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 holiday leftovers!
Chicken Wild Rice Soup is one of those quintessential Minnesota meals, like Tater Tot Hotdish and steaming bowls of Booyah. I first made this recipe after Blake and I were married, and I tweaked it for years until we both deemed it perfect. This was “our” chicken wild rice soup recipe! It has a lightly creamy base, and it’s loaded with chicken (or turkey if you prefer), vegetables, and hearty, nutty wild rice. A sprinkling of fresh herbs brings the flavors together in the most beautiful way. We hope you like it as much as we do!
Why We ❤️ This Chicken Wild Rice Soup
There’s a lot to love about this satisfying, flavorful wild rice soup recipe. Here are a few standouts:
- Simple and balanced. The best chicken wild rice soup comes down to the flavors, level of creaminess, and the vegetables. This recipe ticks all the boxes! The broth is creamy without being too rich, and each bowl is brimming with tender wild rice and chicken, along with onion, carrots, and earthy mushrooms.
- Reinvents leftovers into a new meal. This soup is the best way to use up leftover chicken breast or rotisserie chicken, and you can easily convert it to a turkey wild rice soup with extras from Thanksgiving or Christmas! If your family gets bored by leftovers, this recipe is a fabulous way to give them a second life.
- Freezer-friendly. I often double the recipe and freeze half of it for an easy meal later on. It doesn’t take much extra effort to ensure another meal of our favorite soup.
“This was so good! I wouldn’t change a thing. I’ve tried numerous recipes and this by far is my favorite!”
Renee
What You’ll Need
Wild rice, chicken (or turkey), and vegetables are the stars of this hearty soup recipe. Here’s everything you’ll need. Scroll to the printable recipe card below the post for the exact ingredient amounts.
- Wild rice – I recommend authentic, Minnesota whole-grain wild rice for this recipe. Look for packages that say “whole” or “not cracked” for the best appearance and texture.
- Butter – Unsalted butter gives you more control over the soup’s salt content.
- Vegetables – Yellow onion, celery, carrots, mushrooms, and garlic.
- Chicken broth – I always use a low-sodium broth or stock. Vegetable broth is another option.
- Half & half – Adds the perfect touch of creaminess to the soup base. If you prefer a richer soup, use heavy cream instead.
- Soy sauce – I LOVE using umami-rich soy sauce as a flavor booster in soups; if you need this soup to be gluten-free, use tamari sauce or liquid aminos. You can also use Worcestershire sauce.
- Herbs – A bay leaf, plus fresh thyme and parsley perfectly flavor the soup. You could also use dried thyme and parsley, at half the amount.
- Chicken – Either roast or grill some chicken breasts, or use leftover cooked chicken and shred it. Wild rice soup is also a great way to use up leftover Thanksgiving turkey. Smoked or grilled turkey is especially wonderful in this soup, a favorite at our house!
- Lemon juice – Freshly squeezed lemon juice is added right at the end to give a little brightness!
What is Wild Rice?
Fun fact: Wild rice isn’t related to regular rice at all. It’s an aquatic grass native to North America, and the official state grain of Minnesota. In Minnesota, wild rice is hand-harvested in shallow lakes and rivers and then dried over fire. When cooked, the hard outer shell splits and curls. This gives the grain a tender, chewy texture. Combined with wild rice’s smoky, earthy, wonderfully nutty flavor, we can’t get enough!
How to Make Chicken Wild Rice Soup
There’s just nothing quite as comforting as a pot of soup simmering on the stovetop on a cold winter day. Here’s a quick step-by-step to show you how to make this easy chicken wild rice soup. Scroll to the recipe card for printable instructions.
- Prepare the wild rice. Start by rinsing the wild rice in a fine mesh colander under running water. Cook according to the package instructions, in either water or chicken broth for added flavor. It usually takes 50 to 60 minutes for the rice to split open. Don’t rush this step.
- Sauté the vegetables. In a large pot, melt the butter and add the vegetables and garlic. Cook until the onion is transparent.
- Add the flour & broth. Stir in the flour until it bubbles, then add the broth, stirring constantly. Bring to a low boil for one minute.
- Simmer. Add the cooked wild rice, half & half, soy sauce, salt & pepper, herbs, and chicken (or turkey). Simmer for 20 minutes, or until everything is heated through and the flavors come together.
- Taste and serve. Stir in the fresh lemon juice and taste to see if you’d like more salt and pepper. Then serve and enjoy!
Tips and Variations
This comforting soup is easy to make, but here are a few things to keep in mind.
- Take time to cook the rice. Make sure that the rice cooks long enough that the hard outer shell cracks open. The majority of the rice must be split open with some having a curled appearance.
- Use whole-grain wild rice. While you can buy cracked wild rice, it’s just not as beautiful as whole grains and doesn’t give the same texture to the soup. Also avoid mixes that contain other varieties of rice — these usually have very little actual wild rice, which is why they are so inexpensive.
- Cook the wild rice in advance. The wild rice can be prepared a day or two ahead of making the rest of the soup. Store it in the refrigerator until you’re ready to use it. This will speed up the cooking time for the rest of the soup if you’ll be pressed for time on the day you want to serve it.
