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This creamy Crockpot Chicken and Wild Rice Soup is hearty and full of veggies and rice with savory spices and juicy chicken. Basically a dump and cook recipe until shredding the chicken and then adding a simple flour slurry! This super simple, creamy soup is comfort food at its finest during the cold seasons.
Why We Love This Crockpot Chicken Wild Rice Soup
Dump and go. Aside from needing to shred the chicken, you pretty much just dump and stir for this crockpot chicken and rice soup. Not an easier delicious dinner recipe than that! I opted out of doing any stove top option as well for the thickener to make this soup extra easy!
Simple ingredients. The thing I love about this soup is a literally have everything on hand 90% of the time. Celery is probably the one ingredient that is missing here and there.
The best leftovers. Soups and chili recipes are infinitely better the second day. This is true for this chicken soup. Give it a day to soak in all of the flavor and you will be happy you did!
Freezes well. If you aren’t feeding a crowd, this soup freezes nice. I like to make individual servings in freezer safe containers and then just pop one in the microwave when I feel the need!
We love cozy crockpot recipes, and if you love this one, try these as well: Crock Pot Creamy Chicken Pasta, Crock Pot Honey Mustard Chicken, Slow Cooker Shredded Beef Chili, Slow Cooker Chicken Burrito Bowl Recipe or my VERY favorite, Crock Pot Shredded Beef.
Ingredient Notes
- chicken broth: I almost always get broth with low or no added sodium. I like to salt my soup toward the end and really get it where I want it.
- wild rice: Wild rice versus a blend is recommended for the original recipe, but many readers were having little success because wild rice blends were being used and becoming mushy. I testedI using Lundberg wild rice blend for this recipe and added options for wild rice blend when cooking this recipe as well (updated 2026). Make sure it is uncooked and not parboiled. You don’t want to use the wild rice blend like a rice-a-roni package, as that will turn to mush. A lot of times wild rice is found in a blend of other rices from what I have found after much time searching!
- I recently started adding a couple tablespoons of butter in at the beginning with the other ingredients and it has made a big difference in the juiciness of the chicken in this soup recipe. A touch of fat in the crockpot with chicken helps it retain a lot more moisture. This is optional, but I highly suggest it!
- You can thicken this soup using a basic flour slurry or a butter-flour paste called a buerre manié. Both are very easy, but the butter flour paste gives the soup a wow factor like no other! This was an update in 2026!
How to make this recipe
Step 1: Chop all the veggies. Place the chicken at the bottom of the crockpot. Cover with all of the spices and garlic.
Step 2: Add the carrots, celery and onion on top. Then add 8 cups broth and bay leaf. Cover and slow cook on low 6-8 hours if you have only wild rice, or 4-6 hours if you have a wild rice blend. I don’t recommend cooking on high for best results
Step 3: When the chicken reaches 165°F, remove it and shred or cut it into bite sized pieces, whatever your preference is. Toss it back in the slow cooker and stir.
Step 4: Thicken the soup. Option 1: Whisk together the flour, cream and milk in a small bowl until the flour is completely dissolved. Slowly pour it into the soup and stir to combine.
Option 2: Make a paste with the softened flour and butter and add a bit at a time, stirring to dissolve into the soup. Keep adding until desired thickness.
Step 5: Cook for about 10 more minutes and then adjust thickness as desired by adding more broth, or more thickener. If you used the butter-flour paste to thicken, add the cream and milk before serving. Enjoy!
Recipe Tips
Cook on low for best results. I have found that cooking on high is more likely to cause issues. If you decide to cook on high, cook time can very and time is more like 2-4 hours, depending on your crockpot. Check in after 2 hours, and adjust as needed.
Leftovers are always a dream!!!! I find soups to be sooooo much better the second day. So you can easily make this slow cooker chicken and rice soup the day before you plan on serving! Talk about meal prep power.
If you are low on time for this one, you could grab a rotisserie chicken, shred it up and toss it in. Sauté the carrots, onion and celery stove top and then heat everything in the slow cooker and allow it to cook on high for a couple hours. Sometimes we are pressed for time and still want slow cooker soups, right??
Ok, so now you have to tell me, what toppings do you love on your soup?? Crackers? Cheese? Croutons? What do you add to your soup!?
Other Crockpot Recipes
- Super Simple Slow Cooker Shredded BBQ Chicken
- Crock Pot Hamburger Soup
- Slow Cooker Siracha Lime White Chicken Chili
- Italian Sausage Gnocchi Soup
- Slow Cooker Sweet Potato Chili
- Tomato Tortellini Soup {Stove Top and Slow Cooker Variations}
- Slow Cooker Chicken Burrito Bowls
- Instant Pot Carnitas (Slow Cooker Option Included)
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Creamy Crockpot Chicken Wild Rice Soup
Ingredients
- 1 ½ lb chicken breasts
- 4 carrots, sliced
- 3 celery stalks, chopped
- 1 onion, diced
- 7-9 cups chicken broth, I use low sodium broth
- 1 cup uncooked wild rice*, rinsed (not a boxed mix like rice-a-roni!)
