Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

Chicken and wild rice soup is a deliciously flavorful and creamy dish that your whole family will love. It’s a quick and easy weeknight instant pot meal you can make in under an hour. Prep this dish ahead of time and save it to eat when you don’t have time to make dinner.

This chicken soup recipe is made with fresh vegetables and herbs like carrots, celery, mushrooms, bay leaves, and fresh thyme.

Chicken stock and milk are poured over the top and simmered with the rice until the soup is thick and creamy.

You can’t go wrong with this excellent meal paired with crusty white bread or a crunchy salad.

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup Ingredients You’ll Need:

Here are the chicken and wild rice ingredients you’ll need to make this healthy soup.

• Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• Carrots
• Celery
• Uncooked wild rice
• Mushrooms
• Onion
• Garlic cloves
• Bay leaves
• Fresh thyme
• Milk
• Chicken stock
• Salt
• Pepper
• Olive oil

How to make chicken and wild rice soup

Follow these simple steps to make chicken and rice soup from scratch:

Cut the chicken breast into strips, chop the onions, celery, carrots, garlic, and mushroom, and set them aside.

Saute the vegetables in the instant pot until soft, add the rice, chicken stock, and milk, and stir together.

Add in the chicken and season with salt and pepper.

Pour in the chicken stock.

Add the bay leaves, sprigs of thyme, and salt.

Close the lid and cook on high pressure for 5 minutes.

Once it has finished, naturally release the pressure for 5 minutes and then do a quick release, remove the lid, and serve immediately.

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup Tips For Success And Variations

Make the best chicken soup with these tips and tricks:

• Substitute a can of coconut milk for the cow’s milk to make the soup creamy but still dairy-free.
• Pour in a splash of white wine toward the end to give it added flavor and depth.
• If you can’t find chicken stock, chicken broth will work too.
• Sprinkle flour over the vegetables to thicken the soup before adding the stock.
• Use heavy cream or half and half instead of milk for an even creamier soup.
• Feel free to use shredded rotisserie chicken from the store instead of chicken breasts.
• Add a can of cream of mushroom soup or cream of chicken soup for that classic chicken soup flavor.

Other ways to make chicken and wild rice soup

This gluten-free chicken soup is made in an instant pot which is a wonderfully quick and easy way to cook soup.

You can also use other methods if you don’t have a pressure cooker. They are just as easy, even if they take a bit longer.

Slow cooker:

Go the opposite direction by cooking this soup recipe low and slow for four hours in a crockpot. This allows the flavors to develop, and you end up with a deliciously complex dish.

Stovetop:

The other option is to cook it in a pot on the stove. This is the traditional method of making soup and doesn’t require any special equipment. Use the same ingredients listed here and simmer on the stove for 30 minutes to allow the flavors to develop.

How To Serve Chicken Soup

Soup is best served with crust bread, fresh salad, or roasted vegetables. These flavor and texture combinations with the soup are amazingly satisfying.

Try eating your soup with the best homemade white bread, chicken Waldorf salad, Brussel sprouts, and farro salad, or grilled zucchini.

How To Store This Wild Rice Soup Recipe

Keep any leftover soup you plan on eating soon in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to five days.

Ladle soup into a bowl to microwave or a pot on the stove and heat through when you’re ready for another serving.

This is an excellent option for leftover night or even to prep in advance and heat up to eat another night.

Can You Freeze Chicken And Wild Rice Soup?

Freezing chicken and wild rice soup is an excellent way to keep it fresh even longer.

Pour it into quart-size bags for individual servings before freezing, so you have the option of using just as much as you want to eat without needing to thaw the entire batch.

Once it’s defrosted, it’s not a good idea to refreeze the soup. You’ll have up to five days to eat it depending on how soon after cooking you froze it.

This is why it’s a good idea to freeze the soup in individual portions, so there’s no waste.

FAQs

Should rice be cooked before adding to soup?

There’s no need to cook the rice first. As the soup simmers, the rice will absorb the liquid, cook the rice, and thicken the soup.

How do you make chicken wild rice dairy-free?

You can easily make this chicken soup dairy-free by leaving out the milk, and no cream added will make your soup have a broth base instead of a creamy base.

Can you substitute white rice for wild rice in soup?

You can absolutely substitute white or brown rice with the wild rice blend in this soup.

More Recipes You’ll Love

• Mexican Chicken Casserole
• Slow Cooker Beef Stew Recipe
• Easy Pesto Pasta with Primavera Recipe
• Veggie Pizza

Continue to Content

Yield: 6 servings

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

Print

Chicken and wild rice soup is a warm and wonderful bowl of comfort perfect for the cold months. 

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes

Total Time 5 minutes

Ingredients

• 2  chicken breasts (boneless, skinless)
• 2 carrots
• 3 celery sticks
• 1  and ½ cups of wild rice
• 3 cups mushrooms
• 1 onion
• 3 garlic cloves
• 2 bay leaves
• 3 sprigs of fresh thyme
• 2 cups of milk
• 4 cups of chicken stock 
• 2 teaspoons salt (or to taste)
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 3 tablespoons olive oil

Instructions

1. Cut the chicken breast into strips and reserve. 
2. Cut the onion, celery, and carrots in mirepoix (diced small)  and reserve. 
3. Mince the garlic, slice the mushrooms and reserve.
4. In the Instant pot with the sautee setting add the olive oil and sautee the garlic and onion for 5 minutes on medium heat. 
5. Once fragrant and soft, add the chicken and season with salt and pepper. Sautee for 3 minutes on medium heat. 
6. Add the rest of the vegetables, the rice, the chicken stock, and milk and mix well. 
7. Add the bay leaves and the sprigs of thyme and the salt. 
8. Close the lid and cook on high pressure for 5 minutes. 
9. Once it has finished, do a natural release for 5 minutes and then do a quick release. 
10. Serve hot
    

Notes

Some recipes add a bit of flour to make the consistency more creamy, however since rice has a lot of starch I don’t find it necessary, since the soup will thicken naturally. Also, this way it will be kept gluten-free.

You can also cook the rice separately and store it in a different container, so every time you are going to eat a portion of this soup, you just add the desired rice, preventing it from overcooking. 

This chicken and wild rice soup can be stored in the fridge for up to a week, in an air-tight container and can be frozen for up to 4 months.

It is indeed a very meal prep-friendly recipe, perfect to make in a big batch and enjoy when needed. 

Nutrition Information

Yield

6

Serving Size

1
Amount Per Serving Calories 279Total Fat 12gSaturated Fat 3gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 8gCholesterol 45mgSodium 1031mgCarbohydrates 21gFiber 3gSugar 10gProtein 22g

How much do you LOVE this recipe?

Follow me on Pinterest for more tasty ideas and use the pin button at the top of the recipe card!