Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

Ingredients

Here are a few notes on some of the ingredients and preferred substitutions. For amounts, please see the full recipe card below.

• Rotisserie chicken – Using pre-cooked rotisserie chicken makes this soup very easy with minimal prep. You can also use leftover chicken or any shredded chicken you have on hand.
• Wild rice – I used a wild rice blend because it’s so much easier to find in grocery stores and less expensive than wild rice. This means it’s usually wild rice blended with other types of rice like brown, red, and black rice. This offers a similar complex flavor that’s a little more nutty in flavor compared to white or brown rice. Wild rice blends also cook faster than pure wild rice, which is why they work well in soups like this. Lundberg Wild Blend is what I used for recipe testing. That being said, you can easily use pure wild rice for this recipe. Please just see the edits below.
• Celery and carrots – You can also substitute this with a store-bought mirepoix for a shortcut.
• Shallots – Shallots have a much softer, delicate flavor to onions so they don’t overpower the soup here.
• Garlic – Fresh garlic is recommended over dried for this soup. You can use 1 teaspoon of dried garlic powder in a pinch.
• Milk – Using milk here gives this soup a creamy texture without using heavy cream. This also makes it really easy to edit for people who require using a dairy free milk.
• Flour – This is used to thicken the soup texture since there isn’t heavy cream.
• Broth – Use vegetable or chicken broth. I recommend this rotisserie chicken broth. You can also try Gourmend or Fody for an onion-free broth.
• Spinach – Added for extra greens to up the magnesium and nutritional content. This can also be substituted with chopped kale, or omitted.

Other ingredients include olive oil, dried thyme, kosher salt, and ground black pepper.

Substitutions & Variations

• Vegetarian – Omit the added rotisserie chicken. Add 1 cup of beans like chickpeas or white beans. This also increases the magnesium and fiber content.
• Pure wild rice – This recipe works well with all wild rice, however you do need to adjust the cooking time as it takes slightly longer to cook and requires a little more broth.
• Lemon – Add a little bit of lemon juice for some brightness and acidity.
• Extra creamy – If you’re looking to make this soup extra creamy and don’t want to add flour, you can substitute heavy cream for the milk, but only use 3/4 cup instead of the full cup.
• Gluten free – You can substitute flour with gluten free 1:1 flour or arrowroot powder, or use heavy cream.
• Dairy free – Use your favorite dairy free milk substitute. Oat milk is my favorite recommendation because the texture is thicker and more creamy without an overpowering flavor.

Serving Suggestions

This chicken and wild rice soup is best served with a warm baguette or bread for dipping as well as a light salad. I highly recommend pairing with this simple apple fennel salad or this spinach salad with chickpeas to pack in even more vegetables.

Storage and Reheating

This recipe is perfect for meal prep because it stores and reheats beautifully.

• Refrigerator – Store in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
• Freezer – For long term storage, freeze into cubes like souper cubes for up to 4-6 months.
• To reheat – Microwave in 30 second increments till warmed through, stirring between each session. However, the best way to reheat is to do it slowly over medium low heat on the stovetop till warmed through – about 5 minutes.