- 4-5 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 bay leaf
- 1- 1½ Tbsp Italian Seasoning
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp dried parsley
- ½ – 1 tsp sea salt, more or less to taste
- ½ tsp pepper
- 2 Tbsp butter, optional
Flour Slurry Thickener
- ¼ cup flour, gluten free will work as well
- ½ cup half and half
- ½ cup whole milk
Beurre Manié (Butter-Flour Paste) Thickener**
- 3 Tbsp softened butter
- 3 Tbsp flour
Instructions
- Dice onion, chop carrots, celery and mince garlic.
- Lay chicken at the bottom of the slow cooker and then top with garlic, Italian seasoning, thyme, parsley and sea salt and pepper. Add onion, carrot and celery on top.
- Add 7-8 cups broth, uncooked rice and bay leaf and cover.
- Cook on LOW HEAT for 6-8 hours if you are using only wild rice or 4-6 hours for a wild rice blend, or until rice is cooked and soft. The chicken can be shredded at any time after it has reached 165°F which can be about 3 hours, but you can wait until the rice is soft too and still be ok!
- Flour Slurry Thickener: After adding the chicken back in, whisk together the flour, milk and cream until flour is completely dissolved. Slowly pour the mixture into the soup and stir to combine until soup is creamy. Allow to cook another 10 minutes so the flour is completely dissolved. If soup seems to thick, add more broth until you reach desired consistency.Beurre Manié Thickener (butter-flour paste) : For a silkier, richer thickener, stir together the flour and butter until a paste is formed. Slowly add this mixture to the soup, starting with about half, adding more later to adjust thickness and stir until smooth. Allow to cook for another 5-10 minutes so the flour gets cooked. Pour in the milk and cream (use the same amount of milk and cream as stated under the flour slurry) and stir just before serving.
- Serve with a big crusty loaf of bread and some fresh parsley on top!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Hi. Wondering if I could lay frozen chicken breasts in the Crock-Pot instead of thawed?
Thanks
Hi! From what I have read it’s not recommended to add frozen chicken to the crockpot. I know people do it still, but I have not tested this recipe in particular with frozen chicken to date.
I used frozen chicken thighs today and let them cook all day and the soup came out wonderful!
The recipe says one cup of wild rice so are we adding the seasonings that come with that box of wild rice or are we just omitting that and just adding the actual rice?
Hi! You do not want to use a boxed package like rice-a-roni or one with the seasoning packs as they are typically a quick cooking rice. You want to start with just plain wild rice that is not a quick cook, but rather requires up to about an hour to cook. Otherwise it will turn to mush.
Made it for the first time about 2 weeks ago and it was a huge success. Making it again as I write this. I made it without the rice though. It’s so delicious! Super flavorful. I dream about it!
Not sure where I went wrong. Cooked for 3 hours, checked on it and my rice was mush:( super disappointed.
Did you cook on high or low?
Was it wild rice? Regular rice with turn to mush in a crockpot.
This was a very yummy soup. I didn’t have half and half so I used 2% and heavy whipping cream instead. Turned out great. Will definitely make it again. Thanks!
Does whole milk have to be used or can you use 2% milk? Is there a replacement that can be used for the half and half?
Hi! Whole milk doesn’t have to be used—are you looking for a dairy free option or just wanting to use lower fat ingredients?
I have made it with the half and half and also by replacing the half and half with more milk. Both ways are just as delicious. I use 1% milk. I cook the flour and milk mixture till it thickens, which takes a little longer with just milk.
I’m curious, what is the size of one serving? 🙂
Hi! A serving is roughly one cup, give or take!
So yummy and cozy for the cooler days outside! Made so much, so we will be eating the rest for meal prep. I use better than bouillon instead of boxed broth, which made it super tasty!
Love love love it, Clare!
I followed the recipe, but something went wrong. Once I added the milk/flour mixture at the end, the whole crock pot of soup turned into mush – similar to the consistency of a chicken pot pie. The food tasted good, but it was no longer able to be called a soup. I don’t know what I did wrong? Adding broth did not help. Looking for suggestions in case I make this again.
Interesting, I am wondering what happened as well. I am thinking it’s possible that the flour mixture was poured in a bit too fast and it gelled up? If you would like to omit the flour next time that is a possible solution for a better consistency for sure. Glad it was still edible!
This is probably a dumb question, but i bought a box of wild rice that has a seasoning packet by accident. I assume no one has ever added that on top of all the other seasonings in the soup?
Not a dumb question!! I haven’t done that before but feel like you could add a touch of it and see how you like it and then adjust as desired. Let me know if you do!
I do that all the time and it tastes great. Wonderful soup!
I use the Ricearoni Wildrice with the seasoning packet. Because it is cheaper, and I like the seasoning. Then I omit salt and season to taste. If I don’t use cream, I’ll substitute evaporated milk.
I made this for dinner and it’s soooo good. I added 2T of lemon juice and garnished with a little zest. Toasted ciabatta bread…yummy!! Thank you!!
Yum!! I can’t wait for the weather to cool off here!!! Cause I need soup!