Creamy Crockpot Chicken Wild Rice Soup

4.77 from 13 votes

Creamy Crockpot Chicken Wild Rice Soup

This creamy Crockpot Chicken and Wild Rice Soup is hearty and full of chunks of carrots and celery with savory spices and juicy chicken. A simple, dump and go creamy soup is comfort food at its finest during the cold seasons.

Prep Time15

Cook Time6

Total Time6 15

Course: Main Course, Soup

Cuisine: American

Servings:

Author: Lorie Yarro

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

*For best results, use wild rice or if you can't find any, the Lundberg Wild rice blend will work. It should be uncooked and not a boxed rice-a-roni mix. Make sure the wild rice has not been parboiled. Using another kind of rice or not a true wild rice or wild rice blend can result in very mushy rice.

** Recently, I added another option for a richer, creamier thickener for this soup. You can combine softened butter and flour and then stir it into the soup a bit at a time. Then a few minutes before serving, add in the cream and milk!

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.

Storage: Store soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 4-5 days. You can freeze it once it has completely cooled. Freeze for up to 3 months and thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Reheat stove top on medium-low for about 15 minutes or so or until hot.

Nutrition