This Chicken and Wild Rice Soup from our Savoring the Seasons cookbook is so perfect in so many ways. Ultimate comfort food? Check. Tons of delicious leftovers? Check. Uses up all sorts of Thanksgiving-y foods? Check. Perfect food for a chilly fall night? Check. Taking dinner to a friend? Having company over? Sunday dinner? Weeknight meal? Check, check, check, check. This is a recipe you need in your arsenal.
Ingredients Needed
This is just a preview of ingredients and method, keep scrolling for full printable recipe.
- Butter
- Onion
- Garlic
- Carrots
- Celery
- Poultry seasoning
- Artichoke hearts – Marinated and jarred. Find these at the grocery store by the pickled foods and condiments or near Italian foods near Mediterranean ingredients like olives.
- Chicken broth – You’ll need 8 cups, which is 2 boxes of broth.
- Wild rice – Wild rice gives this soup a hearty bite. In a pinch, white rice will work.
- Chicken – This is a perfect place to use a rotisserie chicken, or even leftover turkey from Thanksgiving!
- Kosher salt
- Black pepper
- All-purpose flour
- Milk
- Portobella mushrooms
How to Make Chicken & Wild Rice Soup
- Melt some butter in a large stockpot over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, carrots, mushrooms, celery, and poultry seasoning and sauté until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Add artichoke hearts and chicken broth and bring to a boil over high heat. Add rice and chicken, reduce heat, and simmer for 50-60 minutes or until the rice is tender. When the rice is tender, remove from heat and add salt and pepper.
- When the soup has about 10 minutes left, melt the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Whisk in the flour to make a roux. Slowly add the milk, about 1/2 cup at a time, whisking constantly to remove any lumps, until smooth and thickened to the consistency of a thin pudding. Slowly whisk the milk mixture into the soup and stir until combined. Simmer 4-5 minutes or until slightly thickened and serve.
Storing and Other Tips
- Store cooled soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator and enjoy within 3-4 days for best results.
- Freeze individual portions for an easy meal on busy days.
- Because this soup takes a little extra time to cook, you can save time by doing a lot of the legwork earlier in the day–add the onion, garlic, carrots, celery, mushrooms, and poultry seasoning to a large Ziploc bag, the chopped chicken in a smaller bag, and after you chop the artichoke hearts, you can return them to the jar they came in. That way, when dinnertime rolls around, it comes together in just a few minutes and then it can simmer away and you don’t even have to think about it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use white rice?
I love the earthiness that wild rice brings to this soup, but yes, you could use white rice in a pinch. I would recommend letting the broth and vegetables simmer for at least 30 minutes before adding your white rice, as the rice will cook much faster than wild rice.
If I don’t have a rotisserie chicken, can I cook chicken right in the soup?
Yes. Feel free to add a few chicken breasts to the simmering pot in the last 15-20 minutes. Be sure the chicken reaches 165 °F before removing, shredding, and returning to the soup pot.
Can I make this dairy-free?
Sure! Use olive oil in place of butter and swap the milk for your favorite non-dairy alternative.
Chicken & Wild Rice Soup
This hearty chicken soup is prefect alongside some crusty bread. It's also easy to use up leftovers if you swap the chicken for leftover Thanksgiving turkey!
Servings servings
Equipment
Ingredients
- 5 tablespoons butter divided
- 1 onion chopped
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 cup carrots, 2 medium chopped
- 2 celery stalks chopped
- ½ teaspoon poultry seasoning
- 1 12-ounce artichoke hearts, marinated, jarred drained and chopped
- 8 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup wild rice
- 12-16 ounces chicken, cooked, chopped one whole rotisserie chicken. or leftover turkey
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ½ cup flour
- 2 cups milk
- 1 cup portobella or baby bella mushrooms chopped
Instructions
- Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a large stockpot over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, carrots, mushrooms, celery, and poultry seasoning and sauté until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Add artichoke hearts and chicken broth and bring to a boil over high heat. Add rice and chicken, reduce heat, and simmer for 50-60 minutes or until the rice is tender. When the rice is tender, remove from heat and add salt and pepper.
