Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup is such a rich, hearty and satisfying soup! It’s like a chicken noodle soup but it uses a variety of flavorful rice instead of noodles, and it’s made creamy with a milk and heavy cream based béchamel sauce. Everyone will love it!
Servings: 5 Servings
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup uncooked wild rice blend*
- 1 cup chopped yellow onion (1 small onion)
- 1 cup diced carrots (2 medium)
- 1 cup diced celery (3 ribs)
- 7 Tbsp butter, diced, divided
- 1 large garlic clove, minced (1 1/2 tsp)
- 4 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1/4 tsp of each dried thyme, marjoram, sage and rosemary (or 1 tsp fresh, minced of any)
- Salt and ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts halves
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 tsp lemon zest
Instructions
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Prepare rice according to directions listed on package.
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Halfway through the rice cooking, in a separate large pot, melt 1 Tbsp butter over medium heat. Add onion, carrots and celery and saute 4 minutes, add garlic and saute 30 seconds longer.
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Add chicken broth, thyme, marjoram, sage, rosemary and season with salt and black pepper to taste. Increase heat to medium-high, add chicken and bring mixture to a boil.
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Cover pot with lid, reduce to medium-low heat and allow mixture to simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 12 – 16 minutes (rotating chicken to opposite side once during cooking for thicker chicken breasts – if they don’t fully immerse in broth).
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Remove chicken and set aside on cutting board to cool 5 minutes then shred into small bite size pieces. Leave soup covered over warm heat.
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Meanwhile in a separate medium saucepan, melt remaining 6 Tbsp butter over medium heat. Add flour and cook 1 1/2 minutes, whisking constantly.
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Then while whisking vigorously, slowly pour milk into butter/flour mixture. Whisk in heavy cream. Cook mixture, stirring constantly until it thickens.
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Add milk mixture to soup mixture in pot along with shredded chicken, cooked rice, and lemon zest. Stir well and remove from heat.
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Let soup cool slightly and serve.
