This Chicken Wild Rice Soup is made in the crock pot for an easy and comforting dinner. It’s a great way to use up leftover chicken or turkey!
Serve this chicken wild rice soup up with a loaf of fresh Artisan Bread, these Easy Dinner Rolls, or Red Lobster Cheddar Biscuits!
We have come to that time of year when soup in the slow cooker is a staple. It’s probably my favorite thing to make in the slow cooker. And when the weather is cold, and days are busy, a warm bowl of soup for dinner really is what I love.
This is a great recipe if you have leftover chicken or turkey that you are trying to use up. Since I’m not the biggest fan of the texture that chicken gets in the slow cooker, this adaptation was perfect for me. Let the soup cook low and slow, and then add in the meat at the end. This always gets 2 thumbs up from us!
How to Make It
- Start by combining your carrots, celery, onions, rice and seasonings in a slow cooker. Add in some chicken broth and water and let it cook until the veggies and rice are tender.
- In a small bowl, mix your flour with salt and pepper.
- Melt the butter in a saucepan.
- Whisk the flour into the butter. Don’t be afraid if it looks clumpy at this point. Just whisk and stir.
- Slowly add in the milk, whisking constantly. At this point, you’ll be able to whisk out any of the lumps.
- Cook until the mixture is thick like a paste.
- Pour this mixture into the slow cooker.
- Add the chicken. Mix to combine, then let the soup cook for another 15 minutes to heat through.
Tips and Tricks
This Chicken Wild Rice Soup is pretty foolproof and very easy. But here are a few tips to help you!
- Cut all of your veggies about the same size so that they will cook evenly.
- Wild rice mix should be pretty easy to find at your grocery store. I used the Lundberg brand.
- If you want, you can use the prepackaged wild rice mixtures that have seasonings already added to them. There are a few reasons I use just rice and seasonings, though. The box mixes will often have lots of additives, and you can skip those by using plain wild rice and your own spices. Also, the rice is often par-boiled in the mixes, which can lead to mushy rice if cooked too long.
- This is great with chicken or turkey! You can use my guide to make sure you always have cooked, shredded chicken hand, which would make this recipe super easy. Or this is a great way to use up Thanksgiving turkey leftovers.
- Store any leftovers in a container in the refrigerator. I don’t always like to freeze soups that have milk in them, (I don’t think they freeze as well), but you can always freeze the soup for later, as well.
More Crock Pot Soups
Tomato Basil Soup
Turkey Noodle Soup
Crock Pot Corn Chowder
Slow Cooker Cheeseburger Soup
Slow Cooker Beef Noodle Soup
Crock Pot Chili
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Chicken Wild Rice Soup
Ingredients
- 1 cup diced carrots
- 1 cup diced celery
- 1 cup diced onion
- 3/4 cup wild rice blend
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/4 teaspoon dried sage
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 2 cups water
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 2 cups milk
- 2 cups cooked shredded chicken
Instructions
- Combine the carrots, celery, onion and rice in a slow cooker. Add the broth and water and stir to combine.
- Cook on low for 6-8 hours, or until the rice is tender.
- In a saucepan, melt the butter. In a small bowl, combine the flour, salt and pepper. Whisk the flour into the butter. It will look clumpy, but continue to cook and stir for a minute or two. Slowly whisk in the milk, constantly whisking to work out any clumps.
- Stir the milk mixture into the slow cooker. Add the chicken, then continue to cook on low for an additional 15 minutes to heat through.
- Serve warm.
Jessica says
I’m not a fan of wild rice so I subbed Texmati rice (a form of Basmati). Putting it in at the beginning was a huge mistake. If you’re thinking of doing something similar, DON’T. Either follow the recipe as is or put any other kind of rice in much much later. Lesson learned!
Deborah says
So sorry it didn’t work out for you!! But it’s good to know that it doesn’t work that rice.
Kay says
I’m going to try your recipe, but was wondering if it would work just as well to put raw chicken in the crockpot in the beginning, with the rice and veggies? Thanks!!
Deborah says
I haven’t tried it, but I would guess that it would work just fine if you add the chicken in to cook. Let me know if you try it!
Mary says
Has anyone ever substituted almond milk or rice milk for the milk in this or other creamy soup recipe? We can’t do dairy but love these cream based soups.
Food Lover says
This soup looks sooo delicious, it looks like a real comfort food! 🙂
Robyn says
Deborah, I made this last night and it was delicious! I used chicken instead of turkey (it’s what was in the fridge…) and we loved it! Thanks for (another!) great recipe. I hope you guys are doing well!