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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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This recipe is great! I ended up using box mix wild rice and long grain white rice (I know, it’s against the rules!), I just added them in about half an hour before doing the milk/half-and-half/flour mixture. It probably soaks up more liquid than just wild rice, but we liked it!
I need to use Organic whole wheat flour or Almond Flour. Before I make it please let me know what you think. This recipe looks like we could eat it but need to make sure. Thank You
Hi! The whole wheat flour should work!
For the tip to use rotisserie chicken, do you saute all the veggies on the stove top, toss them and all the other ingredients (rice, roux and rotisserie chicken) in the pot for a few hours on high? Or do you have to break things up like in the og recipe? Thanks!
Hi! Sorry, I realized the notes on that one weren’t super detailed. You would still want to do the roux in the end for sure but everything else should be about the same.
I’m going to use a rotisserie chicken, I was planning to still cook the rice on low for 6 hours… til I saw this comment… should it be on high for only about 2 hours then? Why the difference? Thank you!
Hi! It is not recommended to cook on high—I feel like there are more issues on high and some people end up rice mush. The low for about 6 hours is still needed to cook the rice through! Hope that helps!
Hi! Does this recipe use fresh thyme or dried? Thanks!
I use dried thyme!
This is so good and easy, it’s definitely better the second and third days like all soups. Thanks for the great recipe, I’ll use this one a lot!
Couldn’t agree more! I love 2nd day soup!
I found this to be more like a stew than a soup. I did add more stock after it had finished cooking but it still was really thick, even before I added the milk/half and half mixture. Definitely needed a large dose of salt and pepper. I also added some Cajun Power garlic sauce and it was delicious and filling on a rainy fall night. Served with grilled cheese sandwich.
Can you use 1 – 2 Cups half & half and omit the Milk, will that be an issue and make it creamier?
Is there a secret to getting the floor to dissolve?
I made a roux last time, worked well too, butter, flour, half & half.
Hi! You could use half and half for a richer flavor and texture. The trick for getting the flour to dissolve is using very cold milk and cream. You can start with a bit less of the liquid and try to get it dissolved in that first and then add more liquid if that helps.
This is the best Creamy Crockpot Chicken Wild Rice Soup. I made it last year and it didn’t last long at all. This year my daughter requested it for her 45th birthday on September 9 2025. Of course, I always pray before making it because I don’t cook much anymore. It is the best soup and we thank you for this rich recipe. Do not hesitate to try this soup; you won’t regret it. ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS!!!
Yay!!! You made my day!
This looks soooooo good! I’m definitely going to make this now that soup season is back!
This was very good – even reheated the next day. 🙂 I did have to add quite a bit more salt and pepper to it before adding in the cream/milk mixture, though. But overall it was super easy to make and a huge hit! 🙂
I find the salt and pepper to be a personal preference for everyone, I am glad you adjusted to your taste! Thanks!