Creamy Chicken & Wild Rice Soup

Ingredients

• 1½ lb Boneless skinless chicken thighs
• 1½ tsp Kosher salt
• ¾ tsp Black pepper
• 2 tbsp Olive oil
• 4 tbsp Unsalted butter
• 1 medium Yellow onion, diced
• 3 Carrots, diced
• 3 ribs Celery ribs, diced
• 8 oz Cremini mushrooms, sliced
• 4 cloves Garlic, minced
• ⅓ cup All-purpose flour
• 6 cups Chicken broth
• 1 cup Uncooked wild rice blend
• 1 tsp Dried thyme
• ½ tsp Dried rosemary
• 1 Bay leaf
• 1 cup Whole milk
• 1 cup Heavy cream
• 2 tbsp Chopped parsley
• 1 tsp Lemon juice

Instructions

1. Season chicken thighs with kosher salt and black pepper.
2. Heat olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat.
3. Brown chicken approximately 3 minutes per side. Remove and set aside.
4. Add butter to the pot.
5. Add onion, carrots, celery, and mushrooms. Cook 7–8 minutes until softened.
6. Add garlic and cook 30 seconds until fragrant.
7. Sprinkle flour over the vegetables. Cook 1 minute, stirring.
8. Slowly stir in chicken broth, scraping any browned bits from the bottom.
9. Add wild rice blend, dried thyme, dried rosemary, bay leaf, and the browned chicken.
10. Bring to a gentle simmer.
11. Partially cover and cook 40–50 minutes, stirring occasionally. Primary endpoint: rice tender and chicken cooked through (165°F / 74°C).
12. Remove chicken and bay leaf. Shred the chicken into bite-size pieces.
13. Return shredded chicken to the soup.
14. Stir in whole milk and heavy cream.
15. Simmer gently 5–10 minutes. Do not aggressively boil or the cream may separate.
16. If the soup becomes too thick, add more chicken broth to reach desired consistency.
17. Finish with chopped parsley and optional lemon juice (recommended — it brightens the soup).
18. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot.

Nutrition

Chef's Notes

Does wild rice need pre-cooking? No — this recipe cooks the wild rice directly in the soup broth. However, wild rice blends vary in cooking time, so check at 40 minutes. If the rice is still firm, continue simmering. Why did my soup get too thick? Wild rice continues to absorb liquid as it sits. If the soup is too thick after resting, simply add more chicken broth and reheat gently. Storage: Reheat gently because cream can separate under hard boiling. Refrigerate up to 4 days. The soup thickens as it sits — add broth when reheating.

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