Description
This Slow Cooker Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup is a comforting and hearty meal perfect for chilly days. Packed with tender chicken, earthy wild rice, fresh vegetables, and fragrant herbs, it’s a rich and creamy soup that can easily be made dairy-free. The slow cooker does all the hard work, allowing flavors to meld beautifully over hours with minimal hands-on time.
Ingredients
Scale
Protein and Broth
- 1 – 1 ¼ lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts, raw
- 7-8 cups chicken broth (packaged or homemade), use less for thicker soup
Vegetables
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 small yellow onion, diced (1 ¼ – 1 ½ cups)
- 3-4 carrots, peeled and diced (1 ½ cups)
- 2-3 medium celery stalks, diced (~¾ – 1 cup)
- 8 ounces sliced or diced fresh cremini or baby bella mushrooms
Herbs and Seasonings
- Salt and black pepper, to taste
- 2 teaspoons dried rosemary, crushed between your fingers
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- ¼ – ½ teaspoon dried sage or poultry seasoning
- 2 dried bay leaves
Grains
- 1 cup uncooked wild rice
Finishing Ingredients
- 2 cups half and half (may use unsweetened plain non-dairy creamer or full-fat coconut milk for dairy-free)
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch (optional for thickening in Instant Pot)
- ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley, optional for garnish
Instructions
- Prepare Ingredients: Dice the onion, carrots, celery, and slice the mushrooms. Mince the garlic cloves and set all aside.
- Add to Slow Cooker: Place the raw chicken breasts into the slow cooker. Add the chicken broth, wild rice, minced garlic, diced onion, carrots, celery, mushrooms, dried rosemary, thyme, sage or poultry seasoning, bay leaves, and salt and black pepper to taste.
- Cook the Soup: Cover the slow cooker and cook on low for about 3 hours, or until the chicken is tender and the wild rice is cooked through.
- Shred Chicken: Remove the chicken breasts from the slow cooker and shred them with two forks or chop them into bite-sized pieces. Return the shredded chicken to the slow cooker.
- Add Cream and Thicken: Stir in the half and half (or your dairy-free substitute). If you want a thicker soup, mix cornstarch with a small amount of cold water and stir it into the soup. Allow the soup to cook for an additional 15-20 minutes on high until slightly thickened.
- Finish and Serve: Remove bay leaves, taste and adjust seasoning with more salt and pepper if needed. Garnish with chopped fresh parsley if desired. Serve warm and enjoy your creamy chicken and wild rice soup.
Notes
- This comforting slow cooker soup is a well-balanced meal full of protein, fiber, and veggies.
- For a dairy-free option, substitute half and half with unsweetened plain non-dairy creamer or full-fat coconut milk.
- Adjust the amount of chicken broth to get your desired soup thickness; less broth yields a thicker soup.
- Cornstarch is optional and only needed if you want to thicken the soup further.
- Leftovers store well in the refrigerator for up to 3 days and freeze beautifully for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 ½ cups (⅛ of recipe)
- Calories: 320
- Sugar: 6 g
- Sodium: 250 mg
- Fat: 14 g
- Saturated Fat: 3 g
- Unsaturated Fat: approx. 9 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 23 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 24 g
- Cholesterol: 23 mg
