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Slow Cooker Chicken and Wild Rice Soup is a flavorful soup recipe made with the freshest ingredients! It cooks in the slow cooker and is a great easy weeknight meal. Plus an option for cooking chicken and rice soup on the stove!
Chicken and Rice Soup is a classic meal that everyone loves! It’s hearty, comforting and packed with fresh flavors. It’s a great alternative to chicken noodle soup. Adding wild rice to chicken soup adds protein and nutrients. Create a creamy texture by adding milk and cream. We also add a bit of fresh lemon juice and lemon zest to give it even more fresh flavor. If you love lemon and chicken together, try our One Pot Lemon Chicken and Spinach Asparagus Orzo, Baked Lemon Pepper Chicken Drumsticks or Lemon Butter Garlic Chicken Thighs.
How to make chicken and rice soup
Chicken and rice soup is made with rice, chicken, onion, carrots, celery, butter, broth, milk, heavy cream, fresh lemon juice and seasonings. The rice slow cooks with the chicken and other vegetables. You can also make chicken and rice soup on the stove.
Slow cooker chicken and wild rice soup
- To make chicken and rice soup in a slow cooker, add rinsed and drained rice to a 6-quart slow cooker. Add chicken breasts, vegetables, broth, water and seasonings. Stir to combine. Cover the slow cooker and cook on low heat for 6 to 8 hours or high or 3 to 4 hours.
- Once the chicken is cooked through, remove from the slow cooker and allow to cool slightly. Shred the chicken using two forks and then return to the slow cooker. Remove the bay leaf.
- Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour. Slowly whisk in milk and cream. Simmer, whisking constantly, until thickened, about 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice and then season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Stir the milk mixture into the slow cooker. Garnish with lemon zest and parsley before serving. Exact measurements and ingredients are below.
Chicken and rice soup on the stove
- Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion, carrots and celery and cook for 4 minutes or until the onion starts to golden. Add the salt, pepper, thyme, sage and bay leaf. Cook for one minute. Add the broth, chicken and rice. Stir and bring to a boil.
- Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover and cook for 35 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cook until the vegetables and rice are tender (35 to 50 minutes in total). Remove the chicken from the pot and shred with two forks.
- Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the flour. Slowly whisk in the milk and cream. Simmer, whisking constantly, until thickened, about 2 to 3 minutes.
- Stir the milk mixture into the pot with the chicken and rice soup. Add the lemon juice, stir and garnish with lemon zest and parsley before serving. Exact measurements and ingredients are below.
Do you cook rice before adding to soup?
No, you do not need to cook the rice before adding to the soup. The rice cooks in the soup. Heat the soup until the rice is cooked.
Can I use leftover cooked chicken or rotisserie chicken?
Yes. Add the cooked chicken during the last 15 minutes of cook time.
Can I use another type of rice?
Yes, you can use brown or white rice. You will need to adjust the cook times as white and brown rice do not need as much time to cook. After the initial 20 minutes, check every 10 minutes until both the rice and chicken are cooked. We love using wild rice because it’s higher in protein than other rice.
Tips for making slow cooker chicken and wild rice soup
- You can omit the milk to make it dairy free but it will be a broth based soup instead of a creamy soup.
- Milk does not freeze well so we do not recommend freezing this soup. However, you can omit the creamy milk mixture, freeze the soup and then add the milk mixture when reheating.
- Store the cooked soup in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
If you’re looking for a hearty comforting soup, this Slow Cooker Chicken and Wild Rice Soup is the perfect recipe! Make it for dinner or pack it for lunch. This family friendly recipe is a great choice for any time of the year. Cooking it in the slow cooker means you can prep dinner in the morning and enjoy with little prep at dinnertime. It doesn’t get better than that!
Other chicken soup recipes
- One Pot Lemon Chicken Tortellini Soup with Greens – a twist on chicken noodle soup that is packed with greens!
- One Pot Chicken and Vegetable Soup – a hearty broth based soup packed with veggies!
- Asian Style Chicken and Corn Soup – with Asian flavors. So good!
- Greek Avgolemono Chicken Noodle Soup – made with zucchini noodles so it’s gluten, grain and dairy free!
- Slow Cooker Chicken Enchilada Soup – one of our favorite recipes. A must for dinner!
If you try this recipe, don’t forget to let us know what you think by leaving a comment and review below!
Slow Cooker Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
Ingredients
- 1 cup wild rice
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 2 cups water
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 onion, diced
- 3 carrots, peeled and chopped
- 3 stalks celery, chopped
- 1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper, plus more to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon dried sage
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped, plus more for garnish
- lemon zest, for garnish
Instructions
- Rinse wild rice in a fine mesh sieve until water runs clear, then place in crock of 6-quart slow cooker. Add whole chicken breasts, vegetables, broth, water and seasonings and stir.
- Cover and cook on low heat for 6 to 8 hours or high for 3 to 4 hours. Remove the chicken from the slow cooker and allow it to cool for 5 minutes. Using two forks, shred then return to the crock. Remove the bay leaf.
- Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour until lightly browned, about 1 minute. Slowly whisk in milk and cream. Simmer, whisking constantly, until thickened, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in lemon juice and season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Stir milk mixture into the contents of slow cooker. Serve immediately, garnish with parsley and lemon zest.
Notes
- Store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- You can use another type of rice such as white or brown rice, but you may need to adjust the cook time. Cook until both the chicken and rice are cooked.
- You can omit the creamy milk mixture to make it dairy free but it will be a thiner broth based soup.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Kitchen tools needed for chicken wild rice soup
- Slow Cooker – we love this inexpensive one!
- Lemon Zester – everyone should have a zester. A quick and easy way to add fresh flavor!
- Whisk – to help make the creamy milk mixture.
- Sauce pan – a kitchen staple!
Can’t wait to try this recipe, I know my family will love it!
This turned out delicious! I love being able to let the slow cooker do the heavy lifting!
Love how easy and delicious this is! Our whole family loved it.
Yum! This is comfort in a bowl 🙂
Nothing but delicious!! Always great to add more slow cooker recipes to my soup recipe collection
I love this recipe! Perfect for when you are craving comfort food.