- Switch up the veggies. This is a great recipe for adding in the veggies that you already have on hand. Green beans and corn would both be great additions. You could even stir in some spinach or kale.
- Adjust the creaminess. If you like a super creamy soup, use more half & half. Or even use some heavy cream. If you like the broth thinner, reduce the amount of cream or add more broth.
How to Serve Creamy Wild Rice Soup
With chicken, wild rice, and vegetables all cooked into one dish, this creamy chicken wild rice soup is a complete meal on its own. Garnish your bowls with an extra squeeze of lemon, a sprinkle of fresh herbs, or freshly grated Parmesan.
If you’d like to round out your meal, pair bowls of soup with a family-style harvest salad and a side of warm crusty bread or homemade Rhodes rolls for dunking. This cranberry apple crisp is delicious for dessert.
Storing and Reheating Leftovers
- Refrigerator: Leftover wild rice soup keeps well for about 5 days in the fridge when stored in an airtight container.
- Freezer: I LOVE making a double batch of this soup and freezing half of it. Allow it to cool completely then transfer to freezer-safe containers. Freeze for up to 3 months.
- Reheat: Thaw frozen chicken wild rice soup overnight in the fridge and reheat gently on the stovetop. Add additional chicken broth if necessary; it’s common for soups to thicken during storage, so don’t be surprised if you need to thin it out a bit.
Chicken Wild Rice Soup
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
Nutrition Information:
This post was first published in 2011, then updated in 2024.
I have to say this is the best soup I have ever made! I left out the mushrooms, cuz I didn’t have any in the frig, used all of the left over dark meat and wow, sad to see my supply dwindling in the frig!
I love to hear that, Linda! Thanks for writing. :)
I am going to make this for lenten soup supper!
I loved this soup, calories and all! It is a keeper in my recipe collection. Astonishing that my husband didn’t even complain about weeds and seeds (wild rice). Great job.
Ha! “weeds and seeds” – love it! There’s just nothing like it, and I keep growing more and more fond of it. Thank you for letting me know you liked it!
Serving this soup for dinner…smells amazing!
Thanks for sharing!
Yay! Thanks for letting me know, Liz!
I’m so happy to have found this recipe!! Panera Bread makes a chicken & wild rice soup and it’s my fav …
we had this for dinner tonight. delicious.
thank you!
Found this recipe on Tasty Kitchen and love it! Great way to use leftover turkey. Thanks for sharing!
Have you frozen this before?
Hi Niki! Yes, I have. It freezes just fine, but you may want to add some additional chicken stock to loosen it up. The broth gets absorbed by the wild rice and other goodies and ends up “thickened”.
Hi, I’m an old farmgirl and from SD too, just tried your recipe for Wild Rice Soup on Pioneer woman. YUMMMMMY
this looks like a great way to use up the leftovers. I think I will have to to try it.
I think you gave me this recipe about 10 years ago and I’ve made it many times since then. It is one of our family favorites! In fact…I haven’t made it yet this fall…maybe it’s about time!
Yep, it’s about time, Audrey! Blake is going to smoke a turkey on Friday – I’ll be waiting for my stash for this soup. Great to hear from you – hope all is well with you and your family.
Just if I stare at the pictures I am getting hungry ! must do this, thanks for the recipe !
Hope you like it, Lisa!
I completely agree! In fact I always make a way bigger turkey than we need to be sure I have plenty leftover for all the leftover dishes.
Gosh, I can almost smell this cooking. It looks SOOOO good. Thanks for the recipe. We never have turkey leftovers. This year however, I bought 2 birds just in order to make soup. This is great recipe and one I’m looking forward to trying.
Two birds? That’s a GREAT plan, Renee! ;)
Oh this will be perfect for dinner next weekend!
Thanks, Christina – hope you enjoy it! :)
Perfect for turkey leftovers!
Most definitely! Thanks, Maria. :)
We make turkey soup all the time but we’ve never added half and half to it, in fact we’ve never made a creamy turkey soup. This does look as your Mom states *comforting yumminess* Thanks for sharing the wonderful recipe.
P.S. My favourite left-over meal from turkey is a toss-up between cold turkey sandwiches on fresh, fresh bread or hot-turkey sandwiches with home fries and gravy. Now I’m so anxious for our Christmas to come if only for the leftovers :)
Now you have me craving hot turkey sandwiches with gravy! There’s a local restaurant chain that serves an awesome turkey and gravy sandwich that I love. Thanks for the yum, Paula!
Brenda’s Dad and I can attest to the comforting yumminess (is that a word??)
of this tasty soup!
Of course yumminess is a word!! :) Love you! xoxo
this looks great, wish I had a bowl right now. It’s overcast and cold :)
Thanks, Diane. I’ve made more soup this past year than ever before. It’s become a new comfort craving for me.
I’m with you on the turkey leftovers…When we have Thanksgiving at someone elses place, another dinner must be made at our home so we can have all of the leftovers. Your soup looks and sounds delicious and will be printed out and handed over to hubby who fancies himself the official soup maker after the big event. – Have a wonderful weekend!
We are on exactly the same page. We buy a turkey when they go on sale for Thanksgiving, even if we aren’t home to entertain, just to make a few meals of yum from it. Hope you like the soup!