Easy Chicken Wild Rice Soup With Uncle Bens
Creamy Chicken Wild Rice Soup
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This Creamy Chicken Wild Rice Soup is the perfect warm and comforting meal for the upcoming cold winter months. Filled with lots of veggies and wholesome wild rice, your family will fall in love with this recipe.
Chicken Wild Rice Soup
I don't know why I feel the need to make Chicken Wild Rice Soup when the weather gets bad, but there you have it. Maybe it's something my Mom did OR maybe it's ingrained in my DNA. That would be cool. Either way, I made a huge pot of delicious chicken wild rice soup and you lucky people get the recipe!
Main Ingredients Needed
I'd say the hardest part of this Chicken Wild Rice Soup recipe is the chopping, which isn't hard at all…just takes a little time. So here's everything you'll need to get started!
- Butter and Olive Oil –these are used for sauteing and for flavor.
- Onion, Celery, and Carrots –healthy and colorful with subtle hints of delicious flavor, these really are the rock stars of this soup.
- Chicken Broth –use a good quality chicken broth for the best results.
- Chicken Breasts – it takes around 45 minutes to get all the ingredients prepped and cooked if you're doing everything from scratch, but if you use pre-cooked or rotisserie chicken it'll shave off a huge chunk of time.
- Uncle Ben's Long Grain & Wild Rice – I call for Uncle Ben's Long Grain & Wild Rice Original Flavor (6 oz. box that is skinny and orange) because that's what I've always used because it comes with a seasoning packet that makes a world of difference because it tastes so darn good. I grew up eating the stuff so I miiiiiight be slightly biased. I don't want to force you to buy this, but in my opinion, you need it to get the same result that I did. It was only $3 here in NYC which means it's probably only $2 where you live.
- Half & Half and All-Purpose Flour – to keep this on the healthier side, I use fat-free half & half. It's creamy with a fraction of the calories. If you don't use or can't find fat free half and half, I'd recommend using half the amount of real half & half or whole milk. Your soup will be a little less thick if you use the milk, but that's why you whisk in the flour to help combat that.
- Salt and Pepper –season as you go and season to taste!
Love Wild Rice as much as I do? Check out these other recipes: Wild Rice Stuffing Recipe with Bacon and Chicken Wild Rice Casserole.
How to Make Chicken Wild Rice Soup
This is a one-pot soup recipe that starts with sauteing the vegetables. Chicken is added to be cooked then comes the wild rice and seasonings. A half & half-flour mixture is stirred throughout to thicken then you just have to wait until the rice is cooked through. For full recipe details, check out the recipe card below!
- In a large pot, heat butter, and olive oil. Sautee onions, celery, and carrots on to soften. Season vegetables with salt and pepper.
- Pour in chicken broth and cubed raw chicken. Once the chicken has cooked and become opaque, pour in rice and seasoning packet that came with the rice. Cover and reduce heat to simmer lightly, stirring occasionally.
- In a small bowl, whisk cold half & half with flour until smooth. Pour into the soup pot and reduce heat completely to low. Cook until rice is softened completely and soup has thickened.
- Taste and season accordingly. Serve Chicken Wild Rice Soup hot.
Note: If using rotisserie chicken, you'll add that in during step 3 with the half and half and flour.
Make It Gluten-Free
To make Chicken Wild Rice Soup gluten-free swap out the flour for half the amount of cornstarch. Blend with the half & half to create that creamy base!
Unfortunately, Uncle Ben's Long Grain and Wild Rice seasoning packet has gluten in it. SO instead of adding the seasoning packet in, here are a blend of seasonings that comes pretty close to the same flavors:
- 1 teaspoon dried minced parsley
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 2 teaspoons ground turmeric
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 3 teaspoons salt
Make It Dairy-Free
Good news! You can make this Chicken Wild Rice Soup without dairy but still get all the creaminess.
To make this recipe dairy-free, simply replace the half & half with your choice of unsweetened non-dairy milk. Whether that be almond, cashew, oat, or even coconut milk. Just know that it won't be exactly the same as using cows milk.
Leftovers
This Chicken Wild Rice Soup recipe will stay good for up to 4 days in the fridge, stored in an airtight container. That's right, 4 days of comforting soup to warm you up on those chillier days.
Freezing Chicken Wild Rice Soup
If you are looking to freeze this Chicken and Wild Rice Soup I've got some tips and tricks for you!
Freeze. Because dairy doesn't freeze well I would advise you to not add the half & half and flour mixture to the soup. Instead, fully prepare the soup without the mixture then cool to room temperature. Store in a large freezer bag that lays flat in the freezer. Freezing in a thin layer like this will help when it comes to thawing quickly. Freeze for up to 2 months!
Thaw. Either transfer your frozen soup to the fridge the night before to slowly thaw or submerge the bag in lukewarm water for a quicker process. Reheat on the stovetop. Then add in the dairy flour mixture to thicken (you may need to simmer on low to get it all incorporated again).
More Chicken Soup Recipes to Try!
- Chicken Noodle Soup with Homemade Noodles
- Chicken Tortilla Soup in the Crock-Pot
- Lemon Chicken Quinoa Soup
- Chicken Pot Pie Soup
- Chicken Meatball & Barley Soup
- Chicken and Dumplings
If you loved this Chicken and Wild Rice Soup you're going to love the other chicken soups I have to offer!
Printable recipe card is below, have a great day, friends!
Creamy Chicken Wild Rice Soup
This Creamy Chicken Wild Rice Soup is the perfect warm and comforting meal for the upcoming cold winter months. Filled with lots of veggies and wholesome wild rice, your family will fall in love with this recipe.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 whole onion diced
- 4 ribs celery chopped
- 4 large carrots peeled and cubed, about 1 1/2 cups
- 6 cups chicken broth good quality
- 3/4 lbs. chicken breasts* cubed
- 1 6 oz. box Uncle Ben's Long Grain & Wild Rice
- 2 cups fat free half & half
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- plenty of salt and pepper
Instructions
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In a large pot, heat butter, and olive oil. Sautee onions, celery, and carrots on medium-low heat for 10 minutes to soften. Season vegetables with salt and pepper.
-
Pour in chicken broth and cubed raw chicken. Raise temperature to medium-high heat to poach chicken in cooking liquid. Once the chicken has cooked and become opaque, pour in rice and seasoning packet that came with the rice. Cover and reduce heat to simmer lightly for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
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In a small bowl, whisk cold half & half with flour until smooth. Pour into the soup pot and reduce heat completely to low. Cook 10 minutes or until rice is softened completely and soup has thickened.
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Taste and season accordingly. Serve hot.
Notes
*if using rotisserie chicken, you'll add that in during step 3 with the half & half and flour.
Nutrition
Calories: 260 kcal | Carbohydrates: 21 g | Protein: 17 g | Fat: 12 g | Saturated Fat: 4 g | Cholesterol: 50 mg | Sodium: 1093 mg | Potassium: 794 mg | Fiber: 2 g | Sugar: 7 g | Vitamin A: 8306 IU | Vitamin C: 21 mg | Calcium: 119 mg | Iron: 1 mg
Source: https://laurenslatest.com/creamy-chicken-and-wild-rice-soup/
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