- When the soup has about 10 minutes left, melt the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Whisk in the flour to make a roux. Slowly add the milk, about ½ cup at a time, whisking constantly to remove any lumps, until smooth and thickened to the consistency of a thin pudding. Slowly whisk the milk mixture into the soup and stir until combined. Simmer 4-5 minutes or until slightly thickened and serve.
Notes
- Store cooled soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator and enjoy within 3-4 days for best results.
- Freeze individual portions for an easy meal on busy days.
- Because this soup takes a little extra time to cook, you can save time by doing a lot of the legwork earlier in the day–add the onion, garlic, carrots, celery, mushrooms, and poultry seasoning to a large Ziploc bag, the chopped chicken in a smaller bag, and after you chop the artichoke hearts, you can return them to the jar they came in. That way, when dinnertime rolls around, it comes together in just a few minutes and then it can simmer away and you don’t even have to think about it.
Nutrition
Calories: 223kcal, Carbohydrates: 23g, Protein: 14g, Fat: 9g, Saturated Fat: 5g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 2g, Trans Fat: 0.2g, Cholesterol: 46mg, Sodium: 929mg, Potassium: 405mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 5g, Vitamin A: 2416IU, Vitamin C: 3mg, Calcium: 86mg, Iron: 1mg
Calories: 223kcal
Cost: $10
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Questions & Reviews
If I were to make this with leftover wild rice would you suggest waiting to add the rice until the carrots were soft? Any changes you would suggest?
Yeah, I would add the rice right before serving
I make a lot of soups, and my family thinks I am the (seinfeld) soup nazi. Lots of really good, substantial soup favorites. But this one is the best of all. But brands make a difference. The first time I made it with Harris Teeter herb rotisserie chicken and Goya marinated artichoke hearts. The second time I made it with BJ’s roasted chicken and BJ’s marinated artichoke hearts and it was not as good. I salvaged the second soup by adding Goya artichoke hearts to the soup. Just a suggestion. But bottom line is – this is a truly fantastic soup – my family’s new favorite.
I deep fried a Turkey for Christmas and had leftovers so used turkey in this soup instead. I had never cooked with artichoke hearts before so was surprised at the unique flavor. Really good.
And since it was before New Year’s resolutions, I used heavy cream instead of milk to give the thickness a kick. We had to use almond flour for the roux due to gluten issues, so I thought the cream would help. It was fabulous.
It might not make it out of single digits for the temperature today so I’m glad I have some yummy leftover soup.
My family absolutely loved this recipe! Even my husband (who isn’t a soup lover like myself) thought it was yummy! Thanks for the delicious recipe to add to my collection!
Is there a printable recipe and I’m missing it?
Thanks
It should be there now–we were doing some routine maintenance early this morning and the print feature stopped working while we were working. 🙂
I made this tonight and it was so good!! I have a couple kids with food allergies and celiac disease, so sometimes adjusting recipes to their needs can be tricky. But this worked perfectly! I’m looking forward to leftovers tomorrow.
What did you do to substitute the flour?
update, I used a gluten free baking mix and made a roux. (It was mainly rice flour) It didn’t bind with the butter, but once I poured in the milk, the roux thickened up and I used only half of the roux. It turned out great.
You had me at artichoke hearts ❤️
This was amazing! All four of my picky children GOBBLED this up! My eight year old declared it the best dinner ever. My husband said it was incredible.
I love all your recipes. You and Sara have turned me into a cooking rockstar! My son told me I should put all my recipes into a cookbook and I thought, ha!, already been done ☺️
❤️❤️❤️
This looks great! Do you think this recipe would work if I subbed coconut milk?
I wouldn’t use coconut milk because it has such a distinct flavor—maybe something a little more mild?
I have a child with a dairy allergy, so I subbed in rice milk and it worked great.
I’ve been making this from your book for awhile. It’s become a regular for dinner during the winter. I love the little tang from the marinated artichoke hearts. Perfect!
Hi Kate! Can this soup be made a day ahead? Thinking about making this tomorrow night for a luncheon on Tuesday. Also, I saw your reply about the mushrooms, but do not see them listed in the ingredients. Thank you!
Sure!!