked chicken, can I use fresh boneless chicken breast and let them cook and shred them after they have cooked in the soup?
Thanks,
grace
Absolutely! I do this all the time. Hope you like it!
Very yummy. I was looking for a recipe that didn’t include any milk or creams and this fit the bill. I did add a pinch of thyme and parsley. I only had 4 cups of chicken broth, so I added better than bouillon and a couple cups of water.
So glad you liked it! I use better than bouillon all the time, it’s such a great product.
I increased the recipe yield and added a bunch of other veggies from the fridge – mushrooms, a squash, a zucchini, and some asparagus I needed to use up. Thanks for the recipe, Delicious!
So glad you liked it! Soup is my favorite way to use up veggies before they go bad.
My partner and I loved this soup! He accidentally grabbed chicken broth, but it was great. We had sweet potato with it the first night after seeing others had tried it, and it was a nice pairing!
Glad you liked it! :-)
Amazing recipe! So so good and easy 😋
So glad you liked it!
I just made this soup and added a sweet potato. I love it! Warm and nutty…just right for this chilly day. By the way, I’m glad you married Zach, too!
Yum… definitely adding a sweet potato next time! :-)
how many servings does this make?
4-6 servings, depending on how hungry everyone is! :-)
Looks like a good cold weather dish!! And I’m glad you married my son too !!!!!!!!!!
Thanks, Harold!! :-)
This soup sounds, not only delicious, but SO comforting. I’m thinking about those cold, dark, Fall and Winter nites, when everyone at your house is tired, and just needs a hug. This chicken soup sounds like a “hug” in a bowl. E…your blog just keeps gettin’ better, and better! Congrats! I’m so glad you married my son. ;)
Aw, thanks Lisa. I’m glad I married him, too! :-)