I am often asked how I have the motivation and energy to cook three meals a day, from scratch, every single day. It can really seem like a lot – especially when it comes to the dishes – but eating ‘real’ food is very important to our family. 

Over the years, I’ve learned a few tricks to make things easier. For instance, we frequently rely on leftovers. I love making a few whole chickens at a time, then saving the meat for later meals like southwest chicken salad, sourdough chicken pot pie, or a quick soup.

During the fall and winter months, you will often find a pot of soup or chili bubbling away on my stove — all day long. We eat it for lunch and dinner. If someone is hungry between meals, they can grab a ladle of hot, delicious soup!

This particular recipe — Creamy chicken and wild rice soup — tastes the best when it has had the opportunity to sit for a while. So please feel free to let it simmer away on the stove for a few hours, if you so desire. 

There’s so much flavor packed into this rich, creamy chicken and wild rice soup. Even though this soup is very filling, I highly recommend serving it with a side of sourdough bread. Nothing beats dipping warm sourdough bread, smothered with butter, into your piping-hot bowl of soup! 

This soup will warm your heart (and your insides) on those cold winter days!

Tools you may need:

• Dutch oven
• Knife
• Cutting board
• Zester
• Measuring cups and spoons

Tips For Making Creamy Chicken And Wild Rice Soup:

• You can use homemade or store-bought broth. I highly recommend making your own bone broth. Not only does it taste better, but it is packed full of trace minerals and healthy collagen. It is a much more satisfactory product overall.
• You can use fresh herbs if you have them in your garden.
• The longer the soup sits, the more the flavors develop. So if you’re able to make it earlier in the day and have it sit for several hours before reheating it, the lemon flavors really come out best. Store in the fridge or continue to simmer on the stove.
• Use organic lemon, if possible, when you’re using the zest.

Creamy Chicken And Wild Rice Soup

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Servings: 8

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 cups carrot chopped
• 1 cup celery chopped
• 2 cups leek white parts (or two large onions), sliced
• Salt and pepper
• 1/2 cup wild rice
• 4 cups chicken stock preferably homemade
• 1 tsp dried rosemary
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp celery seed
• 2 bay leaves optional
• 2 chicken breasts about 12 oz cut into small cubes
• Zest of one lemon
• 3 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 cup whole milk
• 2 cups whipping cream or light cream
• If you need to thicken use:
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup flour

Instructions

• In a large pot, cook carrot, celery and leek (or onion) in the melted butter over medium heat until the vegetables are tender. Cooking the vegetables first, before adding stock, adds a lot of flavor.
• Season with salt and pepper. Add the wild rice, chicken stock, rosemary, thyme, celery seed, and bay leaves.
• Raise the heat slightly to allow soup to simmer, covered, for 20 minutes.
• Add chicken pieces, and simmer for approximately 20 minutes more until chicken is cooked and rice is tender.
• To finish the soup, add the zest of one lemon and lemon juice, whole milk, and cream. Season with more salt and pepper to taste.
• To thicken the soup, melt 1⁄4 cup of butter in a separate small pot and whisk 1⁄4 cup of flour into it and stir for a minute or two.
• Add this flour and butter paste to the soup to thicken. Repeat if you like your soup extra thick.
• Bring the soup back up to temperature and serve with fresh thyme sprinkled on top.
• Unfortunately, this soup doesn’t freeze well because it contains cream and rice. The cream may curdle and the rice can get mushy.

Notes

When you’ve had your fill, place the leftovers in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to two days. 

I highly recommend using homemade bone broth for superior flavor and nutrition.

The longer the soup sits, the more the flavors develop, so if you’re able to make it earlier in the day and have it sit for several hours in the fridge before reheating, it really enhances the lemon flavor.

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Can you make this soup gluten-free?

Yes. Instead of making the flour and butter roux, create a cornstarch slurry. You’ll need 1-2 tbsp of cornstarch with a few tablespoons of cool water. Stir until the cornstarch is dissolved. 

Add a little bit of the cornstarch slurry to the bubbly soup a few minutes before serving. Stir and allow it to come to a simmer, and watch it thicken. Keep adding a little more slurry until it reaches the thickness you prefer.

Can you make it in the slow cooker?

Yes. Add all of the ingredients (except for the flour, butter, cream, and milk) to the slow cooker. I would recommend leaving the chicken breasts whole. Cook on low for five hours. Take out chicken and shred. Add it back to the slow cooker.

Create the roux in a separate pot and add it to the slow cooker. Add the cream and stir until the soup has thickened, and then serve.

So there you have it!  

Creamy chicken and wild rice soup is a vegetable, bone broth, and herb-filled meal. It’s the perfect soup for simmering on these chilly evenings. This is a seriously delicious meal, so you will want to copy this recipe and make it over and over again. Enjoy!