Chicken Wild Rice Soup
Yield: 8 servings
Chicken Wild Rice Soup is lightly creamy and brimming with tender chicken, nutty wild rice, and plenty of vegetables. Swap the chicken for turkey to make this soup recipe with Thanksgiving leftovers!
Ingredients
- 1 cup uncooked, whole grain wild rice (not cracked wild rice)
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 3 stalks celery, sliced
- 3 large carrots, sliced into ¼'' thick coins
- 8 ounces fresh button mushrooms, sliced ¼'' thick
- 3 large garlic cloves, minced
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 8 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1½ cups half & half (add an extra ½ cup for extra creaminess)
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- ½ teaspoon Morton kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
- ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
- 4 cups cooked and coarsely shredded chicken or turkey (smoked turkey is especially wonderful!)
- 2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
Instructions
- First, rinse the wild rice in a fine mesh colander under running water. Follow package instructions, boiling it in water or chicken broth for extra flavor. This will take awhile – usually about 50 to 60 minutes, or more. Make sure the wild rice is cooked until most all of it splits open. It should have a curled appearance, with the dark outer shell broken open to reveal the lighter interior. The wild rice can even be prepared a day or two ahead of making the rest of the soup; just store it in the refrigerator until you're ready to use it.
- In a large, heavy-bottomed pot (I use a 6.75 qt. Dutch oven) over medium heat, melt the butter. Then stir in the onion, celery, carrots, mushrooms, and garlic. Sauté until onion is transparent and softened.
- Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and stir to incorporate. Cook until it bubbles a bit. Gradually add the chicken broth, stirring constantly. Turn up the heat a bit and bring the soup to a low boil. Boil for 1 minute.
- Reduce heat slightly and add the cooked wild rice, half & half, soy sauce, salt, pepper, bay leaf, thyme, parsley, and chicken. Simmer for 20 minutes or until thoroughly warmed, stirring occasionally.
- Right before serving, stir in the fresh lemon juice and taste test to see if it needs more salt and pepper. Serve with warm bread.
Notes
Thin any leftovers with additional chicken broth, if needed.
Nutrition Information:
Serving: 1 Calories: 406kcal Carbohydrates: 16g Protein: 30g Fat: 25g Saturated Fat: 13g Polyunsaturated Fat: 11g Cholesterol: 118mg Sodium: 544mg Fiber: 2g Sugar: 5g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated by Spoonacular. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee accuracy. If your health depends on nutrition information, please calculate again with your own favorite calculator.